Alienware Difference

Dell's upgrade requires a dell techie and costs you 50 or so bucks to do. AW can be done by yourself in about 5 mins.

Nonononononono! That was just an answer to your last question, if you want the full answer here it is.

1) Reliability. While there have been isolated problems, they are few and far between. Dell on the otherhand whips out machines left and right, so they lose a lot of quality.

2) Customer Service. Alienware has a trained staff of customer support people who are always on hand to help out. If they do make a mistake, they own up to it quickly and take care of the problem. Dell on the other hand is a major company, and they cater more to the mass purchasing of big companies and not little inviduals.

3) Technology. While you may see groups like Sager with the 256 cards, AW is still quite up to date on their technology. They keep in tip top shape as you an see by their recent E3 uncovering. And they are the first to offer a truly user upgradible machine.

4) Looks, and this goes far beyond the case. While the Area-51m is bigger than most laptops, it is that for a reason. Laptop cases themselves are quite generic, and that means putting in better components results in major overheating. The Dell XPS and the Area-51m both have bigger than normal cases that don't overheat nearly as much as other laptops (such as this stupid IBM thinkpad that is slowly melting away at my lap...). So both the XPS an Area-51m are good for that focus of looks, but if you've ever seen the XPS, it's god forsakenly ugly. The Area-51m manages to keep a cool looking case, that fits the needs of preventing overheating. And who could say no to those sweet eyes in the back!?

5) Sheer feel. While you can buy a Dell, you really don't feel special. Anyone and everyone has a Dell, but only more determined computer users are willing to pay the price for an Alienware. The name alone is well recognized by high powered users as a top notch system. I can tell you, even though I don't have my system yet, I already feel like I'm part of an elite group that owns an Alienware. The feeling is downright awesome. I've wanted one of these for 5 years, and never did I expect to be getting one at age 17.

I do hope that that answered your question a bit. If you need more, just keep posting and someone else will come by and supplement my answer.

Awesome post Daegras!

I agree with what Dae said 100% I've had my AW for only 3 weeks, but I am very glad I went with AlienWare as a company. Even if I did pay a bit extra, I know that I am not just feeding an all powerful and hungry company that does not really care about what their customers think. I know that I have given to the little (littler..AW is growing fast) guy and that my money went to the right hands. These people hands down know how to make a computer and make one that is not just an ordinary laptop. When you buy from the little guy you get better service, better products, and overall more care put into YOUR machine.

AW knows they are supplying a smaller group of consumers and so they know in order to keep that group they must make the best they can. Dell most likely does not make computers to please their customers as much as they are in it to own the computer world.

Well thats how i feel atleast.

Thank you very much Hunt. I'm hoping that the mods may consider making that a sticky post for all those newbies who are looking for some help understanding the difference between Alienware and others.

While the dell is upgradable, it is only upgradable once. And like Daegras said, you have to have it done by a dell tech or the warranty is void. There are perks to owning an AW besides the machine itself. You get specially priced upgrades for the length of you warranty as well as a discount on any other accessories/peripherals you buy from AW. Dell seems to have rushed the XPS laptop to market for competition's sake instead of properly testing it, causing many unhappy customers...Search for a thread by LurkingJayhawk about the XPS notebook he bought.

EDIT - HERE is the thread by LurkingJayhawk

If you need mobile computing, perhaps you should look into the Sentia. If next-gen games arent too much of a concern, the battery life and portability may be more appealing.

Does Dell use their own limited motherboards in their laptops too? I know their desktops are severly throttled due to their proprietary limited motherboards...

Signol01 - I finally made my decision to go with an Alienware Area51 based on laptop reviews and help from the members of this forum. I am more than satisfied with my purchase! I was very impressed when ordering my laptop over the phone... I talked to only one rep, if I needed any more help or questions regarding my order I was to contact her directly by email/phone. That was cool. Also when I called tech support with a question they were very curteous, not rush the call, and answered my question completely (no vague/scripted answers). I do graphic design etc, and I wanted a laptop I would be able to use for years - the specs are very high-end. I spend alot of time using computers, so having "the one" that I felt a personal connection to was important, kinda like buying a car! I also like the feeling of belonging to a "small" personal community of Alienware users, where one can make friends, get help, have fun, and help others as well. Many members of this forum have ALOT of experience and technical knowledge, and are helping other members to get to know their systems better - that is awesome! I find the moderators to be very helpful, respectful of members, they do not try to "control & run" the forum but rather help members (and the forum itself) to learn and grow. The hardware/specs were the most important thing to me, but that is really only one part to being a Alienware owner! All these things together have made for a personable and enjoyable experience.

According to MaxPC the inspiron XPS graphics card update costs....
$400!!!
Plus, Dell's customer service stinks... trust me... I own one...

(It's a dimension 8200)

This is just plain incorrect....

price the dell xps laptop with the exact same components as a 51m and the prices come otu as follows:

Inspiron XPS:3649$
3.2EE
1GB RAM
60GB HDD
Radeon 9700
DVD/CD burner

etc... all the same as a 51m extreme edition

Area 51m extreme: $3,863

so thats like a 200$ difference... 200$ isnt bad for a beautiful case and great paint job.

There you go Sig. Let your father read some of these posts and you'll see why we all reccomend Alienware. I know the situation you're going through, because that was me a few weeks ago trying to convince my dad to let me order an Alienware. I showed him all the good reviews of this forums crew, and he gave me a sure fire go ahead and that he had confidence that I was making the right decision. So just try it, you'll be surprised.

Good stuff. Does this mean that he's going to order one? Well, if that's the case, then welcome to the forums and I hope to see you back asking lots of questions and giving us a review in good time.

To my knowledge, nothing without voiding the warrenty. Otherwise, the ram, hard drive and optical drives can all be changed. Basically, the Sentia is made to be used for everyday tasks, and has tons of battery life. The Area-51m is much more powerful, and designed to play games and that kind of thing. It also has much less battery life, though. So choose whichever really works for you. But know that if you are going to be doing regular tasks, but aren't going to need the massive battery life, then the Area-51m is probably better to get simply for upgradability later and value for money.

IMO th sentia is never the way tog o... if your not gaming and want battery life go with a pentium M based laptop from antoher ocmpany.

Lolz. This is also very true.