Alienware Steam Machines Can't Be Upgraded

[Andy Chalk]

Alienware Steam Machines Can't Be Upgraded

Alienware's Steam Machines won't be upgradeable or customizable, but new models will be released every year to keep up with the demands of new games.

One of the most common questions asked about Steam Machines is, "How are they different from a PC?" Alienware has offered some insight into one big difference in a recent chat with TrustedReviews, revealing that just as with consoles, owners won't be able to upgrade their Steam Machines.

"There will be no customization options, you can't really update it," Alienware General Manager Frank Azor said. He added that the platform will "continue to evolve," however, through annual releases of new models. "Lifecycle-wise, consoles update every fix, six, seven years, we will be updating our Steam Machines every year."

And if you do happen to want to upgrade your hardware at some point, without springing for a whole new rig? Azor has a suggestion: Get a PC. "If you actually want to customize your Alienware Steam Machine, maybe change your graphics card out or put in a new CPU, you would be better off with the standard Alienware X51," he said. "This particular product is restricted in its upgrade options."

Steam Machines appear aimed at non-PC gamers who want to enjoy the bountiful glory of Steam, and so upgrade options likely aren't a big concern for most of the people who are going to buy them. But why eliminate the possibility entirely - and worse, perpetuate the "obsolete by the time you hit the parking lot" myth by promoting platform evolution through annual iterations? We're not talking about a $100 box, after all, and I can't imagine console owners reacting too favorably to the idea of a new and improved Xbox or PlayStation every year. It's a wildly counter-intuitive move.

Source: TrustedReviews [http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/alienware-we-will-launch-new-steam-machines-every-year]


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[A-D.]

Seriously, Alienware, THE most useless pre-built PC-Assembler? They havent yet figured out how to NOT use mis-matching parts in their setups, causing system instability ranging from simple overheating to the CPU literally frying a hole in the mainboard (although thats only happened once) and other shit..and they actually make a pc into a console, i mean we all knew that consoles were kinda shitty pc's hardware-wise to begin with, they arent made out of candy and happy thoughts, but seriously now?

They have killed one of the most important features of a PC, that you can upgrade and customize it whenever you feel like it, even a laptop can be upgraded by yourself (dont do it unless you got some experience tho) to turn a pre-built pc into essentially a console with a yearly release-cycle. So you buy every year overpriced crap that you could get cheaper on your own, not to mention that any PC you build, right now, even using last-gen hardware (in PC terms) that machine will last you at least 2 years, at most 5 before it shows signs of aging. You can even keep it going for longer if you arent too hassled with playing games on lower settings.

This seriously baffles my mind.

 

[Yopaz]

OK, so mu first thought here was that Call of Duty's release schedule had finally hit the hardware market, then I realized this actually makes sense.

Alienware is going to make computers regardless, if they are going to make Steam Machines it makes sense that they follow their usual business model to release new models as new hardware gets released. You most likely won't need a new one every year just because they plan to release new ones every year.

Still... it is Alienware... so I will probably stick to Windows Steam for now.

 

[Roxas1359]

We did not need any more reasons to not buy Alienware PCs anyway...

That was my first reaction.
Alienware PCs already are over-priced machines that one could easily out-power with a custom build for even less. But this, this just sorta undermines the main calling about PCs over consoles, and that's that you should be able to upgrade it. This just makes me plain sad in general, but mainly because I know there are gonna be some people who buy this...>.>

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Good luck selling any of these. Jeez, what a bunch of greedy, stupid fucks.

Lifecycle-wise, consoles update every fix, six, seven years, we will be updating our Steam Machines every year.

This idiot says that like it's a good thing.

 

[BrotherRool]

Oh perfect, so no stable hardware to make development easier and guarantee that a game will run smoothly 5 years from now, but also no abillity to upgrade it so it works either. It's quite special to create a system which provides the worst of all worlds to your consumers.

You know how cool it was for PC gamers, that thanks to consoles hardware capping developers for 7 years, it effectively limits the graphics race so that by the end even laptops can play AAA games?

If Steam machines are successful enough to overtake the consoles, all that is going to be ruined. Unless developers learn to not care about graphics, we're all going to play cruddy unoptimised games based off an unstable hardware base. Which is fine for the people ready to put $1000 down on a PC, but for the people who don't want to spend more than $500 on anything that's basically for entertainment, it's just going to be years of only playing old games

The more and more I hear about these STEAM machines, the more and more useless they sound. So not only are they more expensive then a PC of similar power, they also can't be upgraded?

It's not Steam machines in general, just alienware ones. I'm pretty sure some of the others can because a lot of them are literally just PCs without Windows

 

[luvd1]

Words fail me for me to point out the school boy errors you have here Alienware.

 

[Avaholic03]

HAHA, it's like that Apple switch parody RoosterTeeth did many years ago. "When you need to update, you just throw it out and go buy a new one".

 

[Vaccine]

Alienware is PC cancer, they perpetuate the myth that buying a PC is expensive because of their exorbitant prices and branding.
People who aren't even remotely familiar with a PC usually look at me like I'm lying when I tell them you could actually make cost effective rigs.

 

[Smooth Operator]

The more and more I hear about these STEAM machines, the more and more useless they sound. So not only are they more expensive then a PC of similar power, they also can't be upgraded?

I agree with what TotalHalibut said on his content patch a while ago. Valve should just wait a few years until the hardware is more powerful and cheaper and THEN release a Steam machine that is at least as powerful as the consoles but cheaper.

This "you buy new or nothing" is Alienware specific dumbassery, so far no one has gone quite that bonkers of the Steambox lineup, I expect they are banking on people who buy their Steambox not being bright enough to know how shafted they got.

And thus far Steambox/OS hasn't had it's real launch, we very well might be waiting for another year(or ten) before they actually get on that, who the hell knows what their end package will be.

 

[Buccura]

Alienware doing everything they can to charge as much as possible? Yeah, sounds about right.

 

[Issurru]

This does not compute at all... Like what the hell are they thinking? Unless they plan on selling them at some huge loss or something, or they don't do the normal Alienware/Apple thing where they charge an extra $400 just to have the logo on it. Whoever thought of this should be fired, nobody is going to burn $1000+ dollars EVERY YEAR for a piece of junk like

this

We did not need any more reasons to not buy Alienware PCs anyway...

Yeah pretty much this

Captcha: Klatu Berada Nikto, hmmm I thought Apple was the evil one, guess it's Alienware now

 

[Lt. Rocky]

Now, if Alienware Steam boxes are reasonably cheap in comparison to competition, this no upgrade path would be reasonable.

 

[lacktheknack]

As someone who actually likes Alienware... What the what, Alienware?!

Uhm. Good luck selling those.

(But seriously, what's stopping me from unscrewing the box and moving pieces around?)

 

[Ace O'Hagen]

As someone who actually likes Alienware... What the what, Alienware?!

Uhm. Good luck selling those.

(But seriously, what's stopping me from unscrewing the box and moving pieces around?)

likely something stupid like proprietary screws that require a special bit only available for purchase from the Dell Employee store or it'll void your warranty ... not that that last one will stop those who really want to get in there