We demand on-demand:
Alienware DHS 2 series
Alienware DHS 2 series
The product: If your PC can't do it all--TV, music, movies, and games--don't even bother at CES this year. Packed into a white, VCR-size box, the Alienware DHS 2 series' handful of multimedia features gives you a boost of high-end TV, gaming, music, and computing power. Best of all, it features DISCover Console Gaming software that lets you demo, buy, and download games--on demand--through the Windows Media Center interface.

• Schedule and record TV programming up to 14 days in advance without monthly fees
• Download thousands of on-demand movie titles and music tracks
• Connect to 16:9 or 4:3 analog or digital televisions
• Intel Pentium 520 processor
• Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
• 512MB of Dual Channel DDR PC-3200 SDRAM 400MHz
• 80GB Seagate HDD
• ATI Radeon X300 128MB DDR
• Dual standard-definition TV tuners
• Integrated Wi-Fi b/g wireless and wired Fast Ethernet

The price: Scheduled to start shipping later this month, the Alienware DHS 2 series starts at $1,650.

The prospects: We always resented Alienware's DHS-301 Media Center because of its inflated price tag and middling components, but we have a warmer feeling toward the slick new DHS 2 series. In any event, it's a sure sign of how the multimedia PC continues to blossom.

By Justin Jaffe, senior associate editor, CNET Reviews