There are a whole list of reasons to not go with an Alienware computer or an Apple product as a whole. One of the only 'advantages' they have and why they are so popular is due to their aesthetics and marketing. Dell and Apple are huge players and companies and have the budget to pump out ads and commericals all over the place and persuade people to go with their product. But there are a lot of thins the consumer does not know and is very crucial. From my point of view, I think Alienware computers look like something that came out of a Toys-r-us store, but Apple on the other hand and their computers do look elegant ( not talking about build quality, pure looks from above ) - and that's one of the main reasons they can charge $1,000's of dollars and have them fly off shelves. Now, to the consumer they think this is a beast of a machine, particularly for editing for some reason, which is completely false. But from a computer enthusiasts point of view, this is a really bad investment. Dell and Apple have a long reputation of stuffing last generation, outdated, underpowerd hardware into a nice looking shell ( to some ) and charge more for it compared to a better specd custom build for example with better and more reliable parts. But some people don't want to spend an hour and learn how to build a PC and they see these ignorant fellos on Youtube for example who don't know a clue about what they are talking about thinking and blabbering on how this is such a good machine and saying it's really good for your budget, when it's not, AT ALL.

Alienware / pre-built computers from major players ( HP, Acer, Gateway ( owned by HP ), and Lenovo ) - there are many more, those are the ones that I can think of on the top of my head.Their PSU's - my God...I could write a 50 page report on these companies are POS and don't care about the consumer and have no quality control, but I'll make it short. They spend as little as they can on this part ( which is essentially the heart of your system and if it dies, it can bring your other, expensive components down with it ). The end result of this catastrophe is a really sub-par 300-350w PSU that can barely pull the system it's running. They have horrible efficiencies, ripple regulation and rails. There is one major review on Anandtech actually reviewing a similar PSU and they basically just say it delivers half of the advertised wattage, gets very loud, and does not hit bronze efficiency for example ( worse for hydro bill ). I can't stress that skimping out on the PSU is the BIGGEST mistake you could possibly do. It will also hender and set road blocks for upgrading your components. ( I.E - I want to upgrade my video card, oh wait, I have a POS PSU that can actually explode and kill parts if stressed enough ).

Now their motherboard, same thing as the PSU - they put the absolute cheapest stuff they can find. I could only assume they are really fragile and flimsy. I know for a fact that HP makes their own MOBO's and imported Foxconn boards a while ago. It's basically what you see is what you get. No overclocking friendly features such as a beefy power phase with attractive heatsinks, no support for multiple video cards, lack of SATA connectors so there is HDD/SSD limitations and they are usually green boards that are down right ugly. Their I/O panels aren't very eye opening either.

AMD / Intel CPU's are all the same around the block - I.E a 2500k in a HP desktop will be the same as a 2500k in custom build - the same usually goes for RAM. Only advantage of selecting your own RAM is the selection of different speeds, timings, latencies, colors, and heatsinks even though they do nothing.

Their cases are usually glossy plastic with 1 weak 120mm at the back side of the case that are usually dead silent for a reason; they do nothing. The cases are usually very small and compact, but the downside to this is no features, as usuall, this is a common trend amung pre-configured and built PC's. No toollees for upgrading, only fit M-ATX form factor, fit only low profile video cards and have no room for ventilation, and no cable management system so you end up with a bunch of non sleeved yellow power cabled in the middle of the case being held up by 1 zip tie ( very generous, I know ).

And after they install this, they charge double and advertise it to customers who don't know a lot about computer hardware and say this is some ''BF3 beast'' when in the real world, a 5670 isn't even going to boot up BF3.

If you're still not set on the idea of building it yourself, there are still many options out there, one of them being NCIX and their PC building service - YOU select the parts ( they obviously have to be compatible with each other ) and they will charge $50 to build it for YOU from the ground up ( cable management and temperature testing included ). CyberpowerPC is the second option, but they are limited and more pricey.

In my opinon, a Fractal R3 or Bitfenix Shinobi looks far greater than some multi-colored Alienware junk.

YOU ARE PAYING FOR THE NAME AND SOME LED'S! THAT IS ALL! They price it at such a high point because they know ignorant, usually pre-pubescent children will ask their parents to buy it and they know it sells.