Dell Acquires Alienware

Advertisement (Why?)

Thanks to bangbang023 and C-Squarez from the forums for the heads up on this one:

Dell just announced that it is indeed acquiring Alienware:

"Today we signed a definitive agreement to acquire Alienware to further expand our portfolio of high-performance PC solutions. Alienware is a successful, high-growth company with a highly respected brand.

Dell’s XPS products and Alienware’s products complement each other to address a wider range of enthusiast and high-performance PC customers. The acquisition of Alienware will enhance our commitment to customers seeking extreme performance. Overall, customers benefit from us offering a wider choice of products in this category, including the best performance, product options and value. We believe that Alienware and Dell have excellent cultural alignment, as both companies were founded on the direct business model.

"Alienware's products are an excellent complement to Dell's own line of high-performance computers designed for gaming, enthusiast and media content customers. In addition to offering high-quality, high-performance products, Alienware has tremendous brand appeal with consumers and creative business professionals," said Michael Dell, chairman.

"Alienware has a legacy of success designing the highest-performance PCs using bleeding -edge technologies and innovative industrial design," said Nelson Gonzalez, CEO of Alienware. "We believe that Alienware will realize significant advantages from Dell's world-class supply chain and operational efficiencies. They will allow us to continue to satisfy our core customers with the most innovative and highest-performing PCs, and ultimately extend the reach and appeal of the Alienware brand."

According to several sources, the buyout may not be completed for a few months. More on this as information becomes available.

View: Dell Press Release

View: Neowin Forum Discussion

(1 reply) #1 Adamb10 on 22 Mar 2006 - 22:44

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

#1.1 chicken-royal on 23 Mar 2006 - 18:42

lets hope this brings AMD to Dell, and Dell prices to Alienware

(3 replies) #2 Arkos Reed on 22 Mar 2006 - 22:44

rofl
didn't they deny it not longer than a week ago saying their xps line already fits the bill?

pfff PR stuff...

#2.1 SkankyGangs7a on 22 Mar 2006 - 22:45

Yes I'm pretty sure they did....

#2.2 Audhumla on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:30

#2.3 Post-It Note on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:34

I believe their Dell Australia CEO thought it was absurd for Dell to acquire Alienware, but didn't outright say that they weren't going to do it.

(2 replies) #3 thollian on 22 Mar 2006 - 22:45

holy crap....wonder if this means they will start putting AMD proc in there computers?

#3.1 chainsaw_007 on 23 Mar 2006 - 02:46

I think that is one of the reason they even acquire Alienware. They singed a contracte with Intel, but now they want to start useing AMD, seeing the fact that AMD is become popular in the gaming sectore. Plus Dell also saw the fact that gamers are willing to pay big $$$$ to buy the latest computers, but Dell wan't much of a gaming type (besides for the XPS) so they "acquire Alienware", to try to gain a gaming name.

#3.2 sphbecker on 23 Mar 2006 - 16:12

That is a good point that I didn't think of. Dell may be able to sell AMD computers under the "Alienware" name without violating their contract with Intel.

(1 reply) #4 creamhackered on 22 Mar 2006 - 22:45

shocker.

#4.1 chainsaw_007 on 23 Mar 2006 - 02:50

"shocker"???

This was bound to happen. It was only a matter of time untill Dell realized that they had to earn or become a part of the gaming industry, i didn't think that they would "acquire Alienware" but i guess this is a good thing (in a way).

#5 Netrack on 22 Mar 2006 - 22:46

i wonder how it will work, will XPS still be around, i doubt that they would just kill of alienware name

#6 Kreuger on 22 Mar 2006 - 22:49

Well I definately won't buy Alienware if I get the money..

#7 LOcal512 on 22 Mar 2006 - 22:49

i remember seeing this a bit back. i can't believe it's happening.... =

#8 Jugalator on 22 Mar 2006 - 22:52

Now slash their prices with a sledgehammer and things could get interesting.

#9 oddcrap on 22 Mar 2006 - 22:53

:awaits the price cuts on the desktops:

(1 reply) #10 DJLunacy on 22 Mar 2006 - 22:54

Yeah I was wondering if they were going to be using AMD hopefully they don't drop AMD in the alienwear comps. Not that I would ever buy either brand of computer.

#10.1 Jugalator on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:13

"alienwear"

Ha!

#11 simeandrews on 22 Mar 2006 - 22:57

Surprise, surprise. No one expected this to happen </sarcasm>

#12 Hanz™ on 22 Mar 2006 - 22:58

I don't really like the sound of this, I can see Alienware machines with "Intel extreme graphics" coming soon.
Nothing like using a snazzy looking design to sell more.

(2 replies) #13 windows95isg8 on 22 Mar 2006 - 22:59

oh g8 so Dell a company looked down on by pro's will take Alienware and **** there name, by making **** ass versions. I mean ok they mite make faster PC's now, but it will be made by Dell and it will run like Dell computers do lol. ohhhhhh dear

#13.1 Litespeed on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:25

Speak for yourself. I'm a "pro" and I use a Dell Dimension 9100. Price/performance, it beats anything else out there.

#13.2 MNS on 23 Mar 2006 - 01:22

...except building the machine yourself, which any self-proclaimed "pro" should be doing.

#14 Varish on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:02

#15 majortom1981 on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:04

I like how all of a sudden people are saying that alien ware will go down.

For all we know dell will be getting rid of their xps line and make the alien ware line the equivalent to the xps.

They don't have to change a darn thing actually.

#16 SHoTTa35 on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:05

nooo.... they'll dumb it down. Alienware stuff always kicked lots of ass. I hope they just aquire it and run it as another company instead of merging it (no slapping trouts.... i didn't read the whole article )

#17 Hurmoth on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:05

Well how about that. Very interesting stuff, now hopefully they can move into the AMD market smoothly.

(5 replies) #18 majortom1981 on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:09

Lol people are not even reading the article. This post invalidates most of the posts before it

From the press release itself

"Dell said Alienware will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary following completion of the transaction and will maintain its own product development, product marketing, sales, technical support and other operations as well as brand. The management and founders of Alienware will continue to operate the company as a standalone unit of Dell."

#18.1 Hanz™ on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:13

Haha. Really. I only read the headline.

#18.2 Hurmoth on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:17

But that doesn't mean it won't help push Dell into the AMD market though.

#18.3 lardiop on 23 Mar 2006 - 00:02

Hence the word acquired

#18.4 Croquant on 23 Mar 2006 - 07:50

HP said the same thing about Compaq when they aquired it. Whe's the last time you saw a new Compaq branded desktop unit for sale?

They'll keep the Ailenware division around long enough for the press attention to die off, and then :poof: no more seperate division. Downsizing, you know. So sorry, had to do it for buisness reasons, you understand.

But I don't care. I'll never buy a DELL box becasue I can make myself my own custom rig any time I want. Since I built it myself I know it's exactkly what I want it to be. No big box PC maker can beat that, so they can all go to hell as far as I care.

#18.5 RangerLG on 23 Mar 2006 - 14:25

There's a whole list of Compaq desktops for sale at Best Buy

(1 reply) #19 Blues™ on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:10

yay now hopefully alienwares wont have such crap product quality and customwe support

#19.1 Richardo on 23 Mar 2006 - 15:53

Your right, it will probably get worse.

#20 jivemastert on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:31

Is this why there is this Dell XPS Renegade system on their website?

(1 reply) #21 mikeyj on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:35

Can someone explain what that really means for alienware & dell? And do you think that this move will lead to lower prices for alienware pc and notebooks? I've always wanted to buy alienware, maybe i'll be able to now, I think.

#21.1 macrosslover on 23 Mar 2006 - 00:09

no, part of the price of alienware computers are the high end components they use. I don't expect them to change the use of those high end components so prices probably won't be effected much, but their marketing should get a real boost from Dells though.

#22 matthewf01 on 22 Mar 2006 - 23:36

http://news.com.com/2061-10792_3-6052866.h...52866&subj=news

CNet reports that AMD processors will be sold in their systems still.

#23 realmccoy on 23 Mar 2006 - 00:08

Good deal for Dell

#24 realmccoy on 23 Mar 2006 - 00:08

Will Dell keep the AMD Processor's

#25 Beastage on 23 Mar 2006 - 00:08

Smart move for Dell
Good move for the customers? I dunno... Dell makes good deals and Alienware are usually overpriced

#26 virtorio on 23 Mar 2006 - 00:19

The rich get richer

#27 yukycg on 23 Mar 2006 - 00:32

I guess that mean Dell's Alienware will sell AMD processor and Dell still sell intel insides computer

#28 Bwizzel-B on 23 Mar 2006 - 00:38

Further proof that the XPS line was/is a dismal failure.....

#29 McG on 23 Mar 2006 - 01:26

Yay!!

(1 reply) #30 ambiance on 23 Mar 2006 - 01:45

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOurns!

#30.1 timdafweak on 23 Mar 2006 - 08:59

lol
I was saying "BOOurns" ;=)

#31 tiwaris on 23 Mar 2006 - 01:59

With this acquisition, Dell becomes AMD's customer. My guess is that Alienware will continue to use AMD as well as Intel while Dell will be intel only.

XPS line from dell will not shut down, if they did so, dell will become a cheap brand and so people will not attach quality to it.

#32 FluidDruid2005 on 23 Mar 2006 - 02:12

Surely this means that Dell can now put their marketing beef into getting Alienware out of the niche market and into the mainstream? And if Dell are now forced into looking into AMD chips as well as Intel... well that can't be a bad thing, can it?

#33 limok on 23 Mar 2006 - 02:33

isnt dell selling a monster 10 grand gaming machine, i seen it on tomshardware

(1 reply) #34 toadeater on 23 Mar 2006 - 02:33

Dell should buy SGI while they're at it.

#34.1 yodat on 23 Mar 2006 - 06:57

I think Google will buy SGI for Google computers with Google chips inside running Google operating system to search online with Google.

Just kidding... :p

Last edited by yodat on 23 Mar 2006 - 07:16

(3 replies) #35 chainsaw_007 on 23 Mar 2006 - 02:52

The fact that dell "acquire Alienware", this is a good thing but it is also a bad thing. The good part is that the Alienware prices will drop but i think the quilty will also.

#35.1 GoldenSheep on 23 Mar 2006 - 06:11

What quality? Although I don't work there I would put a pretty penny on it that they build PCs like any other brand. IMO Alienware PCs are incredibly overpriced. I am sure if you took the same hardware and went shopping for them yourself you would save ~$1000 of course with a different case with a different logo.

#35.2 PureLegend on 23 Mar 2006 - 17:02

Just like the Nike brand, people don't buy it for quality or customer support, they buy it for design and brand name/logo. What other computer manufacturer could pull off selling their computers in vibrant green cases?

It's bold, daring and unique.

But, a little more on topic with GoldenSheep, Alienware market themselves as "the best of the best", selling exclusively stupidly overpowered computers that a non-PC gamer, such as myself, would rarely ever push.

All in the angle.

#35.3 mayamaniac on 23 Mar 2006 - 21:01

Like buying a Nike? What a terrible anaolgy. Computers are not any way like shoes. And as for branding, Nike do have affordable shoes, and yes they also have overpriced ones. As far as I know, Alienware don't have any low priced PCs, they are all overpriced.

But we need a company Alienware for people that just want to buy a good gaming PC and don't mind paying a little more for it. For the rest of us, there's newegg.com for parts to build our own.

(4 replies) #36 minnow_trap on 23 Mar 2006 - 03:36

Bleeding edge technology for a day more of less....................

#36.1 Croquant on 23 Mar 2006 - 07:51

Yes, a day more of less.
I don't understamnd what the **** you're saying, but the phrase rolls off the tounge to easily it MUST be proper english, right?

#36.2 minnow_trap on 23 Mar 2006 - 13:48

Oh sorry, I forgot to hit the R on of, instead of or. Whatever Mr. Dictionary. And no, I don't understand wtf your point is either.

#36.3 rIaHc3 on 23 Mar 2006 - 13:56

Oh sorry, I forgot to hit the R on of, instead of or. Whatever Mr. Dictionary. And no, I don't understand wtf your point is either.

The point is it makes no sense so you

1) Don't fix the typo
2) Dont explain what you mean.

#36.4 minnow_trap on 23 Mar 2006 - 14:08

And so you need to finish your coffee in the morning. I was just quoting part of the article that you guys allowed on your site, in a semi-sarcastic way. If that doesn't make sense, then why post articles on Neowin otherwise?

Last edited by minnow_trap on 23 Mar 2006 - 15:13

#37 voidunknown on 23 Mar 2006 - 03:50

I wonder how things will pan out. I guess only time will tell.

I posted this on the BPN and my thread got locked for being bogus... Funny how its on the front page now.

(Granted, there was already a thread about it too that I missed)

#38 DJ Prem on 23 Mar 2006 - 07:19

I guess its kinda cool

#39 SamNeeds on 23 Mar 2006 - 07:54

No!!! Its a terrible day!

(1 reply) #40 ThaCrip on 23 Mar 2006 - 08:41

i had a alienware back in april 2001, (1.2ghz athlon etc) and it was a solid computer, although recently (about a week ago) i built my own computer with better quality stuff and at a cheaper price... so basically screw alienware, lol ... i agree with people on here saying there overpriced for what you get.... build your own pc's people!

so like some people said above... "who cares" ... cause for us people who build our own pc's we KNOW where getting "quality" components ... although i do have to admit the pc i got from alienware was pretty solid and to this day it's still pretty good considering it's 5 years old.... but i should have built that one and saved a wod of cash lol.

-----------

my new pc specs are...

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (2.2ghz) CPU
ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
BFG Geforce 7900GT 256MB graphics card
1GB Crucial DDR3200 (400mhz) Ram
250GB Western Digital 16MB cache hard drive
Antec SLK3000-B case
Enermax Liberty 500watt power supply
etc etc

i ran prime95 on it for 17hours30minutes straight and no errors (it never showed a error i just stoped it at the 17hour30min mark) ... so that proves i got a stable pc.... but right now i dont have the 1GB of crucial ram yet im still waiting on it ... right now i used the old ram i got from my old pc in this new pc (crucial 2x 256MB = 512MB DDR2100 266mhz)

#40.1 Beastage on 23 Mar 2006 - 09:45

Ah so let me get it
you built a computer in 2006 that is better than an Alienware from 2001? gee how ya managed to do that?!

Jokes aside, I build all my PC's but I really see no harm in purchasing a well built PC ( abit overpriced ) with solid warranty , just pay deliver and use.

oh and congrats on the new machine

#41 GamerXtreme on 23 Mar 2006 - 10:00

Its about time.

#42 Gowcra on 23 Mar 2006 - 10:27

Doesent effect me. I never ever buy dell so i wont ever buy alienware. i only build my own. Dell lost me as a customer a long long time ago for there crap products, HORRIBLE customer service, and bascially all round ****e they tell.

#43 Firefawx on 23 Mar 2006 - 10:47

Hopefully they'll ditch Alienware's crappy laptops in favour of the XPS M170.

#44 b0m8er on 23 Mar 2006 - 11:09

LOL! And couple weeks ago they strongly denied rumors....

#45 Ficman on 23 Mar 2006 - 11:09

Good deal for Dell..

#46 fpd on 23 Mar 2006 - 11:23

So that is why dell were stockpiling AMD components....

#47 mko on 23 Mar 2006 - 11:55

Alienware will always be like the AMG of Mercedes but for Dell, they aren't going to start making budget computers - why would they compete against their parent company who have dominated this lower end market? DELL before the XPS never had a niche gamer market so now Alienware will just handle the extreme performance computers.

The purchasing by DELL shouldn't justify any reason NOT to buy an Alienware unless you are A) Like me knowing that Alienware is overpriced and if you know how to do it yourself, make an equally good computer and save a lot of B) One of those stupid religious guys who think giving money to Dell somehow is 'evil'

#48 ozyborn on 23 Mar 2006 - 12:44

What this means is that Aliensware's tech support, on a scale from 1 to 100, just went from a 90 to 1. Everybody knows Dell diagnostic is so retarted that you have a better chance of getting the correct answer with a coin flip and waving your hand over the pc. Dude, you got a dud....

#49 DirtyD on 23 Mar 2006 - 13:44

Why do they alwasy say "aquire?" Why not.."hey we bought those guys since we couldn't play nice."

#50 eye_see_you on 23 Mar 2006 - 14:12

DUDE your getting a Alien! this may be beneficial for performance sake but thats all I see

#51 j0j081 on 23 Mar 2006 - 14:23

"HP said the same thing about Compaq when they aquired it. Whe's the last time you saw a new Compaq branded desktop unit for sale? "

They still sell pcs branded as Compaq. Just check the website.

#52 chorpeac on 23 Mar 2006 - 14:27

Man....now my alienware's are connected to Dell.....I was trying to stay away from DELL!!!!

(2 replies) #53 obsolete_power on 23 Mar 2006 - 14:40

XPS with its little Intel processor is a waste of money. You pay so much but Intel processors are no longer able to run games well. If you want gaming performance, you have to go AMD!

#53.1 Bwizzel-B on 24 Mar 2006 - 03:22

Funny, my Dual core, single core and EE P4 systems run every game in existence as smooth as silk. You don't know the first thing about processors if you believe that Intel cpus don't game as well as AMDs.

#53.2 j0j081 on 24 Mar 2006 - 10:33

AMD is a better bang for the buck when it comes to gaming and obviously the fastest processors out right now for gaming are all AMDs. However Intel may strike back with Conroe later this year so for now his comment was right.

#54 majortom1981 on 23 Mar 2006 - 14:41

I hate people who leave comments but do not read the whole thing.

nothign is changing. alien ware keeps there tech support, everything. The only thing that changes is where the profit goes.

"Dell said Alienware will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary following completion of the transaction and will maintain its own product development, product marketing, sales, technical support and other operations as well as brand. The management and founders of Alienware will continue to operate the company as a standalone unit of Dell. "

thats from the press release wich is linked to in the article above.

#55 Echilon on 23 Mar 2006 - 15:03

Wow. My jaw actually dropped when I read this.

(1 reply) #56 Killt3k on 23 Mar 2006 - 15:06

Guys need to wake up and smell the coffee, I've been involved in takeovers... they all say "partnership" or "co-existance". Trust me when I say that Dell will dismantle Alienware overtime. It will be as shell and nothing more. Did Dell mention they would drop their XPS line for Alienware? That answer says it all...

Nothing like killing your competition by cannibalizing them

#56.1 Bwizzel-B on 24 Mar 2006 - 03:24

Well, they already have their tech support off shore, but I'm sure they'll make Alienware's call centers as dumb as their own soon enough

(1 reply) #57 mircleman on 23 Mar 2006 - 15:49

I agree very bad idea, I hate dell first off because they build systems on a assembly line . ( thats my issue ) but more importantly they are shipping jobs to india that sucks and I wont buy a dell because of it period. alienware was nice but they lost my business. I'll build it myself. just my 2 cents

#57.1 danzorx on 23 Mar 2006 - 17:12

what's wrong with assembly line construction? aren't cars built that way? ...and if you were the head of a big company and you could save millions of dollars outsourcing, wouldn't you do it?

#58 thepitt on 23 Mar 2006 - 16:01

I think many of you guys can sleep well now

Neowin.net