This review looks at Alienware desktop PCs for 2009. The Area 51 is their flagship model, and the ALX version out is their ultra high end gaming PC. This review looks at customization, performance, aesthetics, value, service, and support.
The trend in pre-built desktops is to minimize customization as a way to cut costs. Alienware desktop PCs are certainly heading that way, but they are better than some of the bigger companies like Dell (who actually owns Alienware) or HP. Unfortunately, they are shifting much of their customization to purely aesthetic or basic software considerations at the expense of hardware options.
The Area-51 (their flagship model) has 7 color choices for the case, but only three choices for graphics card. You get one motherboard option and only one sound card (aside from onboard sound) . There are only 3 RAM options - 2gb, 4gb (two 2gb sticks), and 8gb (two 4gb sticks). The lack of a 4gb (1 stick) option is confusing.
A full third of the customization process is devoted to the following ridiculous things that have no business being part of the customization of a high end gaming PC:
- 9 avatar options for the logo affixed to the case
- 11 case window styles
- 6 mouse pointer sizes
- wallpapers
- power management settings
- Windows automatic update settings
- Vista sidebar settings (seriously?)
- Choice of 6 RSS feeds
- Time Zone
They offer no options for better fan cooling. Your only option for enhanced cooling is going all the way up to liquid cooling for $250.
Their motto is "Welcome to a World without Limits", but it feels more like "Welcome to a World of Basic Windows Config Settings." I guess they went with catchiness over accuracy.
Alienware desktop PCs used to be way out front when it came to performance. For a long time, Alienware and Falcon Northwest were two of the market leaders in high performance gaming machines. This seems to have ended when Alienware decided to sell PCs in Best Buy. Alienware performance is not significantly better or worse than Dell, HP, or most other big company desktop manufacturers. The ALX holds its own with other high end gaming PCs, but certainly does not significantly outpace them.
Alienware desktop PCs look very nice. The ALX model is especially cool. This has always been an area where Alienware desktops really stand out. They do more than just give a PC a custom paint job. They design intricate, fancy cases that put the ALIEN in Alienware. Other companies are catching up a bit, and even low cost cases for building your own PC are getting pretty nice. I should note that while the Alienware cases look very cool, they tend to be unnecessarily large. That may or may not matter to you.
Another aesthetic element Alienware does a good job with is the cabling inside the case. This is useful if you plan to do a lot of upgrading. But if you were going to change out parts frequently, you probably would not buy a pre-built PC, you would build it yourself.