http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/09/e3-2014-alienware-alpha-steam-machine-reborn-as-windows-based-console
Valve may have delayed its Steam Machine platform until sometime next year, but that isn't stopping Alienware from releasing the ultra-compact console it unveiled back in January at CES. Instead of Valve's open-source operating system and Steam Controller, Alienware's Alpha console will ship as a Windows 8.1-based system that boots directly into its own custom interface, delivering living room gaming experiences and the entire breadth of Steam's PC catalog — not simply games ported to Linux.
The Alienware Alpha retains the same design as the 8" x 8" square box we first showed you in January, with exception to the absence of the Steam logo on the corner. It still comes equipped with USB 3.0 ports, optical audio out, an external power supply, an ethernet port, and both HDMI in and out — though Alienware's plans for it are still unclear. What's new, however, is what's inside.
The entry-level configuration for the Alienware Alpha will start with an Intel Core i3 processor, 4GBs of RAM, 500GB of HDD storage, and a custom GTX-class Nvidia GPU based upon the Maxwell architecture with 2GBs of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM. When pressed on a relative performance comparison for the chip, Alienware representatives were reluctant to liken it to anything currently in Nvidia's processor range because of its unique combination of power, low-energy consumption, and heat profile. As a result, the system runs with very little noise under load and is capable of producing 1080p, 60 frames-per-second gaming experiences for most titles at high to maxed out specs. But for those that want to spring for extra performance can upgrade to Core i5 and i7 CPUs, up to 8GBs of RAM, and 2TBs of storage.
