Alienware X51 R3 PC unleashed with Skylake firepower and liquid cooling

Dell has launched a new version of its compact gaming PC, the Alienware X51, which now comes with Intel's Skylake processors.

The Alienware X51 R3, which is the third version of the desktop PC to emerge, offers a choice of Intel's Skylake (sixth-generation) processors. The base model includes a Core i5-6600K (overclocked to 3.9GHz), while the more expensive variant is powered by the beefier Core i7-6700K (overclocked to 4.4GHz).

For folks wanting some serious cooling for those ramped up processors, Dell has introduced an option for liquid cooling with the X51 – which as an added bonus also means these machines now run more quietly.

As for the graphics card, you can run with a GeForce GTX 960 with 2GB of video RAM (although if you want to save money, there are lesser options, namely the Radeon R9 370 or the GeForce GTX 745).

Of course, the GTX 960 itself is only a mid-range graphics card, but if you want more power to go along with those overclocked Skylake CPUs, this new version of the X51 supports the Alienware Graphics Amplifier to allow you to hook up a GeForce GTX Titan X, should money be no object.

Other specs include DDR4 system memory – 8GB minimum – with storage on the base model being a 1TB hard drive spinning at 7200rpm, with the high-end X51 offering a 256GB M.2 PCIe SSD alongside a 2TB traditional hard disk.

The base model starts at $1,099 (around £710), moving up to $2,049 (around £1,330) for the high-end spec, and of course you can tweak these further with Dell's configurator.

You can order these machines now over in the US, but in the UK, the Dell website still lists the old X51 R2. We should hopefully see the R3 version emerge over here in short order.

Also check out: Alienware announces 4K Area-51 gaming PC revamp