Alienware X51 Ubuntu Linux Compact Gaming PC Unveiled

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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Alienware, gaming and Ubuntu; sounds like a good combination. Dell thought so and is introducing the Alienware X51 running Ubuntu flavored Linux. Basic models start at $599 and component upgrades can run the cost up to a little over $1k.

Steam for Linux is a major step forward for gaming on the open-source OS, and now Dell is providing consumers with a desktop with the hardware to play those games and with Ubuntu pre-installed.
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LOL...$600 for an i3 and a GT 645? I just...don't even know what to say...
 
JoeUser said:
LOL...$600 for an i3 and a GT 645? I just...don't even know what to say...
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Quick cash grab for a 'steam box'. Newell is trying to fundamentally revitalize PC hardware for gaming and these turds are trying to phone in a quick cash grab instead of giving the effort a hand.
 
jpm100 said:
Quick cash grab for a 'steam box'. Newell is trying to fundamentally revitalize PC hardware for gaming and these turds are trying to phone in a quick cash grab instead of giving the effort a hand.
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More likely he's trying to find a way of keeping his games on a dated dx9 engine. :D
 
So, what can you get with the base configuration of the Alienware X51 at $599 (discounted) and $649?

This:

2013-04-06_15-28-52.png


For $11 cheaper, you get a slightly better video card-- MSI GTX 650 1GB GDDR5.

For $5 more than the undiscounted price, you get a better video card-- EVGA Superclocked GTX 660 2GB GDDR5 and 8GB of DDR3 1600MHz RAM.

So, Dell came in pretty close if you were to build it yourself before tax and shipping.

However, what you don't get is the base warranty Dell provides-- 1 year basic support for hardware and software. That's an EXTRA $65.93 from Newegg's extended replacement warranty for one year, which doesn't include memory and software.
 
@ octoberasian
There's a few things wrong with your setup:
- There's no such thing as a Core i7 3220 btw ;)

- The Dell is far less likely to die on you because it doesn't include a shitty PSU like that Apevia case does:
XQPack's Included 420W PSU

- If the planned 6GB of RAM setup costs more than the 8GB of RAM setup, why not just get 8GB of RAM to begin with?

- That Toshiba drive doesn't have the best of track records judging from Newegg reviews. It would make more sense to go with a far more reliable or least more popular drive like the WD and Seagate 1TB drives.

In case you're wondering why I'm critiquing your build without being asked, I'm doing it just in case someone sees your list and thinks it's a good build when it's not.
 
Danny Bui said:
@ octoberasian
There's a few things wrong with your setup:
- There's no such thing as a Core i7 3220 btw ;)

- The Dell is far less likely to die on you because it doesn't include a shitty PSU like that Apevia case does:
XQPack's Included 420W PSU

- If the planned 6GB of RAM setup costs more than the 8GB of RAM setup, why not just get 8GB of RAM to begin with?

- That Toshiba drive doesn't have the best of track records judging from Newegg reviews. It would make more sense to go with a far more reliable or least more popular drive like the WD and Seagate 1TB drives.

In case you're wondering why I'm critiquing your build without being asked, I'm doing it just in case someone sees your list and thinks it's a good build when it's not.
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Haha, mistyped that i7 3220. It is an i3. :D

I went with the lowest price possible so it came in close to the Dell configuration and/or the price itself. Quality notwithstanding.

But, it does give someone idea if they went the do-it-yourself route, but trying to get close or matching Dell's price means going with lower quality components and without a warranty.
 
I wonder now if I can avoid a small form factor or small case like the Apevia and still come in close to Dell's pricing-- $599 or $649...
 
octoberasian said:
However, what you don't get is the base warranty Dell provides-- 1 year basic support for hardware and software. That's an EXTRA $65.93 from Newegg's extended replacement warranty for one year, which doesn't include memory and software.
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Most of the hardware you buy from Newegg comes with it's own warranty. Your CPU and motherboard have a 3 year warranty. Memory usually comes with a lifetime warranty. That MSI video card has a 3 year warranty. 3 years is also common for PSUs. So most hardware other than the drives have better than a 1 year warranty.
 
BladeVenom said:
Most of the hardware you buy from Newegg comes with it's own warranty. Your CPU and motherboard have a 3 year warranty. Memory usually comes with a lifetime warranty. That MSI video card has a 3 year warranty. 3 years is also common for PSUs. So most hardware other than the drives have better than a 1 year warranty.
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That's true, there is manufacturer's warranty included from those parts. I wonder how many normal consumers know that though (or bothers to send in that warranty registration card).

Here's an updated configuration:
2013-04-06_16-04-45.png
Replaced the Apevia case with another case and a slightly better PSU. So, you could get a better or slightly better computer if you built it yourself.
 
dont forget that the X51 is also less than half as big as that apevia. size costs too. youre not going to find a case as small as the X51 that will fit all that stuff for less than $200, if at all. i cant think of any except maybe the one cmadki is working on. i dont think the price of the X51 is a ripoff at all for the components, but being forced to game on ubuntu might. afaik most steam games still dont work for linux and many might not ever.
 
ekuest said:
dont forget that the X51 is also less than half as big as that apevia. size costs too. youre not going to find a case as small as the X51 that will fit all that stuff for less than $200, if at all. i cant think of any except maybe the one cmadki is working on. i dont think the price of the X51 is a ripoff at all for the components, but being forced to game on ubuntu might. afaik most steam games still dont work for linux and many might not ever.
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The other issue was trying to find a miniITX board that'd match the X51, but there isn't one that is A) compatible 1600MHz DDR3 AND B) have a miniPCI-e slot for the wireless card AND C) have HDMI out at the same time.

There isn't a motherboard that exists for consumers with those 3 combined that I could find on Newegg. And, there isn't a GTX 650 in half-height format that would fit in a small miniITX desktop case that would even come close to the X51 in terms of size.
 
So, is the Alienware X51 worth the $549 or $699 that you'll pay for it. I'd say so.

I've come close to the price of the X51 with the DIY parts, but it won't be the same kind of computer especially since my computer is larger in size, and putting mine in the living room as discretely possibly will not happen.
 
$50 more for a GTX 660 over the GT 645 of the Alienware? Seems a lot better.

I guess my problem with this is just the price. If you want a gaming machine why not just get a console or wait for next-gen to come out. Both are cheaper and in the case of next-gen you are getting a FAR superior GAMING machine (which gaming IS the point of this thing correct?). Sure it might not be running a full OS but for $600 - $300 for a console you could just build a HTPC/PC with the $300 left over.

I dunno...even if you can only build a comparable PC for the money on your own doesn't change the fact that it's weak and underpowered and no where near a GAMING PC.
 
octoberasian said:
So, you could get a better or slightly better computer if you built it yourself.
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While I agree in general with this statement, I still disagree with your choice of hardware. You could do a whole lot better in terms of hardware:
$121 - Intel Core i3-3220 CPU
$65 - MSI B75MA-P45 Intel B75 mATX Motherboard
$45 - Corsair CMV8GX3M1A1333C9 8GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$120 - Sapphire 100358L Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$74 - Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$18 - LG iHAS124-04 DVD Burner
$45 - Corsair 430CX V2 430W PSU
$38 - Fractal Design Core 1000 mATX Case
$15 - Microsoft Wired Desktop 400 Keyboard and Mouse
$18 - TP-Link TL-WN781ND Wireless N150 PCI-E Wireless Adapater
----
Total: $559 shipped

Key differences:
- That MSI uses the B75 chipset which means it has a higher chance of supporting the IB Core i3-3220. In addition, it comes with two extra DIMM slots and native USB 3.0 support.
- The RAM is slower than the RAM you chose but you won't notice enough of a difference to justify the additional costs
- Far more reliable and reputable hard drive
- Faster video card
- While that Cougar PSU may be of good quality, I don't know know for sure if it is and how good Cougar's U.S customer support is. As such, I'd recommend the Corsair since A) it's a confirmed quality PSU and B) Corsair's customer support is confirmed to be good.
- That HEC case only comes with 80mm fans which will either A) be noisy and/or B) not move enough air. In addition, you didn't factor in the shipping cost. Since the HEC does not have free shipping and you will have to pay for shippiong anyway, the cost of that HEC case is actually $34 shipped. For $3 more than that HEC, you get a case with a 120mm fan and of far better quality.

With that said, if space is an issue, that Dell X51 is an excellent alternative as you won't be able to build a PC with the same dimensions for the same price. But for the same or higher performance, that's easily done.
 
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Danny Bui said:
While I agree in general with this statement, I still disagree with your choice of hardware. You could do a whole lot better in terms of hardware:
$121 - Intel Core i3-3220 CPU
$65 - MSI B75MA-P45 Intel B75 mATX Motherboard
$45 - Corsair CMV8GX3M1A1333C9 8GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$120 - Sapphire 100358L Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$74 - Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$18 - LG iHAS124-04 DVD Burner
$45 - Corsair 430CX V2 430W PSU
$38 - Fractal Design Core 1000 mATX Case
$15 - Microsoft Wired Desktop 400 Keyboard and Mouse
$18 - TP-Link TL-WN781ND Wireless N150 PCI-E Wireless Adapater
----
Total: $559 shipped

Key differences:
- That MSI uses the B75 chipset which means it has a higher chance of supporting the IB Core i3-3220. In addition, it comes with two extra DIMM slots and native USB 3.0 support.
- The RAM is slower than the RAM you chose but you won't notice enough of a difference to justify the additional costs
- Far more reliable and reputable hard drive
- Faster video card
- While that Cougar PSU may be of good quality, I don't know know for sure if it is and how good Cougar's U.S customer support is. As such, I'd recommend the Corsair since A) it's a confirmed quality PSU and B) Corsair's customer support is confirmed to be good.
- That HEC case only comes with 80mm fans which will either A) be noisy and/or B) not move enough air. In addition, you didn't factor in the shipping cost. Since the HEC does not have free shipping and you will have to pay for shippiong anyway, the cost of that HEC case is actually $34 shipped. For $3 more than that HEC, you get a case with a 120mm fan and of far better quality.

With that said, if space is an issue, that Dell X51 is an excellent alternative as you won't be able to build a PC with the same dimensions for the same price. But for the same or higher performance, that's easily done.
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That's actually really good. I was more trying to match the Alienware hardware configuration and pricing itself.

And, I agree with the guy above. A gaming console would probably be a better choice over this, especially if the console comes in at $399 or less and has a better gaming library than Steam for Linux does.
 
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Though it is applicable to both the X51 and your setups, the license cost for a copy of Win7 or 8 seems to have been omitted. Because if you are actually going to game on it, Unbuntu will reduce your game choices more than the hardware will..
 
The tiny size is pretty nice, but it's not going to be appealing to many people.

I lol'd @ "over 25 games". If you noticed how non-indie Linux games are priced on Steam, it's totally worth it to pay the extra $100 for Windows. It's cheaper in the long run if you're going to be using it as a Steam box.

The Linux game selection over is pretty disappointing. There's less than 100 games for Liinux total on Steam, vs almost 2000 games for Windows and almost 400 games for OS X. My 120+ game Steam library only has 20-something games with Linux versions. Sadly, that's a pretty good percentage vs the 20:1 Windows to Linux game ratio.
 
DeathPrincess said:
"equivalent" Mr. Rocketfish. :p
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OpenGL can do almost everything that DX9/10/11 can, so I'm not sure why Valve would simply limit themselves to DX9.
I get this limitation for the Source engine, being DX9-only, but still, this is a stepping stone.

Everyone wants gaming on Linux overnight, but realistically, that won't happen, it's going to be a slow, methodical process; that's not bad, it's just the way it is.
Gaming on Linux is about where gaming on Windows was back in 1993; in other words, gaming on Windows has about a 20 year head-start on Linux, and a 9 year head-start with Steam.
 
Red Falcon said:
OpenGL can do almost everything that DX9/10/11 can, so I'm not sure why Valve would simply limit themselves to DX9.
I get this limitation for the Source engine, being DX9-only, but still, this is a stepping stone.
Click to expand...


Not a dev, so I don't know this for sure, just the grapevine, but MS supposedly gives developers; better support, better tools, keep it updated, and they don't have internal squabbles holding up progress like the OGL committee has had. Kind of like Unreal engine. It was not really any better than Tech, but Epic made using it easy compared to Tech, and now it seems like half the games I play are on the Unreal engine.

Everyone wants gaming on Linux overnight, but realistically, that won't happen, it's going to be a slow, methodical process; that's not bad, it's just the way it is.
Gaming on Linux is about where gaming on Windows was back in 1993; in other words, gaming on Windows has about a 20 year head-start on Linux, and a 9 year head-start with Steam.
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I hope it happens fast enough. Because, after the PS3, that my wife used as a BR player for a short while, and I played the Uncharted series on, it has been virtually unused since we got it back when it was released, I am never buying a console again.


OT: a little PS to Naughty Dog: Learn how to release on the PC or go F yourself. Not buying your stuff anymore if it is not on the platform I use. I know you prolly don't care, but it had to b said.

Sorry about that, I get annoyed when I think of the dust covered launch PS3 in my closet.
 
Red Falcon said:
OpenGL can do almost everything that DX9/10/11 can, so I'm not sure why Valve would simply limit themselves to DX9.
I get this limitation for the Source engine, being DX9-only, but still, this is a stepping stone.
Click to expand...
The level of support is going to be whatever target the developers make. Valve is stuck because something is obviously wrong with developing its next engine.

Under Linux, it's a lot more complicated. The installed base of cards is probably different than what modern Windows Steam users have, and the drivers used can not be counted on being modern feature complete, or possibly even a whole point version or two behind the latest OpenGL available in proprietary drivers.
 
MavericK96 said:
Gaming...Linux...wat?
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It's the future of gaming. Linux, thanks to Android is now the number one operating system. Either this year or next, MacOS/iOS is going to be number two. Windows is going to be number three.

Microsoft is failing in every new market. They failed with Kin, they failed with Zune, they're failing with smartphones, and they're failing on tablets.

Microsoft is moving towards a closed system, and no one wants to be dependent on Microsoft's store for games. Steam will be on Linux and expect more and more developers to follow. Just look at indie developers, most are making their games run on Linux now. Almost none are going to be developing for Windows devices or Windows 8/Metro.
 
^ You do realize that we're not talking about Android, aka Droid/Linux, right?
Gaming on Linux constitutes GNU/Linux, not Droid/Linux.

Microsoft is moving towards a closed system, and no one wants to be dependent on Microsoft's store for games. Steam will be on Linux and expect more and more developers to follow. Just look at indie developers, most are making their games run on Linux now. Almost none are going to be developing for Windows devices or Windows 8/Metro.
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I agree, and while it may be a slow process, it is certainly gaining momentum.
 
BladeVenom said:
It's the future of gaming. Linux, thanks to Android is now the number one operating system. Either this year or next, MacOS/iOS is going to be number two. Windows is going to be number three.
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This year definitely is going to be the year of the Linux desktop!

Though how the hell would OSX become 2nd... :confused:
 
is it possible to ungrade the Alienware x51 powersupply? How does it compare to the Dell Desktop 666?
 
markkin said:
is it possible to ungrade the Alienware x51 powersupply? How does it compare to the Dell Desktop 666?
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That's a good question.

According to the Dell website, the Alienware X51 uses an external power brick at 180W. I don't think it'll be upgradeable.

But, maybe someone here with an SFF (small form factor) computer can answer that to confirm.
 
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