Alienware Area 51 (2015) Gaming Desktop PC Review - HotHardware
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- Опубликовано: 10 окт 2024
- Full review: bit.ly/HotHrdWr - We generally generally favor Alienware's outside-the-box design efforts -- and oh boy, Alienware's recent redesign of the Area-51 is way outside the box. And it's strapped with 3-way NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 SLI, an Intel Haswell-E 6-core and a fast Samsung SSD 850 Pro SSD. As you can imagine, it rips through benchmarks.
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Can I put quad sli gtx 980 in the alienware Area 51
The alienware Area 51 support 4 way sli gtx 980.
gallo martinez No, it only has room for up to 3-way SLI but quad-SLI is a waste anyway. You don't get anywhere near the scaling in performance of 4 cards.
Thank. I need help from you I like to buy a new alienware. What can you recommend dell alienware 17 2015 or dell Alienware 51 area desktop
HotHardware This IS IMPORTANT PLEASE RESPOND DUDE! I will subscribe! I'm so hopeless please help! Which ones better? Alienware Aurora or this? PLEASE DUDE!
I have built my own computers now for the last 7 years, because its the cheaper option. Alienware gets a lot of hate for their prices and yes if you compare it to a custom built PC then you are paying loads of money. BUT what people generally don't consider is what do those extra money go to. Well, you get a custom chassis and a custom motherboard and I'm not talking about the blingy lights I'm talking about the amount of R&D that's gone behind producing this case. Its not just all components thrown into a box and ship it out the door. Fans are placed for optimal airflow and components are placed far apart from each other so they aren't affected by other components heat production, i mean look at where the hard-drives are! The second big thing you get from Alienware is their one of a kind warranty. If something happens to your laptop or desktop within the warranty period (1yr base line) they don't just ask you to send your computer in for them to have a look at and maybe get back to you in a few weeks. They send a technician to your house within 24 hours (as long as distance allows it) and if he can't fix the problem on location they replace the entire computer and clone your Hard-drives so you don't loose anything (assuming the problem wasn't HDD related in the first place) and speaking as a computer technician, backing up your system is not a warranty issue. Now like i said, i have always built my own computers, but owning a top end Alienware computer is a wet dream of mine, shame i can't afford it.
Sasha Dacruz lmao
I've got an Alienware M18X and it looks the business, this beast would be the matching big brother! Beautiful design, great idea for the airflow, genius :)
They're not cheap, but they do build them well, Joop! :)
This is the best looking manufacturer's gaming case since the original HP Blackbird. Job well done Alienware.
Totally agreed.
Darith Yim no the corsair air 540 is way better!
Yup, that case gives me goosebumps..
deadhaus123 LMFAO get out of here kid
Darith Yim I guess you never looked at stuff like the Shift, asus G20, Tyta or something by digital storm.
The Blackbird was a beautiful case, but saying this is better is just wrong.
Can the tower lights be turned off?
+spllitz It can be turned off or switched colours.
for over 2000 it better be able to have lights then can turn off
10/10 It can run Club Penguin
+DIMES CS:GO Can it run Minesweeper though?
+John Laceda lol
+John Laceda At .03 fps on ultra settings.
rip
God I hope it can run Roblox.
Dafaq this thing cost more than a brand new car
+John Candy *facepalm*
+CMDR Tacki XT xD
+John Candy now it cost lest www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-area51-r2/pd
+Ingiomar Martina what car costs under 500 dollars?
+BronyKode that shit cost 1,000
The case looks sick mostly with the red LED's
3:48 look at how slanted those graphics cards are installed....
Obox It's designed that way and it directs warm air up away from the bottom of the case a little better, actually.
HotHardware I'm pretty sure he's talking about the way the cards don't line up flush with the case, the design of the case itself I think is a great idea! I mean it's nit picking at its finest but for the price you would hope little nuances like that wouldn't be apparent.
AlienWare Area 51 desktop
I bought an Area 51 desktop with this configuration from The MicroCenter for (their regular price of) $1999.99. It has been absolutely stable - no issues of any kind. I’m not a gamer - just wanted a high-end, fast, reliable, desktop. Configuration overview:
Intel Core i7-5820K Processor 3.3GHz
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit
16GB DDR4-2133 RAM
128GB Solid State Drive
2TB - 7200RPM Hard Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB GDDR5
Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner
Media Card Reader
10/100/1000 Network
Intel 7260 802.11ac 2x2 Wireless
Bluetooth 4.0Intel Core i7
Some highlights:
- The instructions don’t mention it, but be sure to remove the shipping screw - a tiny Phillips between the two panel latches at the very top, rear. After that, simply pull up on the left or right latch to remove that side panel.
- Latest model processor, an Intel i7-5820K (6-cores, 15MB Cache, over-clocked up to 3.8 GHz w/ Turbo Boost). The CPU is liquid cooled and has its own mini-radiator - shown on the attached customer image. This model boots from a cold start, ready to go, in about 15 seconds.
- NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX™ 970 4GB GDDR5 video card. This high-end card is the 8th fastest on the market as of this writing, of thousands made - according to PassMark Software.
- Comes installed with Windows 10 Home 64bit. I’m a big Windows 7 fan, but chose Windows 10 for the claimed better security and because it will be supported at least five years longer than Windows 7:
........................End of Mainstream Support..........End of Extended Support
Windows 7.....January 13, 2015...........................January 14, 2020
Windows 10...October 13, 2020...........................October 14, 2025
- The 850 watt power supply has significantly more capacity than what comes in than most desktops. E.g., the Dell XPS 8900 models I bought have 450 watt power supplies. 850 watts can handle a second (but not a 3rd) GeForce® GTX™ 970 along with another SSD and additional hard drives. You’ll need the 1500 watt power supply for a three video card system.
- The power supply is the modular type, with unused cable sockets for additional devices. However, no spare power cables are included for additional left side components such as another video card or a USB port expansion card. Dell sells additional Area 51 power cables.
- 16GB Quad Channel DDR4 at 2133MHz is very good, but instead of four 4GB cards, Dell should have installed two 8GB cards and left two empty slots. That way, memory upgrades wouldn’t mean discarding one or two 4GB cards.
- Although I wanted a solid state C drive, the 120GB SSD in a machine of this caliber is a dumb choice, capacity and price wise. I.e., as of this writing, Amazon charges $67 for a Samsung 850 EVO 120GB, and only $10 more for the 250GB SSD. I plan on replacing this machine’s C drive with a larger SSD (Samsung includes cloning software with their SSDs) - and use the 120GB SSD as an external backup (clone) for our laptop.
- One reason I selected an Area 51 desktop is the fabulous chassis (case). It’s brilliantly designed with deep-recessed hand grips at each of the three “corners” to carry it. Each side panel pops off with one latch release, and reattaches easily. All user replaceable components are easily accessible and air flow / cooling is top notch. SSDs and hard drives are on the right side of the chassis, physically separated from the heat generating mother-board, GPUs, and power supply on the left side. You can fiddle with “rear” cable connections from the front of the chassis and peering just over the top.
- Within the chassis’ right side, power and SATA cables are included for a second SSD and two more hard drives. Couldn’t be easier to add those...
- This machine is heavy; just over 60 pounds. The shipping box is huge. The chassis is 11" wide, 24" deep, and 22" high. It took two of us to get it to our 2nd floor. It’s about twice as large, volume-wise, as Dell’s 8700 or 8900 models, which are light weight by comparison - any nudge from your foot or knee can slide those. The Area 51 stays put.
- You can customize an Area 51 desktop if ordering from the Dell site (memory, drives, video cards, and much more). If you order an Area 51 with two (or three) video cards, all necessary power & SATA cables are, of course included. This model is an excellent compromise, with it’s fast processor, high end video card, decent memory, and strong power supply.
- The only negative other than the small SSD is charging for the inclusion of an average looking keyboard and mouse. I’d think that most anyone buying a desktop in this price range would already own better ones, or would prefer choosing their favorite from among the thousands on Amazon and elsewhere. Dropping the keyboard and mouse and instead, including a 250+ GB SSD for the same price is a no-brainer.
- Most of my legacy software works fine under Windows 10. But not everything. E.g., Corel WordPerfect (X5) won’t load in Windows 10, so I had to get the newest (X7) version. Another example is Windows Explorer not recognizing lower level folders from a Nikon D7000 camera, requiring another program to be used for that purpose; and - our Canon MF 6700 wasn’t usable since there are no Windows 10 drivers for that printer/scanner. The point is, if you’re new to Windows 10, don’t expect 100% software compatibility with all older hardware/software.
All in all, this is a great PC.
But the real question is....Can it run Minecraft?
Obviously no
It will brake minecraft minecraft is such a small workload that the fps dat u get will be almost impossible
+DeathOps Yes, with a firmware Update and Full RAM expanded!
+DeathOps No. I get about 5-15 fps on this system for minecraft. I'd recommend a £200 HP laptop. These can run minecraft at about 10-16 million fps.
*crash*
Nice will be getting one soon and thanks for specs
It's three way SLI, nobody says triSLI
+Preston COC I've heard lots of folks, including NVIDIA engineers say it that way.
+HotHardware really? I've been into computers for years and I've literally NEVER heard that, weird
+Preston COC Not sure what the difference is here you're taking issue with. "tri" means three as a prefix and it's generally understood to mean three-way or a trio of something..
+Preston COC tri SLi, Quad Sli...never heard of them ???
Not sure how to say this but that is not a "rear press-fit bracket lock" but actually the sli bridge and if you want to run the pc in sli it is needed....
Just built one with 2x gtx 980 for about 3400 with warrenty and added a 512gb samsung ssd. 500 dollars worth of discounts and you get a 10% gift card with dell rewards, so price wasn't bad. I would probably never tri sli so I got the 5820k processor instead of the 5930k Last year got the Alienware 17 for 3200 and I think they are even cheaper now. They are getting better with prices. I really like the new designs.
I would expect some sleeved cables for this price
3 GTX 980's???? Please explain this beauty to me
yeah buddy :)
+HotHardware holy crap that's insane...no wonder it's so expensive
+Agent Napkin That's just the config we were sent. You can configure them much less, as little as $1700 I believe.
+Temmie gota go 2 colleg I know someone who is rich af and has 4 Titan x's and can run gta v high setting at like 8.5 thousand frames and I'm like you have to be kidding me
+Temmie gota go 2 colleg same! Heck id be happy with a 750 lol. I have shitty Intel graphics and it's not fun lol
Does it have wireless internet?
You know I always thought if tge PC is soooooo good why havent they made a PC2
I'm getting this is a while and dang it looks huge.
I don't need two kidneys anyway...
how can we open its dvd rom ? not described
Great rig and intro to the system. Really wish there were more reviews on "base" models for us poor folks. At least we now know what was actually at the bottom of the pit on Oak Island
I can tell he spent so much on the alienware he didn't have enough for a decent mic!
This pc is awesome
But can I play Flash games? I can't find a PC that can do that, let alone even THINK about handling MineSweeper...
ooo deng men i hve to bai dis compooter ty
okeee mah num as tacoinmysexy68420xd
+KingzGamerz It might be able to run Google Chrome at 5-10 fps but Minesweeper don't even get me started
Wait until you start to play Oregon trail...
I plan on getting this comp soon but some people say Alienware computers have crashing issues
Use two graphic cards so they don't slow the others if you have more!
"Fairly quiet under load" **blows like an airplane taking off*
And that would be incorrect. :)
Looks great! I'm looking to sell my current PC and upgrade to this machine; It covers all bases such as gaming, and development in suites such as 3D Studio Max, Blender, Unity5.
I want the case, not the overpriced internals.
+Mrs. Goat Its not overpriced. Its expensive to make and they need to make some kind of profit. If you want a company that really overprices their tech, its Apple.
craiglist, you can find a lot cheap deals
Lord Satsuma
My comment was about how the case looks neat, but I'm never _not_ going to build my own computer. My current case is an old full-sized HAF, from like 5 years ago.
Great Vid, Disclosure is closer than ever. The nations of this world can no longer cover the sightings.
Good overview.
Hey thanks Pete!
Thoughts on this new build I'm doing in the next few days?
Case: Sentey GS-6008
Mobo: AsRock H97M Pro4
CPU: i7 4790k - 4GHz (Turbo to 4.4GHz)
CPU Cooler: Hyper 212 Evo
GPU: GTX 970 SSC
Hard Drive: 1 TB Western Digital Black
RAM: 16GB (1600) of some Dell stuff, works well and it's from the Dell XPS 8500
PSU: Sentey® Power Supply 750w 80 Plus Bronze Modular
OS: Windows 8.1
SB Jay Very nice! Do a video and post!
Too late, haha, it's built.. I shoulda done a timelapse damn..
haha... all good bro
I wish its enough to run minesweeper
L
ik
Super máquina
Nice review!
Hey, thanks! Subscribe and thumb it up if feel like it.
Its not a lock, its the sli bridge
I know it's a good PC but the levers at the back don't take the side panels off for me
That 3-way bridge is not working very well. Those cards shouldn't be angled like that.
Why did I click on this video. To see how many people in the comments find a reason to get upset at the one person that bothers to review this for us. No shit you can build a pc yourself. I prefer it but I don't shun people who prefer not too. Get over yourselves.
I want this for Christmas!
believe it or not im actually kinda impressed by alienware :P. i build custom computers but hey this is gr8!
Man, the price though.
What kind of motherboard is in there? like who makes them, I know it's x99.
did you know the pc was named after the milatary air craft and alien reasearch area 51 located in nevada alienware knew aliens live in area 51 so they made a pc with the name
Yes, and you're absolutely correct!
Do you think we are retarded. Do you think people dont know what area 51 is.
Anyone who doesn't like this PC either has a problem with the design or doesn't build pc's... The price everyone complains about but if you really add it up its cheaper then most pc's with the same spec's. Especially if you add up the parts on newegg... plus you do not have to worry about false circuit mobo's and stuff like that... I see people buying In Win Cases and Intel i7 5960's when games in our generation do not need 8 cores for a while yet. This design is much better then In Win with no led's...
"or doesn't build pc's." people who build PCs hate this pre-built overpriced garbage. You clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
wow op could not be more of a clueless fanboy.
did u see the mobo.. it's prob something from a scrapyard and they chucked an i7 just to boost the price, in most case i5 4690 is already kinda overkill for any gpu
t campbell i can build a better p.c for a lower price
The hardware in this setup is skimped ( the case looks interesting tough )
dragnar12 Everybody says this but I have yet seen anybody with three high end video cards in a system, and a case as cool as this one. The case to me is the main selling point, the three 980 video cards is something you don't see in most prebuilt systems. I don't know where the motherboard is from other than made by Foxcomm. When I start to see cool looking custom cases instead of the old out dated 90's huge an plain ATX cases than people will have a point. Show me one case out there that is uniquely design and cool like this one? Name one tower you can literally flip end to end and not damage, or jar something lose, and its by design to get to things easier. Don't worry I'll wait.
All I need for a computer is several 8 inch external floppy drives to be happy.
hello , can I use fiber filter put infront of the intake grill ? is it block air flow ?
is I leave some space front of the grill intake ?
thanks
sick microphone m8
the cpu is cool but u can probably build the same thing on your own for 2/3rd the price point
So would this be considered a budget gaming PC?
So since allot of the games have sli issues you are paying for 2 extra paperweight high performance video cards
Hi,
I have the same configuration however, both pci fans are quite noisy?
How are yours'?
Thanks for the Review.. i have a doubt sir.. This desktop pc can we use for the graphics works? i mean the the video editing apps and Visual effects works, please answer me.. thanks.
Stalin Joseph Yes, for sure. It has standard consumer graphics cards, not pro graphics like a NVIDIA Quadro or AMD FirePro but the standard cards should handle any workload just fine. If you need special app certifications for true pro graphics work, that might be something to consider but horsepower-wise this machine has a ton of punch. Hope this helps.
thanks sir.
Does metro even support 3 way sli 980?
i wish i have a birthday present like this.....its so beautiful
If i had the money to buy it, I wouldn`t buy it, Just because if you build it yourself you will be out around 400 euro cheaper, (i have a gaming machine builded myself now from 2800 euro, Saved 430 by building myself!), The only downside is that you probably wont get such a cool case, but there are verry cool cases out there!
lucas roest True, same here... tbh, I've seen even better cases than this that aren't really expensive! ;D
+lucas roest not even 400 euro more like 1,000
You will probably just split the price a quarter away for the original price if you try to make everything the exact thing
+HotHardware I'm looking to build my own desktop laptop centred around gaming. However I don't know the necessary components and tools that are needed. I would really appreciate it if you could write me a list of things that might be needed in buidling such a computer. Thank you.
Thanks a whole lot.
I think my panel release levers broke, when I pull them up neither side budges or moves, even with force.
Any suggestions
It has another version of gtx 1080
got to love the name
Why would you need 3 graphics cards???? Like wtf, 1 gtx 900 series is enough for almost everything and some times people add a second to make sure they can run everything at max....but 3? What's the 3rd one for....showing off?
Wait that's a computer!? I thought it was some guys disfigured balls
What's better 3 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 - Tri-SLI or 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
I'd have to see the comparison numbers but I would say a single 1080. Triple-SLI scaling just isn't that good, never has been really and it's likely why NV limits it to 2 with the 1080.
its almost 2016 and Alienware still doesnt support Skylake builds ...smh
I like the Area 51 alx better hope they bring it back
But you forgot how much this costs and how cost inefficient this is
I'd take the case and that's it.
+Matthew Beaumont Even then, too expensive and not as much internal expansion like a Mid-tower especially if you need more than 3 HDDs
sir it is standard desktop like others or ony using for gaming.. bcz i dont want play game. i want use this for my graphics works.. i like this one bcz it is high configer PC. can i buy it?
Ok I am not smart when it comes to the guts of a PC, but if I was to buy the version of this that is cheapest what parts do I buy to make it run games at 60FPS?
can I hook this up to my Alienware laptop?
My gpu runs at 81 celcius when under load on high end games. Is that ok . I have this exact comp
it looks like a turtle
can you record gameplay on this?
just buy the alpha and upgrade it. This thing looks outlandish
How do you increase ram more often?
that would increase the memory to 32GB DDR4 2400MHz Kingston HyperX fury, and when I turn not start me, the funny thing is that when I get one if I boot the system. it has a solution?
This machine is the Bugatti Veyron of PC's
How much would u rate it?
It's beautiful!
I got it on its way with 2 gtx 980's sli did not really see the point in 3 not running more then one screen. I got 256 4 tb hard drive 16 gigs of ram intel 5930 and a 29 inch monitor ^.^ Plus with the screen and 2-year warranty it put me way past getting the 3rd card.
I can't disagree with that thought process on the GTX 980s but more because performance scaling reaches a point of diminishing returns once you go beyond two cards. It's just not worth the expense for the average user, unless you have money to burn.
your full of shit you didnt you just said that lol everyone says i have that
roma kozlovsky want proof?
What kind of motherboard you got for that CPU?
61 pounds?! Jesus, they must be putting bricks in there.
Is it worth it to upgrade to 32gb ram ??
I'm going for 2x980 256ssd 5930k, still not sure about ran for future proof...
I would say it's worth it if you have that kind of usage model. In most games it's not going to matter currently but if you do things like HD video rendering, or CAD work etc. more RAM can always help and it's relatively cheap compared to other upgrades.
I love gaming. Don't know shit about building computers. Might buy one and pay it off. 100 dollars a month. Only live once.
You can have someone else build it for you lol
Still couldn't beat 2004 Alienware Area 51 ALX
I'm getting it for my birthday
Is all this necessary just to play games?
***** That pc is about $2k overpriced
It runs some games better than consoles. Plus you can get mods and more indie games
+MYT MIC heck no you don't need a tripple graphics card configuration to play games. Having Video cards in SLI won't even increase the amount of VRAM, needed for texture units at higher resolution such as 4K (the thuird graphics card usually only gives a marginally performance boost of 5-10%, so neglectable). So if you really want a high end gaming computer you're good to go with a decent to fast CPU, one fast video card (such as a 980ti) and 8GB of RAM with one SSD or HDD. You can 'easily' stay below the 1500 dollars and game at 4k settings. At 1080p settings you can make computer builts underneath the 1000 dollars and play at high/ultra settings. You can even find laptops for 700 dollars on which you can play GTA 5 at 1080p if you play at medium settings. So no this isn't needed. If you want the best of the best with all settings cranked up to ultra, high frame rate, 4k resolution, expect a price range around 2000 dollars. You can probably save up around 600-800 dollars (don't quote me on that)if you built the same system as the area 51 on your own with a different case.
+BoonieChi Bret it runs ALL games better than consoles.
+iMNoTMe but I'd rather spend 400 on a console and go get laid
Great review. Hopefully my laptop dies soon so I have an excuse to get one.
Hey thanks Dan! Glad you enjoyed it and best wishes on justifying a purchase of one of these bad boys. ;)
I sure hope it can run notepad at 60 FPS
it can run it at low settings and 0.05 fps
All hell no, my flowerpot could run desktop at 0.0000000000000001 frames per year.
$4600 for a triple GTX 980 on the alienware site with a i7 5930k, quick tour of newegg, i was able to configure the exact same specs for 3400 dollars.
but did you think of the case and the cooling the HDDs etc?
John Smith There are a wide variety of choices available for cases that while may not be as flashy as this new design, work a lot better for airflow..... A Cooler MAster HAF XM with its options of 200mm fans all over the place offer CRAZY air cooling capabilities. 2 top 200mm options(can go 140s and what not if ya want too) 1 side 200mm, front 200mm, rear 140... Then we have to think of the Dell motherboard used in their setups... Alienware no longer uses Asus boards and such like they did before Dell bought them out, they use their own motherboards which are poorly put together compared to the options you have out there. I love prebuilt machines, I don't use them, but I love the GOOD companies that offer them. Like Digital Storm, Origin, Xidax for one are really nice since they offer lifetime warranties on hardware, thats pretty nuts. But Alienwares cases are likely the neatest thing they have going, and its not worth the crazy markup you end paying, especially when one of the most important components for enthusiasts(mobo) is a crappy Dell solution. Alienware offer pretty kick ass laptops, but their desktops are too expensive for what you get.....
Chris Danas
i know i actually only asked if he only calculated the price of the 3 GPUs and the CPU or if he already had the price for a case and storage in his build :)
Ah I gotcha, misunderstood the question. Yea I went on their site after watchin this, chose the 3400 model, with the 5930k and two 970s, afger tax was 3745. Built the same thing on pc part picker, 4tb hdd, 256 ssd, and th haf xm case, came to 21
2348. Then I changed it to the 5960x(8 core) and twk 980s and it was 31xx, foegot the two digits, still well under 3745 and with a stronger cpu and two 980s not 970s(not that a 6 or 8 core Haswell is even NEEDED fkr friggin gaming. Plus u get auch betger motherboard of your choice vs the crappy dell. But whatz worst is I went on Digital Storms site and selected the preconfiged 4000$ rig... It only had a 4790k i7 and a single 980..... Bunch of water loop and a nice case, but man, prebuilt companies arw gettin worse all the time in terms of taking advantage of unknowing consumers. Digital Storm at least gives u quality components and sexy clean builds but sheesh. Their $700 model was a friggin FX 4300 AND 260X. An fx 4300..... Unreal
Chris Danas yeah i recently read a comment from a dude on youtube, who wnated to buy a pre built pc for 800$. And it only had a 4300 and a GT640. When i asked him why the hell hes throwing out the money for something like that and that he could build a rig that is way faster for cheaper his answer was, that he knows that the GPU was bad and that hell also buy a 970 to put in too
Good old Plastic fantastic Alienware systems.
the only thing i like is the ability to change the led color.. other that that its a huge overpriced hotbox
How quiet does this run?
too much gamer swag for me
yeah ill buy one let me sell my car and house first :D
witch one is better predator or Alien ??
It's a 4k right?
seems like it would get pretty hot
i see some going for $10,000 on amazon...
I need someone to tell me how to over clock mine there is no tutorials anywhere