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Product Review: Page (1) of 2 - 04/19/06

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Alienware Area 51 3550 Media Center Viiv system

Media Center Edition PC with Intel Viiv technology

By John Virata

Convergence. That word has been bandied about the industry for years, changing meaning as time goes by and new technologies emerge. In the computer space, that has meant a lot of things, including the capability to view media on the PC. Microsoft jumped head first into the whole notion of convergence with the release of Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, essentially a module within the Windows operating system designed specifically for viewing content. What Windows XP Media Center Edition does is acts as a playback device for all manner of media, be it videos and photos, to games, TV and music. The Media Center Edition OS was designed to efficiently handle those types of files. It took a few years, but Intel drank the kool-aid and introduced the notion of Viiv, essentially its marketing stamp that you need a Viiv-enabled computer to enjoy your digital lifestyle.

A Viiv compliant computer is generally comprised of a dual core, 64-bit Intel processor running Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition. The motherboard chipset must also support 7.1 channel surround sound. Like Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition, the idea behind Viiv is to provide for a better, more refined user experience when watching movies and TV on a PC, as well as listening to music, gaming, viewing photos, and the capability to access on-demand entertainment services that deliver content straight to your PC. Viiv compliance requires a specific set of hardware dictated by Intel Corp. Current supported processors include Intel Pentium D, Intel Core Duo, and Intel Pentium Processor Extreme Edition. Current chipsets required to achieve the Viiv experience include Intel Express 975X, 955X, 945G, 945P, 945GT, and Mobile 945GM. LAN connections include Intel Pro/1000M, Intel Pro/ 100VE, and Intel Pro/100 VM.

Viiv Spec'd Alienware Area 51 3550
So, is Viiv what it is touted to be? Or is it just another computer? To experience the Viiv effect, I took a look at one of the latest offerings from Alienware that is Viiv-compliant, the Alienware Area-51 3550 Media Center Edition. The system ships with a 2.8GHz Intel Pentium D processor 920 with dual core technology running on an 800MHz frontside bus, 1GB 533MHz dual channel DDR2 SDRAM, a 3Gb/s 250GB SATA 7200 rpm hard drive with 8MB cache and native command queuing. Graphics is provided by an NVIDIA PCI Express x16 GeForce 6600LE with 128MB RAM.

The Alienware sports a wicked design

Where are all the wires? Dell engineers will learn from Alienware.

It comes equipped with a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS High Definition 7.1 surround capable audio card. The motherboard is an Alienware PCI Express motherboard with the Intel 945 chipset. The optical drive is a 16X dual layer DVD-/+R/W unit with LightScribe technology. Also included inside the front door of the systemis a 28-in-1 digital media reader/writer. Everything is powered by a 485 watt power supply. The chassis features Alienware's Acoustic Dampening with AlienIce 2.0 video cooling, enabling the system to emit a cool blue light from the lower unit.