Alienware targets casual gamers with X51 desktop

Looks like Alienware is feeling the heat from consoles and handheld gaming devices. Today, Alienware has announced X51, a gaming PC with a starting price of $699. This is from a brand that has always targeted extreme gamers with monstrous rigs. And it looks like a small formfactor PC. Onto the specs:

• Highly customizable
• Intel's 2nd generation Core ix processors
• Nvidia Geforce GT/GTX series GPUs with GDDR5 memory
• Mini-ITX motherboard
• Upto 8GB of DDR3 memory
• 1TB 7200rpm HDD
• Windows 7 home premium
• Slot loading DVD drive (bluray optional)
• USB 2.0 (6x); USB 3.0 (2x); Microphone In; Headphone/Speaker Out; HDMI 1.4 Output; RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet; Front, Rear and Center Speaker Ports; SPDIF Digital Output (TOSLINK); SPDIF Digital Output (Coax)
• 240W PSU or 330W PSU
• 13.5” (343mm) x w: 3.74” (95mm) x d: 12.52” (318mm), 5.49 Kg

This image shows how tiny X51 is, sitting next to one of the monster rigs from Alienware:

And the following image shows how the components are  packed. It looks pretty tight to me. Forget about manually customizing this rig btw:

We wish all the best to Alienware for this new direction that they are taking.