Alienware And Dell Announce Oculus Ready PC Bundles For $1,600

Back in May 2015, Oculus CEO, Brendan Iribe, said that a complete setup for the Rift would be $1,500, which is the price that Oculus had determined at the time. This statement is essentially the root cause of all of the recent controversy surrounding the Rift's announced pre-order price of $599. Previously, it was speculated that because the approximate cost of a PC capable of powering the Rift would be at least $1,000, if not more, then the Rift would have to come in at under $500.

So when Oculus announced the $599 price tag this week, it put itself in a bit of a bind. However, what many missed in that announcement was the fact that there would be an Oculus Ready PC and Rift bundles "available for pre-order in February starting at $1,499." With this price, either the PC with the specs required to run Rift would have to be sold for a fair amount less than an OEM would sell it for, or the Rift would have to be cheaper.

Although the details at this time are scant, it looks like the best way to get a Rift is with a PC bundle, especially if you think your current rig could use an upgrade to make it VR-ready. Currently, the two PC OEMs that have committed to producing Oculus Ready machines are Dell and Asus.

At a Dell event happening at CES, Alienware's Frank Azor had Palmer Luckey join him to announce Dell's plans for Oculus Ready PC bundles.

Dell's Oculus Ready PC bundles are priced at $1,600, which is a little more than the $1,500 that Oculus keeps using as a starting amount to get into the Rift. When we asked Azor about this price difference, all he could say was that he couldn't speak as to what the bundles from other OEMs would consist of.

One of the two machines being offered is the Alienware X51 R3, a small form factor tower with the required min-spec GTX 970. The other is a Dell XPS 8900 Special Edition, which also comes with a GTX 970. Both models are $1,200 when purchased without the Rift bundle and include identical specs:

Swipe to scroll horizontally
ModelAlienware X51 R3Dell XPS 8900 Special Edition
CPUIntel Core i5-6400 3.3 GHzIntel Core i5-6400 3.3 GHz
GPUNvidia GeForce GTX 970 4GBNvidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB
RAM8GB DDR4 at 2133MHz8GB DDR4 at 2133MHz
Storage1TB 7200 rpm Hard Drive1TB 7200 rpm Hard Drive
OSWindows 10 Home 64bitWindows 10 Home 64bit

This means that when ordering a Rift PC bundle from Dell or Alienware, you are saving $200 -- whether you look at these as savings off of the HMD or PC is up to you. Speaking of the GTX 970 as a minimum spec GPU for the Rift, Luckey was asked if it was adequate to provide a good VR experience. He responded by saying that he personally plays all of the in-development Rift titles on a 970 to ensure that their performance on that GPU is acceptable.

Of course, we wanted to get more details as to exactly how these bundles will work logistically and when and how you can purchase them. This is when we learned that all of the details haven't been ironed out as of yet. According to Azor, the way it will work is that if you pre-order the Rift you will receive a $200 coupon in February that you can use to get one of these two Oculus Ready PCs at a discount. That means you'll be able to benefit from all of the bonuses Oculus is offering now, including the packaged games and joining the Oculus Touch controller reservation list.

With Alienware's site currently stating "stay tuned for additional promotional offers from Oculus coming soon" and Oculus' site saying there will be bundles for less, we speculate that Oculus will also send out coupons for other bundles too, so people who pre-ordered the Rift will have a choice as to which PC OEM they go with.

We also asked about availability, and as of now you can already buy either one of Dell's offerings. However, if you buy one today, you will not be able to take advantage of the $200 discount because it is not a rebate that can be applied afterwards. The only reason to order one now is if you want an Oculus Ready machine now that you can use for more than just VR while you wait. The XPS 8900 is available for purchase now; the X51 R3 is still a few months out.

Probably the most interesting revelation during the Dell event at CES was when we asked Luckey how these bundles might affect the availability of the Rift. Although the Rift pre-order announcement said that the HDM will ship in March, it seems like only a lucky few were able to score a unit that would ship that month. Now if you pre-order a Rift it says that it won't arrive until May. So we asked Luckey if there were Rifts already allocated to these PC bundles and we were told yes. And because of that, there is a chance that if you decide to buy one of the bundles that you may get your Rift sooner.

When we asked Alienware's Azor to elaborate, he wasn't able to offer much more information other than it is crucial to remember that you need to pre-order a Rift first to take advantage of the bundle promotion and that because the PC hardware might be available before the headset, they will ship separately, at least initially, but packing a Rift in the box would be the eventual goal.

Interestingly, if you think about how this situation applies to Rifts sold by other retailers (both online and brick-and-mortar) -- even though retailers other than Oculus haven't been publically announced yet, we are sure that negotiations are already taking place -- just like the PC bundles, a certain number of Rifts from each production run must be allocated to retailers too. That means if you are willing to chance it and line up outside a store on Rift Day (March 28), maybe you'll get one sooner than pre-ordering online.

As of now, nothing is set in stone and some of the details are likely to change. However, it is confirmed that Dell's Oculus PC bundles will cost $1,600. Dell did tell us to expect more information in February, which is when Oculus will share more details as well. We're assuming that this is when the Rift bundle coupons will be going out too, so stay tuned for more details.

Alex Davies is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware and Tom's IT Pro, covering Smartphones, Tablets, and Virtual Reality. You can follow him on Twitter. Follow Tom's Hardware on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

  • Blinken
    i'm sure they're not happy about having to gimp RAM and put an HDD in a gaming rig to get the price down, or gasp maybe the oculus isn't being sold at cost.
    Reply
  • Clivegsd
    I always wanted an Alienware rig, I got one, it's been a nightmare since I brought it and years to get satisfaction from Dell for a computer that wasn't fit for purpose.

    I'd not waste my money on a Dell or Alienware PC ever again, the only way I'd own another one is if it was given to me for free, and even then I'd just keep it as a back up PC
    Reply
  • agentbb007
    17282611 said:
    I always wanted an Alienware rig, I got one, it's been a nightmare since I brought it and years to get satisfaction from Dell for a computer that wasn't fit for purpose.

    I'd not waste my money on a Dell or Alienware PC ever again, the only way I'd own another one is if it was given to me for free, and even then I'd just keep it as a back up PC

    I had an Alienware laptop and it was awesome, so your mileage may vary.
    Reply
  • jediTT
    maybe the oculus isn't being sold at cost.
    More likely THIS
    Reply
  • Quixit
    17282611 said:
    I always wanted an Alienware rig, I got one, it's been a nightmare since I brought it and years to get satisfaction from Dell for a computer that wasn't fit for purpose.

    I'd not waste my money on a Dell or Alienware PC ever again, the only way I'd own another one is if it was given to me for free, and even then I'd just keep it as a back up PC

    I had an Alienware laptop and it was awesome, so your mileage may vary.

    I'm with you, I had an Alienware M14X R2 for several years. It was the most solid notebook I've ever bought bother physically and functionality-wise.
    Reply
  • l33tforza
    17282611 said:
    I always wanted an Alienware rig, I got one, it's been a nightmare since I brought it and years to get satisfaction from Dell for a computer that wasn't fit for purpose.

    I'd not waste my money on a Dell or Alienware PC ever again, the only way I'd own another one is if it was given to me for free, and even then I'd just keep it as a back up PC

    I had an Alienware laptop and it was awesome, so your mileage may vary.

    I'm with you, I had an Alienware M14X R2 for several years. It was the most solid notebook I've ever bought bother physically and functionality-wise.
    17282611 said:
    I always wanted an Alienware rig, I got one, it's been a nightmare since I brought it and years to get satisfaction from Dell for a computer that wasn't fit for purpose.

    I'd not waste my money on a Dell or Alienware PC ever again, the only way I'd own another one is if it was given to me for free, and even then I'd just keep it as a back up PC

    I had an Alienware laptop and it was awesome, so your mileage may vary.

    I'm with you, I had an Alienware M14X R2 for several years. It was the most solid notebook I've ever bought bother physically and functionality-wise.

    I had an Alienware Laptop back in 2005, F.E.A.R. sent it smoking halfway through the game. Bought an Aurora Desktop, was a beast. Then i decided to build my own PC again after the somewhat decent alienware experience. Building my own rig, for me, is the best decision for a gaming rig hands down.
    Reply
  • littleleo
    It is sad when a good brand is bought by a cheaper one and they live of past rep.
    I'm going to wait until this segment gets more mature before I get in to it.

    Last name brand rig I bought was in the late 80s to early 90s it was a Packard Bell 80286. I had to call their tech support to get the dip switch config when I wanted to add more RAM. I waited on hold for nearly 4 hours, I begged them to send me a copy of the manual but they said they couldn't and the manual with the computer wasn't for the right motherboard. They had absolutely the worst customer support I've ever experienced in my life, even worse than TWC & WM! After that I always built my own rigs, so I have a Frankenstein on my desk these days, lol. But it does everything I want it to do so I'm happy with it, and if I need to change anything it's easy.
    Reply
  • deathcall666
    Now i do not say allienware are bad they are like every gamer's dream , but there is nothing compared to when you build your own PC out of parts really.
    Resuming the oculus thinghy , gtx 970 being the minumum i can most certainly bet that it will not last too long as VR hardware ( since Gpu demand will raise rather fast since next gen Gpu from both NV and AMD are coming and oculus aint even released already) . And now lets be serious how often you want to rennew your hardware ( gpu especially) , like once 2-3 years (unless you are very rich and go for enthusiast stuff every generation) , and sin.ce Gddr5 is becoming obsolette for high end gpu's while HBM will go mainstream id rather wait like 6 months to buy this. Also what would be the hurry , ocullus aint even released , soo just wait a little bit.
    From what i deducted next gen arctic island is mopping gtx950 with more power eficiency no news about NV but they should be close to that performance as well with thier upcoming series.
    Really no point in buying gpu's (powerfull gpu's even more) anymore, when such gamechanging tehnologies are being featured in next-gen (HBM, 14nm and so much more)
    Reply
  • therealduckofdeath
    I build my own desktop PCs too, but there is a reason why brands like Alienware exists. A lot of gamers just wants a factory built gamer PC and not waste time on figuring out what Power Supply would work best in what case combined with that processor and this motherboard.
    Reply
  • iam2thecrowe
    I always wanted an Alienware rig, I got one, it's been a nightmare since I brought it and years to get satisfaction from Dell for a computer that wasn't fit for purpose.

    I'd not waste my money on a Dell or Alienware PC ever again, the only way I'd own another one is if it was given to me for free, and even then I'd just keep it as a back up PC
    I used to fix and build Alienware PC's, the amount of testing before one leaves the door is extremely rigorous. They run full bench-marking suites, games etc to make sure it all works. The main issues we encountered were software, and lack of knowledge of the user. The clientele that generally buys Alienware expect it to just work, like a console, they aren't experienced PC builders. But it's still a PC and not without hitches in games, software, settings and drivers which are out of the hands of the PC manufacturer.
    I have had many dealings with Dell over the years on a personal and corporate level and i have been more than satisfied with their service.
    Reply