Though it was acquired by Dell in March, Alienware operates as a wholly owned subsidiary. And it's nothing if not independent. Go to Alienware's Web site, and you'll find it bragging about how it beat "the competition" in SPEC.org performance testing. Oddly, the mobile workstation contest was between the Alienware MJ-12 m7700i and the Dell Precision M60. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

That might trouble Dell, but that's not what matters. What matters is that Alienware also beats Dell in the "Who Can Provide the Most Pathetic Support" contest. Given the sorry state of Dell's customer service, that's saying something.

My son Dan is a heavy-duty gamer who's pursuing a degree in interactive media and game development at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. In January 2005, Dan purchased the top-of-the-line Alienware Area-51m 7700 notebook. At a whopping US$4,500, it was a substantial investment, but it was the dream machine for anyone who plans to devote his career to game design.

Just two months later, he began to experience problems with it overheating. He consulted Alienware's support forums and found an inexpensive, practical solution: Place bottle caps under the computer's feet to allow for more air circulation.

That alleviated the problem for a while, but after several months it got worse, to the point where it now overheats and shuts down after 10 to 15 minutes of any gaming activity. Since Dan's one-year warranty has expired, his call to Alienware's tech support yielded the advice that he return the system for troubleshooting. That service would cost $259, and he would likely have to pay an additional $400 to $600 for parts.