EDIT: For free it’s fine, but still. I hate that they sell brand trusting people systems with 0 upgradability, 0 reparability outside of the warranty and intentional performance drawbacks at an inflated price.
Alienware problems are many:
* Instead of finally switching to a current case model that is well ventilated, upgradable and up to date, Alienware/Dell chose to use a case (Not talking about the plastic shell, but the base metal piece inside) that is 10+ years old and by now heavily under ventilated. The engineering cost needed to fix the issues relating to this case design could’ve been spent on offering it cheaper or with better components for the price point
* The only pieces that can be upgraded in this PC is the CPU (If the socket stays the same and the proprietary Dell BIOS supports it) GPU (If the PSU has the right connectors and headroom), RAM (But only 2 slots available, so you need to swap here. Most DIMMs aren’tcompatible) and hard drive. Everything else is proprietary Dell and can’t be exchanged or repaired with non Dell components and goes into the landfill, so reparability outside of Dells warranty is next to zero
* The cooling solution used in these can’t keep a max spec cooled properly, which leads to throttling and unnecessary lost performance. This happened with the R13 and is still a problem
* The R15 cut off the CPU power limit, rendering an i9 feeling like an i7 of the gen before. The R16 has this issue, too
* The opt you into a monthly subscription of premium support during the order process. Not sure if this was fixed by now
* The bloatware on Alienware prebuilds is excessive, which leads to unnecessary lost performance
Dell has been repeatedly and rightfully criticized for these issues for years and they haven’t changed.
I had to diagnose and repair a couple of these myself over the years, I’m not just watching videos, btw.
The R16 redesign looked like they may have finally got it, but it’s still horrible.
Tl;dr: It’s a Dell prebuilt. No it’s not a good system.
milehighurbanist
They got her an amazing computer honestly. I have an R16. Stays cool and quiet. With these specs they’ll have a great time. Jealous!
Goonders
I’m of the opinion that if someone has to ask whether a 14900 is considered good then they don’t need it
EG440
There aren’t many tiers higher in the high end category than that rig.
soniko_
Just put a ring on it. That is a good family
Professional-Salt175
No. Alienware uses subpar parts, will sneak in “refurbished” when sold as new. I wouldn’t be surprised if this thing has heating issues as their newer cases are just ovens.
munitionchipsintoys
Awesome. The new alienware design too. Quieter case sound. Better airflow(I think)
edvards48
she better not use the bundled dell mouse and keyboard with that pc
cyclonus101
My only complaints looking at the specs are disappointing RAM speed and basic mouse and keyboard.
Puttness
It’s an Alienware though 🤢 No hate on her parents nor trying to sound ungrateful, but they’re kind of notoriously garbage PCs. Not the components inside, just the way they’re built and the thermals. I hope she doesn’t have any issues with it, usually those things are delivered in a configuration that severely underperforms below the level the components should be at.
She probably won’t care nor notice, though, so I’m just yelling at a cloud.
tyrachi1
Pretty trash pc tbh
hansieboy10
It’s okay
deefop
Amazing build, marred by the 5200mhz RAM. Laughed out loud seeing that in there next to what are otherwise basically top tier specs.
frogmicky
It going to kill lol.
MoreMrMortal
We all start somewhere I guess
TheFacebookLizard
It MIGHT run minesweeper
smaguss
“it’s not much but it’s mine”
AncientZz1
I feel like alot of people that shit on Alienware have never owned one and base there thoughts off of other people’s comment lol.
RandytheRude
Well, it’s a Dell,… so she gonna prolly run warm
RonanCruz
It’s not a good pc, you should give it to me and buy her something better
Spider-cat_1984
It’s bad. I’ll PM you the address for the return.
DexDevos
Amazing specs.. BUT its from Dell…
(Dell is known to be shit at making prebuilts and often leave performance on the table for various reasons, be sure to check out some reviews on the specific model and do some benchmarks to check wether your hardware is performing within expected ranges)
(Also, **dont** use [userbenchmark.com](https://userbenchmark.com) when benchmarking, they are inaccurate and biased)
ora408
Its a good one but surprise her by building her a custom pc instead 😉
M78MEDIA
there are a few actual reasons this is infact not good:
it’s a pre built
it’s a dell
it’s an alienware
it has windows 11
Killerman329
It looked freaking awesome, until I saw the word Dell……
xblue555x
You can build that for less and it will not be Dell
27 Comments
Where can i sign up for in laws like this? 👀
EDIT: For free it’s fine, but still. I hate that they sell brand trusting people systems with 0 upgradability, 0 reparability outside of the warranty and intentional performance drawbacks at an inflated price.
Alienware problems are many:
* Instead of finally switching to a current case model that is well ventilated, upgradable and up to date, Alienware/Dell chose to use a case (Not talking about the plastic shell, but the base metal piece inside) that is 10+ years old and by now heavily under ventilated. The engineering cost needed to fix the issues relating to this case design could’ve been spent on offering it cheaper or with better components for the price point
* The only pieces that can be upgraded in this PC is the CPU (If the socket stays the same and the proprietary Dell BIOS supports it) GPU (If the PSU has the right connectors and headroom), RAM (But only 2 slots available, so you need to swap here. Most DIMMs aren’tcompatible) and hard drive. Everything else is proprietary Dell and can’t be exchanged or repaired with non Dell components and goes into the landfill, so reparability outside of Dells warranty is next to zero
* The cooling solution used in these can’t keep a max spec cooled properly, which leads to throttling and unnecessary lost performance. This happened with the R13 and is still a problem
* The R15 cut off the CPU power limit, rendering an i9 feeling like an i7 of the gen before. The R16 has this issue, too
* The opt you into a monthly subscription of premium support during the order process. Not sure if this was fixed by now
* The bloatware on Alienware prebuilds is excessive, which leads to unnecessary lost performance
Dell has been repeatedly and rightfully criticized for these issues for years and they haven’t changed.
I had to diagnose and repair a couple of these myself over the years, I’m not just watching videos, btw.
The R16 redesign looked like they may have finally got it, but it’s still horrible.
[Dell R13 review](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnvxSkqJ8ic)
[Dell R15 review](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8kprUGy57E)
[Dell warranty scam](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DMg6hUudHE)
[Dell (And other) support review](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsfjx5T46Zk&list=PLg9kMuWuThG–V6eWiIG8Papb8VoGfvYN&index=3)
Tl;dr: It’s a Dell prebuilt. No it’s not a good system.
They got her an amazing computer honestly. I have an R16. Stays cool and quiet. With these specs they’ll have a great time. Jealous!
I’m of the opinion that if someone has to ask whether a 14900 is considered good then they don’t need it
There aren’t many tiers higher in the high end category than that rig.
Just put a ring on it. That is a good family
No. Alienware uses subpar parts, will sneak in “refurbished” when sold as new. I wouldn’t be surprised if this thing has heating issues as their newer cases are just ovens.
Awesome. The new alienware design too. Quieter case sound. Better airflow(I think)
she better not use the bundled dell mouse and keyboard with that pc
My only complaints looking at the specs are disappointing RAM speed and basic mouse and keyboard.
It’s an Alienware though 🤢 No hate on her parents nor trying to sound ungrateful, but they’re kind of notoriously garbage PCs. Not the components inside, just the way they’re built and the thermals. I hope she doesn’t have any issues with it, usually those things are delivered in a configuration that severely underperforms below the level the components should be at.
She probably won’t care nor notice, though, so I’m just yelling at a cloud.
Pretty trash pc tbh
It’s okay
Amazing build, marred by the 5200mhz RAM. Laughed out loud seeing that in there next to what are otherwise basically top tier specs.
It going to kill lol.
We all start somewhere I guess
It MIGHT run minesweeper
“it’s not much but it’s mine”
I feel like alot of people that shit on Alienware have never owned one and base there thoughts off of other people’s comment lol.
Well, it’s a Dell,… so she gonna prolly run warm
It’s not a good pc, you should give it to me and buy her something better
It’s bad. I’ll PM you the address for the return.
Amazing specs.. BUT its from Dell…
(Dell is known to be shit at making prebuilts and often leave performance on the table for various reasons, be sure to check out some reviews on the specific model and do some benchmarks to check wether your hardware is performing within expected ranges)
(Also, **dont** use [userbenchmark.com](https://userbenchmark.com) when benchmarking, they are inaccurate and biased)
Its a good one but surprise her by building her a custom pc instead 😉
there are a few actual reasons this is infact not good:
it’s a pre built
it’s a dell
it’s an alienware
it has windows 11
It looked freaking awesome, until I saw the word Dell……
You can build that for less and it will not be Dell