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Dell's Haswell-Powered Alienware X51 R2 SFF, a PC Gamer's Console Alternative
MojoKid writes "Dell recently introduced their Alienware X51 series of small form factor gaming PCs but until now, squeezing in components that were powerful enough for the enthusiast gamer was a significant thermal challenge. Intel's recent Haswell Core processor release, as well as NVIDIA's GeForce 670 series graphics cards have changed the game considerably though. The X51 R2 is shaped similar to to an Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger, it would be right at home in a living room setting. Alienware is also bundling Steam Big Picture mode installations with systems as well. Performance-wise, with its latest CPU and GPU upgrades, the system is over twice as fast as the first generation X51, again thanks to Haswell and upgraded NVIDIA GeForce graphics. The console-sized PC is capable of running virtually any current gen DX11 title at full 1920X1080 HD resolution and high image quality settings."
I think the fact that Dell is essentially creating a "Console PC" says a lot about how bad the PS4 and XBone consoles offerings are for this generation. Bad enough that other PC companies are going to try and mussel in on the action.
read the fine print. "as configured" price is $1,849. that's the specs you see there. the cheaper option has no SSD, weaker graphics, and less RAM. looking on amazon, i say no $699 option. there's a $729 option, and it comes with an i-3 processor.
... you go to Amazon to find the best price on an Alienware?
http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-x51-r2/pd.aspx
$699 to start.That gets you an i3-3220, 6GB of RAM, a 1GB NVIDIA GTX 645, and a 1TB spinny platter drive.
It is if you consider that besides playing games, you could also use the Alienware machine to develop your own games as well as do music production, video editing, web development, word processing, spreadsheets, run fluid dynamics numerical simulations as well as play all of the indie, F2P and other games that are PC-only. And you have a choice of keyboard or controller.
And, as you say, the Alienware system is considerably more powerful than the "$400 PS4". Plus, you're not giving any money to Sony, which is probably more important to me than all the other points combined.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Not to mention saving money, you know that thing that makes Walmart so attractive?
You only save money if your time is worthless. Most people don't want to spend their time on the effort and are *gasp* willing to pay for convenience. It's almost like they have different priorities than you. Unspeakable!
no, even discounted PC games are almost always cheaper. They dont have the MS/Sony rent included.
I am a free slashdotter. I will not be modded, blogged, DRM'd, patented, podcasted or RFID'd. My life is my own.
That's the nice thing about Apple. They don't really give you any real choice. There's nothing to worry your pretty little head over because the men at Apple have already done your thinking for you.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
I bought Borderlands 2 for $8 on a Steam sale less than a year after release.
You find many AAA console games at Gamestop for $8?
You are welcome on my lawn.
Your paying double the price for a PC that you could build yourself that is less cost than a console. Add in Steam Sales and PC Gaming is the cheapest option right now and is not a walled garden.
Ouya doesn't quite count as a "console platform", because the amount of work a developer has to do to publish a game that already exists anyway for Android to Ouya is borderline-trivial compared to the amount of work a developer has to do to publish a game for, say, Wii.*|Xbox.*|PlayStation.*|PS.*
That's part of the reason why in the long run, Android is likely to be a more lethal threat to the console ecosystem than ANYTHING Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, or anyone else can come up with. Android games will exist regardless of whether there are zero, ten, or 300 different Android consoles ranging from Ouya++ to nameless HDMI sticks from Shenzhen.
Ditto, for Microsoft. Microsoft is hellbent on having SOMETHING in your living room, and if push comes to shove, they'll try to convince DirecTV to make them part of their new satellite boxes going forward.Microsoft has enough cash to slog on almost forever.
Sony won't abandon a cash cow, but Nintendo's the most likely of all to stick it out to the bitter end, just because they don't really HAVE a "plan B". Sony can make Android phones & Android STBs, and still feel like it has saved face. By any sane standard, Nintendo should have had a dozen Gameboy phones by now, but unfortunately they're one of the most visible casualties of Japan's mobile phone market -- a market so proprietary and closed, it makes America's look like the shining light of robust pro-consumer open choice by comparison. Nintendo has an international market, but their strong Japanese roots & closed domestic phone market have kept them from ever seeing phones as a viable business opportunity.
On the main screen window, click the drop down menu on far left (I forgot what it's called). Second option is 'go offline'. You can play games without updates that way. Steam requires you to sign in somewhere between 30-90 days, so you could just go online for a second. stop the update, go offline, then play unpatched.
I have a PC that I bought with gaming in mind (to a reasonable gaming spec), but which is also my main "everything" PC. Yes I use it to play the latest games on, but I also use it for working from home, internet banking, code compiling, etc. etc. Seeing as I need a decent PC for those things, if I bought an Xbox I'd still need to buy a PC too. Obviously the PC could be lower spec if I didn't use it for gaming, but all the same- a £400 Xbox plus a £200 PC isn't far off the £700 I spent on this gaming PC.
I hate it when people say that. My free time IS worthless. I get paid to work 9:00-17:00 Monday to Friday. There is a small amount of room for overtime when needed, but more than 1 hour a day on a regular basis would likely start to raise the hackles of my Project Manager. So from 18:00 to bedtime every weekday and all day Saturday and Sunday, I have very little earning potential. I mostly fill this time with either unpaid housework/errands, or with things that I enjoy.
So let's say I watch 2 hours of TV on a Saturday. If I DON'T watch 2 hours of TV on a Saturday, and instead spend 2 hours assembling a PC, I have not lost any money. If you enjoy building PCs at all, then you haven't even lost much by way of "relaxation potential".
Now, let's say that I could save £100 by assembling a PC from parts over buying the same PC pre-assembled. If it takes me 4 hours to do, I've essentially earned myself £25 an hour in savings. Compared to sitting on my arse watching TV, that's not a bad return on my time really.