All I can really add to the discussion is how much I absolutely DESPISE Alienware. My problems were from back before they were a part of Dell, but they pissed me off to the point of swearing to never buy anything from them again (I tried to convince my brother of the pains I had, he still went ahead and ordered from them and grudgingly admitted I was right). I could rant for a while on all the problems I had with them.

I never tried to build or buy anything where graphics weren't a priority, but my last purchase was from Velocity Micro. I haven't had any problems, other than a video card starting to overheat about 6 months from the end of my warranty. The return process was painless. Everything that Alienware wasn't, Velocity Micro was and vice versa.