Looks much better. Just need Netflix and whatnot.
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Alienware Alpha first impressions and benchmarks
- Thread starter outunderthestars
- Start date
Looks much better. Just need Netflix and whatnot.
longnosedgoblin
Member
I assume the next update will allow ds4 windows to be run so a ps4 pad can be used instead of the Xbox one?
I might actually use it if that happens.
The alpha UI is a cool idea, but right now it's basically a Steam Big Picture Mode launcher. If it could launch all those other things just by using a controller, I'd definitely use it more often.
reSpec Gaming
Member
No problem
I stopped doing retail because... Retail sucks but the part I do miss is talking about tech to people and helping them with purchase decisions - made me a good sales person, haha.EDIT: My original post on this was kind of false. The GTX 660 might clock about the same as Alpha's GPU but Alpha's GPU is probably more power efficient. So Boombox On saying it's "at best equal" is probably more accurate than saying the Alienware's GPU is straight up better. I spoke before checking - my bad. SMH, makes me sound like an asshat considering my first part of my post patting myself on the back as a good sales person. Sorry about that.
Original post:
The GPU in the Alpha is better than the the GTX 660 - but of course you can upgrade that GPU where you can't with the Alpha, so you can weigh that out.
I wouldn't think the processor would make a difference for pcsx2 but I've never tried it. As I have mentioned before on this thread, i7 only really practical for video or photo editing.
Boombox On
Member
It's equal at best.
As a console gamer, I'm interested in a Steam machine not for the latest games, but rather to run older games on much nicer settings with a console-like atmosphere.
For example I'd love to grab one of these with a steam controller and finally play games like Morrowind GOTY at 1080p. The only console version of the game which exists maxes out at a miserable 480p on the OG Xbox.
I think console gamers who jump in on this will really get enjoyment by finally being able to run their favorite classic games from the past 2 gens at their HDTV's native resolution with all the bells and whistles at 60fps. That's sort of the true allure to these low end steam machines in my humble opinion.
For example I'd love to grab one of these with a steam controller and finally play games like Morrowind GOTY at 1080p. The only console version of the game which exists maxes out at a miserable 480p on the OG Xbox.
I think console gamers who jump in on this will really get enjoyment by finally being able to run their favorite classic games from the past 2 gens at their HDTV's native resolution with all the bells and whistles at 60fps. That's sort of the true allure to these low end steam machines in my humble opinion.
dugdug
Banned
This is great news. Downloaded the update yesterday and it looks great so far!
TheXRavenX
Neo Member
The plan is to support XB1, DS4, Steam Controller, and X360. Plus Mouse and Keyboard.
inpHilltr8r
Member
What's the deal with Windows 10 on the Alpha? Is it going to be a painless upgrade at launch?
TheXRavenX
Neo Member
There is an add-on called Netflixbmc found at Settings > Add-Ons that enables Netflix streaming. We are also working to allow you to launch the Win Metro Netflix app and a browser to go to the website. Once we release that update you'll have 3 ways to get to Netflix.
TheXRavenX
Neo Member
Over on reddit.com/r/alienwarealpha one of the user wrote up an entire 13 part series on how to do emulation on the Alpha. The next update will allow you to run all the emulator he talks about in the series.
My opinion, I think the i5 with a hybrid drive is a great system and the best price/performance one. We've all yelled at the hardware PM who chose the 5400 drive.
Edit: Direct link to series. https://www.reddit.com/r/AlienwareAlpha/comments/2v46ii/series_emulation_on_the_alpha_part_1_nes/
TheXRavenX
Neo Member
As painless as Microsoft will allow us to make it. You will need to go to desktop mode to start the download but everything can be completed with a controller.
We will shoot a video on how to do it and put it up on YouTube.
ashecitism
Member
TheXRavenX, you can use the '+' sign near "quote" to multi-quote people, so you don't end up double/triple/etc posting.
reSpec Gaming
Member
Oops, I went to double check and you are right. Thanks for the correction.
LordOfChaos
Member
Just nod or shake your head, will there be a hardware update to this anytime soon?
Since the GPU is baked onto the motherboard, I'd be a lot more comfortable with its longevity if it was decently above the 8th gen consoles (PS4 in particular), where the modified 860M trades blows.
Crayon
Member
It's a really interesting proposition for someone coming from consoles.
I've been using a homemade steam machine lately and the primary benefits coming from console are in order:
1: Genres available that are not on console. Especially strategy/building and rpg.
2: Legacy gaming and backwards compatibility heaven. Especially when you go beyond steam.
3: Multiple stores to buy those games, leading to great prices.
4: Cross platform playing. Two of us have steam machines, and we can call up anyone with windows or mac to join for some tf2 or whatever. Most the time we play, it's irl friends with two steamos machines, two windows machines, and a mac.
5: My purchases are tied to my account and will play on any pc hardware.
6: I define my own upgrade cycle.
7: It doubles as a fast computer when I need it to. My steam machine runs the shit out of blender, while my trusty macbook is just serviceable in comparison.
8: All external usb accessories just plug in and work, which has already saved me money.
I could probably go on. But suffice to say I like the experience so far.
I recently purchased one of these. I got the i5 version. Here are my thoughts.
I was looking for a small great looking somewhat powerful PC for my living room. I wanted to use it for games and HTPC.
Looks
The unit is sexy. It is not obnoxious looking like most Alienware hardware. It is matte black and has a small foot print. The adjustable LED's are great. They can be toggled to just about any color or can be completely shut off.You can customize colors to change when ever you launch a game. I was playing Xcom and the game automatically changed the colors to blue. Cool!
Interface
I dumped Windows 8 after about a day of it keeping me from doing what I wanted. It just gets in the way of how I want to interface with my PC. So that meant dumping the AlienUI. For the short time I played with the AlienUI, it was OK. All could be controlled with the provided Xbox 360 controller. It is essentially another user profile that launches Steam in Big Picture mode. I don't miss it.
I should note Alpha runs Windows 7 just fine. The only driver that didn't work from Dell's site was for the NIC. I ended up downloading one from Broadcom and it works. In addition, the LED control app had to be extracted and then I could launch the Setup.exe. I have not tried installing the latest AlienUI on Windows 7. Steam runs just as well as all the others (Uplay, Origin).
Performance
The unit itself has a decent amount of horsepower with the exception of the HD. The first thing I did was replace it. 5400RPM was too slow. I would have went with a 500GB SSD but opted for a 750GB 7200RPM due to cost. Games install and load adequately on the new drive. On paper it should match if not exceed the power of a PS4/Xbone. I chose the i5 4590T model with 8GB of RAM. Performance wise, the video card is apparently somewhere in between a Nvidia 860m and a 750ti. Dell/Alienware isn't saying exactly what it is officially. They just call it a custom built GPU with 2GB GDDR5 memory.
I wanted to replace my unused PS4 with something I would play more often. So I was hoping that the Alpha really could go toe to toe with the PS4 when it came to game settings. The first game I loaded up was Witcher 3. I was disappointed when I fired up Geforce Experience and it recommend 1600x900 with everything on low. I ended up using the guide over at Eurogamer to set the graphics options as close to what a next gen console could do. I was hitting 30fps @1080p for the most part but it would dip to the mid 20's in large towns especially when there were multiple light sources. I think the PS4 drops pretty low and often too. I dropped the shadows to low and a few other settings to low and was able to keep a consistent 30fps with most settings at med-high. I wanted a better experience so my final settings were a little higher although with a lowered resolution of 1600x900. I can't really tell the difference between 1080p or 900p from 14ft away on my 60" TV. What I could tell was smoother gameplay as I was hitting high 30's to mid 40's on my FPS.
I fired up other games like Batman Arkham Origins, Metro 2033, Skyrim, Fallout, Crysis 3. I could run all of those games at 1080p with mostly high/ultra settings. I would hit 45-60 FPS depending on the game. I used MSI Afterburner to overclock the video card and get an additional 5-6 FPS from most games.
Netflix, HBOGo, iTunes and all other streaming or media runs just fine on this. I watch a lot of YouTube and having a keyboard and mouse (Logitech K400) is way better than using a controller to navigate YouTube.
Overall impressions
I paid about $750.00. It came with some free games on Steam. Free two day shipping. I used the Dell Preferred account and got $70.00 back in Dell credit. Dell made a mistake on shipping so I called in. And for my troubles they sent out the Alienware TactX keyboard and mouse combo for free! I definitely got good value for my money.
The Alpha is a great piece of hardware. It is easy to upgrade minus the video card. And that is what concerns me. Again, on paper this little unit should give the next gen consoles a run. But with no options to upgrade the GPU, I fear it will be left behind in the graphics department. PS4 and Xbone games can be optimized to take full advantage of the consoles they are running on. It should be theoretically possible to mimic the settings on most games, but in reality it just doesn't happen often.
The good thing is with the Alpha is it is a PC and you have options. With sliders and changes to resolution, at the end of the day you can find the settings that suit your needs thus enjoy gaming, PC gaming.
I'd be happy to answer any questions on the Alpha. So ask away.
I was looking for a small great looking somewhat powerful PC for my living room. I wanted to use it for games and HTPC.
Looks
The unit is sexy. It is not obnoxious looking like most Alienware hardware. It is matte black and has a small foot print. The adjustable LED's are great. They can be toggled to just about any color or can be completely shut off.You can customize colors to change when ever you launch a game. I was playing Xcom and the game automatically changed the colors to blue. Cool!
Interface
I dumped Windows 8 after about a day of it keeping me from doing what I wanted. It just gets in the way of how I want to interface with my PC. So that meant dumping the AlienUI. For the short time I played with the AlienUI, it was OK. All could be controlled with the provided Xbox 360 controller. It is essentially another user profile that launches Steam in Big Picture mode. I don't miss it.
I should note Alpha runs Windows 7 just fine. The only driver that didn't work from Dell's site was for the NIC. I ended up downloading one from Broadcom and it works. In addition, the LED control app had to be extracted and then I could launch the Setup.exe. I have not tried installing the latest AlienUI on Windows 7. Steam runs just as well as all the others (Uplay, Origin).
Performance
The unit itself has a decent amount of horsepower with the exception of the HD. The first thing I did was replace it. 5400RPM was too slow. I would have went with a 500GB SSD but opted for a 750GB 7200RPM due to cost. Games install and load adequately on the new drive. On paper it should match if not exceed the power of a PS4/Xbone. I chose the i5 4590T model with 8GB of RAM. Performance wise, the video card is apparently somewhere in between a Nvidia 860m and a 750ti. Dell/Alienware isn't saying exactly what it is officially. They just call it a custom built GPU with 2GB GDDR5 memory.
I wanted to replace my unused PS4 with something I would play more often. So I was hoping that the Alpha really could go toe to toe with the PS4 when it came to game settings. The first game I loaded up was Witcher 3. I was disappointed when I fired up Geforce Experience and it recommend 1600x900 with everything on low. I ended up using the guide over at Eurogamer to set the graphics options as close to what a next gen console could do. I was hitting 30fps @1080p for the most part but it would dip to the mid 20's in large towns especially when there were multiple light sources. I think the PS4 drops pretty low and often too. I dropped the shadows to low and a few other settings to low and was able to keep a consistent 30fps with most settings at med-high. I wanted a better experience so my final settings were a little higher although with a lowered resolution of 1600x900. I can't really tell the difference between 1080p or 900p from 14ft away on my 60" TV. What I could tell was smoother gameplay as I was hitting high 30's to mid 40's on my FPS.
I fired up other games like Batman Arkham Origins, Metro 2033, Skyrim, Fallout, Crysis 3. I could run all of those games at 1080p with mostly high/ultra settings. I would hit 45-60 FPS depending on the game. I used MSI Afterburner to overclock the video card and get an additional 5-6 FPS from most games.
Netflix, HBOGo, iTunes and all other streaming or media runs just fine on this. I watch a lot of YouTube and having a keyboard and mouse (Logitech K400) is way better than using a controller to navigate YouTube.
Overall impressions
I paid about $750.00. It came with some free games on Steam. Free two day shipping. I used the Dell Preferred account and got $70.00 back in Dell credit. Dell made a mistake on shipping so I called in. And for my troubles they sent out the Alienware TactX keyboard and mouse combo for free! I definitely got good value for my money.
The Alpha is a great piece of hardware. It is easy to upgrade minus the video card. And that is what concerns me. Again, on paper this little unit should give the next gen consoles a run. But with no options to upgrade the GPU, I fear it will be left behind in the graphics department. PS4 and Xbone games can be optimized to take full advantage of the consoles they are running on. It should be theoretically possible to mimic the settings on most games, but in reality it just doesn't happen often.
The good thing is with the Alpha is it is a PC and you have options. With sliders and changes to resolution, at the end of the day you can find the settings that suit your needs thus enjoy gaming, PC gaming.
I'd be happy to answer any questions on the Alpha. So ask away.
Scully Scully Scoo
Member
too expensive. they should offer a bare bones version without windows and controller to trim the price down. for £500 i could get 2 xbox one
reSpec Gaming
Member
So you would have to buy an OS anyway and the controller isn't even that expensive so that wouldn't shave the price much. The price of the parts individually are at best the same price as the actual device. Xbox One's/PS4s are sold at a loss to Microsoft/Sony. Alienware is trying to make some money here because unlike Sony and Microsoft, they aren't selling to get you into an infrastructure where you will buy more things (ie. games, subscriptions, accessories)
LordOfChaos
Member
Plenty of people have Windows licences they can move over to the new machine, and yes Windows lets you move keys around (worst case scenario, phone line talking to robots for 10 minutes, then it's transferred).
Me, I have a bunch of keys from MSDN as well.
Or, some people may want to load Steam OS on it themselves. I wonder if the Steam OS version will cost less than the Windows version, because then I'd just get that and dual boot with one of my Windows licences.
reSpec Gaming
Member
Still wouldn't convince Alienware to price the thing any cheaper to stay profitable taking out Windows/controller. Obviously they get some sort of wholesale price on parts but again, at least at the time of launch, price for the parts were roughly the same price as the unit itself minus the controller/OS (because I was thinking of trying to build one myself but couldn't get it cheaper). Parts might be cheaper by now already but the Alpha is constantly on pretty heavy sale prices too to make up for that. So it doesn't seem profitable for Alienware to sell a version w/o any OS or controller (because having both adds perceived value at probably very little cost to them).
longnosedgoblin
Member
Excellent.
LordOfChaos
Member
Yep it's pretty tiny while packing impressive power. I'd be good with 3GB just for safety for 1080p gaming, but more importantly I want it to have more GPU grunt than the PS4 at least by a decent margin. Nothing is directly comparable, but the 860M is about in the 1.3tflop ballpark, just grazing where the Xbox One is (maybe slightly above with the customization). To feel comfortable in the fact that this could run console ports for a few years, a margin like a 2.2Tflop card or something would be nice.
This is really cool. I was waiting for the Steam box but if it's not going to have all of these bells and whistles I might go ahead and bite on a Windows one.
TheXRavenX
Neo Member
I actually think that is a good idea. SteamOS without a controller.
Just nod or shake your head, will there be a hardware update to this anytime soon?
Since the GPU is baked onto the motherboard, I'd be a lot more comfortable with its longevity if it was decently above the 8th gen consoles (PS4 in particular), where the modified 860M trades blows.
This question will be my undoing. The official line is: We are always working on new machines with new hardware and new specs.
We also traditionally announce new releases in the fall. So if you aren't sold today, wait until the fall and see if we have new stuff. We did announce the Steam Machine for November already and that is an Alpha box with SteamOS, a 7200RPM drive, the Steam Controller, and the Steam Logo in the corner.
Sounds good to me. Best Buy has the base i3 model on sale for $399.99 and I was very tempted to bite, but with Windows 10 just around the corner and now reading your post, I am able to stave off my inner demons.
I have one request in case you guys over there care: I'd love a headphone jack somewhere on the front, the rear, or actually both would be ideal.
Windows 10, GPU with more VRAM, Broadwell or Skylake (whatever's available) CPUs, and a headphone jack, and I am there day one no regrets paying full price.
I have a 1TB Samsung 840 EVO SSD ready and waiting for a good machine to call home.
So if I were to theoretically be okay spending the $800 or so to get the beefiest model off Amazon, how could I better spend that money on one of these?
I've seen lots of stuff saying that it's very much not worth it. I've never bought a pc intended for gaming before, and I've had my eye on the alpha for awhile.
I'm alright with not getting the best deal in the whole world because its alienware and pre-built but I also really like that it's pre built since I have no desire to try and built one from the ground up, though I'm happy to switch out a few components.
I've seen lots of stuff saying that it's very much not worth it. I've never bought a pc intended for gaming before, and I've had my eye on the alpha for awhile.
I'm alright with not getting the best deal in the whole world because its alienware and pre-built but I also really like that it's pre built since I have no desire to try and built one from the ground up, though I'm happy to switch out a few components.
I don't have one, but based on everything I've read, it would make more sense to buy the base model (which is $400 at Best Buy) and use the saved money to get a SSD drive and at least another 4GB RAM (8GB total is minimum these days for gaming). Using a SSD would make the most difference. The quadcore i7 in the high end model doesn't make too much of a difference, unless whatever you wanna run/play is severely dependant on a quadcore cpu. You could buy an i3-4170 CPU for about $125 if you want more CPU power.
But it seems like the 2015 revised model will be coming out this fall, so I'd suggest waiting for that.
To me $800 is too much to spend on this. Regardless of how you upgrade it, you'll still be stuck with a 860m and that's just not worth that much, but if I absolutely had to spend that amount, I'd buy the cheapest model next time it's on sale, maybe throw in an extra 4GB RAM and then in 2-3 years buy the low spec model that's out by then (and possibly sell the old model).
OK, I'm a lazy console gamer, full time job, missus, kids etc etc. But also being a gamer I'm very interested in this conception. I'm in the UK, are these a reasonable price for what they offer, and are they future proof? Just reading above it looks like i would be better off waiting a bit for new models?
I've never got into PC gaming but this looks like a nice way into it. I assume you can play stuff like skyrim/fallout with all the MODS etc?
Anyway I should read more of the thread as my questions are probably answered but man threads on this site are huge!
I've never got into PC gaming but this looks like a nice way into it. I assume you can play stuff like skyrim/fallout with all the MODS etc?
Anyway I should read more of the thread as my questions are probably answered but man threads on this site are huge!
The Alpha's greatest shortcoming is it's GPU, but I don't think that there will be anything more better available this fall. The 960M is just an higher clocked 860M and the 970M and 980M are much more power-hungry (and require substantially more cooling). (The Fury X Nano also has huge power requirements.)
Last_colossi
Member
If Alienware made it a little bigger so you could fit mini itx GPU's like this in there:
Then I would insta-buy.
Then I would insta-buy.
Cool, thanks guys! I'm cool with spending $800 on a computer, but if I'm dropping console-level cash (or more) I'd like it to be a bit more future proofed than 2-3 years. Maybe I'll look into other stuff! I appreciate the responses
reSpec Gaming
Member
"Console-level cash" nowadays sounds like a term meaning less money than you'd spend on a computer (consoles being $300-400). 3 years out of a sub $1000 PC is actually pretty good.
(Sidenote: This is also why I was worried when I saw the starting price/specs of PS4s/Xbox Ones that we'd start having 3-4 year console cycles instead of like decade long ones. So I understand wanting something to last longer. I was hoping this gen of consoles would come out at a higher price point and be 4k ready and a bit future-proof, hence why I haven't jumped on a console yet - besides my Smash Bros Machine, I mean my Wii U)
Oh I know, that's why I tossed in the "or more"
Not "I want my $300 computer to be nuts" because I totally know that's not a real option lol I was just meaning like, I'd like my investment to last awhile
And cool! If that's the average I won't really mind at all, when new stuff hits that my pc can't handle I'll just deal with medium settings or older games
thanks!reSpec Gaming
Member
I just want to add something about the i7. I'm pretty impressed with it for video editing. I've had my Alpha for like half a year now and I've done editing photos and small videos here and there. Yesterday was the first day I've bunkered down and edited videos all day because I'm shooting a movie and it handled the job impressively. I never had to wait for it, which sometimes on my i5 2500k after a few hours of editing I had to like stop for a couple minutes while it caught up.
So pretty good device for sub-1000 for editing 1080p video for any of you filmmakers out there.
So pretty good device for sub-1000 for editing 1080p video for any of you filmmakers out there.
Cheeseman Battitude
Member
I'm going for the cheapest i3 soon. I found this thread and the post by bondered is interesting. His Alpha is upgraded with an i3 4170 which is 3.7GHz and doesnt use enough power to be throttled down.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1526246/alienware-alpha-owners-club/730#post_24021072
Video:
https://youtu.be/7RK-iJBzmhQ
Over 100fps at one point with medium textures and high everythign else, apparently.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1526246/alienware-alpha-owners-club/730#post_24021072
Video:
https://youtu.be/7RK-iJBzmhQ
Over 100fps at one point with medium textures and high everythign else, apparently.
ashecitism
Member
Interesting. Later he also says Metro: LL went from 40 to 180 fps with heavy action dipping to 90.
reSpec Gaming
Member
Hmm... This is extremely interesting.
cyberheater
PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 Xbone PS4 PS4
Can I run HiveMind on my normal PC?
TouchMyBox
Member
If Alienware made it a little bigger so you could fit mini itx GPU's like this in there:
Then I would insta-buy.
It would need to be like 4x-5x the size though, that would be an entirely different product.
It's comparable at the moment, but - and I know this is not a popular opinion in some circles - I wouldn't expect it to keep up with PS4 in the long run, when it comes to AAA gaming. If you buy your system specifically for those types of games, I'd go with the PS4.
Still loving this thing. Put in a 120GB SSD for the OS and it runs a lot better.
Ethan Carter CHUGGED on the stock 5400rpm drive. Each little 'area load' was 5+ seconds. Now it doesn't even hitch, even though it's running off a USB 3.0 drive.
Happy with the purchase, I only wish that I could change the download location of Big Picture Mode. I have to instead download in Windows and then boot it back up.
I bought a cheap Logitech wireless KB w/track pad and it's wonderful.
Ethan Carter CHUGGED on the stock 5400rpm drive. Each little 'area load' was 5+ seconds. Now it doesn't even hitch, even though it's running off a USB 3.0 drive.
Happy with the purchase, I only wish that I could change the download location of Big Picture Mode. I have to instead download in Windows and then boot it back up.
I bought a cheap Logitech wireless KB w/track pad and it's wonderful.
This excites me greatly. I'm going to wait a year for games to generally "settle in" and make sure no big jumps happen like what usually happens near the end or at the start of a console generation.
If I can run games at 60fps no problem and install mods then holy shit I'm in. I'll save up for a higher tier one. Is it upgradeable? I'm really just looking for something small and powerful. I wanna eat my cake, I know.
And because I have no monies.
If I can run games at 60fps no problem and install mods then holy shit I'm in. I'll save up for a higher tier one. Is it upgradeable? I'm really just looking for something small and powerful. I wanna eat my cake, I know.
I play a few AAA titles but I mainly stick to the B-tier and indies. AAA games I'm looking forward to currently:
Street Fighter 5
Deus Ex Mankind Divided
Dishonored 2
Fallout 4
probably too early to tell since the spec requirements for these games I haven't been released yet but what's the best guess on these? would the base alpha run these as well as a ps4?
how about witcher 3? how does that run on the base alpha?