Alienware people,as you put it,are primarily Gamers. Gamers are ALWAYS tweaking,overclocking,upgrading etc.etc. Where better than a computer hardware forum? I, for one,have gained a wealth of knowledge from members here at Guru 3D.
I have an Alienware. I also build/fix PC's for work and friends. I got tired of tweeking and just wanted to game. I also didn't want to spend 2000 on a PC all at once. Dell offers credit. Easy choice. All in all I do not regret my decision at all. I also have a PC I built years ago in the Reader Rig so.....
If you put together something roughly close to that... -990X - $1097 http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-990X-Extreme-Processor-LGA1366/dp/B004NRQDQQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1315776352&sr=1-1 -ASUS Rampage 3 Extreme Black (easily cheaper options available) $543 http://www.amazon.com/Rampage-III-Black-Triple-Channel-Motherboard/dp/B004SUO3BK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1315775588&sr=8-2 -12GB Mushkin Redline DDR3-1600 C7-8-7-24 T1 -$170 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226204 -2X EVGA GTX580 Lifetime Warranty -2 x $486 http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Mini-HDMI-Lifetime-Warranty-015-P3-1580-AR/dp/B004B8VL64/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315775614&sr=8-1 - Crucial M4 128GB SSD - $203 http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-Inch-Solid-State-CT128M4SSD2/dp/B004W2JKZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315775695&sr=8-1 - 2X 2TB Hitachi's ~5900RPM - 2 x $80 http://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-Deskstar-3-5-Inch-CoolSpin-0F12117/dp/B004E9SGO0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1315776721&sr=1-1 - Corsair Professional 1200 PSU Modular - $280 http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-1200-Watt-Certified-High-Performance/dp/B003PJ6QVU/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1315775753&sr=1-2 - Some random case ~ $200 (like the Cosmos S he picked, personally wouldn't choose it) - Cooler Master V6 Cooler + TIM - $55 + $10 http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-V6GT-220-Watt-RR-V6GT-22PK-R1/dp/B003XNG6LI/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1315776856&sr=1-2 + CPU liquid cooling just add another $50 or so for a mediocre all-in-one Corsair set. ~$3700 + no tax + most have free shipping if I didn't forget to add anything. vs $4000+ for any similar configuration of Area 51 and 51 ALX. They don't even include that much ram... 6gb->12gb costs $1000?! Nor SSD. You pay that much more for them building it. Though you most likely will get a worse quality motherboard and lacking the speed of SSD and RAM choice. Their case looks fine, though definately not my style, I'll use a Lian Li for more minimalistic looks. Depends on each one's opinions though.
You did forget a couple of things. The Alienware rigs ship with the keyboard,mouse,cables etc. What you have quoted is as close to the same price as you can get. So far,I see Alienware as being a better buy. Remember,when Dell buils it,they are TOTALLY responsible for it. Each and every part is covered by one company. That means only ONE phone call if you have issues. An SSD does nothing for gaming,but the 10000 rpm raid HD set up I have,does. The Area 51 ALX has one of the largest cases I've ever seen. Lots of room for ANY upgrades. I'm still curious to see what shenfrey paid for his rig compared to mine. I'm almost sure that I paid more,but I don"t think it's very much more.
i buy all my components from amazon... rather deal with them any day over dell, or it's counterparts.
Add $100 for a mouse & keyboard combo..still cheaper. PSU's include power cables, monitors included necessary cables, moBo's include SATA cables and everything else needed. I honestly don't see this as a benefit? It'll be one call to a manufacturer no matter what fails. If an Asus motherboard fails, why does it matter that you have a Corsair PSU? One call is one call. I don't know about OP, but for me SSD would be a plus as I also use my rig for photo editing...so this will be different from user to user. No a pro or con in general My $99 Rosewill Blackhawk case has plenty of expansion space. Before building my system I priced a similar spec'ed Dell XPS system and it was a little over $1,700. I spent a little over $1,400 for parts (including monitor, keyboard, mouse). With that being said, here's a couple things to point out, I got a 25" HP monitor, the Dell was 24". I got the better performing nVidia 560 Ti Superclocked, Dell's highest option was the ATI Radeon HD 6870. Dell only offers the non-K 2500 Core i5, as you can see I have the K version. Dell includes a standard 460W PSU. And I also have better case and CPU cooling than the XPS would offer.....I'd say I came out a lot better and saved $300 in the process.
If your Asus MB gets borked,will Asus send you a new one with a Tech showing up at your house to install it? Same goes for any hardware. When you buy hardware from several different maufacturers,and you have issues with one or more parts,which of those companies will replace your entire PC? Dell will. And nine out of ten times they UPGRADE. I know, they have upgraded for me. I would rather have TOTAL peace of mind,than save a couple hundred dollars. You refer to Dell XPS computers. I'm talking about Alienware. Different beast.
I dunno about you, but if I can build my own computer do I really need to have someone to show up at my house to replace a part? I'm perfectly fine with being sent a part and replacing myself. How does having to contact a different manufacturer matter? I know which part comes from which manufacturer? I've never seen multiple parts fail at once and I support over 300 Dell computers everyday. I have total peace of mind with my route....but hey, whatever floats your boat.