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Alienware X51 review(4)

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Core Tip:Under the hood the R9 270 uses the same architecture as last years Radeon HD 7870 card, which means 1,280 stream process
 Under the hood the R9 270 uses the same architecture as last year’s Radeon HD 7870 card, which means 1,280 stream processors and 2GB of GDDR5 memory. The latter is the minimum we’d expect in a gaming card right now.

Little excites about the rest of the Alienware’s specification. Its eight gigabytes of memory is the least we expect, and there’s a 1TB hard disk – but no SSD. The front of the system houses a DVD writer.

The Radeon graphics card powered through our 1080p games tests. Its best score came in Bioshock Infinite, where the Radeon averaged 49fps with the game’s toughest settings selection. The mid-range GPU returned solid scores in trickier games: in Battlefield 4 and Crysis 3 it averaged 38fps and 33fps respectively.

The X51’s raw power was highlighted in other benchmarks. In 3DMark’s Fire Strike test it scored 4,972, which we’ve only ever seen beaten by a couple of beefy laptops – one of which was Alienware’s own 17in model.

All of those figures are playable with quality levels that outstrip the same games run on current consoles, but 1080p is the limit for the R9 270 – it’s just not got the grunt for most games at 2,560 x 1,440, and 4K is far beyond its abilities.

The processor’s PC Mark 7 score of 3,917 is unremarkable, but the chip scored 14,104 in the Geekbench test. It’s a stellar result that’s only slower than the 27in Apple iMac, and it means this system can handle CPU-intensive games as well as demanding software.

The 1TB hard disk has room for loads of games, but it ran through our sequential read and write tests at just 169MB/s and 157MB/s. Those are decent results for a hard disk, but they’re still three times as slow as most SSDs.

SEE ALSO: The Best Headphones for Under £100

 

image: http://img.worldinout.com/img/201512/15/095752464.jpg

 

Alienware X51: Heat and Noise

The processor isn’t an unlocked model, so it’s not a chip that can be overclocked, but its high temperatures meant there wouldn’t be room for tweaking anyway. We stress-tested the processor, running its four cores at 100% load, and the chip topped out at 92°C.

That’s eight degrees short of the silicon’s thermal limit, so we’re not concerned about the part throttling or becoming unstable, but there’s clearly no room here for a “K” series processor – any overclocking would generate too much extra heat.

The graphics card remained cooler, with a peak temperature of 77°C providing no cause for concern.

The X51 remained quiet when running low-intensity tasks but, like most gaming PCs, the noise increased during demanding titles. The system emitted a constant low rumble, but it’ll be easily drowned out by headphones or speakers. Full-size gaming systems are often much louder.

Other things to consider

As usual, the X51 comes with Dell’s Command Centre software. It’s used to control all of the Alienware’s software, and it’s split into three sections.

The first, AlienFX, controls the lighting: the panels on each side, as well as the logo on the front of the system, can be illuminated with different colours and glowing patterns. The AlienFusion module serves up the Windows power settings in a new interface, and the AlienAdrenaline area can be used to monitor performance.

 

image: http://img.worldinout.com/img/201512/15/095752434.jpg

 

Four X51 models are available. The cheapest option costs £550 and uses a Core i3 processor and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 745 graphics card, and the £649 model has a Core i5 chip alongside the same GPU. Our review sample comes next, and then there’s the £1,149 version, which has the same Core i7 chip as our machine but with a Blu-ray drive, a 2TB hard disk and Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 Ti graphics. The two pricier models have SSD options, but a 256GB drive costs an extra £230 on our sample and £180 more on the more expensive machine.

The gaming PC market is competitive, which means there are numerous alternative options if the Alienware doesn’t appeal.

PC gamers often enthuse about building their own machines to save cash, and that’s undoubtedly true here. We used PCPartPicker to put together a mini-ITX system to mirror the X51’s specification – including a low-end keyboard and mouse, and a copy of Windows 8 - and our rig costs £753 (http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/xctHpg).

That’s a big saving, and it’s possible to get more gaming performance by intelligently changing some of the components: dropping to a Core i5-4670 means another £70 can be added to the graphics budget. Spending the full £899 while building your own machine also means you’ll get a better deal: more room to manoeuvre mean it’s possible to get an SSD and a more powerful graphics card.

Building a system from scratch means missing out on the Alienware’s flashing lights and the one-year warranty – and it’ll also mean opting for a mini-ITX case that’s going to be larger than the X51’s chassis. It’s also a daunting prospect for beginners, but it’s possible to circumvent that issue by buying from a British PC firm.

Choosing a local supplier also means getting more bang-per-buck than you’ll get from the X51, especially if you’re willing to forego the X51’s tiny size and mini-ITX form factor: £899 PCs from firms like Chillblast, Scan and PC Specialist boast overclocked processors, more powerful graphics cards and even SSDs, but often use micro-ATX boards and mid-sized enclosures.

 

image: http://img.worldinout.com/img/201512/15/095752844.jpg

 

Should I Buy the Alienware X51?

It’s unrealistic to expect a sub-£1,000 gaming PC to play the latest titles at resolutions higher than 1080p, so Dell has been sensible by choosing the AMD Radeon R9 270: it’s got enough power to play any game at 1080p, and it didn’t become too hot inside the X51’s small enclosure.

The Core i7 processor is undeniably powerful, but we don’t think it’s the most efficient use of the X51’s budget – a Core i5 would do the job for the sort of usage this machine will likely see, and it will save money that could be put to better use elsewhere.

The 1TB hard disk is sizeable but there’s no SSD, and 8GB of RAM is the minimum we expect in gaming PCs. Connectivity is fine, but nothing here stands out.

The X51 enclosure isn’t much bigger than a next-gen console, and its sharp angles and illuminated sections ensure it looks good. It’s possible to get inside and swap components around, but there’s little room to add more – something many larger mini-ITX cases do offer.

Alienware’s latest system is one of the most powerful small-form-factor gaming PCs we’ve seen, with genuine 1080p abilities inside a chassis that’s little bigger than the latest consoles. That makes it the best option if you want a PC to sit beneath your TV, at least until Steam Machines arrive, but beware that building your own or buying elsewhere could allow for more gaming power and a better-balanced specification.

Verdict

We’ve not seen a PC this small with this much gaming power before, which makes the latest Alienware the ideal system for sticking beneath a TV – at least until Steam Machines arrive. The price of miniaturisation is high, though; the money spent on the X51 could go towards more powerful components elsewhere, especially if you’re willing to give up this machine’s keen style and tiny size.

Tempted by the X51? Take a look at the greatest gaming headsets to go with your new PC, and browse the best monitors - from 1080p to 4K.

 

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