ThundeRobot, a Chinese-based laptop manufacturer is launching a new PC console — according to IT Home — that looks like a copycat of Alienware's Steam machine from several years ago. The console, called the MIX, will feature Intel and Nvidia's latest CPU and GPU hardware including a 13th Gen Core CPU and a RTX 4060. The new console will launch on July 21st presumably to the Chinese market.
You probably have not heard of ThundeRobot before, but the name is very popular in Asia, being China's 3rd largest consumer supplier of notebooks and gaming peripherals. The company shares many similarities with Asus or Razer, selling its own custom-branded gaming notebooks, gaming monitors, keyboards, mice, monitors, and gaming controllers.
The console ThundeRobot is releasing is a highly-compact gaming device that is nearly 60% smaller than an Xbox Series S. The exact specifications for the new console have not been mentioned, however, Thunderobot confirms the console will feature one or more of Intel's new 13th Gen Raptor Lake HX-series mobile CPUs and Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4060 — which could also be a mobile variant or it could be the full-blown desktop counterpart; we don't know.
If the consoles look familiar, the design language is strikingly similar to the Steam Machine that Alienware built several years ago, when Steam Machines were still a thing. The ThundeRobot console definitely looks more modern, but the matte black finish and the triangular indentation to the front right look suspiciously similar to the Alienware counterpart, almost as if the developers took direct inspiration from Alienware's console PC (which could be the case). (It also helps that the ThunderRobot helmet logo looks almost identical to the Alienware logo as well.)
Either way, the console has a clean finish that should look good with almost any gaming setup.
The console's ultra-compact design is definitely the overarching highlight of the device and will allow gamers to play PC games in tighter areas such as dorm rooms or an RV. With a size of just 1.7 liters, it makes more popular consoles like the Series S look like behemoths in comparison, though the extremely small size is definitely compensated by the integration of mobile parts. We suspect if ThundeRobot went with a larger design, say similar to a Series S, it could have used desktop parts which would be noticeably more performant.
According to IT Home, the price is expected to be around 6000 Yuan, which translates to roughly $830. Though the console will launch in just a few days on July 21st in China, we don't expect it to hit the United States anytime soon if ever.
