Alienware - Not so exclusive anymore!

Dell has paid too much attention to those who complain about Alienwares being overpriced. The prices are actually lower, but the configuration options are limited enough that the difference in price is irrelevant. Dell is cutting costs too.

The loss of 1920 x 1200 screens is not Dell's fault. Buying those screens when no other company does so (I think that Apple is using leftovers) is impractical and expensive.

All of the new laptops have alloy cases. 

well if you do remember the M17x R1 and R2 were basically alienware's top model atm .. and had DUAL  video and needed the extra heat disapation the alloy  offered .. when the M18X R1 came out it took the alloy  and  the second card option as the flagship...

also do remember even with the alloy the R1 and R2 had overheating isssues such and  I believe is  part of reason the 17 inch  is single card only now....

I  remember  the 1920/1200  on my R1  and R2.... I loved   it for gaming as the extra pixels of the 16:10 was awesome in gaming  but  it seems the majority of everything is  being made 16:9 and its prolly another reason for the  change other then just cost....

I do miss my ball cap  when I recived my M18X R2 .... but hey I got 3  still so  really didn't need another ...  what did it  actually cost dell? 20 cent on the  dollar...

the leather book..oooo I got 2 of them .. one form my R1 and onne from an R2 ..  its a nice piece and makes  u  feel  like  u  got a custom machine..

again dropped  due to  cost... even I  would pay extra if   it   was an option...

also not including backup  windows media with new systems unless u request  it  inst a bad idea but when calling being told they wont supply it isn't right either, and have to argue to get it....

we can go   on and  on my friend....  but   I   don't  think  the forums have enough hard drive space :O

I take your point about the 1920x1200 screen costing more to produce, but isn't that one of the reasons Alienware was more expensive than other laptops, because when you purchased a Alienware, you were supposed to be getting the best/most recent of everything. Those screens were just another extra that seperated Alienware from the "rest" of the mass produced laptop

And yes, I realize the new Alienware comes with an alloy case, BUT SILVER ONLY available, no black or red anymore.

I think that Dell offered 1200p screens for the m17x r2 because they were available for Dell's Precision m6500. Enterprise drives demand. The Precision m6700 has a 1080p IPS screen, but the GPUs in Alienwares cannot support that screen. Even the upcoming m6800 might not have an IPS screen option.

That said, I understand your points. Warranty support is Alienware's main advantage now, and since customer support and quality control seem to be worsening, that might not be the case for long. One problem is that none of AW's competitors are pushing it in terms of chassis durability, customer service, screen quality, and upgrade options.

I too agree with this. for me the biggest mistake is that, it's almost like Dell is making you a favour letting you spend your hard earned 4000 dollars.

Where is the love? Where is customer care? Where is that feeling of being part of something special. Every other vendor would give you some gadgets or gifts, some really nothing special but special enough for you to feel a bit appreciated as a customer.

Dell don't even care if you are a returning customer, they just treat us like *** and almost as if they expect us to be grateful to Dell for allowing us spend sooo much money on their systems.

In the meantime when you get an Asus Gaming Laptop you get an awesome looking backpack and a razer gaming mouse. I am quite certain if you turn to Clevo or MSI you would get some gifts as well.

Keep doing this Dell. Your competition is ready to steal your customers.

We cannot change this Alienware marketing decision through the Forum. Please post your opinions about this Alienware direction on the Dell IdeaStorm.

Great suggestion Chris M - Only problem is from the posts I've read previously Dell dont take any notice of ideaStorm, so it's a bit of a wasted exercise, I did'nt create this thread to try to "change" any of Dells decisions, I'm old enough and ugly enough to know that really is a complete and utter waste of time unless Dell really start lossing money of the product. And I'm not the first or even 50th person to say that

This tread was started to findout if other Alienware users/buyers feel the same as myself and also to findout if other people were aware of the "death of a million cuts" that Dell is preforming on Alienware :)

Looks like I'm not the lone ranger!!!!!!!

Sorry about the typing/spelling errors in the previous post......................

dell killed alienware when they took over

dekstops were originally asus board and  fully upgradeable... even had amd options..

now its  all dell proprietary parts.. if it  fails   u need dell parts which they charge out the  for a cheap foxxconnn 100.00 board

the name remains, the performance remains, the spirit  lives on but the heart is gone.. its all  about  the money!

I've only been "involved" with Alienware since around 2009/10, so I didn't get to play with Alienware Corp equipment.

But I would have to agree with you 89fordprobee - From what I have seen of the Alienware Corp laptops with their multitude of colours, custom artwork and ungradeability, together with the early Dell Alienware laptops and their longevity it looks like a down hill slide.

Just to reinforce that point I'll tell you a little story...........

I'm an Alienware reseller in Australia, have been since 2009.

I currently have 14 alienware laptops available for sale on ebay.

2 x M18x R2's

3 x M18x R1's

3 x M17x R4's

3 x M14x R2's

3 x M11x R3's

The M18x R2 have been sitting for 6 weeks

Same as the M18x R1's.

I have sold 1 M17x R4 and 1 M11x R3 in the last 4 weeks

I have also sold fourteen (14) M17x R2's in the last two weeks.

The average price for a BRAND NEW M17x R4 in Australia is around $1900-$2100

I totally refurb the M17x r2's, new screens, cases, keyboards and/or palmrests and sell them on ebay for between $1800AU and $2000AU

Last week I sold a M17x R2 with a 940XM for $2200.

I cannot keep up with the demand, if I had 20 units I could sell them tomorrow.

My customers have told me by their buying trends just what is really wanted....

And I know what you mean about inflated prices from dell, hows this for an absolute farce.

I called dell spare parts on monday this week to get a price on a ATI/AMD 5870M, it's a 2-3 year old card now and you can pickup second and sometimes new ones on ebay for about $130-$170 each.

Would you believe Dell quoted me $900 for the primary and $968 for the secondary(no x-fire cable included), man if thats not out of touch I dont know what is :)

I had looked at Alienware computers when they first came on the market in 1996, but could never afford one. Last year I decide to buy one even though it was  over my budget for a new computer. It was delivered DOA, first disappointment. The tech came out and found it was trying to boot to a non existent hard drive, 2nd disappointment. where is the quality control for Alienware? Two months later the graphics card had problems so had to have that replaced, Turns out it was a cheaper OEM card, 3rd disappointment  I see now that the Asetek liquid cooling system is dying after about 14 months. (just out of warranty) When looking the unit up on Google, it says " a cheaper cooling solution" I know all computer companies use 3 party parts, but when the price you pay for these parts should equate to a Cadillac and you get a Yugo, it just doesn't seem right. Will I ever consider paying another Alienware? no way just way too expensive for the low end parts they use. I will say one thing good about Alienware and that is their tech. support. I don't know where they are located, but it sure isn't India. They speak good understandable English and listen to what you are saying. If they say a part will be here the next day, that part is here the next day.

Checkout the latest offering from this company, looks like other laptop manufacturers are starting to include changeable colour backlit keyboard and very high spec machines, have a look at the bottom of this laptop, talk about user friendly, every switchable part has its own compartment that can be easily accessed by the owner, just waitung on a quote to be emailed to me to findout if the price is on par with Alienware

http://www.metabox.com.au/P170SM-features.asp

i received 

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Posted to Dell IdeaStorm as Chris M suggested.

http://www.ideastorm.com/idea2ReadIdea?v=1378900595282&Id=087700000008p6FAAQ