as for the styling....you did notice that I explicitly said "I THINK their systems are distasteful". I did not state that as fact.....the "I THINK" implies an opinion....
Aye fair enough
Every one is entitled to an opinion
I am not sure how you quite get "art deco" from ANY of their product lines (older to current), but that is your opinion....and you can have it if you like....no arguments from me on what you do or don't like
The silver gills, the sweeping lines. Even more so when the case is silver I guess
on the issue of RAID arrays....Alienware could offer a RAID 10 (0+1) and actually build MORE reliable systems....although setting up a boot disk to use GPT is no easy task....it can be done with some command line work....which even a modestly competent tech could do
Yes, but it's the people who will be using these systems tbh. Alienware Alienware (the real one) used to offer all sorts of raid. Dell just didn't want to support it because they cut the costs to the bone. Good customer service isn't cheap I guess, so they wanted to reduce the price of the systems (every one's main complaint with Alienware it seems) and thus you need to use cheap support.
as far as overclocking....I think you are just re-enforcing my point.....why would the company intentionally limit their systems? also ANYONE with a few days of research can learn to overclock a system, to a reasonable degree
Watch this video. It contains my answer to that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KKbWdReEdo&feature=channel
Can you imagine what would happen if he tried to overclock? Best locked out IMO. Again dude, it's the market you are aiming at. If you're selling to people who know nothing why leave them the capability to break things fast?
I mena no disrespect, but it seems that you are trying to find any way possible to justify that Alienware is a high quality syste,.....which interestingly enough I have never denied.....but you are missing my points....and in some cases spinning what I have said to fit your own opinions....
I'm not trying to do much of anything really. I'm merely pointing out that Alienware provide a service. I don't need to justify what they do because I couldn't care less tbh. I would never buy an Alienware from Alienware. I currently own two, one ALX (pred 2.1) and a 2.0. They're nice solid cases, half decent cooling and I like the look. However, being a bit of an AMD fan.. Well you can see why they would be pretty useless to me given that Dell don't use AMD chips.
I'm not spinning what you say at all. You are making points and I am partaking in an active discussion and giving you some answers. If you want to voice your opinions on anything? go right ahead. So long as Tom doesn't find a problem with it then nor will some one else. But if some one doesn't agree with your opinions or knows something to the contrary? Well, they're going to supply you with counter opinions ETC. If you like I can nod along and tell you that I agree to everything you say? Up to you really.
I am not calling you a blatant fanboy, but you aren't exactly being objective about my opinions....
Well it seems that you have plenty of opinions on Alienware. Some I agree to, some I don't. However, you say you are an expert in graphical workstations? I can well believe it. However, when it comes to Alienware if you state an opinion and I don't agree with it then I will answer. I'm not doing it to argue, it's simply a discussion. When people say things that aren't entirely correct or make Alienware out to be something they are not? Fair enough, but I will answer. When you said they used to make proper water loops etc? yeah, they did. When you asked why they don't provide RAID, SSD and so on? Well I have told you why they don't supply RAID any more, and the SSD thing is simply down to the fact that SSD are still coming out of infancy and there has been a world of problems with them thus far. No TRIM, bad firmwares, destructive firmwares, poor performance degradation and so on.
really a pointless conversation I think.....not sure hwy you want so badly to defend them....when I have hardly said anything derogatory....I have simply said that their "more expensive systems" (which by the way use almost identical components to their midrange and low end) are overpriced.....and they lack some modern, advanced featured....such as SSD options, RAID options and pools of large RAM
my observations are not subjective, they simply do not offer those items....I am not sure how one can justify or argue that point....as it is simply an observation....
I am not defending them. However if you make an opinion or ask a question and I feel I can answer for you? I will. It's as simple as that. If you think I am arguing with you? certainly not. As for justifying why they don't provide RAID, SSD and so on? I have. I have told you why they don't and given you the reasons. Sorry if you can't seem to accept that, but as a business structure it would cost them more money to support. They also no longer provide servers (because Dell made them already) or workstations (because Dell have that covered also). They have dumbed it down to a simple gaming machine that will sell to people who want it all easy. Those are not my opinions, or me being a fanboy, but the facts. If you still don't like it? well, fair enough man.
this is not productive....you have your opinions I have mine....but please be objective....
What I have told you are not opinions. They are facts. Up until about 8 months ago (right up until Dell fired the entire original staff) I knew employees who worked there. I asked the same questions you have and they gave me the answers. Why no RAID, why no SSD? ETC ETC. Because Dell were ridding all of that to make it all nice and simple. So please don't see this as some sort of debate as it's not. See, the thing is on the net if some one says something about something it tends to stay there. Thus if people come along and read it then they sometimes take it as gospel. Therefore, if I think I can provide some knowledge on a question I will do my best to answer it. So far I have answered the question that Alienwares are very expensive (in stock form they are not) and have answered the question as to why when you upgrade they become expensive (which they do) and why they don't offer the level of upgrades or toys they used to. That's not my opinion.
so far, in other discussions I have had with you, you have been much more objective and reasonable.....I am just a bit curious why the issue of Alienware changes you demeanor.....
And you know that because? My demeanor hasn't changed. I simply know an awful lot about the subject at hand, through experience. Just like you do with graphical workstations and so on. Thus, as I said, if some one starts throwing out opinions on the subject and I feel I can give some answers as to 'why' then I will.
you did mention that you used to sell their products
I did yes. And I also had to attend seminars to learn all about their products. And read through tons of tech info to learn about everything they sold, what it was for, who it was aimed at and why. So yes, I know the exact philosophies behind the company and what they were aiming to achieve. And since I left I have been in very close contact with the people I used to work with, so I know what has happened since and why. Well, right up until they all became redundant as their levels of expertise and experience were no longer called for.
Dell saw fit to send it all to India as it costs absolute pennies. Sadly those Indians do not have the knowledge nor the infrastructure in place to support things like RAID, SSD problems (garbage collection, secure erase and unlocks, Linux boot distros to make that happen) and so on. Years ago Alienware would have simply hired a coder and got him to code up something for them that did it (Alien Adrenaline for example for overclocking video cards) but Dell saw fit to pretty much throw all of that in the trash and just make it all simple. Oh, and spend lots of money on making cases that look like a crashed stealth bomber
BTW. Here's another interesting factoid for you.. When Vista released Alienware did not provide a 64 bit OS. You had to do that yourself. Why? Well, see that video with the dude in the pink pyjamas. Basically many things simply did not work in a 64 bit OS (Early Crysis for example) and thus Alienware did not want a million calls asking why stuff wouldn't work.
Sorry, forgot to address something.
You need to understand what sort of people Dell hire. They are not techs, not competent and know absolutely nothing about computers. They sit at a desk in a call center and read a script with an FAQ list on it. Infact they can hardly even speak English but they are cheap. They are real live people on the end of the phone.
For example - My computer won't switch on, what do I do? - See
Have you checked the power? have you tried changing the fuse? is the power supply switched on at the rear? ETC, all of the basic problems. If they reach the point where none of those work? You book it in for return, unless you have paid for the on site tech which costs lots.
