Athlone, Ireland – November 12th, 2004. Alienware®, the leading manufacturer of high-performance desktop, notebook, media center, and professional systems, announced the availability of the Alienware AuroraTM City 17. This exclusive limited-edition gaming system was developed with advice from Half-Life 2 developers Valve in order to deliver the best possible experience for this holiday season’s PC blockbuster. The Aurora City 17 specifications include the killer combination of an AMD Athlon™ 64 FX-55 processor and ATI RADEONTM X800XT graphics for jaw-dropping performance.

Five years in the making, hundreds of thousands of gamers are holding their breath for the game to be made available. The hotly anticipated sequel to the multi award-winning original promises breathtaking graphics courtesy of the new SourceTM engine and also ups the ante with ground breaking physics, remarkable artificial intelligence and above all a compelling narrative in a game which is already gaming breathless awards from the gaming press. Experiencing the game at its best places demands on the subsystems of the most powerful systems, and Alienware took the unique step of consulting Valve on the optimum system specifications for the Alienware Aurora City 17.

The Aurora City 17 includes the AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 processor offering unprecedented performance for an extraordinary level of realism and awesome 3D graphics. When it came to deciding the choice of video subsystem, Valve specified the high performance graphics of the same ATI Radeon X800XT graphics platform. Rounding out the specifications of the limited edition system, Valve insisted on a capacious 2GB of system RAM and dual 10,000RPM SATA Raptor hard drives ensure the fastest loading times.

“While we designed Half-Life 2 to be playable on lower specification machines, for those that want the ultimate experience, the Alienware Aurora City 17 delivers,” said Valve Marketing Director Doug Lombardi.

“While waiting for Half-Life 2 with as much excitement as everybody else we asked what gaming system can we create that will be the ultimate Half-Life 2 machine?,” said Stefan Konopatzki, Alienware VP of Sales and Marketing. “Obviously the best people to help were Valve and we’re delighted that they assisted us in the creation of the Alienware Aurora City 17. The result is an amazing one-off computer system with all the power needed to show off this amazing game.”

About Valve

Founded in 1996, Valve creates entertainment software titles, including Half-Life®, Counter-StrikeTM, and Team Fortress®. Valve's portfolio accounts for over 12 million retail units sold worldwide, and over 88% of the online action market. More information about Valve is available through the company’s Web site at http://www.valvesoftware.com.

About Alienware

Alienware Ltd. manufactures high-performance computer desktop and mobile systems and leading-edge professional systems. Alienware offers unique and award-winning products that incorporate state-of-the-art components, innovative engineering and design, and unprecedented customer service. Alienware systems are available direct within the United States and Europe. For more information, please visit http://www.alienware.co.uk or call 0800 279 9751 within the UK or +353 906 456 500 outside the UK.