dell does have some great technical support
and we will insure that one way or another, if you're in contract, you're system will work
howvere, the consumer technical support (from what i understand) really sucks
i work on government and large business accounts. and we give some really good service. but i hear that the consumer department don't know how to speak english much, and they transfer people too much
so to be honest, i would be careful about purchasing a dell for home use
i hear that alienware makes some great systems, but lack the technical support. but also, i agree with someone who said earlier, if you have less the $2,000, don't bother even trying to go with alienware
personal, i too believe you would be better off to build your own
that way you know it has what you want and need in it, and you know how it all gets put together
one more thing about dell though, the design on the system is excellent. very user friendly. there are very few screws in the entire system, and most things are easily replaced and fixed by the customer
so, it's really a matter of preference. if you want to know for sure that you have what you want in the system and you don't want to spend a bunch of money, build it yourself
if you want an excellent gaming computer that looks great, spend some big bucks and go with alienware
or if you want a reliable pc that will probably suit your needs, and have decent contract (and possibly good tech support), go with dell