Alienware unveils its first small and cheap gaming PC, the X51

By Robert Purchese Published 18 January, 2012

"This is something that has never been done before."

Alienware enters the small and (relatively) cheap PC market today with a new computer, the X51.

It costs £699, is slightly bigger than an Xbox 360 and is designed to work upright or laid on its side.

The bottom range X51 can power Battlefield 3 in 1080p at an average of 32 frames-per-second, with high resolution textures, 4x aniostropic filtering and medium anti-aliasing turned on.

The top-end X51 can power Battlefield 3 running the same settings at an average of 54 frames-per-second.

Phwoar. And it's sleek and black, with an acceptable amount of Alienware-lighting bling.

"It's taking enthusiast-class PC gaming and putting it in a small form factor. This is something that has never been done before; there's no other small form factor PCs out there that offer any sort of a significant gaming experience," Alienware senior product manager Eoin Leyden informed Eurogamer.

"We're constantly pushing it; pushing the boundaries. We're certainly exploring new avenues all the time. I certainly wouldn't say innovation has stopped or anything like that."

The declining desktop market and rise of "more consumer friendly" small form factor PCs forced Alienware's hand, although the ultra high-end business has also been "growing" and doing "very well".

"Somebody going into a store today looking for a PC basically has to make a choice," said Leyden.

"You either have a nice-looking small form factor PC, or you get a gaming PC. And you can't have both because it doesn't exist - there is no small form factor PC that offers any sort of good gaming experience.

"And that, basically, is where X51 came from."

Inside the X51 can be either an Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processor. That can be complemented by either an Nvidia GeForce GT 545 or an Nvidia GeForce GTX 555.

RAM varies from 4GB, 6GB or 8GB DDR3, and there's plenty of digital storage space thanks to the 1TB 7200 RPM hard-drive.

Blah blah 24x dual-layer DVD-RW; internal 7.1 audio and integrated 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless LAN.

Also, these ports and connections: on-board HDMI 1.4 out; RJ-45 GB Ethernet; 4x USB 2.0; 2x USB 3.0; surround sound speaker-out ports and TOSLINK and Coax digital outs.

"To get smaller you have to start compromising ... And the core thing for Alienware is we're not willing to trade on performance."

Eoin Leyden

"It's really knocking on some pretty serious limitations at this point," said Leyder of the X51's size. "To get smaller you have to start compromising ... And the core thing for Alienware is we're not willing to trade on performance.

"The Alienware name carries a reputation for gaming performance. Compromise to a half-height graphics card, and those minimum frame-rates might drop to below-20s. That is not playable in our view. That would not be an acceptable trade-off."

Yes, yes, yes - but is the X51 loud?

"Depends on what you're doing," answered Leyden.

"In general computing terms, if you're just messing around the internet it's pretty silent. As you continue to stress the hardware, some of the active cooling systems come on, the fans come on, the graphics card fan comes on.

"If you play Battlefield 3 you'll have some noise," he said. "But if you're gaming, you're either going to have it running through your speaker or headphones; not usually an issue."

Alienware will now offer high-end gaming PCs from £1500; small form factor gaming PCs from £700; and gaming laptops from £650.

And judging by Leyden's comments, it sounds like the X51 will be the start of a long line of small form factor PCs from Alienware.

"Our laptop line is probably our best indication; we wouldn't invest the time and effort and R&D and engineering efforts into a market if we weren't pretty convinced there was a sizeable opportunity there," Leyden told us.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (168) Latest comment 4 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • captain_Carl #1 4 months ago

    £700 is cheap, fuck me. Wish i had enough money to call that cheap

  • The-Jack-Burton #2 4 months ago

    Damn, this is exactly what I'm looking for, except I am fucking broke right now

  • mynameispt #3 4 months ago

    Blah blah 24x dual-layer DVD-RW; internal 7.1 audio and integrated 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless LAN.
    Intentional? Still funny, even if it isn't.

  • NegativeZero #4 4 months ago

    Laptop parts. It's a "gaming" laptop in a larger case without a screen, with all the limitations that entails.

  • Elven_Star #5 4 months ago

    The design is too 360ish for my taste. It could use a better gfx card. Also, I wonder how they're gonna handle ventilation. CPU, GPU and RAM in a tight position like that. It's not gonna be pretty. With 700 pounds you can do much much better than this.
    You can't take it anywhere with you, because unlike a laptop, it needs a separate monitor. And if you're gonna use it at home only, what's wrong with a normal desktop? All in all, waste of money.

  • DrStrangelove #6 4 months ago

    Can you have it without that stupid alien face?

  • MonsieurEek #7 4 months ago

    Why would you put a press release in your news feed?

  • jimr9999us #8 4 months ago

    My 1st rig before I figured out building my own was easier than rubbing one out was an Alienware and I loved it. It was my 1st "Ha, I'm grown up and make money" moment.

    So yeah, I think Alienware is swell, even if they're Dell now. And so yeah, if you're not quite at the "I'm gonna stop being a scared little girl and build my own" phase of your life atm, no harm or foul...this looks like a brilliant pc gaming solution.

  • Hellion83 #9 4 months ago

    Post deleted at 20:12:17 01-02-2012

  • Puppaz #10 4 months ago

    This got anything to do with Alienware advertising on EG?

  • Scimarad #11 4 months ago

    Sorry, did I just read 'Alienware' and 'Cheap' in the same sentence?? What the hell is happening to the world!?!?

    Looks very nice, actually.

  • GuiltySpark #12 4 months ago

    But... you can buy an actual decent PC for £700. Why go for this?
    Edited by GuiltySpark at 18/01/12 @ 07:01

  • berelain #13 4 months ago

    @Puppaz My thoughts exactly. I can't take a 'news story' like this seriously when the EG frontpage is plastered with Alienware marketing.

    On the other hand, I do have an Alienware PC. I bought the redesigned Aurora when it came out a couple of years ago, and the machine is a beast. Cost me plenty, bust it's never let me down, and I don't mind paying more for that kind of reassurance.
    Edited by berelain at 18/01/12 @ 07:05

  • Mchief22 #14 4 months ago

    I think for people who want to play PC games on their tv instead of their monitors this would be a great little system! Takes up less room, looks pretty good and to me, somebody who doesn't want the hassle of using and operating a large desktop or have the room for one this is great.

  • Casserole #15 4 months ago

    If I had money to burn I would buy the entire Alienware range. Dunno why, just because I could.

  • deez #16 4 months ago

    Now I know all about this, can you get rid of the ads that stop me reading articles and adding comments on my phone properly?
    Edited by deez at 18/01/12 @ 11:26

  • Rens11 #17 4 months ago

    Intel 2500k. £160
    Z68 mobo. £75
    8gb ram. £30
    600w psu. £60
    1tb Hard drive. £50
    Case £25
    580 graphics card £350

    Total = £750 for a pc that will be much faster, quieter and most importantly upgradable!
    if you want to hide the pc just use a long hdmi and hide it down the side of the sofa like I do!

  • DarthKebab #18 4 months ago

    Where do I buy it??????

    <Wonder if I click on this massive advertising banner at the top of the page....>

    Woohoo!

  • bodhi85uk #19 4 months ago

    Exactly what I want, shame its so expensive. Its a good trend to start though, PC's are ridiculously large and power hungry, Im looking forward to all the ULV developments to come in the future so small form factor becomes a more viable option without sacrificing too much performance

  • Futaba #20 4 months ago

    Post deleted at 07:41:23 18-01-2012

  • jellyBelly #21 4 months ago

    First consoles started converging towards pc and now pc are going towards consoles.

    Its a bit of an odd proposition this as if i was to install this on a desk id go for a proper desktop with the corresponding gpu and take advantage of all its functionality and programmability.
    On the other hand if i was going to put it under the telly ,as other people have said, its a bit rich to fork out 700 pounds for a level of performance thats likely going to be equaled or surpassed in a year or two for 350 pounds by the nextgen of consoles. The only other usage i could see for this under a telly is as a media server i suppose.

    Slight hijack, but where is a good place to buy components online these days? Are aria and novatech any good?

  • OxWearingSocks #22 4 months ago

    Cheap! I could buy ALL 3 current gen consoles and an iPad for the cost of their entry level box. Alienware =/= cheap.

  • Beano #23 4 months ago

    Looks like a discarded Xbox design - ugly like all other Alienware PCs :o

  • Brownstudy #24 4 months ago

    @jellyBelly

    I guess some people would like pc functionality under the telly? Not me particularly, but I can understand the appeal of having a PC which is no longer confined to a spare room.

    Personally, I've never really understood PC gaming. You seem to pay an awful lot more than you would on a console for the equivalent performance. Plus, you can buy an amazing GPU, only to find it doesn't work well with some games! And all the tinkering and messing about. I don't know. I know some people love PC gaming and that's great but I'm afraid it's lost on me.

  • Frybird #25 4 months ago

    Its a neat idea, but can't you get a Laptop with the same specs for almost the same price and get essentially the same thing with some additional "features" (as in, being portable)?

  • caligari #26 4 months ago

    Good luck if you a post-purchase problem.

    I'm convinced that Dell's customer service centre is simply one man in his mother's basement.

    Useless, useless, useless.

    Did I mention that Dell are pretty useless?

  • Garulon #27 4 months ago

    @Brownstudy I've got an ION-based system under my telly running Media Center. It can't play games for toffee but it's fanless and therefore silent.

    XBox is my gaming dealie.

  • bad09 #28 4 months ago

    You could buy better at that price but still An I7 coulped with a 545/555 will give you a decent experience, you'll be able to a play most games at high settings but some of the more demanding titles will struggle. A nice idea but small form PCs are generally crap for gaming as you are limited if you want to upgrade.

    Saying that with all in ones and tablets and such, powerful graphics cards are getting smaller all the time so maybe some time in the future this won't be a problem anymore.

  • Zozzilla #29 4 months ago

    @Elven_Star This is exctly what I was thinking. Wonder if we'll be hearing about the "Red Alien Face of Death" in the near future.

  • TrevHead #30 4 months ago

    Its crap this so called cheap desktop PC that makes pre built / highstreet PCs a joke, as they all tend look like good value for money to a layperson but they tend to have one or two parts that are vastly underpar and acts as a bottleneck it the system, stopping it from running to its true potential.

    The usual mainstray for mid tier PCs is to have a really shitty graphics card that many ppl dont change because it voids the warrenty.

    Its all just a big marketing scam that PC manufacters use to sell their high tier overpriced PCs which have a decent GFX card in it.

    Is it any wonder why so many console gamers think they need a £1000 PC to properly play PC games

  • dipje #31 4 months ago

    OK so you put a cheap i5 with a gtx560ti or hd6950, with 8gb of ram and a 500gb disk in a silverstone sg05b-400 and you have almost the same form factor, same price and way more performance. and it's upgradeable.

    replace it with a core i3 with a hd6850 and a normal silverstone sg05b and you get the same performance (if not a little more) for way less!!

    I can fit that case together will all my cables, headset, mouse, mousepad in my backpack. cheap light LED monitor under my arm and underway to LAN. awewome.

    don't buy this overpriced alienware crap.

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #32 4 months ago

    Hello! This has nothing to do with Alienware advertising, but that I would say that. I'm sorry you feel it reads like a press release. I guess there will be an element of that, given it's a new product announcement, but I hoped the separate interview I did with Eoin Leyden would flesh the piece out beyond that.

    Also, I'm excited by this machine on a personal level. It's exactly what I'd aim for, had I £700 to splash on a PC. Well, I'd probably try building one myself, but I'm not sure I'd be able to do better.

  • drchocapic #33 4 months ago

    As others have already stated, you could build a much better (and upgradable) computer at that price.

    So it's just a small overpriced computer.

  • Killerbee #34 4 months ago

    Looks very sexy, but for a gaming PC and for £700 I would insist on something upgradable.

    Back in March 2008 I spent £830 on a Dell XPS 630 which got me a Q6600, two 8800GT cards in SLI, 3GB of RAM, an X-Fi sound card and all the usual gubbins, all in a full size ATX case.

    It was great in it's day (Crysis on top settings) and that same PC is still going strong playing Skyrim and any other modern game I throw at it today.

    But the crucial thing is, I can upgrade it as and when I need to and there's loads of space in the case for those big modern graphics cards.

    For that money I'd expect nothing less and though this machine might be great for someone who's never going to upgrade or tinker with it, I think that'd be missing out.

  • siallen #35 4 months ago

    @JAGUARCD32x the next gen will never be nine cores epic are tslking shite , you wont see more than 6 cores and 4gb of ram and that will prob be shared between system and gpu , i would love a new pc if i was to get one i would build it myself you can get that spec in that alienware for about £400-450

  • BlueDot #36 4 months ago

    Anyone knows how much an equivalent gaming laptop would cost ? I'm thinking of getting one to use in the living room and to carry to friend's houses.

  • Darksjeik #37 4 months ago

    Too little too late. I told people about the possibility of what I call "PC comfort gaming" 2 years ago.

    I'm convinced that if more people understood how accessible PC gaming has become more people would see the light. Thew whole concept of consoles is ancient.
    This is the fast world of 2012, people want customisdation and people like their experience to grow with them. Consoles can't keep up with this. And no M$, a dash update doesn't cut it to keep things fresh.

  • HotshotLemming #38 4 months ago

    Will hazard a guess that its a 1gb not 16gb nvidia, otherwise that thing will be crazy :)

  • benfresh76 #39 4 months ago

    £700? Cheap? wish I was on a game journalist's salary!

  • FWB #40 4 months ago

    Alienware has always been overpriced. This is news?

  • swisstony #41 4 months ago

    small form factor pcs with gaming specs have been around for ages. Fail spin.

  • flippet #42 4 months ago

    there is no small form factor PC that offers any sort of good gaming experience.
    I think Shuttle (and its resellers) would tend to disagree! Perhaps Aopen and some others too.

  • esbenf #43 4 months ago

    If you are comfortable with building your own rig, you can get a monster machine, and a form factor not far from this a lot cheaper.. And then spend a couple of months figuring out how to make it sound less like a vacuum cleaner. But when you succeed in making it more silent than an xbox360 you get the bonus of feeling like a brilliant computer scientist!

  • Inmediasress #44 4 months ago

    Alone for looking like an Xbox I'd fire the guy who designed it.
    Then again its good for f***ing over those that don't know anything about PCs.
    I don't get all this "its too difficult to build/game on a PC" thing.
    I mean you go on the internet there are a ton of sites where they test hardware.
    You just write down what you would like(with maybe soem alternatives) and go to your friendly neighborhood PC store, they probably have most of those things and then ask them to put it together for you for a few bucks extra.
    You can always come out cheaper that way and you spare yourself the technical side of "building" a PC.

  • bad09 #45 4 months ago

    @HotshotLemming

    Actually the 545s and 555s have 3gb, not sure about the 555 but according to reviews that's rather a pointeless amount on the less powerful 545.

  • mAc062 #46 4 months ago

    The GPU sucks so in a year or less the whole box will be a huge wast of money anyone who buys this will regret it.

  • bad09 #47 4 months ago

    @JAGUARCD32x

    I believe an external card is actually coming (or already here), from Sony I think. A nice solution for lappys or small form but if you are gonna take up room with addons you may as well get norml size desktop.

    It's not like they are massive and sit down by the telly quite nicely or do what I do, get a HDMI long enough to go from your PC desk to your telly best of both worlds then :)

  • Ternon #48 4 months ago

    For fuck sake, since when is 700 pounds cheap??

    You can get a high-end PC for that(without any peripherals)..

    This is just bizarre!
    Edited by Ternon at 18/01/12 @ 08:48

  • jaguarwong #49 4 months ago

    I usually mock people who bang on about advertising space affecting content on this site...

    ...but I have to admit this is a bit galling.

    Still, it's not a feature or a review, it's not biased for or against.
    It's just reporting a story which has made it's way to the top of the page due to it's popularity.

  • darm #50 4 months ago

    I have 3(or 4?) years old Acer PC that is about the size of 360(a bit smaller), was bundled with remote, tv card, vista media center and stuff, but no gaming video card, it cost me about 2/3 of this one and I don't think I got ripped off, so don't understand the moaning about the price. There was a time when I lived in a dorm room and my PC was a motherboard nailed to the wall with all the other components lying beside it on the table, but that time is gone, now I don't want a huge box and don't really understand why would anyone say it's not a big deal, having your PC huge is only acceptable when you want to save some money as something more compact is usually more expensive. And I won't be building my PC from components either, wasting several hours to assemble it and install software and risk(even if it's small, it's still a risk) messing something up and waste even more time/money to resolve it. Although it's disappointing that they still mostly make systems with 2Gb and 4Gb RAM, while even 8 Gb is now worth less than a couple of good burgers, but that's not something I can't live with.

    As for upgradability, the importance of this factor is way overrated. It doesn't make sense to upgrade your videocard at every opportunity, you would probably want to do it only when one you own is rather dated and you can have a new one which is way more powerful. But when you do, chances are your CPU may not be strong enough to load video card to the fullest. If you want to upgrade CPU, you may need to change your motherboard as they change the sockets rather often. You may also need to change your PSU in case your old one can't power your new system. Overall, upgrading is important if you're a hardware enthusiast, if your system starts not balanced, or if for some reason paying in increments instead of doling out a significunt sum is critical for you. Otherwise, you'd probably save money and have a better experience buy just having a new system every 3 years or so.

    Well, it's becoming a long comment. To make it shorter, I wish alienware was operating in Russia so I could get one of these when my old one won't just cut it. Probably after Win 8 release and new console generation, that is.

  • Subdominator #51 4 months ago

    LOL @ cheap (or even relatively cheap). There used to be a time when I thought Alienware's designs were pretty cool and futuristic. Now they feel like they're from a bad scifi movie from the 80s. All those edges.

  • rogermellie #52 4 months ago

    "It's taking enthusiast-class PC gaming and putting it in a small form factor"


    "You either have a nice-looking small form factor PC, or you get a gaming PC"


    Er, but almost 7 years ago I had a small Shuttle with a ATI 9800 GPU that was built for Doom3.

    Edit: And it was a lot cheaper!
    Edited by rogermellie at 18/01/12 @ 09:01

  • TheEarlOfZinger #53 4 months ago

    Ok, this came out of nowhere.

  • Nemesis #54 4 months ago

    One of the nicest machines I put together was a Shuttle XPC. Cracking bit of kit.
    Edited by Nemesis at 18/01/12 @ 11:02

  • StooMonster #55 4 months ago

    With all the SKUs on Windows — for stupid market fragmentation and price extraction reasons — I've often wondered why Microsoft don't have a gaming version of Windows.

    So along with Windows 7 Home Premium (WTF) you could have Windows 7 Gaming.

    Windows Gaming would contain the minimum OS required to run games, and skip all the unnecessary stuff. It would be perfect for gaming boxes such as these.

  • elrasho #56 4 months ago

    "The bottom range X51 can power Battlefield 3 in 1080p at an average of 32 frames-per-second, with high resolution textures, 4x aniostropic filtering and medium anti-aliasing turned on. " - not a gaming PC then is it

    Build your own gaming PC will always be better value and give better performance
    Edited by elrasho at 18/01/12 @ 09:10

  • azic #57 4 months ago

    @JAGUARCD32x
    Are you crazy.. Next Gen Consoles will not in anyway Eclipse the current top end PC GPUs.. LOL your deluded again!!

  • fizzyfish #58 4 months ago

    Tempting, but for those who would only settle for the best graphics option, the price rises to £849 for the intermediary model (i5 + GTX 555) and £949 for the top model (i7).

    Also, every disc I've ever put into a slot-loading drive received one or more linear scratches from dust. And considering how well this could work in the lounge, I'm surprised there's no Blu-Ray option in Dell's configurator.
    Edited by fizzyfish at 18/01/12 @ 09:17

  • DigitalScars #59 4 months ago

    I agree with most on here saying you could probably build your own rig for cheaper or better for the same price but everyone banging on about how it won't be upgradable?

    According to their site it will be...
    Build. Modify. Adapt.
    Alienware X51’s compact size hides near-limitless customizability and upgradeability. Alienware X51 is available with a variety of factory-customized configurations to fit your needs. And if you decide you want to add even more muscle to your machine later, Alienware X51 is designed for you to easily swap out desktop-class CPUs, graphics cards, hard drives and memory.
    Or have i missed something?

  • arcam #60 4 months ago

    This is the sort of thing people buy, regret in a year or two and give up on PC gaming altogether, before moaning about how expensive and impractical it is.

    It is telling that anyone here with a bit of experience has commented that it's a bad idea. Believe them.

  • Madder-Max #61 4 months ago

    Alienware have akways been overpriced

  • bad09 #62 4 months ago

    @JAGUARCD32x

    Here you go.

    http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/09/20/hands-on-with-sonys-external-graphics-card-its-superb/

    PCGamer seemed to like it, it adds a 6650 although not sure if it only works with this Vaio they don't say. Reading the article it seems others have tried before to bring external cards to the market as well.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #63 4 months ago

    I really wish they'd stop sticking those alien faces on their kit, it's not 1996 anymore.

  • rivuzu #64 4 months ago

    I lol'd @Bertie jumping in to stop the mob from calling Eurogamer sell-outs.
    And guys, we know you can build better for cheaper - everyone knows that PC compenents are cheap as chips (sort've) and that you can make an upgradable machine for much less than what any retailer will try and flog you one for.

    But that's not the point of this machine. The point is, you're buying an off-the-shelf pre-complete unit. No mess. No fuss. No hassle. No faffing about trying to get the bloody thing to work. For those who love PC gaming, but don't have a scrap of tech savvy about them to build a machine, this is a good idea, and that's their target audience.

    I'm tempted to get one myself tbh - go nicely with my M11X R3 - but then, I get discounts from where I work, so hey ho!

  • Toothball #65 4 months ago

    I'm sure many could build all sorts of PC for the same or less, but not everyone cares enough to do so. Some people like to just open the box and plug in their new toy. There are many claims, rightly or wrongly, that PC gaming is declining. Machines like this are probably aimed at console gamers who haven't ventured into PC gaming but want to give it a go without most of the work. You can't expand your audience by only catering to whoever you already have.

    Edit: Oooh rivuzu beat me to it by moments.
    Edited by Toothball at 18/01/12 @ 09:27

  • kapowaz #66 4 months ago

    I can't help feeling Alienware have missed a trick here. They're about 80% of the way towards building a PC in the same way Apple builds its machines. Imagine if instead of trying to build a small form-factor PC at a reasonable price (but with a reasonable array of upgradeable options) they'd built a small form-factor PC which couldn't be upgraded but instead had a bespoke, custom motherboard, SSD memory and GPU assembled on-board (a la the MacBook Air). Cut 30% of the things that most gamers don't need (7.1 audio, all the many different audio/video outputs) and thus cut costs.

    You could get something around the same price as a Mac mini, but with the performance to actually play modern games at decent framerates. Yes, you'd sacrifice upgradeability and expandibility, but if those are important to you then buy an ordinary gaming-oriented PC. But that might not even be an issue even if you do care about those things: the cost of the upgrade treadmill isn't trivial, and modern I/O (see: Thunderbolt) is getting fast enough that you could probably have almost everything external these days without sacrificing speed.

    So Alienware, the challenge for you is this: build a sub-£500 gaming PC that performs as well as a £1,000 one, in a small form factor. Stop trying to be all things to all men, and focus on being good at one thing.

  • telboy007 #67 4 months ago

    "We're constantly pushing it"
    Ahh, push it... push it real good. Doo do do do do doooo do do do do do do do dooo do dooo do dooo dooooooooo...

    No one else?

  • rivuzu #68 4 months ago

    @Toothball /gg.

  • chaywa #69 4 months ago

    Similar size to a 360 with all the same cooling issues by the looks of it. The fact there is no mention of the PSU whatsoever doesn't bode a welcoming picture either

  • DozyKipper #70 4 months ago

    Now this is more like it. Alienware have always been too expensive for me but this is right up my street. Time to start saving!

  • StooMonster #71 4 months ago

    @telboy007 Love Gorillaz.

  • chessboxer #72 4 months ago

    Hmm, the X51 is cheaper than my CPU...

  • arcam #73 4 months ago

    What people think building a PC is like:


    What it's actually like:

  • Moonprince #74 4 months ago

    PSU fail?

  • doragonpawwa #75 4 months ago

    meh as long as it continues to put off idiots that play the worst of games.

  • Raiten #76 4 months ago

    Well, there's market for stuff like this for sure. Mostly with people who lack the space they'd want under their tellies for their PC and wouldn't want to buy a 10000meters long hdmi cable to plug it in to their telly.

  • Zerobob #77 4 months ago

    The most obvious and great idea in PC hardware since, well, people decided they like to game on PCs.

    I've no idea why it has taken so long for a small, console-like, no fuss, relatively quiet gaming PC to emerge. Shame about the price.

  • kangarootoo #78 4 months ago

    So I was all like "ooooo" (with a rise and fall in pitch part way through, to sound allcurious).


    And then I got to the £699 bit.


    So its not a small cheap gaming PC, its a small gaming PC.

    And presumably being small makes it less upgradable, which if I recall my PC gaming days (with some effort - it was a long time ago) is half the point?

    I guess its cheap compared to Alienware's usual kit, but not the route I would take if I were ever to get back into PC gaming.



    I have no real idea these days, so PC gamers, a question. How long might this sort of thing last you before a) you would want to upgrade some bits of it, and b) you would want to replace it altogether? I realise there is some subjectivity about what sort of performance drop is acceptable before you think about upgrading.

  • nickthegun #79 4 months ago

    If its designed to go next to your telly, they really should have put a blu-ray drive in it.

  • bad09 #80 4 months ago

    @arcam

    I dunno when I build a PC my house looks like picture 1 :)

    To be honest it is easy but us geeky types have to except that whether it saves you money, get you more power for your money or not building your own is just not something a lot of people want to do, they want to go in a shop and buy a box you turn on ready to go. Christ I wanted that on my last PC and I find building one a piece of piss :)

  • Scimarad #81 4 months ago

    @bad09

    Yeah, I was just about to say the same thing! Picture 1, alright.

  • xuiton #82 4 months ago

    alienware suck.

    They are overpriced.

    Just go to any custom pc website, will build you the same one with quality parts for alot cheaper.

  • Horse #83 4 months ago

    I built my own small-form-factor gaming rig a couple of years ago, using a lovely shuttle case. It was silent for day-to-day stuff, but whenever you played a game on it it turned into a hoover. I'd wait to hear how loud these things sound when gaming before buying one - and headphones or speakers won't help if some of the fans lose their balance and start clicking or whining.

  • arcam #84 4 months ago

    I don't know why people are calling it 'no fuss' and 'no hassle'. It's just a PC in a smaller box.

    It's still a PC, and will have the same fuss and hassle of a PC - maybe even more, as smaller units usually create more problems and are more difficult to fix.

  • Retro_ #85 4 months ago

    That is exactly what the PS4 / 720 will be for half/third the amount.

  • uknortherner2000 #86 4 months ago

    @xuiton Ironically, you can probably go to the Dell website and order the same configuration for less. True, you wouldn't get the fancy case, but you also wouldn't be £700 out of pocket either.

    I've never seen the obsession with Alienware PCs, especially as you say, any custom PC website (I use PC Specialist) can build you more or less the same thing for far less cash.

  • lolercopter #87 4 months ago

    @xuiton But would you get one as ugly as Alienware's?

    Nope! ;)

  • bad09 #88 4 months ago

    @xuiton

    "Just go to any custom pc website, will build you the same one with quality parts for alot cheaper."

    With custom websites you don't know what you are getting like you do with brand PCs to be fair which is why people choose them. Some websites are better than others and some are just a waste of time. After a rather bad experience with one "prehistoric" custom PC site myself last year I'll probably never use one again. Build it myself or PC world from now on.
    Edited by bad09 at 18/01/12 @ 10:16

  • MattRobson #89 4 months ago

    alienware have never made a cheap option, im surprised that people are suprised at this price point, all this will do those who dont have experiance of building a pc is add to the myth that building a capable pc costs a small fortune.
    Edited by MattRobson at 18/01/12 @ 10:17

  • Ernest_Spires #90 4 months ago

    I'm not sure how much longer my venerable old laptop will last, so I've been thinking about replacing it with a relatively low budget gaming pc when the time comes.

    As I'm someone who wants the convenience of console gaming but likes the look of a number of PC games, the X51 is very appealing. Mission accomplished for Alienware, I suppose.

    Respect to the people who build their own, but I don't really have the inclination.

  • arcam #91 4 months ago

    @Ernest_Spires As I'm someone who wants the convenience of console gaming but likes the look of a number of PC games, the X51 is very appealing.

    This will not give you the convenience of console gaming. It's a PC, running Windows, like any other.

    The only thing making it more 'convenient' than any other desktop PC is the size of the case.

  • username84 #92 4 months ago

    It's a lot of money. And I'm guessing the price doesn't include keyboard, mouse and monitor?. So if you want a decent monitor and mouse you're still looking at around £1000.

  • DyingAtheist #93 4 months ago

    "This is something that has never been done before."

    Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.

  • IronGiant #94 4 months ago

    I was hoping it was 300 quid or so, 700 is out of the question. So basically all they've done is put it in a smaller case, who cares.

  • blarty #95 4 months ago

    I bought a PC specifically for upgrading to play games on about 8 months ago, not particularly expensive, less than 150 quid to upgrade the graphics card and PSU, only an i3 mind... but it's good enough for what I, and the family, play now on PC (Portal 2, Mass Effect 2, SW:TOR, etc), and causes me no issues or noticeable framerate drops

  • Kostas #96 4 months ago

    Not very practical is it? Especially considering the price and performance levels of it when you can get a much better system for this kind of money in a desktop set up.

  • hiddenranbir #97 4 months ago

    If this kicks off, they can soon dedicate parts for this kind of form and..well poor console power.

  • tankboi #98 4 months ago

    So they have crammed a really powerful PC into, what is essentially, an xbox case. A pretty neat looking one too.

    Quite an achievement, but lo and behold the internet just f*cking moans about it.

    'too expensive'

    'not a console'

    'doesnt turn water into wine'

    The moon on a stick. Good luck finding it.

  • Toothball #99 4 months ago

    @Horse

    I built a Shuttle too a while back, although went for a fanless card. Barely managed to fit it in the case, and effectively lost the single PCI slot next to it, but it worked fairly well. I didn't do all that much PC gaming, but played what I wanted it to until Civ 5. Even then, I made do without newer games until Portal 2. Bought a new PC just to play that.

  • FogHeart #100 4 months ago

    I can certainly sympathise with people who are reluctant to dive into PC gaming who think it's just an expensive hassle, because from a distance it certainy looks that way. We're still stuck in the system we've had since PCs were invented - drop an processor costing several hundred pounds into a receptacle making sure scores of fragile pins align correctly. Push a circuit board costing another couple of hundred into a circuit board costing around a hundred, but not too hard so as not to crack anything. Connect wires for little lights.

    After a couple of decades we shouldn't be here anymore. We shouldn't have to worry about the fragility of components, and they shouldn't have to connect to each other in ways that seem precarious and exposed. We shouldn't have to buy a new motherboard to accommodate a new processor form factor, and then buy new memory to accommodate the slots that the motherboard presents to you.

    Swapping in and out the components of a PC should be as quick and painless as inserting and removing carts into a games machine. We need interfaces to be set in stone, not change at the whim of Intel or AMD. We need these components to have rigid housing so no one is apprehensive about picking them up.

    From a hardware perspective, we have a long way to go before things are where they should be. Software wise things are pretty good. My last PC update was 2007, so last month I replaced CPU, mobo and GPU, going from AMD to Intel/NVidia. Imagine my surprise when I transplanted my hard drive into the new system and booted up and it just ran Win7 as usual asking for a few new drivers found on the CDs. I thought I'd have to reinstall Windows. So far no previously installed program has gone awry under the new system.

  • Toothball #101 4 months ago

    @Ernest_Spires

    I bought a laptop last year and aside from delays in shipping was very pleased with the results. I'm quite capable of building a PC, but it was nice to just open the box and switch it on. Not for everyone perhaps, but some people don't mind paying for convenience.

  • spekkeh #102 4 months ago

    699 US Dollah and it doesn't even come with Ridge Racer.
    Bomba.

  • fizzyfish #103 4 months ago

    @arcam

    Putting the components together (or even the teething problems and post-build tinkering) isn't what puts me off building my own PC - it's the amount of time it takes me to select them. Understanding the latest tech and keeping the combination of components in balance while considering price, power, energy efficiency, noise and upgrade path can take a lot of effort and research, depending on how much you care about any of those aspects. I realise many people will find designing their machine to be half the fun but for someone like me, who obsesses too much over the details and finds the experience exhausting as a result, leaving that to a PC vendor is the better option and the time savings are worth the extra cost.

  • scoop #104 4 months ago

    Yes, yes, yes - but is the X51 loud?

    "Depends on what you're doing," answered Leyden.
    Playing games, dumbass!

    Honestly, you build a dedicated gaming rig, and someone asks you that question, you don't say "it's really quiet if you're browsing the internet". I lose interest at the lack of straight answers.
    Edited by scoop at 18/01/12 @ 11:29

  • arcam #105 4 months ago

    @LaFlamaBlanca

    Yes, but in a limited way.

    For example, if you wanted to upgrade the video card, you would need to make sure the card doesn't draw more than 150W of power, and that the card itself isn't more than 9" long.

    It's these kind of restrictions that mean a PC like this isn't as convenient as it first appears.

  • lucky_jim #106 4 months ago

    I can understand why people are sneering at this, but I think it's aimed at console gamers who don't like the "waggle" future that seems to be in store for console games: people who are considering a PC as their next console, if that makes sense. It's not aimed at people who already able to build a PC (and yes, I know it's not much more complicated than Lego nowadays, but there's no shame in not fancying it, just like there's no shame in people preferring to use a garage rather than maintain their cars themselves).

  • outy #107 4 months ago

    My friend is looking for a mid-tier gaming PC for around £700. I won't be recommending this to him.

  • alcides #108 4 months ago

    "This is something that has never been done before."

    consoles?

  • arcam #109 4 months ago

    @LaFlamaBlanca (brilliant username btw)

    It does have an optical out, and it includes Windows 7 64-bit so will be a 'proper' PC.

    There are different versions of this, but the £699 one will probably not run cutting edge games in 4-5 years.

    The mid spec one with an Intel i5 would probably last you a fair bit longer if you keep in mind a graphics card upgrade in 2-3 years time.

  • Lemming81 #110 4 months ago

    Why does it have a DVD writer? I could see the point in a Blu-ray or DVD reader, but the writer just seems like a waste really. It's got USB ports up the wazoo which makes more sense as people tend to transfer via flash drive these days.


    Those worrying about future-proofing and the lack-thereof concerning the lower end model are missing a trick here. You've basically got something that can emulate older console games with 1080p output that you can stick under your telly...


    You could finally lock away the Wii,xbox,ps1/2, GC, N64, Snes etc and just have everything on here looking as glorious as humanly possible. Why wait for the HD remakes of your old favourites that may never come?
    Edited by Lemming81 at 18/01/12 @ 12:30

  • arcam #111 4 months ago

    @Lemming81 If it is going to have a DVD drive, you might as well make it a writer - they are dirt cheap anyway.

    Since looking at it I've come around a bit. It's a decent (if expensive) product as long as you understand what you are getting.

    I would never recommend it to someone wanting to build a PC gaming machine, but if someone was after a media PC to run XBMC, stream and download video/music, and play games in the living room with a controller, this is a suitable option if you can afford it.

    If gaming is your priority, I still think a proper desktop (self-built or otherwise) with a long HDMI cable will be more powerful, cheaper, and easier to repair and upgrade.

  • Rack #112 4 months ago

    They say they aren't compromising on performance, but the top of the line version is slower than my PC and my PC is 6 years old and incapable of running modern games.

  • Uncompetative #113 4 months ago

    Knock £200 off...

  • seeafish #114 4 months ago

    Hmm... cheap. Actually it's only about £100 more than what I would pay for a non gaming laptop, so not bad!

  • ISmoke #115 4 months ago

    Looks pretty cool. I recently got myself a Alienware M14x laptop to use for when i go round to a friends house for a few LAN games and also around the house when i can't be bothered to use my gaming desktop and my first thoughts with anything Alienware is yes, they are over priced but the build quality of the their products are fantastic.

    For myself or other PC gaming enthusiasts this probably isn't aimed at us but even so i think it's a good product. Surely it takes away a lot of the fun of building your own machine though? I personally wouldn't buy an Alienware desktop - I'd rather build myself a better one for significantly cheaper.

  • Po1ymorph #116 4 months ago

    @Rack Have you got a 6 year old GPU?

    If money wasn't a issue, one of these would be a good hassle free buy.


    But you could self build the same for around £500.

  • Jon1292 #117 4 months ago

    Hey I think you forgot to use the "Sponsored Post" tag...

  • dsmx #118 4 months ago

    My only real issue with it is the 555 graphics card in it, throw a 560Ti in it and it would of been perfect for most people.

  • PlugMonkey #119 4 months ago

    @Brownstudy

    Personally, I've never really understood PC gaming. You seem to pay an awful lot more than you would on a console for the equivalent performance. Plus, you can buy an amazing GPU, only to find it doesn't work well with some games! And all the tinkering and messing about. I don't know. I know some people love PC gaming and that's great but I'm afraid it's lost on me.

    I can't remember the last time I had to either "tinker" or "mess about". That hasn't been the case for years.

    As far as the price goes, you might "only" need to spend £425 on a cutting edge, next gen console, compared to the £700 I spent on a gaming PC four years ago, but the reason this is possible is because the manufacturers sell them as a loss leader, and recoup the difference by adding £10 onto every new game you buy. By now, my 'all in' gaming costs on PC and PS3 for this generation must be about equal.

    You can't really compare the price of a console with the price of a PC, as they don't follow the same business model, so you're not really comparing like-for-like.

  • kitsuneyo #120 4 months ago

    @jaguarwong Exposure is advertising. Featuring this product on the front page, where others are not included, equals bias for.

  • Darren #121 4 months ago

    A neat idea to have a low-to-mid spec PC inside a console like shell for a reasonable price. The only problem I can see is that lack of upgrade options and potentially poor cooling for the hardware considering the small case. I'd almost be tempted to buy one to use with my 1080p HDTV in place of either my PS3 or Xbox 360, whichever is used the least (currently my 360), if it was a little cheaper. Alienware hardware has a bit of a bad reputation though...

  • PlugMonkey #122 4 months ago

    @esbenf

    If you are comfortable with building your own rig, you can get a monster machine, and a form factor not far from this a lot cheaper.. And then spend a couple of months figuring out how to make it sound less like a vacuum cleaner. But when you succeed in making it more silent than an xbox360 you get the bonus of feeling like a brilliant computer scientist!

    I could run my PC off a diesel generator, it would still be more silent than my Xbox360. ;)

    ----------------------------------

    You could build your own machine for much less. You could also buy a pre-built machine without the Alienware logo on it for much less too.

    It's like people haven't come across Alienware products before. They sell 'designer' (read 'overpriced') gaming PCs. That's what they do. That's the whole charm, in fact. It's the whole reason why you buy one. They are the Alfa Romeo of personal computers.

  • Elven_Star #123 4 months ago

    I recently built a PC for gaming, for the first time. It's a walk in the park, trust me.
    My rig: MSI 870A-G54, 8GB RAM, Sapphire 6870, AMD Phenom II X4 965, 885Watt PSU, 500GB HDD.
    Cost: ~400 Pounds
    Performance: I'm playing Skyrim with these settings:
    http://up98.org/upload/server1/01/z/0augob64tt10g72f66xv.png
    After over 4 hours, I have experienced no lag, FPS drop or anything like it. It runs like a charm.
    Now, why on earth should I pay almost double the price of my current rig (with tax, shipping and stuff) for an ugly piece of junk which probably can handle Skyrim at medium settings at best? If it doesn't explode due to poor case ventilation, that is.
    Wake up people. Don't let companies abuse you and take the money you've worked hard for away from you.
    Edited by Elven_Star at 18/01/12 @ 13:28

  • TheEarlOfZinger #124 4 months ago

    @Elven_Star

    Because you're lazy or ignorant?

  • TexMurphy01 #125 4 months ago

    @jimr9999us "Brilliant PC gaming solution."

    If I didn't believe you were an advertiser before that point, that certainly left me in no doubt.

  • BellyFullOfHell #126 4 months ago

    @Darksjeik
    Obviously, half the modern world and their wife disagree, else MS wouldn't be in the console market anymore.

  • kosigan #127 4 months ago

    Inside the X51 can be either an Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processor. That can be complimented by either a 16GB Nvidia GeForce GT 545 or an Nvidia GeForce GTX 555.
    Italicised words should be "complemented" and "1GB" respectively. I see the mis-spelt "riposte" (was missing the "e";) has already been removed.

  • knightmt #128 4 months ago

    Come back to me when you have an SSD, a bluray drive and amd/ gpu (fanboyism sorry), I am a fan of intel but I do not think they are the best value, NVidia are power hungry beasts.
    I imagine this will do quite well, in dollars though I totally agree with the upgradability issue. I should have an upgradable cpu, gpu and harddrive. Alienware are making the mistake of think the prophet is in the intitial product. I would buy this if it was easy to upgrade on a biannual basis.

  • darc #129 4 months ago

    It looks to me like the worst of both worlds, but maybe I'm just missing the point.

  • knightmt #130 4 months ago

    @arcam The hardware is piss easy, it is the software that takes the time, you should have someone headbutting a wall. Actually the software is fine as long as you are not using anything old.

  • UncleLou #131 4 months ago

    Personally, I've never really understood PC gaming. You seem to pay an awful lot more than you would on a console for the equivalent performance. Plus, you can buy an amazing GPU, only to find it doesn't work well with some games! And all the tinkering and messing about. I don't know. I know some people love PC gaming and that's great but I'm afraid it's lost on me.

    I guess your post just highlights a problem: there seems to be a misconception regarding PC gaming amongst many who often have never tried it.

    Personally, I am finding it a cheaper (!), less tedious and often even more reliable experience. I had/have consoles because of the odd exclusive game, but that's all.

  • BlueDot #132 4 months ago

    @Elven_Star
    Did you factor in £80 for Windows ? :-)

  • PlugMonkey #133 4 months ago

    @Elven_Star

    That's astonishing! I had no idea the bits were getting so cheap these days.

    And just to echo what you say: it really is so, so simple. You just bolt it together. If playing with Lego isn't beyond you, you can build your own PC.

  • TazerFan #134 4 months ago

    "Phwoar"?

  • alexbulluk #135 4 months ago

    I was expecting "cheap" to be sub-£400.

    I could never justify £699 as cheap!

  • Psychotext #136 4 months ago

    "You either have a nice-looking small form factor PC, or you get a gaming PC. And you can't have both because it doesn't exist - there is no small form factor PC that offers any sort of good gaming experience"

    What complete and utter horseshit. There's been products dedicated to small form factor gaming for quite some time. The only thing you really can't do is SLI... which this machine doesn't have anyway.

  • Snufkin #137 4 months ago

    If I've got any of father-in-law's money left after my wedding, I'm a-gonna get me on of them. Been thinking about getting a decent gaming PC for a while but as soon as I start looking at the millions of different options I get dizzy and have to lie down for a bit. What I need is a friendly neighbourhood Geekman to take my money, build me something awesome just for the fun of it (rather than charging me an arm and a leg), and give me change from 800.

    EDIT: /reads comments section/
    Wait, what? You can't upgrade it?? Why the fuck not?? Utterly pointless then. I want to know that i can at least upgrade the gfx card at some point. That entry level one is already almost out of date by the sounds of it.

    Back to the geek hunt then I suppose...
    Edited by Snufkin at 18/01/12 @ 16:37

  • joesoap_8308 #138 4 months ago

    For that price....no thanks:( I would rather spend the moola and build a PC myself.

  • Marshall2008 #139 4 months ago

    @MENTAL1ST erm, its their logo, duh. Wish mcdonalds would stop using those stupid gold arches, adidas would stop using stripes, nike stop using a swoosh.....

  • Lucodeath #140 4 months ago

    Build your own its a lot cheaper but if you cant then get saving up.

  • TRUTH #141 4 months ago

    I have a fairly powerful desktop PC, but really don't bother with it for gaming due to errors, glitches, not having the right spec..etc. All common problems I en-counted when simply trying to play a game on PC!...This machine (I believe it can be upgraded); will it be a simple case of plug n' play as with PS3/360 (which I use), by simply putting in the disc and play without any strange messages or configurations ?...Also will it be play on normal HD televisions ?

    If so this will be an interesting concept to consider for my future gaming moving away from the ease and enjoyable consoles(which I like).
    Edited by TRUTH at 18/01/12 @ 18:47

  • xuiton #142 4 months ago

    @uknortherner2000 true, the pc I am using now is from pc specialist. One of the best custom pc websites out there.

  • Marshall2008 #143 4 months ago

    The £699 price tag is even more alarming when you look at the specifications at that price.

    Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
    Intel® Core™ i3-2120 (3.30GHz, 3MB L3 Cache, 2C)
    1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 545
    4GB 1333MHz (2x2GB) Dual Channel Memory
    1TB Serial ATA (7,200 rpm)
    DVD+/-RW (Read/Write)
    Internal High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio
    Integrated 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Wireless LAN


    For £738 you can get Dell XPS 8300 Desktop (same spec) but with 8GB RAM and a 23" LCD monitor. OK, you don't get a wee box but it will probably run quieter under load.

  • Unofficial #144 4 months ago

    I think it's a good idea. I've built PC's probably for the last 15 years or so but after a while you just can't be arsed with it anymore. It's fine when you're younger maybe and you want the absolute best performance for lowest price (and case size isn't an issue), but as you get older other priorities take hold and you're willing to spend a bit more for convinience over bleeding edge performance.

    I've even got a mid range gaming PC already in my spare room but rarely bother with it as I'd much rather play on the TV with the 7.1 surround system than lock myself away upstairs in the office. I work at a desk on PC all day - i dont want to come home and do more of the same, so this seems like a good way of keeping tabs on PC gaming with a minimum of fuss.

  • IneptPercy #145 4 months ago

    Interesting idea but just too expensive for what it is inside.

    As mentioned building a PC is so easy so no excuses really, with that tweaking clocks and timings does get a bit more confusing but the hours googling are worth it.

  • SpaceMonkey77 #146 4 months ago

    Damn you Alienware. Just bought a laptop with roughly that spec in October, for about 700 too.

    Great idea though, since PC gaming can be more awesome when hooked up to our lovely lcd tvs. I just hope that MS don't get nightmares over this tech, with a new console in the pipe.

    Don't tell Google about this system, or they might think about buying out Alienware and enter the console market.

  • Ashcroft #147 4 months ago

    As a moron who can neither build my own PC, or wait for Ebuyer to sell off the previous year's high end gaming PCs at a fraction of the price when the new ones come out, I find that this stupid piece of shit system will suit my fuckwitted needs perfectly.

  • jonse1977 #148 4 months ago

    £700?! cheap? I sold my xbox and built a £405 pc gaming and xbmc media box back in October; plays Dirt 3, Skyrim and Deus Ex better than xbox/ps3 could ever (using my old xbox controller). Summary specs from my order at overclockers: Radeon 6850 - £93, Phenom Quad X4 3.2ghz - £71, MB - £53, 4GB ram £20, PSU and Case £50, WD 1TB caviar SATA 6gb £40.

    Do it yourself - Alienware well over priced.

  • man.the.king #149 4 months ago

    Ah so that's what the daily Alienware ads on the right were in aid of!

  • Elven_Star #150 4 months ago

    @CheeseChipsAndBeans Have a look at this:
    http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/121/1214544p1.html

  • TRUTH #151 4 months ago

    Is this thing Plug N' Play simplicity like consoles ? Connect to a normal HD TV ? No configuring and tampering around with system or software ?

    If so I'm interested.
    Edited by TRUTH at 18/01/12 @ 23:22

  • DarkOni #152 4 months ago

    While I can see the appeal of Alienware Systems for the consumer, if handled with care EVERYONE can build their own system, saving hundreds in the process.

    I build myself a rather high end PC for ~1000€ thanks to some good deals.

    In Short this System from Alienware is overpriced, most of their Systems ar...

    Wait what?
    That can be complimented by either a 16GB Nvidia GeForce GT 545...
    Well that explains everything!

  • Syrette #153 4 months ago

    How many times are people going to leave comments in here informing everyone that you can, in fact, build your own PC (with similar or better specs) for less than the cost of this Alienware PC?

    The exact same point has been made about 75+ times now.

  • Gastrian #154 4 months ago

    Post deleted at 17:56:43 13-04-2012

  • DarkOni #155 4 months ago

    @Syrette Its quite apparent that the 16 GB are infact a typo, my intention was to tide over from the "You know" tandrum to the funny typo part, sorry if that did not come across quite well^^

  • ToothlessGibbon #156 4 months ago

    @StooMonster Well Windows 8 in essentially the Xbox dashboard so they will have soon.

  • 5h1nj1 #157 4 months ago

    If it really has a "Blah blah 24x dual-layer DVD-RW" then I'm in.

  • Ernest_Spires #158 4 months ago

    My questions to the 'build your own' crowd: can you 'easily' build a small form factor gaming pc of comparable or better power and a similar size to the X51, for less cost than the Alienware?

    If it's possible, please provide examples and prices of components, considering whether they would fit into the smaller case etc.

    What would a PC building newbie need to research in order to carry out the job effectively, and how long would it take to do this research? Where would you start?

    If you have built a small form factor PC before, is it much more difficult than building a desktop PC with a conventionally sized case?

    The size and style of the X51's case was what drew me to it initially, and the fact that I could play PC games sitting on a sofa. I had been looking at other (pre-built) small form factor PCs (using a Lian Li PC-V351 or other similar cases), though these were generally larger than the X51 - i.e. not games console, stick-it-under-the-television size. Perhaps more cases of this type will become available in the near future?

  • PlugMonkey #159 4 months ago

    @Syrette

    Indeed. And no-one, not even Alienware, has ever suggested that Alienware products are anything other than overpriced.

  • Francisnf #160 4 months ago

    Really like the idea of this, if it was easily upgradable it would be even better.

  • TRUTH #161 4 months ago

    The whole point of this I think is you un-box it, connect it to you television, switch on, do the basic system start-up(as with all consoles); place a disc inn, then play - simplicity!

    A PC that's built for powerful gaming and built around the simplicity of a console, but, the difference from a console is that you have the option to upgrade graphics/sound/memory as stated by Alienware!.

    Games like Battlefield at full effect and other power hungry games playing at 1080p with full graphical effects and textures with full framerates on HD TV simply excites me more then any next gen consoles. With now the prospect of all those upcoming games like Diablo III, Stalker II, Half Life 3, Total War, Crysis 3 without cuts and edits to graphics/physics/AI/sound never being downgraded to fit consoles. I think even next-gen consoles will not be able to quiet reach peak performance of mid-high range PC gaming!...The 360/PS3 never managed to do it, neither did the gen before that!!!

  • IvorB #162 4 months ago

    Wow. I didn't see this coming. I'm really interested in this. So could I hook this up to my home entertainment centre and run PC games on my TV? This looks cool. Is it upgradable? I like the sound of this. Like a consoled PC.
    Blah blah 24x dual-layer DVD-RW; internal 7.1 audio and integrated 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless LAN
    What the f**k does this mean? Is "blah blah" some kind of brand name?

  • drSchiwago #163 4 months ago

    Before buying this, I would check some - albeit slightly bigger - barebones with microATX boards, which can often be upgraded with a really decent graphic card. The price tag for such a barebone should also be competitive.

  • willys #164 4 months ago

    This uses a desktop gtx555 GPU right? Which would be comparable to a 580M maybe a bit weaker so I'm guessing this would be alot more powerful than a comparably priced laptop and nextgen consoles which

  • uninspiredcup #165 4 months ago

    I can build a powerful pc for about £450. Run rings around consoles run anygame maxed. What pc gaming needs is the software, proper pc games, flight sims, RTS games like Shogun, pc FPS. Too much console shit not makig good use of the hardware to justify it for people. Not gimmicks like this.

  • Turok3000 #166 4 months ago

    @JAGUARCD32x But you are wrong if next xbox720 will run the tech demo the samaritan if the next xbox will probably have ati 6670. Plus, microsoft stated they will go wii style, so no big hardware but more affordable for people and it will come with kinect 2. On the other hand, I don't think sony will launch a super machine either since they had a bad expierience with pnch prices3 ($600-$700 launch price).

  • Turok3000 #167 4 months ago

    @Turok3000 I meant ps3...

  • Fatum #168 4 months ago

    I have never built or assembled a computer myself. Not to speack of the total lack of knowing what hardware works properly with what. Going to software setup and drivers, I start running, simply not my world. No doubt, there are endless websites and forums where such knowledge or at least directions could be obtained. I just can't find the tinyest seed of motivation or interest nor the willingness to free time to do so.

    I have nothing than highest respect for all the tech competence and experience in people out there. Mine just doesn't lay in tech. So for folks like me, a machine like the one above might just be a perfectly fine consumer good.