Consoles are becoming more like PCs, and PCs are becoming more like consoles, and sooner or later, it’s probably all going to be mini set-top boxes hooked up to the cloud.
But in the meantime, Alienware’s new X51 looks like a console, works like a PC, and only costs the national debt of a small third-world nation.
“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 told Eurogamer.
“Somebody going into a store today looking for a PC basically has to make a choice. 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.”
Alienware X51 dimensions
The standard PC features a Core i3 CPU, 4GB DDR3 RAM and nVidia GT545, and can push Battlefield 3 at 1080p, with high resolution textures, 4x aniostropic filtering and medium anti-aliasing turned on, at around 32 fps.
Nice. And all this for only… £700, or about R8,650. Huuuuuuuurk.
Okay, that’s the European price point. In Americaland it’s tagged at US$700 (±R5,700).
In South Africa, Dell SA has previously stated that they do their best to bring in Alienware laptops at a price point no more than 10% above the US currency conversion, so hopefully this will remain true of the X51.
Alienware X51
Alienware X51 spec sheet
- Intel Core i5 Dual Core (standard) and Intel Core i7 Quad Core Processor options.
- Intel H61 Express Chipset Architecture.
- Mini-ITX Motherboard.
- NVIDIA Graphics Card options.
- 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 (Standard).
- 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 555.
- Configure with up to 8GB of DDR3 Memory (4GB Standard); 2x 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM Slots.
- Fast 7,200RPM 1TB Hard Drive.
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium.
- Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner (Standard) or optional Blu-ray Disc Reader.
- Internal High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio with Waves MAXX Audio Software.
- Integrated 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet NIC and Integrated 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Wireless LAN (standard).
- USB 2.0 (6x); USB 3.0 (2x); Microphone In; Headphone/Speaker Out; HDMI 1.4 Output; RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet; Front, Rear and Center Speaker Ports; SPDIF Digital Output (TOSLINK); SPDIF Digital Output (Coax).
- Alienware 240 Watt Power Supply (Standard) or optional 330 Watt Power Supply.
- Dual-orientation tower system dimensions: h: 13.5″ (343mm) x w: 3.74″ (95mm) x d: 12.52″ (318mm).
- Starting Weight: 12.1 lbs. (5.49 Kg.).
Source: Eurogamer, Dell
Alienware X51 comparison
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how can you say consoles are becoming more like PC’s? Not even close! And Alienware is over priced
i3 and plays BF3 at 32 FPS bwahahahaha! Don’t waste your money on this crap