With the Steam Machine delayed until 2015, Alienware has followed through on its plan to deliver a Steam-powered PC gaming console called Alpha in time for the holidays. Available for pre-order today bundled with a $100 Dell eGift card and more, your net cost is effectively just $449 for the base model of this customizable, Steam-based gaming PC. The Alienware Alpha ships with an Xbox 360 controller and utilizes an exclusive user interface that can be navigated by that controller alone, eliminating the for a keyboard and mouse. With Steam Big Picture the Alpha promises to give you easy access to your entire Steam library, plus other entertainment, easily hooked up to your TV. Adding games is as simple as adding a game to your Steam account, which you can do from the Alpha or remotely with your phone. On the base model a capable Intel Core i3-4130T processor is paired with a custom 2GB Nvidia GeForce GPU to provide strong overall gaming performance. Other specs of note include 4GB RAM, a 500GB hard drive, Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160 and Bluetooth 4.0. The Alpha is also user-accessible, meaning that you’ll be able to upgrade components on your own over time. Alternatively, you can simply order a config with things like a Core i7 and 2TB HDD pre-installed. Dell is quick to emphasize that this is more than a mere console, and you have the option of plugging in a keyboard and mouse and using it as a regular desktop – their custom UI is designed on top of Windows 8.1, after all. By pre-ordering the system today you get tons of goodies, including bonus content, complete games like Awesomenauts, Magicka, Metro 2033, and PAYDAY 2, that $100 Dell eGift card, and more. The estimated ship date stands at 11/24, so check it out today and you can be sure you’ll have it before the holidays arrive. Source: Geek.com
