In fact, I would describe the whole interior as surprisingly small. As I said, the
case isn’t especially big, but the internal compartment makes up little of the
entire case size. Several inches of “empty” space on the top and bottom of the
chassis make it look like the components don’t have to be packed so tightly. The
top and side panels are used for ventilation, and the system runs quietly, so
perhaps this free space is necessary.
PORTS, EXTRAS, AND CONFIGURATIONS
Rounding out the physical build are plenty of ports. Several are aligned
YHUWLFDOO\RQWKHIURQWSDQHOLQFOXGLQJWKUHH86%SRUWVD86%7\SH&SRUW
and headphone jacks. Peripherals hanging from this panel look a little silly and
mar the style, so I’d recommend plugging them into the rear ports. There, you’ll
¿QGVL[86%SRUWVIRXU86%SRUWVDQGD86%7\SH&SRUWDVZHOODVDQ
Ethernet jack and an array of audio ins and outs.
On the software side, a quick note on the aforementioned Alienware Command
Center, which was rebuilt a few years ago to be the standard control panel for all
Alienware PC products. It wraps all of the usual gaming software—game-
VSHFL¿FSUR¿OHVOLJKWLQJRSWLRQVDXGLRVHWWLQJVFRPSRQHQWWXQLQJV\VWHP
monitoring, and even a game library and launcher—into one program. Most
XVHIXOIRUJDPLQJ\RXFDQÀLSWKH3&¶VWKHUPDOSUR¿OHDPRQJSUHVHWV¿YH
UDQJLQJIURPTXLHWWRIXOOVSHHGDQGVHWRYHUFORFNSUR¿OHVWRERRVW\RXU
graphics card. Command Center is one of the better, if not the best, of these
built-in manufacturer software packages.
2XUWHVWXQLWLVKLJKO\FRQ¿JXUHGWKRXJKWKDWGRHVQ¶WKDYHWREHWKHFDVHIRU
\RXUV$OLHQZDUHR̆HUVDZLGHVZDWKRIRSWLRQV2XUPDFKLQH
IHDWXUHVWKHEUDQGQHZ$0'5]HQ;SURFHVVRUWKDW¶VWKHVWDURIWKH
VKRZ-RLQLQJLWDUHDQ1YLGLDH)RUFH57;7LJUDSKLFVFDUG%RI
PHPRU\DQGD7%190H066'7KHHQWU\SULFHIRUD6.8XVLQJWKLV
FRUH&38LV
/HVVHU$0'SURFHVVRURSWLRQVVWDUWDWIURPWKH5]HQ
WKURXJKRWKHU5]HQ5]HQDQG5]HQRSWLRQVXSWRWKH&38LQRXUXQLW
$OLHQZDUHDOVRR̆HUV,QWHOPRGHOVVWDUWLQJDVORZDVZKLFKLVD
GL̆HUHQWJUDGHRIGHVNWRSDOWRJHWKHUFRPSDUHGWRRXUKLJKSULFH6.87KHUH
are, of course, more powerful Intel chips than the starting Core i5 option,
WRSSLQJRXWDWWKH&RUHL.