Dell is now shipping its unofficial Steam Machine, the Alienware Alpha PC gaming console

[Shawn Knight]

Valve’s Steam Machine concept generated a lot of buzz when it first broke cover well over a year ago but an unavoidable delay that pushed the release date back to 2015 took most of the wind out of its sails.

Dell isn’t waiting until the New Year – or on Valve’s branding – to launch its “PC gaming console.”  The Alienware Alpha is available as of writing and is essentially an unofficial Stream Machine. It comes in four pre-configured models ranging in price from $550 up to $900.

The entry-level model ships with a dual-core Intel Core i3-4130T processor clocked at 2.9GHz alongside 4GB of RAM, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M with 2GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive. The top-end model comes with a quad-core Intel Core i7-4765T ticking along at 3GHz, 8GB of RAM, the same GTX 860M and 2TB of internal storage.

Unfortunately with only an 860M GPU, buyers won’t be able to run the latest games at high graphics settings.

All systems run Windows 8.1 but boot into what’s called the Alpha-UI, a gaming-minded user interface that provides easy access to Steam Big Picture mode. It also comes with an Xbox 360 controller as the Steam Controller was also delayed.

As mentioned, systems are available as of writing at select Fry’s and Walmart locations or you can simply order online from a number of retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop and Newegg, among others.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/58938-dell-now-shipping-unofficial-steam-machine-alienware-alpha.html

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

To hell with that. For those prices I could build a decent gaming PC and I can't say I'm all that excited about this Steam Box concept but hey... maybe that'll change one day.

 

[Adhmuz]

Topping out with a 860M is a major disappointing, at least leave some room for improvement with the 970M, that with an i5 would be a better choice then the i7 and 860M combo they want to push at $900, also known as the worse deal of the century...

 

[tipstir]

Wow! DELL been around, they should know better not to release another product that might not do so well as they have hope it would. Specs like those today are not going to cut it DELL not at those rates.

 

[amstech]

So machines like this sell? Who buys these things?

 

[Spykezxp]

There are people that will buy these systems, thinking that it will be the greatest thing, but soon find out they are big disappointments. I agree with Adhmuz with the fact that pairing an i5 with a 970M would make for an all around better system and also make the price better too. They want these things to sell, but most likely Dell just has extra parts sitting around and figured they would just slap something together and call it "good enough". Apparently they have not learned from their prior mistakes.

 

[ElShotte]

Eh, the system is capable of achieving around 30 FPS on High (not Ultra) in most; even modern games. Also, considering the fact that that's a pretty damn big case for a chipset that was meant for laptops, it's got lots of cooling, which means you can push the video card a bit, essentially to guarantee few to no drops below 30 FPS.

So, it's really a console.

 

[Guest]

I really love the concept of Steam UI, just need a nice i5 machine with upgrade able video card and a nice power supply. Maybe make 2 basic machines, i5 and i7, then give users 3-4 upgrades within. The whole idea behind Steam is for a more open ecosystem, I think it would have a much better opportunity if Dell understood this and implemented it.

 

[GhostRyder]

Its another Alienware fools machine that is labeled to be a gaming box when in fact its very low on the totem pole. They didn't even allow for a GPU upgrade or start with a small desktop GPU at least that way it would be much easier to upgrade. I mean honestly I would settle for a 750ti or R7 260X (Something in those areas) as the only option with the processors because at least then we could upgrade it down the line.

In this case, its just a big laptop without having all the laptop components with it (Screen, keyboard, mouse, etc) which for me I would rather go out and just buy a laptop and I probably could get a good laptop with an 860m GPU in that price range.

 

[Obzoleet]

HAHAHA always the same with Alienware, **** hardware for overprice.

 

[BloodyMatters]

Steam machine is unneccessary.. I first liked the idea, it would come in handy, but it's badly put together. For that price I can get an gaming PC wich runs everything at max 60 FPS. the onlything left is to plug it to my TV and add an Xbox controller to it. And I have the same idea... I mean, this is never going to be able to compete with the Gaming systems out there..

I did found myself exited when I first read about it.. but now, I luagh at them... I just keep it at the PS3 and PS4, because as far as I could see PS4 is more powerfull and cheaper then a Steam Machine at the same price range.

 

[GeforcerFX]

This is suppose to be a console like system was space was a major concern. Your paying around the same price as a xbone (with connect) but getting a full fledge computer instead that can still prob push more pixels then the xbone (thought I think the PS4 still has more horsepower). If you want a small box (though slightly larger then this) thats upgradeable Alienware (dell) has that too in the X51 series. They weren't going to make this a power house just to undermine there other, actually successful, small pc. I think the real porblem was dell jumped the gun on steam OS built the box threw them into production and are now just trying to 1. test the waters 2. get rid of merchandise since steam OS has basically become a ghost that no one really seems to care about.

 

[spam joe]

My top concern about Steam Machines is that they aren't locked down. In the online gaming world, there are cheaters galore and the reason I play on a console is because I know that they get their accounts and consoles permanently banned for it.