Inside Alienware: A Rare Look Behind the Scenes at Alienware Headquaters in Miami, FL

After an hour, Alex needed to step out. I’m sure he’s not insanely busy or anything… He had far exceeded our expectations of what the COO of a company the size and stature of Alienware would be. Now more than ever, it is easy to see why Alienware has made it this far, given the caliber of the people behind it.

Anything you want to add, Alex, before you leave us today?

(Alex) I want to thank NBF for just being there. Not only to be able to go in there and see what our customers are saying, but to be able to actually help customers as well. We love being proactive in service, and we have dedicated teams that just go out there to find problems and NBF makes it easier for us. Thanks for being here, guys!

After Alex left, we shifted our focus back to Frank, Arthur and Bryan: Your customer service has really improved over the last few years. Could you tell us a bit about that progress?

(Arthur) We had our own contact center when we were at $29 million in revenue. Other industry CEOs told Nelson he should be outsourcing that, but he didn’t want to do that because he wanted to have it in his control. A lot of the problems initially were just learning how to service our customers. That’s where NBF comes in to help, because we would spot problems there and then we could deal with them right there and make sure that it doesn’t happen again. We have a team of people who just scour the forums for that kind of intelligence.

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At this point, we were very anxious to start talking about laptops with these guys. These systems had been sitting on our conference table for the last hour, taunting us. Bryan was eager to start talking… The laptops we were looking at were the Area-51 m5550, Area-51 m5790, and the Aurora m9700. At first glance, they are, of course, stunning. While you can go to Alienware’s website and see the specs, it was great hearing what specifically the execs liked about each one.


While the 15.4”, 6-pound m5550 has been out for a few months, it certainly was worth a second look because of how balanced it is with weight and performance, and it has some really cool features, too. Obviously, you can read reviews out there for this system, so we’ll spare you the basic rundown of features, but here are some things that we really like:

- Dual core processor in a small package.
- NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 means this system can play games, and play them well.
- Touchpad on and off switch to stop annoying accidental mouse movement when you are gaming or typing.
- Battery control technology – an absolutely simple way to conserve battery power that’s easily toggled on and off. Brilliant!
- This thing is THIN. 1.36 inches thick.
- Up to 200GB of hard drive space.

Granted, there is more to this system than this list, but we feel that it’s just a great balance of size and power. No one laptop is prefect for everyone, of course, but this one certainly does fill a lot of needs.

After ample poking and prodding, we moved on to the beefier 17” m5790. There is so much to mention here! These are our favorite parts:

- Radeon x1900 Graphics with dual core processor
- You can get the 2.33 processor shipped to you at 2.66. No other company is doing this for their customers. It’s easy for the customer to turn on and off, too.
- Battery control technology noted in the m5550
- On and off touch pad button noted in the m5550
- Up to 400 (!) GB of hard drive space

Again, it seems that Alienware has nailed so many things with this model. It’s really the small details that set it apart from everything else out there.

And finally, the beautiful 17" m9700. This notebook is hot! Before we go any further abotut his gaming powerhouse, it’s important to note what’s really special about this system:

This is the first and only 17” laptop in existence running TWO video cards (GeForce GO 7900s) with a full 1GB of graphics memory.

Now, that’s a big deal.


At first glance, we see that it has a shiny black frame around the LCD. Arthur, Frank and Bryan note that this was purposely added because it makes the laptop case less distracting so you can more easily focus on what’s playing on the screen. Good thinking. It really does look great!

They also told us about the touch sensitive buttons above the top of the keyboard for things like the battery control feature. You simply swipe your finger over the button. Some other features we love include:

- Up to 400GB of hard drive space, AND by turning one screw you can easily upgrade your drives yourself later
- Integrated TV tuner
- Full surround sound support
- Sub-woofer
- Reversed Fn and Ctrl keys for gamers
- And, of course, it comes in three hot colors!

We could see Arthur, Frank and Bryan just beaming with pride over this system. They were excited to point out all of the little touches that we might miss at first glance. Frank had such satisfaction in his voice as he noted that the m9700 is just 1mm taller than the m5790 – a true accomplishment for the product development team, to be sure.

So what about Core Duo with SLI?

We know it’s on the mind of a lot of people – when are we going to see the m9750? , the m9750 won Best in Show by CNET. It will be the first notebook with Core Duo and SLI, but it is still a few months away from launch. It’s coming, and it’s going to be really, really good.


Day Two – Where the Magic Happens!

While we hadn’t planned to visit Alienware for a second day – especially after such an amazing first day – we were thrilled when they invited us back to get a look at their manufacturing facility and to meet more of their people. We didn’t find much information on the Internet about what goes on inside the manufacturing facility at Alienware, so needless to say, we were darned excited to take it all in!

On our way to manufacturing, we passed through various departments – from creative to finance and accounting. I think that many people would be surprised at how accessible each person is. They have made a conscious effort to group the ‘teams’ on entire floors together. It’s a very casual environment, yet people aren’t exactly swinging from the rafters. There is a sense of comfort, but also a sense of devotion and urgency. It’s clear that the people here love what they do, and it was so great to be greeted with so many smiles when we were introduced as a part of NotebookForums.com.

We entered the factory, passed through a short hall of personal lockers, and came into a cavernous warehouse-type space where people were hustling about getting their work done in a carefully orchestrated dance that looked like a high-tech tour de force. Kathryn Diana, our gracious host for this trip, first point out the RMA area to our left. She noted that the RMA’d systems come right in through the shipping area in the back, are diagnosed and repaired here, then are sent directly back out to the customer. We love that their own trained employees fix the systems – it’s not an outsourced task.

The first production area that we visited is where each system starts its life. The first step is to gather all of the parts. Each part for each system is pulled from the shelves by a real live person and placed into a bin. A notebook is born! Well, not exactly – at this point, it is really just a case and a bunch of neatly packed computer parts all placed in a bright blue bin, waiting to by hand-assembled by a single Alienware employee. (And for those of you who have waited for systems on order, and you find yourselves wondering how that affects your system, we are told that a system is not “pulled” until all the parts for it have arrived. So if something is out of stock, your system is not built part-way and then placed on a shelf until they can complete it – which is great.)


Once all the parts are pulled, the laptop is ready to be put together. A really interesting part of this process is that exactly ONE person will hand-build each laptop. It doesn’t pass from person to person, where one person installs the hard drives and another person assembles the lids. Nope, if Bob starts it, Bob finishes it. Very cool. I would be so great if your assembler had a little bio card in there with their picture – it’s so personal that one person carefully built each system and it’s something that Alienware owners should be proud of.

We passed through several workstations as we made our way around the facility. Each of the builders gave us a smile as we passed by, but it was obvious by the way that they looked up at us that Alienware doesn’t allow a lot of tours of this place. Each station is equipped with lots of small tools for assembly, and it was neat to see how each system was at a different stage of completion. We believe that the inside of these desktops should be shown off more! Those liquid cooling systems are amazing.


As we made our way to the ALX section of the factory, Kathryn and Winnie (another gracious hostess – this time from Alienware’s marketing department) began telling us how special these ALX systems are here. First of all, visually, you know that something is up! Each of the employees in this section wears a black polo shirt with the ALX logo, and this part of the facility is spatially sectioned off. They explained that the ALX team is specially trained just for these systems – so each ALX system is hand-built in a separate part of the factory by one of these specially trained employees.


As we came upon a huge rack of mALXs, we were humbled by their massive size and beauty. It was quite a sight to see all those systems undergoing testing! While these laptops have a Chameleon paint job, there is nothing gaudy or flashy about them – the effect is subtle, yet it commands attention. Truly a work of art! We stood there in awe for a few moments, with thoughts of each of the lucky people who would soon be getting the systems on this rack. We quickly came upon another rack of ALX desktops that were in various states of alien illumination. We talked a bit about the different lighting schemes for the desktops – from pink to green to blue and beyond. What a job these testing guys have, just playing with this stuff all day!


Once we made it through the ALX area, we ended up at the shipping area in the back of the facility. At this point in the day, late morning, there wasn’t much happening here because the systems slated to ship that day weren’t yet ready to be packed. Kathryn explained that as the day moved on, systems would start appearing here on a long and narrow belt, ready to be labeled and shipped. As of right now, there were only a handful ready to go.


We watched a few systems being packed as we talked with Kathryn and Winnie about the whole magical unboxing process, and how well Alienware understands the importance of that just-opened-the-box first impression. The touches of a t-shirt or a mousepad are really important to the team at Alienware. They want to make that 'out-of-box experience' very special for their customers.

As we circled back around to where we first started watching the laptops being assembled, we were saddened that we couldn’t hang around here all day. With all the shiny new parts, pretty painted chassis, and the obvious lack of cold, metal robotic machinery, it seemed like the perfect playground for us. But of course, all good things must end, and as we exited the manufacturing facility, we knew then – more than ever – that Alienware has got a very good thing going there. Our last stop on our factory tour was a few racks of systems that were just completing their final testing.

We headed back to the offices as Kathryn described for us the corporate parties that were held in a courtyard outside the walkway that runs between the office areas and the manufacturing areas. As Winnie said goodbye to us and headed back to work, we were greeted by the bright, smiling face of a longtime NotebookForums member – Irene, aka alienmomma. What a lovely, passionate person! She really embodied for us what we had come to learn about her company. She told us how she had discovered the forums when her son alerted her to some of the things being said about Alienware here on NBF several years ago; and since then she has spent much of her time scouring the Alienware forums, debunking trolls, and giving help to those who need it. She was not asked by Alienware to do this way back when, but today this appears to be a key part of Alienware’s customer strategy. I love it when companies do what works because it works - even thought it may not be a typical, by-the-books approach. Irene jumped at the chance to get us some really cool Alienware gear, and we gratefully accepted. Those Func mousepads are really nice.

Of course, we couldn’t leave Alienware without a visit with Alienware-JuanG. He was one of the first ‘official’ Alienware employees on NotebookForums, and he has helped countless people over the years. It was great to have us all in one room – the NBF team, and Irene and Juan. Everyone got to talking, and we probably could have stayed there all day. Ultimately, though, we said our goodbyes as we headed out back down to the lobby to turn in our visitor badges.


We had just one more stop to make to complete our Alienware trip – we had to see the one and only Alienware kiosk, at the Dadeland Mall.


Perhaps the people at this mall think it’s normal to be able to see and feel these systems in person, just as you can do with Dell in most major malls across the country; but it’s a unique experience, because you simply can’t find systems like these in stores. This mall is HUGE, and we were exhausted from the last few days, so we were pleasantly surprised to soon come upon the familiar alien head adorning a kiosk of the sort that you might find in malls anywhere. The guys working the kiosk were understandably freaked out when we walked up and introduced ourselves – big camera in hand – and asked to take photos. They checked with headquarters a few minutes down the road, and then we were free to check everything out.


Unfortunately our day was coming to a close, which meant that our trip to Alienware headquarters in Miami was almost over. We had come with certain expectations about what we might see and who we might talk with, but the Alienware folks just blew us away – they were not only affable hosts, but they were so much more open and natural than we had thought that they would be. So many of the original core staff – employees #3, 4 or 5, etc. – are still there today. They are still innovating as they did back when Nelson and Alex got this crazy idea to name a company after aliens, and then started it with a budget of $13,000. The acquisition by Dell was just the beginning for them of a new period of growth for their business, but they are still so incredibly in tune with what has made them what they are today – a passion for innovation for gamers. Over the past 10 years they have literally created an industry for themselves, and it’s an industry that they clearly dominate. Through all the flamers and the haters who love to talk smack about Alienware’s often colorful, high-end, high-power systems, the company has stayed true to its core beliefs. While it’s no longer the size of a ‘boutique’ laptop company, it appears that the people at Alienware don’t intend to let go of the passion and the special company culture that they have worked so hard to build.

We came away from our trip with a deepened respect for Alienware. Over the years, they are one of the few companies that haven’t let us down behind the scenes at NBF by trying to artificially enhance their presence or trying to secretly defame a competitor. Our hats are off to them and their team. Thanks for an amazing visit!


Here are some of the main points that you should take away from this article:

1. Alienware is listening. If you have something to say to them, you have an audience waiting to hear it. And honestly, they care. It’s rare to find this level of attention in a company of Alienware’s size. You may not get a personal response simply because of volume, but know that they hear you!
2. There is no Dell at Alienware. We are now more than 6 months past the acquisition announcement, and Dell is still nowhere to be found. Anyone who thought that Dell was going to step in and muck things up can rest easy! We thought we would see at least something that would suggest a corporate Dell infusion. Nope. And we looked, I promise.
3. The ALX systems are rockstars! If any computer system could be treated like royalty, the ALX is that system. Everything about them is special – the designs, the special level of tech support, the special assembly area. Only specific people within Alienware are authorized to build and service these systems. It’s amazing. (Though all of this specialness does come at a special price.)
4. All machines are built from start to finish by the SAME person. There are no fancy robotic machines or lengthy assembly lines. If Bob Smith starts your laptop assembly, Bob Smith is going to finish it. I am sure there is a more efficient way to do things, but such efficiency would likely lose a certain level of quality.
5. The people at Alienware are incredibly genuine. There are no suits here! There are just real people who truly love where they work and what they do. To hear people like Irene tell us stories about investigating trolls on NBF who posted lies, and her complete determination to find out who these people were and how she could make the situation right, was truly uplifting. Nobody asked her to do that! She just didn’t want to see her company’s name drug through the mud if the people having the “problems” weren’t even real. (And if indeed they were real, it gave her a chance to make it right – as she has done countless times since.)



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