Alienware eyes consoles with smallest ever gaming PC

A new desktop PC from Alienware looks to be one of the most innovative releases in non-console gaming in a long while.

Although Alienware usually sticks to what they know – ridiculously over-sized, expensive gaming PCs – the X51 is something a little different.

The ultra-compact desktop focuses more on affordability than showmanship, and still manages to be a pretty powerful piece of equipment. It’s the same size as a PlayStation 3, but boasts 4GB of RAM and a 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 graphics card as standard, with options of 8GB, a GTX 555, and even a blu-ray drive for a little more money.

It can stand upright or lie on its side, and is fully upgradeable for added longevity.

Although the X51 may not be the most powerful of computers, it’s still a pretty impressive piece of hardware, especially with pricing starting at US$799 (update - the device will start at $1799 in New Zealand, well clear of where the consoles are here at the moment).

What’s even more impressive is this video preview where the machine is put on show, test-running Battlefield 3 at 1080p and 30 frames per second with no problems.

This latest piece of tech is available now, so to the console gamers out there, would you consider upgrading with a PC like this on the market? Post your thoughts in the comments below.