STOP! Don’t Buy Alienware Computers! Build Your Own Gaming Computer Instead

Oh Alienware computers, we love your cool awesome-looking cases and your super sweet alien-head logo. And we also love your–uh…

…we also love your–uuuummm…

…well, that’s all we really love about you Alienware.

Yes, folks, the secret is out on the giants of the gaming computer industry… Their computers are really expensive, really excessive, and really unnecessary. And that’s why we don’t recommend that you buy Alienware computers.

Now, Elite Gaming Computers is not the type to throw anyone under the bus. However, our aim is to guide our fellow gamers (who are in the market to get a good gaming computer) in the right direction. And, Alienware is not in the right direction for PC gamers…

…building it yourself is.

The fact is that Alienware is ripping their customers off. And we want to give you the facts, so that you don’t fall victim to their well-thought-out marketing strategy. Not only that, but we want to help you build your own gaming computer, because only then will you gain full control over the quality of your gaming experience…

Why You Shouldn’t Buy Alienware Computers

We get it… flashy lights, a good logo, and a lot of misinformed customers spreading the word. It’s a solid marketing strategy that has payed huge dividends for Dell, the big company behind Alienware.

However, there are three main reasons why you shouldn’t buy Alienware computers.

The first reason is that their computers are way too expensive.

Alienware takes pricing markups to a whole new level. Their “Elite Gaming Bundle” (their highest priced desktop build) for their Aurora line of computers is priced at $3299. But a quick search of products can leave one to believe that that same system can probably be built for $2,000 or less. Can they possible think that over-charging their customers by an astronomical amount is a good business strategy? What a bunch of nonsense!

The second reason is their inclusion of overly-excessive components in their computers.

In that same $3,299 computer, $1,000 of the total cost is dedicated to the processor. And remember, you could build your own gaming computer (with similar parts and better performance) for $2,000. So spending half of their budget on the processor alone seems ridiculous.

To that, some people may say that they want the baddest and meanest processor that they can afford. That’s fine. What’s not fine is sacrificing the quality of other components in order to get that processor. And this is exactly what Alienware has done with this computer.

The third reason is that they do not build balanced systems. 

If they’re going to drop $1,000 on an extreme processor, then you’d think they’d choose an extreme video card to go along with it–or at the very least, they’d CrossFire two high-quality video cards. Instead, they included a single $300 video card.

The video card that they chose is not bad by any means (as far as we can tell, anyways… who knows where it was manufactured, and whether or not it is actually brand new), but it just doesn’t create a balanced system. And their strategy in choosing components doesn’t help maximize the performance of the computer.

Instead, they could have saved $800 on the processor by getting either the i5-2500k, or the i5-3570k–both of which are just about as good of processors for gaming as you can find–and used that extra money to CrossFire two $550 video cards. Or, better yet, use some of that extra money to get an SSD (which they do not include), a high-quality power supply, and a top-of-the-line motherboard.

So why in God’s name would they ever compromise the quality of their systems in order to get an “extreme” processor?

It’s all about marketing…

Alienware knew that by using extremely high-end processors, they would turn some heads. Gamers would recognize that the processor in their build was of a high quality nature, and so the rest of the computer must be as well.

However, this is not the case. And, you can see this strategy at work in the detail section of each build–a detail section in which they proudly announce that they include an i7 processors in all of their builds. That’s great…

Except that they conveniently “forget” to mention the manufacturer who makes every other component they include in their builds. They also fail to mention what kind of power supply and motherboard come in each one…

…and anyone who has built a computer knows that quality across the board is the only way to ensure that your system lasts. So, when they purposely leave details out, a red flag goes up.

However, we’re not just going to sit here and rant. We want to show you what we mean. So, to further illustrate Alienware’s poor choice of components in their build, we’ll break down their cheapest desktop build, which they are selling for $1499.

Alienware’s “Light Up the Sky” Build – $1499

	Name/Type	newegg.com Price
Processor	2ND Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3820 (10m Cache, Overclocked Up to 4.1 ghz)	$299.99
Video Card	1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 555	N/A ($120ish On ebay)
Hard Drive	1TB Serial ATA 3 Hard Drive	$100.00
Memory	8GB Q DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz	$49.99
Optical Drive	Single Drive: 24x CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) W/Double Layer Write Capability	~$20.00
Operating System	Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English	$99.99
Grand Total		$689.97

As you can see, Alienware fails to mention what manufacturer they are using for every component–except, of course, their processor. And, as previously stated, they also don’t tell you what kind of motherboard and power supply they are using.

This is not good. If your power supply or motherboard are cheaply built, your whole system gets placed in jeopardy.

You have probably also noticed that unless they have spent a combined $800 on the motherboard and power supply–which aren’t listed–this computer could be built for a price way under what they are asking.

Let’s also not forget that Alienware is getting their components straight from the component manufacturer, which means they pay a lot less than we would if we bought it from an online retailer.

We wouldn’t be surprised if they were able to put the whole computer together for about $600 (motherboard and power supply included).

Of course, this is just speculation… but we can’t imagine them paying very much more than that…

So, the question remains, why would anyone buy Alienware computers?

Maybe it’s because they don’t know of any other alternative…

The Best Alternative to Alienware: Build Your Own Gaming Computer (It’s Not As Hard As You Think)

Alienware and other big computer companies rely on one thing: that you, the consumer, don’t really have a good idea of what you’re buying.

Fortunately, it doesn’t take a lot on your part to become informed enough to know that Alienware computers are junk and that building your own system would be much more beneficial.

We know what a lot of you must be thinking… It would be too hard to build your own gaming computer. Or, you don’t know anything about computers, so there’s no way you could build one yourself.

We assure you, you can do it…

…and the benefits that come from building your system yourself are too good to pass up.

There are three main benefits that come with building your own gaming rig. They are:

1. You control the quality of your computer. No misleading specifications. No cheap components. No bullshit.
2. You can either save a ton of money -OR- you can put that extra money to better use (i.e. upgrade to better parts). The point is, the choice is yours, and not some greedy computer company’s.
3. You will receive a sense of satisfaction every time you turn on the power button to the computer you planned and built.

As for the building process…

If you can assemble one of those office furniture desks, or any kind of item that comes broken down in parts, then you can assemble a computer.

It’s really a matter of plugging in the right cables in the right slots and ports.

However, we wouldn’t want to lead you astray and let you think that computer building is as easy as putting together some DUPLO Blocks (those huge LEGO blocks for toddlers) together. You will need to be careful and take your time. But if you can be patient with your build, then you can almost assuredly finish the job correctly.

In fact, if you are feeling a little nervous about assembling your computer, we highly recommend that you download our FREE building guide. If after reading this guide, you don’t think that you could build your own gaming computer and you can’t find anyone else to help you out, then by all means, find another option. (But we’re pretty sure that you will realize how smoothly the whole process can go.)

In the end, if every gamer realized that they could build their own gaming computer with relatively little difficulty, then Alienware would never get the chance to foul-up anyone’s home again with their crappy systems…

And we like that!

So, if you’re thinking about getting a good gaming computer, then do seriously consider building it yourself. Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have. We’d be more than happy to help you out!