other gamers here?

[sgreger1]

Thanks. I don't know about "blazing," since the X51 is aimed at the casual gamer rather than the hardcore crowd, but in looking over the specs, it seemed very likely that it would outperform a general-purpose high-performance PC in the same price range. Not to mention I've dreamed of owning an Alienware rig for years [high coolness factor], and was overjoyed to discover they finally released an affordable product line. Far from cheap, but affordable.

Dude, it's got an I5 3GHZ processor which is more than you will likely use during any game. It has a nVidia GeForce GTX 555 which has 1GB of dedicated video memory. And 8 GB of RAM. You are going to be able to play everything on very high graphics settings. My computer is just a slight notch up from yours, I have the I7 3.4ghz but never get anywhere even remotely close to using all of the processor, I have 2GB of ram more than you but no game takes 8 GB of RAM, and I have an ATI graphics card that has the same 1GB dedicated memory as your nVidia one, but it should be noted that nVidia are better for gamin imo.

So your experience should be almost identical to mine and I play on the highest settings on every game, never with any drop in framerate. You should have the same. I installed FarCry2 last night and have the settings maxed out, smoooth ass framerate with HDR, bloom etc turned on and it looks beautifull. Skyrim looks amazing too on ultra high. I don't see any reason why you could call it anything but "blazing".

I never understood why people get the top of the line Alienware computers since even lower line ones will max out graphics settings, maybe I am just missing something.

Edit: Also I play everything on the max resolution of 1920x1080 ( maybe it was 1920x1200, i forget, it's whichever the highest setting is). So you should be able to play everything on high detail with no loss in performance. I play mine with photoshop and firefox open with 20 browser tabs, outlook open etc and never experience performance issues and you won't either.

[sgreger1]

HELL Yeah populous! I played http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populous:_The_Beginning when I was a kid and had a blast at it. Almost forgot about that game.

Mostly playing Eve Online now and some flight sims (IL2, F 4.0, DCS:A10)

Hey is Eve online any good? I've been looking into it and was thinking about picking it up but wasn't sure since I had never played it myself.

[PipenSnus]

Dude, it's got an I5 3GHZ processor which is more than you will likely use during any game. It has a nVidia GeForce GTX 555 which has 1GB of dedicated video memory. And 8 GB of RAM...

Actually, the model I will be getting has an I3 3.3 GHz processor, 4 GB of RAM, and an nVidia GeForce GTX 545. You were probably looking at the specs for the high-end model of the X51 series. I had to settle for the cheapest one. Nevertheless, it should be adequate for my gaming needs. If it turns out to be better than adequate, great, but I'd prefer to keep my expectations low -- it's better to be pleasantly surprised than to be disappointed.

[sgreger1]

Actually, the model I will be getting has an I3 3.3 GHz processor, 4 GB of RAM, and an nVidia GeForce GTX 545. You were probably looking at the specs for the high-end model of the X51 series. I had to settle for the cheapest one. Nevertheless, it should be adequate for my gaming needs. If it turns out to be better than adequate, great, but I'd prefer to keep my expectations low -- it's better to be pleasantly surprised than to be disappointed.

Lol, a pesimist is in our midst! I still think the model you have will be adequate for most games, even if you don't play them on the highest possible resolution. Alienware makes great gaming computers. When you get it let us know how it runs in case others are looking at buying the same model.

[PipenSnus]

Lol, a pesimist is in our midst! I still think the model you have will be adequate for most games, even if you don't play them on the highest possible resolution. Alienware makes great gaming computers. When you get it let us know how it runs in case others are looking at buying the same model.

I'd characterize myself as a skeptic rather than a pessimist, but I don't particularly object to the latter classification, either. You are correct that maxing out the settings is not as important to me as simply being able to play whatever game I choose without worrying whether my rig will run it. I figure the X51 will not only handle any of the current crop of games, but will likely have no problem with future releases for quite a while to come.

I'll be only too glad to post my opinion of the X51, once I've had the chance to try it out. I've got an estimated delivery date of 21 February, however, so it will be a few weeks yet, unless Dell ships it early. (unlikely)

[sgreger1]

I'd characterize myself as a skeptic rather than a pessimist, but I don't particularly object to the latter classification, either. You are correct that maxing out the settings is not as important to me as simply being able to play whatever game I choose without worrying whether my rig will run it. I figure the X51 will not only handle any of the current crop of games, but will likely have no problem with future releases for quite a while to come.

I'll be only too glad to post my opinion of the X51, once I've had the chance to try it out. I've got an estimated delivery date of 21 February, however, so it will be a few weeks yet, unless Dell ships it early. (unlikely)

Damn a month's delivery time? Are they gathering the raw materials from the forest to custom build it from the ground up or what? Are they assembling it atom by atom in the Large Haedron Collider at CERN? lol

X51 will be able to play every game without exception so you won't have any worries there.

[PipenSnus]

Damn a month's delivery time? Are they gathering the raw materials from the forest to custom build it from the ground up or what? Are they assembling it atom by atom in the Large Haedron Collider at CERN? lol

New product line + failure to accurately anticipate demand = inadequate production capacity = delays. At least that's my theory.

[Los ßnus]

Hey is Eve online any good? I've been looking into it and was thinking about picking it up but wasn't sure since I had never played it myself.

Hell Yeah, it's good! I normally get bored of games in about 2 - 3 weeks. Been playing eve for 9 mths straight now.

If you ever give it a go, I'm the CEO of Big Tobacco and we're always looking for fresh meat for the grinder

edit: I got a few 60 day free trials if you are interested send me a PM

[sgreger1]

Well, Cube World is looking amazing...

Way better than minecraft in every way. Notch tried hiring the guy but he decided to go independent.

Edit: Los Bnus, hook me up with one of those trials my nig!

[Los ßnus]

Well, Cube World is looking amazing...

Way better than minecraft in every way. Notch tried hiring the guy but he decided to go independent.

Edit: Los Bnus, hook me up with one of those trials my nig!

damn that looks sick!

also, one nigerian eve invite inbound!

[PipenSnus]

Well, folks, my new Alienware X51 arrived last Wednesday, but I didn't get the chance to do a serious test of its gaming capabilities until this weekend. It appears sgreger1 was right -- it runs every game I own at the highest graphics settings, without a single slowdown or stutter, even during long sessions. Plus it is extremely quiet. The fans are audible, but just barely, whisper-level. And the detail level with high graphics settings is nothing short of astonishing.

It's not a system that will satisfy a hardcore gamer, but then, it's not aimed at that market. For a casual gamer like me, however, who is accustomed to attempting to run games like Skyrim on a general-purpose PC, it's a major step up. I really can't find much to criticize about it. No doubt others may feel differently, but that's OK. For me and my usage patterns, it gets 5 stars out of 5.

[chibre]

I love this game. If anyone likes immersion and adventure style games like MYST you may want to check it out. It just came out, I am on my third play through. 10 bucks on steam.
Dear Esther

http://youtu.be/7xd8x5Esf48

[GoVegan]

Does Angry Birds count?

[sgreger1]

Well, folks, my new Alienware X51 arrived last Wednesday, but I didn't get the chance to do a serious test of its gaming capabilities until this weekend. It appears sgreger1 was right -- it runs every game I own at the highest graphics settings, without a single slowdown or stutter, even during long sessions. Plus it is extremely quiet. The fans are audible, but just barely, whisper-level. And the detail level with high graphics settings is nothing short of astonishing.

It's not a system that will satisfy a hardcore gamer, but then, it's not aimed at that market. For a casual gamer like me, however, who is accustomed to attempting to run games like Skyrim on a general-purpose PC, it's a major step up. I really can't find much to criticize about it. No doubt others may feel differently, but that's OK. For me and my usage patterns, it gets 5 stars out of 5.

Glad to hear that PipenSnus! I knew it would run great, that's a nice computer and should handle everything with ease. Enjoy playing on Ultra! I went back and loaded all of my old games that I could never run on my computers when I was younger just to max out the graphics setting and be like "LOOK AT ME NOW BITCH".

[sgreger1]

I love this game. If anyone likes immersion and adventure style games like MYST you may want to check it out. It just came out, I am on my third play through. 10 bucks on steam.
Dear Esther

http://youtu.be/7xd8x5Esf48

This is a really cool game. If anyone wants to test it before you buy it, PM me and i'll give you the link to direct download the cracked version from my server.

Edit: It's a really cool game but it's boring and not worth the $10 imo. I haven't finished the whole thing but all you do is walk around very slowly as the narrator narrates some story which never really pieces itself together. The narration is randomized so it makes it different on each play-through, but I wish they would have instituted a damn run key or something, the guy walks so damn slow.