Dell and Alienware deal final, now what?

Now that , we asked both companies what the sale means to their operations. The story is that there is no story. Both vendors will continue as separate entities, with their own product development, marketing, and sales forces. A Dell marketing rep perhaps summed it up best when he said, "AMD's CPUs have some nice benchmark scores, so customers that want AMD chips can go to Alienware. Alienware also has its specific brand ID, and customers looking for that kind of PC still have that option."

Dell's never been in the habit of buying companies outright, so it's hard to predict how the relationship might evolve. But for now, Dell seems OK with its XPS and Alienware brands competing against each other.