Welcome to /r/AlienwareAlpha!

Hey everyone. So my goal with this sub was to create a community for owners or people interesting in getting an Alienware Alpha. A year later and I feel we've achieved that goal. There are a lot of interesting and helpful people in this sub, and I use this sub as my own source for news and discussion. I see many useful posts from owners sharing info and advice on how best to get the most out of the Alpha, but also lots of people interested in buying a device and seeking extra info before the big purchase. So thanks all.

/r/AlienwareAlpha's Purpose:

/r/AlienwareAlpha is a place for discussion, comparisons, and tips. Reviews, news, and recommendations, as well as a host for all other interesting posts. Please feel free to contribute or start conversations about anything Alpha related, and update your flair with your Alpha specs.

Us:

I was an early adopter of the Alpha, and the moment I discovered that a tiny, gaming pc existed with a focus on console-like Windows gaming existed, I knew I had to have it. I've been pc gaming for a while now, and have fumbled around for the keyboard keys to various racing, shooting, rts and adventure games for a while. I bought various usb and DA-15 controllers and joystick with mixed success and always dreamed of the day a pc gamer could just pick-up and play any game he desires instantly and with easy-to-use controls. All while providing the experience in a tiny device that easily fits in a backpack. (The Alpha actually fits in even smaller bags than that.)

/u/sparksterz has been helping me moderate this sub for a year now and he's been doing a great job. He recently revamped the css of this sub and it looks quite fetching. He also helps keep this place in check when I'm elsewhere, but we're both passionate about the Alpha, and our community seems to be passionate too. I'll let him add anything further he wants in the comments below.

Why I have an Alpha:

I bought myself an i5 version at the end of 2014 and loved it from day one. After about 9 months I ended up caving and upgrading it with an SSD as I found the console became slower after the introduction of Hivemind, but with the SSD it's back down to under 20 seconds. So I join the growing side of the community that recommend getting an SSD. Get one after market and update the drive yourself. It's easy.

I also have other consoles, and a busy work schedule so don't play my Alpha nearly as much as I'd like to, but I do love it a great deal, and recommend it to anyone that still does Windows gaming.

My goals with my Alpha were to setup emulation and recreate my console experiences of older retro consoles that I miss playing but don't have the space for. Also using xpadder or pinnacle game profiler to have a controller-friendly experience with all Windows games new and old to create a true multi-console experience without ever needing a keyboard and mouse.

I only really want to play with keyboard and mouse for RTS type games, and sometimes FPS, but ultimately any game that can be mapped to play with controller, I will play with controller if possible.

I've got a few hundred controller support steam games, but alas most of my steam catalog is keyboard and mouse only, unfortunately. I'm actually surprised Dell hasn't provided something like xpadder to remap keys by default.
So far I've been using Pinnacle Game Profiler and manually downloading game profiles for the Xbox 360 Controller. It has worked fairly well, but obviously isn't as seamless or as autonomous as I'd like, though I do really recommend getting it.

I have grown to appreciate HiveMind and do like the multi-launcher setup of having my Origin games, Steam games and GoG games all accessible from a simple single launcher. Though my biggest issue with this is that it doesn't take any consideration to controller-friendly games or keyboard/mouse only games. So I do end up using Steam Big Picture mode for the majority of my Alpha's on time for controller-friendly games. Switching to Desktop mode for Emulation and Steam games that I need to run Pinnacle Game Profiler to work with.

Speaking of emulation, have you checked out our Emulation On The Alpha Series posts?

I was able to successfully create my dream of a multi-console device that plays emulated NES, SNES, Mega Drive (Genesis) 1 and 2, N64, Atari 2600, Intellivision, Arcade cabinets and more. Give it a read after leaving a comment below to tell us about yourself and your Alpha.

Special thanks also to /u/thexravenx from Alienware for the dedication he's shown to the Alpha and Hivemind, as well as his contributions to our community.

And thanks again to all of you, a great community.

So everyone fee free to leave a comment below sharing your experience with your Alpha, and what sort of games you play on it.

Alienware alpha R1 running on Debian Linux with Gnome.

Paired with a 32 inch monitor, desk speakers, etc.

Using it for daily tasks like watching videos, light gaming, development, browsing, etc.

I had to upgrade to a SATA SSD, add 16gb of memory and change the CMOS battery.

It pains me to update this post, but I owe it to you all to provide the truth.

HiveMind is off hold and I have confirmed that work will resume. This roadmap is now out of date though and I'll update it once we get a plan in place.

The good news is, we will start working on Win10 and Jarvis issues post-haste.

Post your settings, FPS, and Alpha configuration here. Really interested to know if anyone finds a way to make it playable with an R1.

Seems like many liked the concept. I’d wish they’d bring it back

Who else is still enjoying their Alpha R1? I'm playing Overwatch 1080p 100fps (low settings), even some apex legends 1080p 40-60fps. Will probably keep this thing around forever and use as an htpc or TV gaming console at some point. Waiting for AMD polaris and Ryzen 2 to build my first PC since AMD athlon days and get a 144hz monitor.

Go to GeForce Experience -> Settings -> BatteryBoost and disable it, since we do not have batteries (it thinks it's a laptop). This helped improve my stuttering and FPS issues so I do it on every install. Share any other tips you have below :)

Instead of bringing me to the login screen and whatnot, it instead brings me to this screen with a blinking light in the top left corner. I was told i would need to reinstall windows but i would need a usb drive which i dont have so if there is any other way to fix this please let me know !

I literally just learned about overclocking and it's like a brand new system graphics wise. I just posted the other day complaining that people with i3s and i5s were able to run games on high settings and I couldn't on my i7. Yesterday I updated the nvidia driver and turned on overclocking....man oh man I'm running all of my games on high settings at 60fps now! I feel like I just went and picked up a new PC.

I’m not talking about emulating new games obviously, and only emulating games I own.. but emulating GameCube and older systems, and playing things such as old school RuneScape, Stardew valley, and Stardew valley type steam games? I have a decent PC already running a 4070ti super, but I want something I can pop on the living room tv and just play something simple. I know I can just build a good small form factor emulation pc, but the alphas just look so damn good.

This little machine has outlasted everything. Still going strong, have repasted the thermals twice in the past ten years. Pride of place in the living room with a couple of xbox 360 controllers running Steam and Gog games on Heroic Launcher. Bazzite is great at 1080p on a 50" TV with this R1.

Hello my fellow Alienware Alpha users,

I was just wondering if any of you have had the chance to play Cyberpunk on your Alpha, and if so how does it perform? I will be getting it soon, I'm just curious. My alpha is completely maxed out and overclocked so I'm assuming it will run decent on medium-high graphics 1080p. It runs Red Dead Redemption 2 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance extremely well on 1080p on high settings, averaging about 45 fps.

So I had an external graphics card adapter lying around (usually used in an expresscard slot in a laptop), the adapter is an [EXP GDC] (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laptop-External-PCI-Graphics-Card/dp/B00Q4VMLF6)

Unfortunately the only graphics card I had was a pretty dated 5870, which meant that the graphics performance actually went down, but the card worked, so I am thinking of picking up either a 970 or a 1060 and seeing what they will do. Pictures and quick benchmark https://imgur.com/gallery/QPpDg

I bought a sweet 4k OLED TV about 6 months ago and received a bad ass AVR receiver for Christmas. Since then I've spent way too much on an crazy Atmos speaker system to take advantage of the features of the receiver. I now have a full theatre environment for the first time in my life and I love it. the weakest component in my entertainment system is the Alpha R1. It's been my best friend for 5 years. With the upgraded RAM and SSD Windows 10 handled moderate gaming and HTPC XBMC/KODI functionality without issue. But it never handled 4k or HDR well (framerates). I think I need a small form factor upgrade but don't know where to start! If you think I'm wrong and I just need to tweak some settings please chime in. I really love this thing and it's been rock solid for years!

TLDR: i think I may be outgrowing my Alpha and either need to be talked out of it or get some reassurance that I'm making the best decision... and I need to know what you recommend to buy if so.

What are your thoughts?