Dell had considered buying the Alienware company since 2002, but did not agree to purchase the company until March 22, 2006.[11][12] The new subsidiary retains control of its design and marketing while benefiting from Dell's purchasing power, economies of scale, and supply chain, which lowered its operating costs.[12]
Initially, Dell maintained its competing XPS line of gaming PCs, often selling computers with similar specifications, which may have hurt Alienware's market share within its market segment.[13][14] Due to corporate restructuring in the spring of 2008, the XPS brand was scaled down, and the Desktop line was eliminated leaving only the XPS Notebooks.[14] Product development of gaming PCs was consolidated with Dell's gaming division, with Alienware becoming Dell's premier gaming brand.[15][16] On June 2, 2009, The M17x was introduced as the first Alienware/Dell branded system. This launch also expanded Alienware’s global reach from 6 to 35 countries while supporting 17 different languages.[17]