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Hardware

Dell fights Alien Invasion 274

Posted by CmdrTaco from the beware-the-grays dept.
Asakawa writes "With manufacturers like Alienware and Voodoo sucking up the low-volume/high-margin high-end gaming market, it looks like Dell wants a piece of the action. The machine that these guys have reviewed looks pretty awesome, but they reckon it's overpriced. It will be interesting to see if Dell can shake off its grey box image and entice the more fussy gamers and enthusias."
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Dell fights Alien Invasion More

Dell fights Alien Invasion

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  • Low volume high margin? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:10AM (#9913125)
    You mean Voodoo and Alienware are the Apples of the PC world?

  • Clones (Score:5, Insightful)

    by LordHatrus ( 763508 ) <slashdot@clockf[ ].com ['ort' in gap]> on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:10AM (#9913126) Homepage
    It's just not the same if its not a clone. The only good gaming rig is pimped out, with glowing-thingimabobers and cooling fit for space shuttle components on re-entry.
    • For a while now, gamer's PCs have been looking like the SUVs of the computing world. They don't necessarily need the power they have under the hood, they are incredibly energy inefficient and they are almost always gawdy looking.

      The gaming "laptops" are almost as bad too, running 3.2GHz PIVs when they can't run for an hour on batteries.

    • Re:Clones (Score:3, Informative)

      by Glonoinha ( 587375 )
      Honestly I have to question the validity of what Dell is considering.

      Every time I look at the Alienware systems and associated prices, I have got to wonder if maybe I'm missing something.

      Take their Area-51 - a P4 2.8GHz with HT, 1G DDR pc3200, 80G SATA, sound and a GeForce 5750. $1814.

      I just built a new box specifically to run Doom 3 on, got a Dell 400sc for $450 (P4 2.8GHz w HT), added a Gig of DDR pc3200 for $160, dropped in a GeForce FX5900se I got on sale for about $150. Top it off with a seat of X
  • ...do we really want enthusias?

    (FP!)

  • Too little, too late (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Three Headed Man ( 765841 ) <.moc.oohay. .ta. .nehc_reteid.> on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:12AM (#9913137)
    Dell has too much work ahead of them for this really to be a feasible switch. Further, this isn't really that large of a market. I'll be surprised if they've got that much to gain by controlling another market.

    • Re:Too little, too late (Score:4, Insightful)

      by TheLoneDanger ( 611268 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @11:02AM (#9913384)
      Further, this isn't really that large of a market. I'll be surprised if they've got that much to gain by controlling another market.

      Low number of sales isn't a problem at all. As it says above "low volume/high margin high-end gaming market". You don't need to sell a lot of units to make as much as you do selling lots of low profit margin budget PCs.

      The high margin is very attractive to Dell, because profit margins seem to be continually decreasing on most computer systems sold. Profit margins for gaming systems only seem to be going up as gamers expect more in the way of extra stuff that most buyers simply don't care about, like case mods and LED lighting. Why would there be nothing to gain from controlling a highly profitable and expanding new market? I would say there is PROFIT to be gained, and the possibility of much more profit ahead.

      Of course part of the reason why the prices for gaming PCs is so high is the very label of the seller. Alienware and Voodoo are well known for the quality/performance of their machines among the gamers you'd meet at a LAN party. Dell... not so much.

  • Pricing (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Isn't high price rather an advantage when marketing toys for people with too much money? It works for the people who sell high-end hi-fi equipment...

  • Inspiron XPS (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Throtex ( 708974 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:13AM (#9913144)
    Dell's had a competent gaming laptop for a while now, why not a competent desktop? Inspiron XPS, now there's a laptop you can bring home to mom. According to their site, it starts at 9.06 lbs. Don't move it around too much.

    • Re:Inspiron XPS (Score:3, Informative)

      by JeffTL ( 667728 )
      The problem with Inspiron XPS is this: Before rebates, and with XP Pro, DVD burner drive, wireless (WiFi and Bluetooth), an 80 GB hard drive, and a gig of RAM it's $3413. A 15" PowerBook with similar stats comes out at $2999, a significant difference. I won't even go into how it compares to Dell's own desktops. The PowerBook doesn't have as much oomph, but it actually will function well for purposes other than LAN parties -- few of us can afford a $3000 laptop at any rate, and I imagine that those who d

      • Re:Inspiron XPS (Score:2, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        You say this like there are games for the PowerBook
  • I've heard bad things about Dell here on /., how is it expected to stand up?

    Also, is there any reason to completely fill up the RAM slots with 256Mb DIMMs when 512MB are easily available? This makes it harder to upgrade.
    • I have responsibility for over 100 Optiplex GX400 and Precision 340/360 machines and have to say, they are good. I only have a few niggles with them:
      Nonstandard PSU: Looks like an ATX unit but can't be exchanged with them.
      Heavy - but that could also be read as well-built
      Some of them use IBM Deskstar (Deathstar) hard drives which have comparatively poor reliability. When Maxtor drives are so cheap, there's really no excuse for this.

      The nice thing about these machines is that all the drivers for them

    • 2x256 cheaper then 1x512 (Score:4, Informative)

      by SmallFurryCreature ( 593017 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @11:10AM (#9913431) Journal
      2x256mb is cheaper then 1x512mb. So multiply that by the kind of bulk buying dell does and you are talking some serious saving. Remember that Dell is Dell because it saves every dollar it can.

      That is why dell is so looked down upon. If you ever have to work with them you just know you are dealing wich a "company/piece of hardware" were everything was done by the lowest bidder. Such tricks as finding out a 128mb machine had all its memories slots full (wich as you say makes it harder and more expensive to upgrade). Finding out that for some unspeakable reason yes this PC comes with only 1 IDE slot. That the case size means no expansion card fits.

      It is not that Dell actually makes bad stuff. Just that if you are used to make your own cages or worse IBM style hardware Dell feels cheap. The biggest problem is that they feel cheap but often really aren't. If you buy your dell as is and never ever touch its insides then it is a decent enough deal. Else just don't. Friends don't let friends dell.


      • You've basically described the lowest-end Dimension machine. Move up into OptiPlex land and things get considerably better.

        I've used Dells in every office I've worked, and been glad I did. I've recommended Dells to friends at home, and been glad I did.

        I am NOT one to be a mindless shill for anybody, but my experience with Dell systems has been far more positive than negative.

  • They're not gonna get any action... (Score:4, Informative)

    by LBArrettAnderson ( 655246 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:16AM (#9913152)
    If the max resolution is 1280x1024.

    • Oh come on (Score:4, Insightful)

      by caitsith01 ( 606117 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:42AM (#9913268) Journal
      How many people seriously play games over this res?

      For one thing, computers that can play Doom III and the like at higher than 1280x1024 are not expected to exist until sometime in the 24th century.

      For another, there are several things that make serious gaming waaay more enjoyable than straight-out resolution, including graphics card quality settings and refresh rate. Most decent monitors will still start to lose refresh rate above 1024x768... if you want anything close to 85-100Hz at higher than 1280x1024 you are talking about insanely expensive equipement.

      IMHO most modern games are best played at 1024x768 on a decent gaming rig. You get beautifully high frame rates, and with a decent video card you can have all the quality settings absolutely cranked, whilst running at 100Hz or higher on your monitor to go extra easy on the eyes.

      Anyone who claims they 'need' much higher resolutions is full of it.
      • I'm currently running Raven Shield at 1400x1050 and the refresh rate is perfectly fine. And did I mention that I'm using a 64 MB NVIDIA 5600? Nowhere near top of the line. If that machine is for gamers, and it obviously has an incredibly nice graphics card, then it should be made for recently made games as well, not just Doom III.
        • You'd get a "insightful mod point" from me if I had any.

          Modern laptop's now come with desktop quality texture mapping technology that can do at least 60Hz (that's how fast the LCD refreshes). The actual rendering speed is dependent upon window size, but a full-screen size the rendering rate is always above this. Maybe by the end of the year, the next-generation standard of removable graphics cards will be out and laptops will keep pace with desktop systems. The only thing I fear will be the size of the mai

      • Re:Oh come on (Score:4, Informative)

        by foidulus ( 743482 ) * on Sunday August 08, 2004 @11:09AM (#9913417)
        Heh, the problem isn't with the resolution perse, it's the fact that it is bundled with an LCD that is the problem. For gaming on an LCD(this is in addition to ghosting issues) is that in order for it not to look "blocky" you either have to run it at it's native resolution, or half it's native resolution(so that each pixel translates into a 4 pixel square). I don't know of too many games that support 640x512, though since 1280x1024 seems to be a very popular resolution for LCDs, maybe we will see it in the future(you can always just add a little 32 pixel black bar if need be)
      • Anyone who claims they 'need' much higher resolutions is full of it.

        Of course that person who's "full of it" will be able to see you from further away due to his better resolution. But hey, your death will look really nice on your screen with all the quality setting cranked.

        I imagine there are gamers out there who would play in black and white if they could get double the resolution.
      • quote
        Most decent monitors will still start to lose refresh rate above 1024x768... if you want anything close to 85-100Hz at higher than 1280x1024 you are talking about insanely expensive equipement.
        quote

        my sony 21 inch will run 2048 x 1536 at those refresh rates, it cost me less than a top end gfx card.

        not everyone pays top dollar through migh margin outlets that blow megabucks on advertising.

  • Sorry, Dell. No sale here. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Teckla ( 630646 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:16AM (#9913153)

    Dell can want to sell me a machine all they want, but they won't get my business because:

    * The quality of their support has fallen through the floor due to offshore outsourcing it (the non-business support, at least).

    * They don't give me the option of buying computers built on AMD CPUs, which have a better price/performance ratio than Intel CPUs.

    * In most cases, they still force me to buy their systems bundled with Microsoft software, whether I want it or not.

    Sorry, Dell. No sale here.

    • * In most cases, they still force me to buy their systems bundled with Microsoft software, whether I want it or not

      Have you seen many high-end gaming systens running Linux? This isn't the free-as-in-beer or free-as-in-freedom market.

      • Hey, my Linux box is a high end gaming system. I get _at least_ 85 fps at 1230x940 while playing... emacs!

        Actually I get really high framerates in ut2004, considering I have a MX440 and my 2500+ is "only" overclocked to 2255Mhz...

      • Then again Doom3 ain't even out here yet. Grrrrr. Forcing me to pirate when I got the money itching in my pocket. Wasn't there a recent article about how game publishers are greater enemies of games then pirates? Certainly is true for Doom 3. I have the money, I got the machine but ID ain't selling. So I gotta a choice. Wait to spend money while everyone is getting Doom 3 goodness OR get Doom 3 goodness for free. I held out for a week. I caved in yesterday. Now just waiting for it to become dark again so I

      • Have you seen many high-end gaming systens running Linux? This isn't the free-as-in-beer or free-as-in-freedom market.

        Did you ever stop to think that maybe I already own a Windows license and don't want to be forced to buy another one?

    • Re:Sorry, Dell. No sale here. (Score:4, Funny)

      by Quarters ( 18322 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:45AM (#9913288)
      Yeah! Right on! Me Too!

      I want my super-upber-high-end gaming PC to ship with Linux so I can stress it its limits with the absolute latest, bleeding edge, hard core Linux based games...

      ...like Tux Racer.

    • Dell can want to sell me a machine all they want, but they won't get my business because:

      You left out:
      Deliberately breaking standards for no good reason.

      Need to replace the power supply in a Dell box?
      Better buy it from Dell for a hefty markup or you just might toast your motherboard.
      • >You left out:
        >Deliberately breaking standards for no good reason.

        >Need to replace the power supply in a Dell box?
        >Better buy it from Dell for a hefty markup or you just might toast your motherboard.

        That's not true.

        Because of cost issues, OEM manufacturers make desktop cases and power supplies small and non-standard.

        My IBM Aptiva and another brand name desktop also couldn't use "standard" parts, but that's reasonable.
        • That's not true.

          Because of cost issues, OEM manufacturers make desktop cases and power supplies small and non-standard.

          Actually it's 100% true.

          Do some research next time. Dell has used STANDARD ATX CONNECTORS WITH NON-STANDARD PINOUTS!

          That doesn't save cost OR space.

          Here's one link. [upgradinga...ingpcs.com]

          I'm sure google can find you many more.

  • Gamers want... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Glock27 ( 446276 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:17AM (#9913157)
    It will be interesting to see if Dell can shake off it's grey box image and entice the more fussy gamers and enthusias[ts].

    Gamers want the best - and right now that's AMD Athlon 64 (FX). Until Dell has that, they're stuff looks rather Dull. ;-)

    • they're

      sorry, "their" (just trying to forestall grammar nazis;). And yeah, it really should be "it's" I suppose...

    • Re:Gamers want... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by gnu-generation-one ( 717590 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:46AM (#9913294) Homepage
      "It will be interesting to see if Dell can shake off it's grey box image and entice the more fussy gamers and enthusiasts."

      I think Dell's reputation is for black boxes, and they've shaken that off by making this one blue... ;-)

      From the review: "The power button sits impressively in the top right hand corner and moodily glows yellow when switched on."

      Okay, very nice. Looks exactly like a normal dell case to me, complete with the silly front-panel door that always falls off, the interior layout set in stone, with the assumption that nothing will ever be replaced inside, and the 2-man-lift bulk of a computer so large it doesn't fit in any normal location. I never noticed how 'moody' the power lights were before though. Presumably I should be downright spooked by seeing 20 of them illuminating us at work.

      It's an interesting review, with no mention of anything important. Do we really care how smart and silvery the Dell logo is, when the technical aspect of this review is limited to mentioning the CPU speed, and the name of the graphics card?

  • From what I know of Alien invasions... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    ...Dell will have to start selling Powerbooks or hope the aliens haven't developed immunity to Earth bacteria and die off naturally.

  • Oooh! A it's like a Lamborghini made by Yugo! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:20AM (#9913169)
    'Nuff said.

  • Their market is the uninformed. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by sglider ( 648795 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:21AM (#9913179) Homepage Journal
    Unfortunately for Dell, the market for the gamer revolves around the potential for business from the uninformed gamer. Every gamer I know (and indeed, myself) builds their own system for the fraction of the cost of buying an Alienware or a Dell that has the same specs. Indeed, as often as hardcore gamers upgrade their systems, none of these manufacturers can hope to provide the kind of support I'd need to make it worth my while. Perhaps if they offered free hardware upgrades for two years, I could see spending an extra 500-1500 dollars for the same exact system that I could build by surfing Pricewatch.com [pricewatch.com].
    • Every gamer I know (and indeed, myself) builds their own system for the fraction of the cost of buying an Alienware or a Dell that has the same specs.

      Usually, a homebuilt gamer's computer for those with big bank accounts comes down to this:

      1. High-quality system case with a 400-450 watt dual-fan power supply and at least 2-3 system case fans.

      2. Top-quality motherboard running Athlon 64 FX or high-end Pentium 4 CPU's. Motherboard will have multiple USB 2.0 ports and at least one IEEE-1394 port along with
      • you're forgetting the most important component:

        12. 17" to 21" Sony Trinitron display. show me a gamer with an LCD and I'll show you an easy frag.

      • Just built a new game box, didn't cost quite that much... You forget that most gamers have an previous box which they can scrounge parts from.

        Kept my DVD/CD burners, one HD, my case and all of its fans, cooling gizmos, lights, bells whistles. Kept my old IBM keyboard (yeah, its old!), kept my mouse, kept my monitor...

        Basically 250 for a mobo, 300 for the AMD, and 300 for the 9800. or 850, all total. Granted I still need a new sound card.

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:23AM (#9913180)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • I think your experiences are atypical. I work at a private university in Texas with Baptist ties, and Dell's support has been phenomenal. We have access to their premeire support which means we go on their website, enter the system tag number, what part needs to be replaced, and it's shipped the next day with no questions asked. We had 120 machines brought in recently and one of them had a cracked LCD screen -- and the replacement was delivered the next morning. Now, on the personal computing end, there

  • Even the G5 is cheaper ! (Score:5, Informative)

    by selderrr ( 523988 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:23AM (#9913184) Journal
    go to the apple store, go to store UK (since the article is in £ instead of $) pick the dual 1.8, add 512MB ram to get to 1GB, upgrde video card to 9800XT the upgrade to 250GB harddisk, add a 20inch flatscreen and hit 'update total'. Voila 3288£ compared to £3176 for the dell (with a 17inch monitor only, but 40GB. Okay, the dell has a 800X video card, but that's a mere 100£ difference)
    and now you have a decent OS.
    • You want to conquer a high-end gaming market with a Mac OS machine?
    • alas, that still seems like a bit too much hardware to play the big three Mac games:

      -Breakout
      -Super Breakout
      -Photoshop

      Befor ya'll go crazy, now, remember; I'm a Mac user too :)
      • Breakout was an Apple II game, not a Mac game.
      • alas, that still seems like a bit too much hardware to play the big three Mac games:

        -Breakout
        -Super Breakout
        -Photoshop

        The Mac doesn't have anywhere near as many games as the PC, and they're usually released later... But the Mac DOES HAVE GAMES. A lot of them, and a lot of great ones. On my G5's hard drive right now:

        Battlefield 1942
        Call of Duty
        Medal of Honor
        Halo
        Black Hawk Down
        America's Army
        Command and Conquer Generals
        Tron 2.0
        Tropico
        Warcraft 3
        Unreal Tournament 2004
        Neverwinter Nights
        Iceland Dale
        Dungeo
    • First of all, it's not cheaper. X800XT now costs over $500, while 9800XT about $250. Also the Dell has two 400GB drives. And anyway, what you're gonna do with it? Play Halo and SimCity?
    • replying to self for all the 'mac ain't a gaing rig' noodles out there : i know that. All I was trying to say is that the Dell, supposedly some of the cheapest hardware for he masses, can not create a high end system below (or at least on par with) the renowned high-end desktop system companies, with primum example the G5.

      The fact that the software isn't available on the G5 is even more in its advantage, since they can not sell in large quantities to the gaming masses to push the price down.

      conclusions

  • Prices of computer hardware in England (Score:3, Interesting)

    by veritron ( 637136 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:29AM (#9913207)
    Seriously - what the hell is up with Computer equipment prices in England? Is their economy so strong that $5519.37 is a reasonable price for a 3.6 ghz P4 with a Radeon X800?

    This isn't the first time I've noticed this absurdity - I've read reviews of English kit before, and it's always ludicriously overpriced. Hardware sellers are making a killing off of the lot of you.

    English slashdotters, is there some sort of law or something that says you HAVE to buy computer stuff in the UK? Seriously, just buy all your computer stuff from the US, but buy an English AC adapter and an English keyboard that actually has the pound key on it. You'll save a ton of money.
    • But you forgot about our tax... we would get import duty on top of any imports from the US (it varies but I think its about 10%) then VAT on top of the import+duty which would add another 17.5% on top. It works out to be of a similar price normally, even with the powerful pound.
    • They pay hideous prices for hifi equipment and other electronics, too. As a rule it seems that UK prices for this type of stuff is about 1.5x Australian prices (where I am), which are about 1.2x US prices.

      I have lived in the UK briefly, and EVERYTHING is horrendously overpriced, excepting maybe chocolate for some weird reason. The strangest part is that noone complains about it - they just seem to accept it.

      Even weirder, wages are really not proportionally higher compared to the cost of living. A lot of A
      • McDonalds? Ugh.

        Here's the Economist's Big Mac [economist.com] index, which compares the price of a Big Mac in various countries, in an attempt to discover which currencies were overvalued.

        It costs the equivalent of $US 3.37 to purchase the hamburger in Britain, but only $US2.27 in Australia. The US price was $US 2.90.

    • Re:Prices of computer hardware in England (Score:5, Informative)

      by mikael ( 484 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @11:01AM (#9913376)
      Seriously - what the hell is up with Computer equipment prices in England? Is their economy so strong that $5519.37 is a reasonable price for a 3.6 ghz P4 with a Radeon X800?

      The problem in the UK is two things. First of all, we have to pay import duty on anything manufactured abroad (+0% to +85%). Then, we also have to pay VAT (+17.5%). Then there's the middle man tax for the company that's doing the importing, and warehouse storage. Not forgetting the high price of petrol which means that transporting anything becomes increasingly more expensive the further away you are from London. Deliveries in the Greater London area are usually offered "same day", while it can take three days to get to the North of England.
      Details can be found at Rip-Off UK [rip-off.co.uk].

      The combination of the high rates of taxation, and the rapid change of hardware has forced people to become cost-conscious about buying computers. Web based suppliers like Dabs.com are usually the first place people look when comparing prices. Nobody in their right mind is going to waste 400 pounds (600 dollars) on VAT, for a 1600 pound system, if they can help it.

      The only people I know who are buying from Dell are the university departments when making a bulk order with educational discounts for a new computer lab.
    • Most places in EU have a VAT tax. Take whatever price you'd expect to see, and add 20% to it...and that's the price EUians pay. Most EU countries also have an insanely high income tax rate. When I worked in Italy (as a US contractor on a US contract), my Italian counterparts paid more than half of their income to taxes. Something like 52% income tax. Stamp on top of that the fact that they pay between 3 and 5 euros for a gallon of unleaded gasoline.

      But that's the price they choose to pay. In exchange
      • I take high taxes any time over country where families live in cars.

        Sadly of late that argument is loosing weight as we keep the high taxes but most of the social services are hollowed out to american levels. So no free health care but still the high mandatory taxes for it. Less schooling and more and more money needed to be paid by students. Higher and higher sales taxes coupled with greater reductions in social security.

        At least in america it seems you get an anti-social society but low taxes. Here we g

        • > I take high taxes any time over country where families live in cars.

          Social Darwinism. Fuck them. If you can't get an education, why should soceity support you while your reproduce your defunct genes? If you can't get or keep a job, that does not automatically entitle you to my money that I worked for.

          Reward the smart, punish the stupid.

          Actually, I think social services are a good thing. If a family has no money, they can't buy my products. If they do have money, they'll spend it. Giving Bill G
    • I think it's called import duty. Ain't no way around that.

  • Old... (Score:4, Informative)

    by KangXii ( 785324 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:32AM (#9913215)
    What everyone has failed to mention is that the Dimension XPS is old. Been out for awhile. The only thing new about this is the review. But I guess since everyone has a hate for Dell, you just didn't notice and this is "news" to you.
  • I'm pretty lazy, but even I'm not going to stoop to paying some stooge to throw together a high performance PC for me. Is the extra cash these monsters cost really worth the flashy sticker on the front?

    Clearly I'm not the desired buyer, but where is the attractive aspect to these deals that I'm just not seeing?
    • You may be lazy, but I bet you can build a system yourself. A lot of gamers can't, as a group they don't neccessarily overlap 100% with "modders" or even "hardware savvy". And a lot have the $ to pay extra for the Dell sticker...

  • Something equally interesting (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:35AM (#9913227)
    It will be interesting to see if Dell can shake off it's grey box image

    It will be interesting to see how long it takes CmdrTaco to learn to spell "its".

  • The comparison to a car doesn't really hold. BMW, Mercedes, etc., are under a lot of pressure not to change the appearance of models year to year, so that people who buy in year x don't suddenly appear to be driving an antique in year x+1 or x+1.

    It's fine to spend $3K+ on a PC, but be prepared for the $500 PC I buy in 18 months to outperform it, no matter how fancy the case is.
    • I would have to disagree with you - a $3000 rig will still outperform a new $500 PC 18months later - in games.
      Why? Because the graphics will be so much weaker. Also, the processor will only be a speed grade or two faster.

  • ... Headline I've read today.

    First was this one on CNN. [cnn.com] .. then this one ... [starbulletin.com]

    And now another here on slashdot.

    Someone would say there must be some sort of psy-ops going on, to soften us up for the headlines ...

  • Doin' It On The Cheap (Score:5, Insightful)

    by blueZhift ( 652272 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @10:56AM (#9913349) Homepage Journal
    It looks like Dell is simply trying to offer up a games oriented PC on the cheap without upsetting their system too much. This would be sort of like building sports cars on the same assembly line as compact economy cars. The sports cars would get a different body and a few performance tweaks, but would essentially be the same old economy cars underneath with a significantly higher price. This sort of thing would garner some casual driving enthusiasts, but the hardcore enthusiasts who actually look carefully under the covers, would not be fooled by this.

    It isn't really clear who they plan to sell XPS systems to. The hardcore market, as others here have commented, would likely build their own machines with higher performance for the same or less cost than the XPS. That leaves what I'll call the Mom and Pop market buying computers for their kids. This market might buy the XPS, but would be scared off by such a pricey machine that would probably be used to play games rather than doing homework. The kids would have to push them to buy this, and well, Dell just isn't cool right now (Apple is!). So I guess Dell needs to bring back that stoner dude to rev up those back to school sales!
  • In my personal opinion, I'd say that whoever would need all of that in a computer would already know that it's cheaper to buy all of the parts and build it manually. Sure, you'll still pay a pretty good bit, but at least you'll shave off a good deal of cash because you won't be paying for the name of the computer. It's not really Dell's fault as they could do that also, but where's the profit for them?
  • Even if this machine completely flops, Dell is going to have minimal losses since they keep the minimum of parts to build the systems and could surely use parts unsold in other systems. So really, there is no loss to them to even try this market.

  • Uhhh.. (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Konrad9 ( 784416 )
    Dell has been making these XPS systems for well over half a year...
  • Did anybody else notice that in the backview they've put a very large sound card, yet the computer only comes with 2.1 speakers?

  • Screw em (Score:3, Informative)

    by mattr ( 78516 ) <mattr&telebody,com> on Sunday August 08, 2004 @11:42AM (#9913580) Homepage Journal
    As I write this on a Dell Inspiron 7500 (redhat 9) let me tell you. First I really like this machine. But I really hate companies that phase out the people who recommend them, a lot more.

    Like they phased out linux service. I bought this in the U.S. and came to Japan, they wouldn't fix it here. Can't easily get a Japanese windows unless you go through the Japan office. Fine. Wiped most of windows, linux on here. Had to figure out all the hardware crap myself. Haven't got enough memory on this and don't want to send it in for a month, find that too. Broken battery (probably due to lugging it through town on wheels), little help. Now if Dell can give me top products at a reasonable price (and this *was* pc of the year some years ago), I'll buy it. But when the only part of their online service I find interesting is the refurbished parts catalog. Oh yeah, if you want to look for parts on line forget it, you end up wading through refurbished instead. When I bought this I was told to wait for a big HD to come out, well I never got it for the second bay because it was never in stock, then got dumped apparently. Now I am looking at new computers. I need a desktop pc and I want a system with high performance opengl (I'm not a gamer, I want to make displays). I'm thinking seriously about getting a G5, though it may soon be supplemented with an Alienware laptop which I've been drooling over. Before I buy those two though I'll 90% likely be building a linux box for myself. For me Dell has to seriously shake off an old bad service image and a new bad quality image. It's not like they don't have competition.
    • By the way, I have bought a lot of Dell machines in the past. So I hope they know they are their own worst enemy. Who is going to recommend Dell but someone who has used them?

      Now if they came out with a competitive box suitable for high-end 3D graphics simulation (i.e. CAD, astronomy, art displays, video conferencing) say something that SGI would be proud to have, with RAID 5 controller, and put a 5 YEAR WARRANTY on all parts, then I would consider it very seriously against say a G5 or any other machine. S
  • People who know, don't buy Dell.

    This is for when mommy wants to buy 15 year old Johnny a Dell and Johnny wants "That one! It's the only one good enough for the games!"

  • Dimension XPS and my Girlfriend (Score:5, Interesting)

    by hot_Karls_bad_cavern ( 759797 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @11:47AM (#9913610) Journal
    Quick little story:

    My girlfriend moved in (shocking, i know) with a hobbled together PC, same way i do mine - buy mobo-proc combo, case with decent psu, some video card that works with the mobo and some ram from crucial.

    i normally repeat this cycle about meh, once every 2 years (recently graduated computer engineering student) and it worked out okay, but both of our machines always suffered from the old, *something* has gone wrong and died all the sudden.

    With just one real workstation at any time to mess with for many years, i didn't mind all that much. Well, with two of them in house pulling that crap - it seemed like every month, i was buying some new component for either her pc or mine. It was getting old.

    She scored a few contracts for her art (the Papa Roach cd and a slew of Brit albums from various artists that will hit soon have her stuff on them). Well, it was time to get a real machine. i wanted her to get a dual g5, but she wanted to stick with windows for all of her art software and plugins (well over $4k of x86 only stuff). Soooooo, we got her one of these...and here is the point of this post:

    Blah, blah, blah as you will about Dell-this and Dell-that - i've not had *one* problem with that machine. i'll remind you, she is not doing light weight work. Not one problem. Er, and it kicks some serious ass with ut2k4 i might add ;)
    • ....and that blue case is huuuuuuuuge - 'tis my only gripe ;-).

      i do have to chuckle though, the p133 with 64megs that serves as the firewall? Can't even remember the last time i rebooted that machine, much less opened it up to fix anything. An old Gateway, but still chugging away.
  • What is with that stupid front door on the drive bays? Why can't that design style just die already? It looks even more flimsy than ususal.
    • I'm not sure about this Dell, or what it's for, but I will say I used to also not like the idea of a front door on the drive bays....... but I recently bought an Antec SLK-3700BQE (which is supposed to be a "quiet" case)..... I was sure I would just remove the front drive bay door, but as it turns out, it really does work to cut the noise level down. It's not a big deal to keep it open when I want, but when I do close it, it results in a noticeable decrease in the noise from the drives, so I am now a fan o

  • Cheap plastic! (Score:2, Interesting)

    by curious.corn ( 167387 )

    Uhh, the cheap looks are horrible.

    Crappy cabling all over the place in spite of clips & belts (uh, but perhaps it's UV ready right!?).

    Breathing power switch done wrong (they understood it backwards, it's distracting... ask the Apple designers)

    A lot of fans! Hmm, helicopter or whisper? They look like off the mill beigebox fan, one can only hope the motherboard supports speed scaling like that other PeeCee [apple.com] would-(rather not)-be ;-) Oh well, I'll continue lusting for that G5... wake me up when a PC manu

  • Typical Crap (Score:3, Insightful)

    by shplorb ( 24647 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @12:22PM (#9913786) Homepage Journal
    The case looks cheap. The guts look cheap and messy. The style of the outside is reminiscent of Alienware and the positioning of the PSU is reminiscent of G5's.

    It seems like some clueless executive has seen an opportunity to reap big profits and has quickly slapped some crap together to cash in.

    Summary: Has all the class and style of one of those people you see walking around with the no-name cheap asian iPod-styled flash-based MP3 players with white headphones.
  • when some company orders 1000 desktop clones, the tech guy is gonna throw in a gaming system for himself, under the guise he needs a better system. but in reality, he's gonna be in his office playing UT2K4.

  • Alienware crap (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Lord_Dweomer ( 648696 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @01:44PM (#9914147) Homepage
    I just recently canceled an order on a Dell computer to go with Alienware. Their staff were much more experienced at AW, however, they have been pulling shenanigans.

    First, they say the graphics card I selected which guaranteed an August 6th ship date became limited availability which would delay my order. So since time is of the essence (I need it at home before I go to school to transfer a LOT of files) I switched cards to a better one, which was NOT limited now (it had been when I first configured my system) and now they're saying it MAY ship on the 9th or 10th.

    On top of that Alienware had offered us a $150 rebate. Then, on the order confirmation they say its only $75. We bitch and complain, and they finally get us the $75 rebate, and a $75 coupon for Amazon, which, while we use it extensively and will have no problem with that....is STILL a very bad business practice.

    Its at the point where if it doesn't ship via next day ground service at their expense, we just may well cancel the order and tell them we're getting a Dell instead.

    And a tip for buying from Alienware: If you don't care about a flashy case, check out their small business computers. They're just about the same specs, and a LOT less expensive.

  • Dell's way of selling (Score:3, Insightful)

    by tliet ( 167733 ) on Sunday August 08, 2004 @02:17PM (#9914330)
    Dell is different. You usually see them coming in organisations with HP or IBM (and 7 years ago Apple) on their way out. This is done on price. Usually with a big 'contractual discount', so you'll forget checking in with HP once in a while.

    But the trouble is then, the competition has vanished. There's no way you can ask someone else for an offer on Dell than your Dell account manager.

    So, as an IT manager you really need to stay in check with technical developments, realism and pricing in the rest of the market since Dell will try to upsell you all kinds of crap for a premium when you don't really need it.

    Dell, not a cheap as you'd think!

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