Dell's close encounter with Alienware

Dell announced this week that it would, in fact, acquire gaming PC maker Alienware, putting to rest weeks of rumors.

The deal gives Dell a high-end, high-margin business. It gives Alienware access to a massive supply chain.

While the acquisition isn't expected to be material to Dell's bottom line, it will certainly prompt some ripples in the PC industry. Bloggers were particularly curious about how this would play out with chip manufacturers.

Blog community response:

"The claims of Alienware selling out started circulating as soon as aquisition rumors started. Alienware customers pay more precisely because it is not a Dell. This is a more than a point of pride, it is the way gamers identify themselves. If Dell wants to keep these guys from making a Voodoo or Falcon NorthWest ther next PC, it had better tread lightly--and keep the freaky alien logo."
--Gearlog

"Alienware, a soon to be subsidiary of Dell, is currently one the biggest swallowers of high end AMD Athlon 64 FX processors. This means Dell is technically a customer of AMD, and this is just the beginning."
--Rahul Sood's Weblog

"This is a drastic change of pace for Dell, a company well-known for only selling Intel-based personal computers. More variety and choices are better for customers, while this allows Dell to start selling 64-bit gaming machines."
--Digital Lifestyle