Alienware

Last updated

Alienware Corporation
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Computer hardware
FoundedOctober 24, 1996;28 years ago (1996-10-24) [1] [2] (as Saikai of Miami, Inc.)
FoundersNelson Gonzalez, Alex Aguila
Headquarters The Hammocks,
Ormond Beach, Florida
,
United States
Key people
 Michael Dell (CEO)
Products Desktops
Notebooks
Peripherals
Monitors
Number of employees
490 [3]
Parent Dell
Website dell.com/en-us/gaming/alienware/

Alienware Corporation is an American computer hardware subsidiary brand of Dell. Their product range is dedicated to gaming computers and accessories and can be identified by their alien-themed designs. [4] Alienware was founded in 1996 by Nelson Gonzalez and Alex Aguila. [5] [6] The development of the company is also associated with Frank Azor, [7] Arthur Lewis, [8] [9] Joe Balerdi, [10] and Michael S. Dell (CEO). The company's corporate headquarters is located in The Hammocks, Miami, Florida. [11]

Contents

History

Founding

Alienware was established in 1996 as Saikai of Miami, Inc. by Nelson Gonzalez and Alex Aguila, two childhood friends. It assembled desktops, notebooks, workstations, and PC gaming consoles. [12] [13] [14] [15] According to employees, the name "Alienware" was chosen because of the founders' fondness for the hit television series The X-Files , which also inspired the science-fiction themed names of product lines such as Area-51, Hangar 18, and Aurora. [16] In 1997, the corporation changed its name to Alienware.

Acquisition by Dell

Dell had considered buying Alienware as early as 2002, but did not go through with the purchase until March 2006. [17] [18] As a subsidiary of Dell, Alienware retains control of its design and marketing while benefiting from Dell's purchasing power, economies of scale, and supply chain, which lowered its operating costs. [18]

Initially, Dell maintained its competing XPS line of gaming PCs, often selling computers with similar specifications, which may have hurt Alienware's market share within its market segment. [19] [20] Due to corporate restructuring in the spring of 2008, the XPS brand was scaled down, and the desktop line was eliminated, leaving only XPS notebooks, [20] but XPS desktop models had returned by the end of the year. [21] Product development of gaming PCs was consolidated with Dell's gaming division, with Alienware becoming Dell's premier gaming brand. [22] [23] On June 2, 2009, The M17x was introduced as the first Alienware/Dell branded system. This launch also expanded Alienware's global reach from six to 35 countries while supporting 17 different languages. [24]

Products (after acquisition by Dell)

Windows OS-based consoles

Alienware announced that it would be releasing a series of video game consoles starting in 2014, aiming to compete with Sony's PlayStation 4, Nintendo's Wii U, and Microsoft's Xbox One. [25] The first version in this series, the Alpha, ran Windows 8.1. [26] The operating system and ability to play PC games is what separates the Alpha from the eighth generation of video game consoles. At E3 2016, Alienware announced the second rendition of the Alpha, the Alpha R2. The R2 adds 6th generation Intel processors, a choice of either AMD's Radeon R9 M470X or Nvidia's GeForce 960 graphics cards, and support for Alienware's proprietary Graphics Amplifier. It also ships with Windows 10. [27]

Graphics Amplifier

The Graphics Amplifier allows an Alienware laptop to run most full length (or smaller, non-hybrid) desktop GPUs. [28] A proprietary PCIe 3.0 ×4 cable is used instead of the Thunderbolt 3 cable used on most other eGPUs. [29]

Laptops

18 inch

17 inch

16 inch

15 inch

Alienware M15x Alienware m15x Laptop.jpg
Alienware M15x

14 inch

Alienware M14x Alienware M14x (2).jpg
Alienware M14x

13 inch

11.6 inch

Alienware M11x Alienware M11x.JPG
Alienware M11x

In 2012, Alienware announced that they would discontinue the M11x model due to decreasing consumer interest in small form factor gaming laptops. [48] The company went on to offer refreshed models for the rest of their laptop range: the M14x, M17x, and M18x. [49]

Desktops

Aurora

Aurora ALX

Area-51

Area-51 ALX R1 Alienware 1 2018-10-16.jpg
Area-51 ALX R1

Area-51 Threadripper Edition

X51

Video game console hybrids

Alienware Alpha

Headsets

Monitors

Alienware monitors use a standard naming convention system for their product names.

The ending characters represent a mix of features, as follows.

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

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  8. ↑ Stenger, Mike (January 18, 2012). "Alienware Launches X51 Slim Desktop PC With Serious Gaming Performance". The Inquisitr. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
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  36. ↑ "Alienware Area-51m R2 Laptop Product Video (2020)". YouTube .
  37. ↑ "Alienware Area-51m R2 Gaming Laptop | Dell Middle East".
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  40. ↑ "Alienware x17 Gaming Laptop Product Overview (2021)". YouTube .
  41. ↑ "Alienware x17 R2 Gaming Laptop | Dell USA".
  42. ↑ "Alienware x17 R2 Review: Top-Tier Power and Style". February 5, 2022.
  43. ↑ "Alienware m16 Gaming Laptop – Laptop Computers | Dell USA". Dell. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  44. ↑ "Alienware m15 R4 Product Overview (2021)". YouTube .
  45. ↑ "Alienware m15 R7 (AMD) | Product Highlights". YouTube .
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  47. ↑ "Alienware M15 R7 (2022) review". July 17, 2022.
  48. ↑ Smith, Mat (April 19, 2012). "Alienware's M11x is no more, bigger is apparently better". Engadget. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  49. ↑ Pinola, Melanie. "Dell Refreshes Alienware Laptop Line, Discontinues M11x". PCWorld. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  50. ↑ "New Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop". Dell. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  51. ↑ "Amazon.com: Alienware Gaming PC Desktop Aurora R7 – 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8700, 16GB DDR4 Memory, 2TB Hard Drive + 32GB Intel Optane, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GDDR5X, Windows 10 64 bit : Everything Else". www.amazon.com. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
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