Desktops forum: Is Alienware worth it?

before DELL bought Alienware, they're computers were good.
after DELL bought Alienware, Alienware computers suck.

aren't worth the money, because they're either A) out to rip you off by charging a fortune or by using really low cost components and riding on their boutique status or B) a corporate extension of their parent company's premium lines (Alienware for Dell, VoodooPC for HP, Compaq used to own a botique marquee, Gateway has its FX line, Acer has a Ferrari branded series of systems, etc)

one advantage to something like Alienware is the customer service, although the absurd price isn't worth it, their products aren't bad (I would never go so far as "suck"), but they aren't at the level they used to be, think of Alienware's relationship to Dell kind of like Chevy's relationship to Cadillac, Dell produces computers for John Everyman, Alienware produces computers for Daddy Warbucks (and the XPS line sits somewhere in between), where the premise isn't just on the quality of the machine, but its also on the buying experience (look at some of the things ALX systems come with, you'll see what i'm talking about)

now, if you're asking if spending $10,000 on an Alienware desktop, from a pure hardware standpoint, is going to be twice as good as a $5000 HP, Dell, Gateway FX, etc (given that its twice the price), no, its going to be maybe 10% faster, if even that, but its going to come with a different style of warranty, overall buying experience, etc, along with the Alienware name (to some people this is a factor, I don't quite see the sense (yeah, I drive a Chevy))

personally I probably wouldn't buy an Alienware, but I wouldn't look down on them either, if you really want/need that much power, I'd look at custom building the system yourself, you'll probably save 40-60% off sticker price at places like Alienware or Velocity Micro