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Dell's Quest For Gaming Cool
Slate is running a piece looking at Dell's attempt to grab gamer customers via their acquisition of the Alienware brand. From the article: "Gamers want powerful computers, of course, but they also want stylish systems made by a company that they believe understands them. Dell's XPS line of machines certainly provides the requisite power. The PC giant's market clout earns it premium relationships with component-makers like ATI, Intel, and nVidia, often allowing it to be first to market with the hottest technologies. But devoted gamers have still stayed away from Dell. Halo obsessives are not IT managers: They ogle expensive, flashy machines ... and they buy expensive, flashy machines. That's where Alienware comes in."
The fact that the article doesn't even mention the AMD/Intel issue costs it considerable credibility in my opinion. I think it is definitely one of the primary obstacles facing Dell in this regard. Alienware had already gone outside the coolradar for many (including me) when Dell bought them, but its acquisition was like the final straw. "but you are the man". Exactly.
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
I have a dell precision m70 laptop, 2gb RAM, 256mb video, 7200rpm hd....
It works great for games. and as long as I buy dell, it will generally be approved by my workplace, so the Alienware aquisition is probably going to net me that much nicer of a (gaming) machine next time around.
"They ogle expensive, flashy machines ... and they buy expensive, flashy machines."
Uh yeah whatever. I think a lot of hardcore gamers are more concerned about the performance then the flashy looks. They like quality parts, they like to be able to upgrade without worrying about proprietary parts (Dell I'm looking at you).
Alienware just seems overpriced to me. But then I'm not the type that would by a Falcon Northwest computer either. I'm looking for performance for the price. While I may spend more than average on a video card and extra RAM, I'm not seeking that last 10% performance boost that doubles the cost.
Who really does pay for those $5000 showcase computers that get raved at in magazines like Maximum PC? I always get the feeling that they are put out there more as advertising than actual product. The big rigs get exposure and the fan boys drool over them, but odds are they are buying something a couple notches below.
Sometimes my arms bend back.
Is if Dell offers truly customized machines. AMD is big in the gaming/enthusiast market and thats only in its infancy if that much. Another aspect is the fact that most boutique vendors like Alienware was didnt have the capacity to manufacture their own OEM parts like Dell does and was composed of more off-the shelf stuff just assembled and tweak meticulously. Basically, if i want an Athlon FX Dual Core SLI rig with an Asus/Gigabyte motherboard, WD Raptor etc etc machine, will dell provide that, or will i get (high end for what it is, it may be) Intel based mobo and whatever compnents dell usually provides. The whole success of boutique is that they can offer custom stuff of any configuration for the mere fact that they are boutique, small and can handle it as part of their business, not a disruption of.
The main difference between an XPS and an Alienware machine with the same specs is not how finely the hardware is tuned, it is the software. Dell ships everymachine out with a bunch of crap software bundled, some of which trips off populare anti-spyware software.
Here at work we purchase Dell laptops for our sales force and the first thing we always do after receiving the machine is to reload the windows disk, but not the auxillary software.
Crufty software doesn't belong on work machines let alone a gaming system. Some of the software bundled could even be considered offensive to gamers looking for high performance computers. Why not bundle software that is relevant to your target customers (i.e. quickbooks isn't it).
My inner self is ineffable, so don't eff with me.
Gamers don't buy expensive flashy stuff because they want expensive flashy stuff. Gamers buy the stuff that can crank out the best graphics and smoothest gameplay; this TENDS to be the expensive flashy stuff, especially if you're going to whip it out at a LAN party... but then Dell bling won't help you get any "street cred" anyway.
The problem with your idea is that it makes sense.
For me as well. They were really starting to slip in terms of reliability and support before the aquisition. The slogan "Build it like it was your own" hasn't been true over at Alienware for quite a while now. I don't think being under the Dell flag is going to help those issues any, at least not from a gamer point of view.
If forums teach us anything, it is that logic and critical thinking should be required courses in the public schools.
Gamers want (in roughly this order of priority):
High-end gear; top notch performance
Upgradeable, industry standard components for easy upgrading
Reliability
Tuned software as well as tuned hardware. (No Adware, OEM "partner" software, etc...)
Durability (for lugging to LAN parties)
Flashy case design
Dell can handle the first one, but they're notoriously bad at all the rest. If any of the last five of those things change about Alienware, every Alienware customer is going to know. Even if none of those things change, gamers all know that Alienware *is* Dell now. These people all read internet forums and tech news. They're not going to be fooled by a Dell with a different sticker on the front.
Here's an idea for Dell: instead of trying to buy somebody else's reputation, how about you start making PCs that don't suck for gaming. Then, perhaps, gamers will consider buying your PCs.
Congradulations.
If forums teach us anything, it is that logic and critical thinking should be required courses in the public schools.
I suspect a lot of the folks that buy Alienware are comparable to those rich brothers-in-law who go on the family Canadian fishing trip and show up with all of the most expensive gear (tags still on) and need help from Grampa Joe (with his 30 year old fly rod, dental floss and bent paper clip) to set the tension on the reel.
"Halo obsessives"
On the PC? I know its available on the PC but it hardly spawned obessive PC fans. Nor is it a game associated with high end performance
Did you get that thing I sent ya?
At work, we buy Dell systems. For a work environment, they work quite well. When I go home, I wouldn't buy a Dell system at a 50% discount (unless it was just for parts). Dell systems use a shitty proprietary motherboard, with a horrible BIOS, and way too many limitations. When I build a gaming system I want quality parts with a good upgrade path, not vendor lock-in.
I actually have a friend who has been screwed by this sort of thing more than once. He bought an HP computer back before the Compaq/HP merge. As he discovered gaming he also discovered that the system lacked an AGP port (the built in graphics card was, technically, AGP). So, he went out and bought a Dell (against my recommendations). It had a better built in graphics card, and the price was right (Dude, you're getting a cheap piece of junk). Once again, no AGP slot. He runs a fairly high end (as such things go) video card on PCI. Unsuprisingly, his video performance sucks.
Give me a beige box, which I built myself, any day of the week. I might run across a few hardware incompatabilities here and there, but that beats the hell out of finding myself without an upgrade path, because the vendor used cheap parts.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Laziness is the father.
"Halo obsessives are not IT managers..."
Except, of course, for the gamers who are IT managers. Duh? It's not so cut 'n' dried.
Wrong. Pure and simple.
In the last week, Dell has been selling QUALITY machines for prices that you can't beat by putting together the components from mail-order-madness from PriceWatch. At the low end, you could spend $370 and get a "basic" machine with a 19" LCD and a licensed copy of Windows. After that, the "basic" computer is free. $1000 machines have been 40% off for weeks, with stackable coupons, free shipping, free 19" flat panels...you're paying $600 for a solid machine, great monitor, licensed software, home delivery, and A YEAR OF ON-SITE SERVICE.
The answer to most people is, in fact, Dude, you're getting a Dell. [And you're getting it at a good price, with solid features.]
The thing that Dell needs to do to sell themselves to gamers, is include NO bundled software in it. Gaming systems don't need AOL For Broadband, and RealPlayer, and Quicktime, and Adobe Reader 7.0, and Microsoft Office, etc.
Dell is avoided because their computers almost need to be formatted right after they are bought. No computer will run games well with that much bloatware installed.
FanFictionRecs.net
I don't think I've ever met a gamer who hadn't built their own computer.
It seems to me that MonarchComputer has that title. Good experience with those guys, no markup on parts, just a small assembly fee ~ 150 which is way worth it given the time it takes me to do my own assembly and risk blowing it.
Now i'm not so sure about the rest of the gaming community.... But instead of oogling over an Alienware at a LAN we usualy make fun of the person who bought it.
:P
I even help run a LAN that has a secret prize we give away to one of the few that brings an alienware to the LAN.... a trashbag to cover the ugly stupid thing up with so he stops getting made fun of.....
I too handle Dell servers and desktops at work. What is proprietary you ask? Ok here is my experience:
1. Power supply. The Dell (at least Optiplex and Dimensions I've used) power supply is not standard. You cannot mount an off the shelf power supply because the power cord connector will be blocked by the Dell case.
2. Case connector. The connector that attaches to the motherboard for power switch, reset, speaker etc. is in one solid block which plugs directly into the motherboard. Now the ordering of connectors on the block will not plug into an off the shelf motherboard. So you are generally out of luck if you want to use a non-Dell motherboard with a Dell case. You CAN cut the block off and rewire seperate connectors to allow connection to a different motherboard, but it's hardly worth the effort.
3. Fan. The fan connector that plugs into the motherboard is not standard. Replacing the fan with an off the shelf generic one will not let you connect the fan connector to the Dell motherboard. This means that the Dell bios will think the fan has failed.
Small things, but things that mean replacing a cheap part (power supply, fan) will not be as simple as going to the store. Also a major upgrade such as a motherboard swap is more of a pain than it should be.
You are correct in that add in boards and drives are not proprietary but you may find that Dell skimps in some ways on their motherboards. For example, the mid range Optiplex computers have no AGP slot and no PCI Express X16 slot. So no way you can add in a video card, you are stuck with onboard. Also most Dell desktops have only 2 DIMM slots compared to 3 or 4 on most standard motherboards. You also will need to pay a bit more if you want to get say 1 512MB DIMM versus 2 256MB DIMMS - in order to leave a slot open for future expansion.
I have no problem will Dell's in the business environment. At least their business sales and support is excellent. As a home gaming system, there are much better (and cheaper) options.
Sometimes my arms bend back.
The gold level business support is actually quite excellent. I haven't had any problems with understanding the support staff or getting replacement parts shipped out and in the office next day. Ditto for the onsite support. And if I do have problems (has happened once in 5 years) a quick call to my acccount manager got them jumping.
From what I hear their standard support sucks ass. I guess it's a "you get what you pay for" situation.
Sometimes my arms bend back.
From a harocp article a few months ago, the Dell XPS 400 gamers rig wont run Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Quake 4, or The Sims 2 because of conflicts with the bloatware.
After reading their out of the box experiences, and add in their additional customer support ordeal trying to remove the bloat, I think I will be staying away from dell and alienware for gaming purposes.
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=OTI0LDEsLG hlbnRodXNpYXN0/
My good friend's mother bought a Dell not long ago, and when the power supply broke they called me in to take a look at it. After examining it, I called Dell tech support on her behalf (she was afraid to talk to them since she doesn't know much about computers). They had paid for gold service, but when I called the number, the very first thing the gold service tech told me was that I had called the wrong department and that he was forwarding me to the real tech support.
This got me transferred to India or thereabouts--the connection was poor, and while we understood each other fairly well, the man tried incessantly to get me off the phone. Despite his pleading for me to call back later, I refused, and I did my best to work with the guy. After I had convinced him to actually help me, he informs me that I qualify for gold service and sends me back to the assholes that transferred me there in the first place.
The third tech, however was very courteous and helpful. After verifying the problem, he put out a work order in minutes.
My experience was this: Gold support is wonderful, but Dell is going to make you fight for it.