E3 2017: Alienware’s New Line-Up Takes Things to an Extreme

June 18, 2017

Alienware and Dell took E3 by storm this year, with several announcements capitalising on AMD and Intel’s latest technology.

In order to meet consumers looking for high-performance gaming, but without the pricetag, halfway, Dell have introduced a new Inspiron Gaming Desktop starting at US $599. Featuring a cutaway ‘ribcage’ chassis, liquid cooling, blue LED lighting and VR-ready graphics, it’s meant to pack the kind of power you’d expect from an Alienware PC, in a more affordable package and a more traditional case. A Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming Laptop has been launched previously, and is also an example of Dell’s willingness to respond to feedback – overwhelming responses that the laptop needed an IPS display, rather than TN, spurred Dell to change the laptop within months of hearing about it.

Next up, the most delicious news for fans of high-end gaming are the upgrades to Alienware’s Area 51 flagship desktop. The Area 51 will come in two varieties – one powered by an AMD Threadripper, and another with the Intel Core X-Series inside. The Threadripper is a beast, with its 16-core option an OEM exclusive with Alienware for those with plenty of disposable income, and it even comes with each core pre-overclocked before it arrives. Over on the Intel option, while it currently features a 10-core option, there will be future support for 18-core processor varieties, as soon those models are available.

Alienware have also launched a line of new peripherals, including a 25″ gaming monitor, running at a native 250Hz referesh rate and 1ms response time, an ‘Elite Gaming Mouse’ that has a swappable grip and can be deconstructed to suit your hand’s form factor, and two mechanical keyboards with 2-4mm throw. All of these are compatible with Alienware’s trademark Alien FX lighting systems, configurable with the one piece of software on your PC.

Most of these products and peripherals are targeting the second half of the year, with Australian dates and pricing soon to come.