Alienware Alpha
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Alienware Alpha review: almost the Steam Machine you're looking for
It's hard to describe the Alienware Alpha. On the surface, it's a small-form gaming PC, custom-built from laptop components to fit in your entertainment center. But it was supposed to be a frontrunner in a new category of gaming devices. It isn't. Valve's Steam Machine initiative was delayed past its original launch window, leaving manufacturers like Dell to fend for themselves in a market that doesn't exist yet. It's a weird, awkward place to be in, but here we are, testing the Alienware Alpha: a Steam Machine before its time. The question is: Can one of the biggest names in PC gaming succeed where others have failed?
The Alienware Alpha has come for your money, Earthlings
Alienware and parent company Dell have made good on the promise to release a console-sized, TV-oriented PC by year's end with the Alienware Alpha - a not-quite Steam Machine that runs Windows 8.1 and comes with an Xbox 360 controller (as opposed to running SteamOS and utilizing a Steam Controller the way a "true" Steam Machine does). For $550, you can order the base model, which comes with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M graphics card, Intel i3 processor, 4 GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive. For $700, you can double the RAM and storage capacity to 8 GB and 1 TB, respectively. For $800, the Alpha will come with an i5 processor instead of an i3 (as well as the additional RAM and storage space). Lastly, for $900, you can get an Alienware Alpha with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M, i7 processor, 8 GB of RAM and 2 TB of storage. If you prefer to do your shopping in person, the Alpha is available at select Walmart and Fry's Electronics locations. Online, you can order via Walmart, Fry's Electronics, Dell, Best Buy, GameStop, Amazon, NewEgg, Sam's Club and Tiger Direct. Hey, maybe you'll even get one in time for the supposed Steam Fall Sale start date of November 26 and put it to use right away. [Image: Dell]
Alienware to launch SteamOS-less Steam Box this year
Alienware Alpha is a small gaming PC designed for the living room, and it launches this holiday for $550. It's Windows-based and ships with an Xbox 360 controller, plus a dongle that supports up to four Xbox 360 controllers, and it will be able to run all games in 1080p and at 60fps. This is Alienware's Steam Machine in every way except technically: It won't ship with a Steam controller and it won't ship with SteamOS. These are the two things that make a Steam Machine, according to Valve. "It's absolutely Steam-ready," Alienware Global Marketing Director Bryan de Zayas told Joystiq on the E3 show floor. "It's not that we're bypassing Steam. It's critical. They have the majority of the digital downloads."
