Alienware X51 Pro Reviews

If you’re in the market for a small form factor PC the Alienware X51 R2 is a great choice. It offers the speed and performance that your looking for in a gaming system, with a foot print of an office PC.

Intel's Haswell architecture has landed, and Dell was quick to abduct the new platform to drive its higher end Alienware X51 R2 configurations, such as the one we reviewed here. Haswell's a great fit for the X51 R2, providing a big performance boost over last year's edition without negatively affecting the system's power footprint, noise, or physical size. On that last point, the X51 R2 continues to be a marvel in case design. Dell's Alienware team hit a home run with this small form factor (SFF) chassis, which is small enough to take residence in a living room setting, yet capable of housing components that can push pixels around like a traditional gaming desktop; not to mention the ability to upgrade a few components down the road possibly, if you so choose.

When we first looked at Alienware's X51 desktop in the early days of 2012, it was in a class by itself—a console-sized gaming PC with way more power under the hood than any Xbox or PlayStation could deliver, at a price much lower than most larger gaming PCs. It was a formula that obviously had appeal among PC gamers, as several boutique PC vendors soon followed up with their own reduced-size rigs. As the months of 2012 passed, we saw compact but powerful gaming machines like Maingear's Potenza, Falcon Northwest's Tiki, Digital Storm's Bolt, and iBuypower's Revolt. Most of these machines are slightly larger than the X51, but they also support more and higher-end hardware, making them a better fit for those truly looking for premium performance in a small package.

The X51 is a beautifully engineered computer that can’t entirely overcome the fundamental challenges all small gaming PCs face. Yes, it’s easy to disassemble; but upgrading is a chore. Yes, it packs incredible hardware in a small profile; but it’s still loud. Yes, it can be used with Steam’s Big Picture Mode; but most PC games still lack controller support. All of these problems are notable, but the system has a savior: price. Our review unit ships for $1,820, which is about $800 less than the Fragbox. Stop and think about that for a second. This is a fully capable gaming computer the size of an Xbox 360 that can run any game at High detail (and most at Ultra) while maintaining well over 60 FPS, yet it’s one of the least expensive gaming desktops we’ve recently tested. And you don’t even have to spend that much. Our review unit has all the options, but many are overkill, and pricing starts at just $700.

It's a shame that Dell isn't offering the machine as a barebones system for a decent price. Being able to drop in your own CPU and GPU combo would make this a far more appealing proposition. A low-powered Core i5 2500 with a tasty little GTX 670 would make for one serious gaming rig, and would make mincemeat out of this gaming also-ran.

When rumors of a “Steam Box” hardware spec from Valve kicked up earlier this year, it was suggested that the X51 was designed with that spec in mind. Whether or not those rumors were accurate, it’s easy to see why this new Alienware offering would be connected to them. There is serious gaming power in this relatively tiny box, and the whole thing taken together represents one of the best values out there for high-performance PC gaming.

A well-designed and striking living room PC to challenge consoles, but it treads a fine line on gaming power

I had a chance to check out the X51 a few weeks ago at a launch event here in San Francisco, and I’m as impressed now as I was then. The X51 is a step in the right direction for Alienware: Large, imposing gaming rigs aren’t going anywhere, but one of the many reasons given in support of the oft-repeated “PC gaming is dead” mantra is cost--and shoppers who aren’t ready to roll up their sleeves and build their own PCs are likely to turn to recognized brands. However, if you need more power, you can find plenty of PCs to choose from on our performance-desktops chart (with the requisite bump in price).

When some consider the size of a small form factor system, they tend to set their expectations in performance directly proportional to that size, for the most part. To say we were impressed with the numbers this little machine put out would be an understatement. We'll stop just short of "blown-away" but we're a bit jaded around these parts anyway. In terms of general compute performance, the X51 performed about where we expected for its midrange Core i5 quad-core CPU. It's not a workstation number cruncher but it gets the job done for gaming and multimedia tasks especially, where GPU performance is more critical. In that regard, gaming performance of the X51 was, for all intents and purposes, the fastest of the bunch among the other full-sized systems we tested. We gave the X51 a high watermark to hit, pitting it up against full-ATX and mid-ATX systems, and the little alien invaded and cleaned house.

A neat design, but the X51 could do with a more powerful graphics card

Over the years, there have been a few attempts to build small computers that could nonetheless play hardcore PC games. The HP Firebird most vividly comes to mind, with its dual laptop GPUs, water cooling, RAID array of hard drives, handsome custom case, and moderately outlandish price. Where the Firebird failed and other attempts fizzled before they could reach the market, though, the Alienware X51 has a real chance at life. It's reasonably priced, solidly built, and can be configured to satisfy today's mid-range gaming needs. The clever upgradable chassis means that tomorrow's games are also a possibility. It's mildly portable, and can fit into your existing home entertainment setup, though the lack of wireless controls may be an issue for some. And lest we forget, it's also a fairly powerful home computer, and if you're willing to spend an extra $100, the machine can also be your Blu-ray player.

If you’ve been looking for a gaming PC with enough performance muscle to easily handle today’s games, but have been put off by the size, price, and endless configurability of most gaming PCs, the Alienware X51 is an excellent alternative. It’s not the best option if you’re the type who likes to add extra components as time goes on, or if you demand absolute, uncompromising performance at resolutions above 1080p. Those users are better served by pricier traditional gaming towers with more internal space and higher-end graphics cards. Good ones to look at include the Digital Storm ODE and Maingear Shift. But if you’re looking for a system that’s compact and relatively powerful, and you can live without a Blu-ray drive or a speedy SSD, the Alienware X51 is about as good as it gets here in 2012. Its gaming performance is impressive for both its size and its price, and the case’s lighting scheme and sleek lines give it a style that’s intimidating without going over the top.

The Alienware X51 gaming desktop goes after the console gamer that wants a bit more out of their gaming experience.

Gaming desktop traditionalists, this PC is not for you. You'll hate the limited upgrade path. I have no hesitation recommending the Alienware X51 to everyone else, in particular those who've ever felt put off by the process of buying or building a gaming computer.