The Alienware X51 was surely inevitable, but we’re surprised it’s taken this long. Alienware, peddler of pimped out gaming rigs, has crammed all those Wintel specs inside a console sized-box. It doesn’t have a console-sized price tag though: would you pay £700 for a games machine that sits nicely under your telly?
UPDATE: Dell says the Alienware X51 is available in the UK now.
PC gaming has been going through something of a renaissance lately: the latest machines far surpass the now ageing Xbox 360 and Sony PS3 in terms of performance, Steam continues to steam along. And if you haven’t played Skyrim on PC, you haven’t really played it.
But there’s no denying the convenience of that little black box that sits under your TV, which is where the Alienware X51 comes in. It’s a gaming PC, with the typical array of configurations (Intel Core i3 to i7 processors, 1GB Nvidia GeForce graphics cards, 4 to 8GB of DDR3 memory, 1TB of storage space), but with its small size, front facing USB ports, vertical or horizontal positioning and stealthy design, it’s designed to replace your Xbox, and handle many of the same games at a far higher FPS.
The Alienware X51 is out now with prices starting at £699, stretching up to £949 for the top model. It might just make a purist’s dreams come true.
