If I'm understanding you correctly, you want an upgradeable, but very small (one of the portable looking alienware computers) computer. Sorry but, those tiny cases are a pain to work with if you haven't built a computer before, which I'm assuming you haven't.
Do what everyone else is suggesting and build your own, get a mid tower and work with that. The Alienware is not what you want, trust me. You are paying hundreds of extra dollars on a PC that you will not be upgrading, unless you are good with computers, or take it somewhere and pay to upgrade.
If you have a hobby itch to scratch, you can also build your own custom modded case. Those are very work-intensive undertakings, but they can look fantastic.
For example, this eight-foot tall Victorian steampunk-themed case mod completes any living room.
Don't really game on it, but you can get some decent video cards nowadays with the slim bracket that would fit in the cases no problem. Even with the blu-ray playback my temps are quite low considering how small the form factor is and it's running on stock cooling so I don't think gaming would be too much of a factor.
Mini-Box makes some really cool small cases (usually no optical bay, but with everything going digital nowadays you might not need it). I just run a cheap Apex case but it does the trick and is quite small.
Right - to be clear, I'm not really way too concerned with putting the actual computer together (though a low-profileish case is preferable, but not mandatory if I can hide it). Forget about the hardware and that crap, that's relatively easy compared to making it wife / nanny / babysitter friendly. After a little more research though, I'm agreeing with you guys - I'd rather get a mid-sized case and outfit it with whatever good builds I can find online for about 1200 or so. If it's done the right way, I'll be getting rid of an Xbox and POTENTIALLY a DVR as well, so...
What I was wondering about was usage patterns - how remote control-friendly did you make your build? Can you watch movies / music / Netflix / etc using just the remote (again, this is wife factor stuff)?
I think the great responses from Osprey and Zodiac have given some really good direction. It'll basically be the system plus an IR receiver hooked up to an IR repeater (so, completely hidden). Boot into Media Center, install various plugins for emulators, Netflix, Amazon Prime if they've got one, and then setup a menu within WMC to actually launch games. From there, if they can use the Xbox controller, wonderful. If not, then that's the only time I'd have to bust out a keyboard / mouse. Good tradeoff.
The fun part of this is going to be putting the software together just right, rigging it up to my existing Home Server... yay.
Here's an important thing to note with the Alienware X51:
Quote:
Originally Posted by theverge
...in what's perhaps the most likely in years to be attached to a TV, you'll need to jury-rig your own to control it from across the room, and since it also doesn't have video inputs or a TV tuner option (nor space to add your own) it's not really suited to be a media center PC anyhow.
What you'd probably have to do is buy one of those USB tuners, but I'm not sure if they'd be adequate or if the media software like WMC would even detect it. There are probably people who have tried them, perhaps even with the X51, though, and can be found by Googling.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zodiac
i've been wanting to make a mame arcade cabinet for a few years, but never get around to it.
They'd definitely be cool at first and whenever someone new comes over, but I'm afraid that they're one of those things that isn't as great in reality as it seemed in theory. No matter how in shape you are or how many hours you used to spend in arcades, you're going to tire of standing there while you game and secretly wish that you could take it to the couch with you. The nostalgia isn't worth the inconvenience, IMO.
I'm planning to eventually set up a similar MAME/Atari/NES/SNES system, myself, but I'm going to simply host it on an HTPC, so that I can play with a controller from the couch, not to mention on a TV much larger and nicer than would be in a cabinet and with a much better speaker system, as well. That's the way to go, at least for me. I admit that I occasionally feel the pull of nostalgia to make or buy an arcade cabinet, but I'm now a creature of the 21st century and would probably rarely use it after the initial thrill wears off.
They'd definitely be cool at first and whenever someone new comes over, but I'm afraid that they're one of those things that isn't as great in reality as it seemed in theory. No matter how in shape you are or how many hours you used to spend in arcades, you're going to tire of standing there while you game and secretly wish that you could take it to the couch with you. The nostalgia isn't worth the inconvenience, IMO.
I'm planning to eventually set up a similar MAME/Atari/NES/SNES system, myself, but I'm going to simply host it on an HTPC, so that I can play with a controller from the couch, not to mention on a TV much larger and nicer than would be in a cabinet and with a much better speaker system, as well. That's the way to go, at least for me. I admit that I occasionally feel the pull of nostalgia to make or buy an arcade cabinet, but I'm now a creature of the 21st century and would probably rarely use it after the initial thrill wears off.
yeah, its more of just a cool thing to have in a game room for me ...ie, the pool table, bar, table hockey, arcade/mame cabs, etc.
i just loved the arcades when i was a kid and always wanted a nice gameroom. even if its not the most practical thing on earth, i still want one.
could use a bar stool to sit on while playing tho. don't have to stand all the time.
but ya, the HTPC setup like you mentioned would be better and more practical and get more usage.
The Alienware is limited to a certain ceiling for power draw because it uses a proprietary AC power brick. The Silverstone uses a standard ATX power supply. I know I'd rather have something that has the option of active cooling over something that doesn't.
I have no problem with people buying pre-builts; if they can afford the extra price (which is not nearly as much as it once) or they are afraid for whatever reason, or lack the time, or want he security of a company warranty or... there are many reasons to buy pre-built. Im in my 40s, I know enough to build my own, but honestly dont think I would bother for my next desktop.
The problem I have is the X51 seems to be not a good machine. Plain and simple. Read the Dell/Alienware forums
nearly every post is an issue with the X51 and the Dell forums are highly moderated so I wonder how many posts are removed. Now people who have no problems tend not to be the ones that post on these boards, but it does give some indication of consistant problems with this machine. The X51 looks good, as do most of the Alienware desktops, but the quality seems very lacking.
hmmm link doesnt work but Dell.ca --> join the discussion -> Owners Club - > Alienware should work.
I built a HTPC a couple years ago with a very nice case that looks like a receiver and came with its own remote and built-in IR receiver for the remote. I run a WMC plugin called MediaBrowser on it. I use mine for my collection of movies/tv shows exclusively though. It's pretty incredible.
