I guess it all depends upon the appearance you want to present to a given crowd. Since most gamers are more driven by marketing nonsense than real understanding of hardware, I can see why Alienware might make a good impression.

Yes and no. I've bought alieanwares because they do actually sell good solid harware, take a look at the packages they sell, they're very upfront about what specifically you're getting. And personally I'd rather not build my own machine as I'd rather not spend the time to do so. Yes I can get something faster and cheaper if I do it myself, but thats why I'm paying more, so I can have somone else do it. So realize not every gamer wants to build his own machine but would still like something thats high quality.

As far as looks and marketing, you're probably right. Might be able to shop around and find something similar with less flash and lower price tag. But I also like a bit of flash and realize I'm paying extra for it.