Steam machines are arriving in the market. Now, Dell has introduced the powerful Alienware Alpha. It was first introduced during CES 2014, and it was a bit different than the Alienware’s vision. Rather than running with SteamOS, Dell introduced the Windows 8.1 in it. Every Alpha box now comes with an Xbox 360 controller for Windows, along with a wireless receiver.
Alienware Alpha is quite pricey and costs $549. However, you shouldn’t be scared of the price because the current price in the U.S. is $499. The Alpha has set a high bar for other Steam Machines. Let’s dig deeper into the Alienware Alpha and see what it’s all about.
Design:
After its debut last year at CES, nothing much has changed regarding Alienware Alpha’s design language. The box still has the same glowing alien head logo on its face. Moreover, it has the same 180-degree slice through the left end, which shows a triangular LED.
The lights of the Alpha can shine in different colors, which you can choose through Alienware’s custom UI. Moreover, as before, the front side of the box has room for two USB 2.0 ports, and the remaining inputs and outputs are present in the back.
Alpha is one of the sharpest-looking Steam Machine made till now. Its design is on par with PS4 and Xbox One. Moreover, you can remove its whole top lid, which reveals many upgradeable parts. You can upgrade the components as you like. However, you shouldn’t touch the graphics chip. The graphics chip is the Nvidia GeForce GTX that has been modified by the Alienware team.
Specifications:
The Alienware measures around 7.9 x 7.9 x 2.2 inches (W x D x H), and it weighs 4.4 pounds. As a reference, the Maingear Spark occupies less space 5 x 4.5 x 2.25 inches and weighs only 1 pound. However, you should know that size isn’t everything in electronics.
The device has a 2.9 GHz Intel dual-core processor. It has a memory of 4GB. Moreover, the graphics card present in the Alpha is the Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M. It supports the Windows 8.1 system. The storage space is 500GB SATA. It also has 2 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0 ports. Moreover, Alienware Limited Hardware has a 1-year warranty.
The highest-end model of Alienware Alpha costs $849. This configuration offers you an Intel Core i7 chip, double RAM, a 2 x 2 dual-band Wi-Fi, and a 2TB spinning device. However, the Alienware’s customized GTX 860M is your only graphics option for all models. If you feel that the high-end model is too costly, you can buy the basic model and upgrade it yourself.
Performance:
We can’t compare the Alpha Alienware’s performance with other gaming PCs because of its lack of a similar system and a customized GPU. However, let’s look at the benchmarks.
The PCMark 8 Home gives it 2,935 points. The Cinebench CPU gives it 263 points with 74 fps graphics. Moreover, the Cloud gives it 9,678, and the Fire Strike gives it 3,524.
Now, in layman terms, all you need to know is that Alienware Alpha is going to run all PC games at 1080p with proper graphics settings. You can play Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor and similar games in 1080p. However, games, like Titanfall, don’t perform well on it.
The main reason behind it is that there is a mobile GPU supporting these games. Moreover, there is a gap between Nvidia’s desktop and the 800M series of mobile chips, regardless of the modifications.
The Alienware Alpha requires some firmware updates. Moreover, the company needs to work with developers to help optimize games for Alienware. However, currently, you can still play many games, which are exclusive to the PC, like Rogue Legacy and Tower Fall Ascension.
Verdict:
You should buy the Alienware Alpha if you don’t have a gaming PC. It’s stylish and has a compact design. Moreover, it has good performance and is upgradeable. However, there are no GPU upgrades, and it’s a bit overpriced. However, the Alienware Alpha is a great platform to enjoy PC games.
