With the current gen consoles really showing their age, and no true next generation consoles in the horizon, I decided to make the jump to PC gaming this year. This was largely inspired by the imminent Diablo 3 launch and the introduction of Alienware X51, a PC that looks like a console and is easy for a total noob to upgrade.

I have been having my PC now for a few weeks, tweaking and testing it and thought I'd share my experiences with GAF.


Alienware X51




Alienware X51 is a box roughly the size of the original Xbox. The base setup comes in three varieties - i3, i5 or i7. It's advisable to pick the i5 version because it comes with the 330W power adapter and runs cooler than the i7, which doesn't add much to gaming anyway.

Alienware kit is often ridiculed here for being overpriced and underpowered, but I estimated I'm paying some $150 over the price of the components bought separately - which I think is acceptable for the good design, well laid out (i.e. easy to upgrade) internal parts as well as for just avoiding the risk of messing up something in a totally custom build.

So I got a device and upgraded it to something that seems comparable to most of the rumors of next generation consoles. I thought it'd be interesting to share these findings with GAF, as this gives us a good benchmark on what to expect from a next generation console.

IMPORTANT: You will need to order a configuration with GTX 555 in order to get the 330w PSU that is required for better graphics cards

System spec (customized graphics card)

• Intel i5 2320K processor 3.0GHz
• 8GB RAM
• Sapphire HD 7870 2GB (2.56TFLOP, DirectX 11.1, Open GL 4.2)
• 330W power supply unit
• 7.1 surround sound
• 1080P HDMI

Five hundred ninety nine US dollars

The cost of jumping to next generation early:

£799 for the Alienware X51 i5
£193 for Sapphire 7870

TOTAL £992

I could probably sell the extra GTX 555 to bring that down a bit.


Sapphire HD 7870




While the stock Alienware X51 comes with a GTX 555 (right), I decided that I would upgrade to a beefier HD 7870 (left). HD 7870 is a new, incredibly power efficient and cool running card from AMD based on the new GCN architecture.

At the time very little was known of whether it would fit in at all, not to speak of heat and power consumption. So I have been doing a ton of research and benchmarking (Prime95 and Furmark) and can confirm the following.

• The Sapphire 7870 works just fine with the X51
• Power consumption at torture test is max 203W, which is ok for a 330W adapter
• Heat at torture test maxes at around 85C for both CPU and GPU
• No mods required, but the card is a tight fit so better watch a video
• Power cable to graphics card should be routed behind HDD to keep it away from fans
• Card should be attached to tray with a cable clip to avoid it blocking the airflow
• Alienware X02 BIOS has too high fan speed for Fan 2, so need to use Speedfan to cap it at 75%

I bought the non-OC version of the card, but for some reason it was clocked at the OC speed, 1Ghz


Screenshots

I took some screenshots of what gaming at 1080P looks like on this box. I like to play with V-Sync enabled to avoid tearing, so you can see the frame rates accordingly. Generally I found I can play the most taxing games at top settings (but with no AA) at a solid 45-60FPS.


Battlefield 3 - 1080P, all settings Ultra, no AA














Crysis - 1080P, all settings maxed out








Starcraft 2 - 1080P, all settings maxed out












Batman: Arkham City - 1080P, all settings maxed out










Diablo 3 - 1080P, all settings maxed out










XCOM: Enemy Unknown - 1080P, all settings maxed out, locked at 60FPS








Wii HD - 1080P, 2 x Internal Resolution, 4xAA, 4xAF, locked at 30FPS

The Alienware X51 doubles up really nicely as a Wii HD for me. The Dolphin emulator runs flawlessly, and the Wiimote is easy to hook up using the bluetooth dongle.













Power consumption




I have been measuring the power consumption of this box for a while, running benchmarks after benchmarks and noticed it peaks at 203W during Prime95 + Furmark being torture tested for 15 minutes, which leaves a lot of headroom in the 330W power adapter.

Prolonged gaming sessions with Battlefield 3 consumee 180W As a comparison, launch PS3 consumed 189W and launch Xbox 360 consumed 172W during gameplay.


Heat

With the HD 7870, in an ambient temperature of around 24C, the CPU and GPU temps maxed at around 85C in torture test (Prime95 + Furmark). During regular gameplay the temp for the CPU and GPU was between 65-73C. Idle temp for the CPU was 55C and GPU 35C.


Noise

I would say the Alienware X51 is roughly on par or a little quieter than the launch Xbox 360.

There is one important thing to note, though. Alienware has set Fan 2 too high in the X02 BIOS. By default it caps at 6000RPM, although it's specced at 4500RPM. It gets really noisy at speed above spec. I found that the system is quiet if Fan 2 is capped at 75% using Speedfan, and this has minimal effect on temperatures.

With the new Fan 2 profile the system is really pleasantly quiet. I have still a little trouble understanding how Speedfan works and how to get it stick, though.


Accessories

There is a bunch of essential accessories a gamer should get for the Alienware X51.

• Apple bluetooth keyboard. Very light with great, tactile keys. Great for gaming on sofa.
• Logitech G700 gaming mouse. Superb wireless mouse with keys for grenades, prone etc.
• Bluetooth stick. Required for the keyboard
• Xbox 360 controller wireless adapter. Turns the X51 to what feels like a 1080P 60FPS console.

Beta box

Clearly the X51 is still a beta product and the consumer is the beta tester. My first box didn't boot, the motherboard was busted. Dell has great service though, an engineer was with me the next day. Also, there is currently an issue of the CPU fan making a very high pitch noise - Dell has promised a replacement fan to everyone.

These are the annoyances of completely new hardware. However, even a complete PC newbie like myself managed to survive with the help of Google, YouTube and Dell forums.


Conclusions




Alienware X51 got pretty good reviews from CNET, Anandtech and other websites. After my first few weeks, I would mostly agree with them. I have found the Alienware X51 an absolutely spectacular gaming machine. It has decent looks, runs silent enough, and best of all - it has crazy good performance when coming from the consoles. The upgradeability seems sufficient for the time being, and is super easy.

Comfy couch gaming is indeed comfortable, with a lightweight Apple bluetooth keyboard and the Logitech G700 mouse that I tend to use against my jeans. Or, with the Xbox 360 controller for some games.

I do miss, however, a proper 10 feet UI. It would be amazing to have something that would combine Steam and Plex into one big screen experience.

Given that this is my first PC, I found the tweaking and testing part incredibly fun and addictive. I even replaced the CPU thermal paste. The X51 is an easy introduction to tinkering with PCs, I think that should a nice case be available when I need to do a new PC, I'm now more confident of building one myself.

Which brings me to case design. The X51 case should be a real opportunity for case manufacturers - designing a console style box this well will certainly find a target audience.

Using Alienware X51 as a yard stick for next generation consoles is pretty interesting. The system is entirely unoptimized, yet manages to pack 2.5TFLOPs into a console size box that is well within the power budget of the launch PS3. Given the huge amount of cost optimizations, efficiencies of a light OS and economies of scale, I now believe that 1080P games matching BF3 Ultra at 60FPS are a realistic possibility as a minimum ballpark of graphics we'll see at next generation console launch.

Finally, the alien eyes on the console turn red when in danger zone in Battlefield 3, which is pretty cool.

EDIT - small correction, I just realized I had my video card model wrong, it's actually a Sapphire 7870 I have been running in my X51. My original post stated 7850, but it is in fact the beefier one that I've used and pictured below. Apologies for the confusion. Good news is that the more powerfu card works fine.

So how much money did you spend on all this all said and done?

pje122 said:

So how much money did you spend on all this all said and done?

Click to expand...

thread is worthless without price, i agree

scans OP for price.. well this is useless.

edit: in all seriousness thanks for pics and the info but I want price.

pje122 said:

So how much money did you spend on all this all said and done?

Click to expand...

£799 for the Alienware X51 i5
£193 for Sapphire 7850

TOTAL £992

I could probably sell the GTX 555 to bring that down a bit.

That's a good question - I'll edit in the original post.

that is $1600 USD.....
I know prices aren't going to be a great comparison(you guys pay way more than we do), but you could have a crossfire or sli setup at that price....

Why hello there!

Sorry, couldn't help but chuckle at this.

Important question for a lazy guy like me, can it be powered on/off remotely? Not deep sleep, but actual on/off?

55C idle for the CPU is really high. I'm on my phone but are you sure about that number? Sounds like the thermal paste isn't applied correctly IMO.

opticalmace said:

55C idle for the CPU is really high. I'm on my phone but are you sure about that number? Sounds like the thermal paste isn't applied correctly IMO.

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Yes, 55C - that's the only bizarre number in my mind.

The first thermal paste laid out by the Dell engineer when he replaced the mobo was really bad so I redid it, twice with different thermal paste to see results. Regardless, each time I get the same idle temp. Maybe I have to try once more... or could the CPU be broken somehow?

Blimblim said:

Important question for a lazy guy like me, can it be powered on/off remotely? Not deep sleep, but actual on/off?

Click to expand...

I can't figure out how powering on after being completely off would work, but waking up from deep sleep should work with the MCE remote, as well as the BT keyboard and mouse.

Or just a lousy custom heatsink that performs on par/worse than a stock one. And the layout or way the air circulates in the case.

Chittagong said:

£799 for the Alienware X51 i5
£193 for Sapphire 7850

TOTAL £992

I could probably sell the GTX 555 to bring that down a bit.

That's a good question - I'll edit in the original post.

Click to expand...

You could have a very good PC for that price. It's nice to have a PC on a nice compact console box, but that's too much.

Yeah, PC gaming when done right is awesome in comfy couch mode. Congrats.

i really want to upgrade to the world of pc gaming, im so glad they are starting to accomodate the noobs who are struggling and need that push out the door, saying that, i think ill buy the next model, cheers for showing OP

This is maybe a good option, when you don't want to assemble a pc by yourself.
With the £992 that you have payed, you could easily build a high-end mini-itx gaming system.

Relaxed Muscle said:

You could have a very good PC for that price. It's nice to have a PC on a nice compact console box, but that's too much.

Click to expand...

True, but there's something to be said for form factor and simplicity.

If I was Alienware I'd sell these with a nice service plan + an easy upgrade service. Every year / two years send it back in for the latest build in new parts for a nominal fee. Or hell, combine the two into a full on service and use it to help subsidize some of the hardware sales ala phone plans.

I'd also get on the phone with Gabe and give Steam users discounts or vouchers.

Its about time console got some serious PC competition on their own home turf.

RS4- said:

Or just a lousy custom heatsink that performs on par/worse than a stock one. And the layout or way the air circulates in the case.

Click to expand...

it's a bit blurry on the pic I posted, but CPU is in the top right corner in the pic. It's surrounded by a black plastic tray to channel all the air out through the vents in the back. The vents feel pretty hot, so I believe air is moving out.

So it might be that the heatsink is crap. In fact the fan itself is giving people a bit of grief, it's a crap DC brushless.

I'm hoping to replace it one day.

I'd like a PC that size one day, but for the price you paid you could have got so much more. Not worth it.

I don't get how people run Crysis one on maxed settings. I have 560 ti's in sli, 8 gigs of ram, 2500k @ 2.4GHz and that shit runs terrible for me. /Rant

Would be kind of a sweet setup, I'd have one if I was rich.

Dd anybody at Dell talk to you about the 7850 being OK? I still suspect it's pushing it for the power supply.

In the USA I imagine you could have this for $1200 or less, it's just the X51 itself (which I think maxes at $999) and then the 7850, which is ~$250.

I'm thinking of redoing my PC and it'll cost this much:

2500k=$220
Motherboard=$120
16GB DDR3 RAM (might as well load up while it's cheap, rather than pay more later)=$100
Decent new case (mine sucks) $100
7850=$250


So $790 total, that's with no SSD (granted X51 has no SSD either) and that's reusing my current hard drive and power supply and OS. So, yeah price could be even higher.

So basically X51 isn't a bad deal.

Chittagong said:

I can't figure out how powering on after being completely off would work, but waking up from deep sleep should work with the MCE remote, as well as the BT keyboard and mouse.

Click to expand...

USB ports are still powered (usually) even if the PC is turned off, and some motherboards now support USB wake-up. I figured that such a console-like PC would have this by default since actual consoles have been doing this for 7 years now.
Meh, I'll stick to my big ass htpc then :/

I love the fact that your living room picture (if it's yours) has Genelec monitors for video gaming

But yeah, I don't personally see the appeal of this aside from the form factor if you're completely allergic to having a desktop PC standing next to your tv.

I've been looking into the X51 for my next potential PC, as I'm certainly going to want the form factor if I get an apartment. Nice reviews.

Did you get a blu-ray drive with it?

Hero_of_the_Day said:

I don't get how people run Crysis one on maxed settings. I have 560 ti's in sli, 8 gigs of ram, 2500k @ 2.4GHz and that shit runs terrible for me. /Rant

Click to expand...

Guess it depends your definition of terrible, my ancient Q6600 and HD 4890, 4 GB DDR2 runs it around 30 FPS maxed settings 1080P, good enough for me!

You may be one of those who wont tolerate a single frame spike below 60 FPS, though, which is an order of magnitude more demanding.

I've been eyeing these for a while, waiting for a hardware revision or a good sale.

If any of you want to jump in though, Dell has lots of them at a pretty significant discount on their outlet site.

Wait did the large other thread about this go away?

This wouldn't work for me. Multiplayer from the couch is terrible unless you're playing fighting games or something like that.

Marrshu said:

I've been looking into the X51 for my next potential PC, as I'm certainly going to want the form factor if I get an apartment. Nice reviews.

Did you get a blu-ray drive with it?

Click to expand...

No, I got the DVD drive and in fact removed it figuring it'd improve airflow and temperatures (it didn't do almost anything, the airflow is quite considered). I have been running for a few weeks without the drive but had to pop it in today because my Batman Arkham City retail copy required installation from disc... sigh. All other retail games have had some sort of online activation and download scheme.

Karak said:

Wait did the large other thread about this go away?

Click to expand...

This was meant to be a reply to that thread originally, but given how big it became, and how I thought the post contains significant news (7850 works, doesn't over heat, doesn't tax PSU) I figured - new thread for new news.

For those complaining about the price, in the US the computer is only about $150 more than what it would cost to manually build a system with similar specs. And there's no easy way to build a computer of similar form factor that accepts full-size graphics cards.

TyrantGuardian said:

I love the fact that your living room picture (if it's yours) has Genelec monitors for video gaming

But yeah, I don't personally see the appeal of this aside from the form factor if you're completely allergic to having a desktop PC standing next to your tv.

Click to expand...

Again, if I was rich I'd certainly have an X51.

But I'm not, so the question is could it replace my daily driver PC, answer is probably no.

Chittagong said:

No, I got the DVD drive and in fact removed it figuring it'd improve airflow and temperatures (it didn't do almost anything, the airflow is quite considered). I have been running for a few weeks without the drive but had to pop it in today because my Batman Arkham City retail copy required installation from disc... sigh. All other retail games have had some sort of online activation and download scheme.

Click to expand...

Surprised it didn't help the airflow or temps. But that means the Blu-ray drive probably doesn't affect the airflow or temps either. Joy.

Right now I'm running this huge full-sized tower that's a bit dated, and I don't really have the room for it. So the compact design is nice.

I just recently went HTPC and I'm not looking back. For anyone who has Windows 7 and the Wireless Gaming Receiver use this guide to get it to working: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxa5CJsDzwQ

TyrantGuardian said:

I love the fact that your living room picture (if it's yours) has Genelec monitors for video gaming

Click to expand...

Gotta support my fellow Finns doing quality kit

they are godly though, and not much of a risk. If you run out of money you can get 70-75% of the price you paid, the second hand market is very healthy.

specialguy said:

Guess it depends your definition of terrible, my ancient Q6600 and HD 4890, 4 GB DDR2 runs it around 30 FPS maxed settings 1080P, good enough for me!

You may be one of those who wont tolerate a single frame spike below 60 FPS, though, which is an order of magnitude more demanding.

Click to expand...

I've never ran FRAPS in it until now. I seem to be at about the same as the computer is the OP. Max out at like 50FPS. Feels worse to me than that in this game for some reason, 'cause I don't concider myself one of the "60FPS or die!" crowd. I would have just expected a rock solid 60FPS with a five year old game. Crazy.

specialguy said:

Would be kind of a sweet setup, I'd have one if I was rich.

Dd anybody at Dell talk to you about the 7850 being OK? I still suspect it's pushing it for the power supply.

In the USA I imagine you could have this for $1200 or less, it's just the X51 itself (which I think maxes at $999) and then the 7850, which is ~$250.

I'm thinking of redoing my PC and it'll cost this much:

2500k=$220
Motherboard=$120
16GB DDR3 RAM (might as well load up while it's cheap, rather than pay more later)=$100
Decent new case (mine sucks) $100
7850=$250


So $790 total, that's with no SSD (granted X51 has no SSD either) and that's reusing my current hard drive and power supply and OS. So, yeah price could be even higher.

So basically X51 isn't a bad deal.

Click to expand...

Is there a Microcenter near you? You can get that 2500k for $170, walk in only I just picked one up.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589

Relaxed Muscle said:

You could have a very good PC for that price. It's nice to have a PC on a nice compact console box, but that's too much.

Click to expand...

Post a price list please.

I dont think you're going to beat it by much (at least in USA pricing).

CorruptShadow said:

Is there a Microcenter near you? You can get that 2500k for $170, walk in only I just picked one up.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589

Click to expand...

Yeah I wish, they are always running great deals and usually $50 off mother boards too.

The nearest one in DFW is ~100 miles away, at 20 MPG for my truck and almost $4 gas, round trip is $40 in gas practically negating any savings. Plus it's an afternoon drive (though this isn't always a negative if bored).

Oh plus I forgot tax vs no tax online further diminishing the savings.

Chittagong said:

Alienware kit is often ridiculed here for being overpriced and underpowered, but I estimated I'm paying some $150 over the price of the components bought separately - which I think is acceptable for the good design, well laid out (i.e. easy to upgrade) internal parts as well as for just avoiding the risk of messing up something in a totally custom build.

Click to expand...

Do people really like the design of this box? It just looks incredibly tacky to me. But I'm certainly not the target audience, when I hear "console size box" I just think unnecessarily hot and/or loud and/or underpowered.

CorruptShadow said:

Is there a Microcenter near you? You can get that 2500k for $170, walk in only I just picked one up.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589

Click to expand...

Dude I fucking love Microcenter.

BOT: I actually hope Alien releases the case in stores or online. I don't want to by a hole new PC when mine is just fine (Runs Crysis 2 on Ultra at 40 FPS), just that case seems awesome.

specialguy said:

Yeah I wish, they are always running great deals and usually $50 off mother boards too.

The nearest one in DFW is ~100 miles away, at 20 MPG for my truck and almost $4 gas, round trip is $40 in gas practically negating any savings. Plus it's an afternoon drive (though this isn't always a negative if bored).

Oh plus I forgot tax vs no tax online further diminishing the savings.

Click to expand...

The highest I ever paid from there for tax for a single item was around $20.

tkscz said:

Dude I fucking love Microcenter.

BOT: I actually hope Alien releases the case in stores or online. I don't want to by a hole new PC when mine is just fine (Runs Crysis 2 on Ultra at 40 FPS), just that case seems awesome.

Click to expand...

Yeah, SOMEBODY needs to release this case, or at least something like it. Maybe slightly larger but with more/better power supply options etc.

Durante said:

Do people really like the design of this box? It just looks incredibly tacky to me. But I'm certainly not the target audience, when I hear "console size box" I just think unnecessarily hot and/or loud and/or underpowered.

Click to expand...

I agree it's certainly not a PS3 in terms of elegance, but not as tacky as the new Xbox 360 either. It looks alright.


On another note, just removed my disc drive again, just to find out that my retail Batman Arkham City that I used 15gb to install apparently requires the DVD to run, DOUBLE SIGH. Last time I buy retail games on the cheap without checking they activate on Steam

shitty iphone pic

Got one myself(i7 with the gtx555), don't PC game much but it does what I need, Swtor runs great and Witcher 2 runs without a hitch with settings on high. Have it hooked up to a 27inch samsung and to my Big TV so I can watch crunchy roll and such.

Only thing I hate is the wifi card, tried to switch it but stripped the screw so I'm fucked. Just have it plugged into a bridge now.

Honestly surprised you fit a 7850 in there. Looking at your video you hit the limit on video card size so this is a good reference for future builds.

Does the motherboard have any free pcie expansion slots?

oops

I got one of these last week and haven't had any problems but I'm afraid to tinker with it upgrading the gfx card or whatever. Never done that before.

I like it alot though, even with the GT545 the retail (Amazon) boxes come with.

I'm glad you made this thread! I've been researching the X51 for a few weeks, and it seems like a no brainer to me. I'm illiterate when it comes to building a PC, so this is an easy way for me to get into PC gaming.

wildfire said:

Honestly surprised you fit a 7850 in there. Looking at your video you hit the limit on video card size so this is a good reference for future builds.

Does the motherboard have any free pcie expansion slots?

Click to expand...

Yeah it's a super tight fit, about 2-3mm space left. You have to go in back left corner first, then lift the card to level it and then drop straight down. That guy in youtube was nice enough to do that tutorial when I asked him to, telling I simply couldn't fit it in. There are some really nice, helpful people ut there.

There is one of those black slots free in the mobo, not sure if there is much space for anything more though :-D

MaximumX2 said:

I'm glad you made this thread! I've been researching the X51 for a few weeks, and it seems like a no brainer to me. I'm illiterate when it comes to building a PC, so this is an easy way for me to get into PC gaming.

Click to expand...

Same, total rookie. Never opened an electronic device in my life. Dell has really good illustrated guides for removing each component, and guides on where to plug what. Youtube is full of videos and people in the Dell forum help. I got so excited about tinkering eventually that I watched thermal paste videos from youtube and did a repaste for my CPU.

Chittagong said:

This was meant to be a reply to that thread originally, but given how big it became, and how I thought the post contains significant news (7850 works, doesn't over heat, doesn't tax PSU) I figured - new thread for new news.

Click to expand...

Oh ok. I guess we should have posted in the other thread as a couple of us have been using 7850's for awhile as well. Didn't know it was a big deal and I hadn't visited the old thread in a bit. It fits and works and from the wall of course the PSU can handle it. Nebver understood people thinking it couldn't. Glad to see someone else join the club. Day and date these things have been awesome machines. I am on my 4th setup for clients. They sell themselves

We also benched it on ARMA 2 Torture and a 3500 viewdistance. Got high 30's with 40 AI, and Witcher 2 looks amazing and runs perfect.

EDIT. Wait 55c for idle??? That is way high. Keep a close eye on that sir. Did you apply the new paste with a dot or a spread across the surface?