Dell announced on Wednesday it agreed to buy gaming-computer maker Alienware Corp. for an undisclosed amount, part of a puch of the PC maker into the lucrative gaming market. "Alienware's products are an excellent complement to Dell's own line of high-performance computers designed for gaming, enthusiast and media content customers." said Michael Dell, Dell Chairman that can be seen in the picture. Dell, of Round Rock, Texas, has been expanding in the computer gaming market, launching a supercharged, $9,900 version of its high-end XPS line of computers in January. Gaming PCs can sell for five to 10 times as much as desktop PCs.

The terms of the transaction was not disclosed. A Dell spokesman only mentionned that the acquisition was financially immaterial to Dell.

Privately held Alienware, based in Miami, will operate as a separate unit and keep its product development, marketing, sales and technical support staff as well as its brand, Dell said in a statement.

Alienware will continue to offer machines equipped with AMD processors.The purchase renewed speculation that Dell, which exclusively uses chips made by Intel Corp, may begin using microprocessors by competitor AMD.

Dell spokesman Jess Blackburn said the company was not contemplating switching chip suppliers. "Our strategy in terms of suppliers that we work with is unchanged," Blackburn said. "This doesn't signal that we are changing that."

Dell had revenue of $55.9 billion last year compared with Alienware's $200 million profit.