Alienware takes on living room gaming PCs with the Alpha-- a console-style number running not on Steam OS but on regular Windows 8.1, if with a custom-designed "Alpha UI".
Like a Steam Machine or other similar living room PCs the Alpha features an HDMI-out port, as well as an HDMI-in with pass-through support. As mentioned earlier it runs on Windows 8.1, with the Alpha UI's "Console Mode" promising users can navigate through all core features using just a gamepad and the Steam client's Big Picture mode.
A "Desktop Mode" allows use as a regular PC via the addition of a mouse.
Specifications-wise the Alpha carries a dual-core 4th gen Intel i3-4130T processor, 4GB RAM and 500GB HDD in the basic model or a quad-core 4th gen Intel i7-4765T processor, 8GB of RAM and 2TB HDD. Both models also include a custom Nvidia Maxwell-based GPU with 2GB dedicated GDDR5 memory, 2x DDR3 SoDIMM slots, dual-band Wireless-AC, Bluetooth 4.0, gigabit ethernet, optical audio out, x2 USB 3.0 ports and x2 USB 2.0 ports
The Alienware Alpha ships in EMEA territories from November 2014.