Alienware Area51 Threadripper Edition Review

Even while the Alienware Area 51 has always been a massive gaming desktop, this year it will be the first pre-built PC to include AMD’s latest Threadripper processors. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X and all of the company’s other high-core count CPUs will, in essence, be available exclusively to Alienware, the sole significant hardware manufacturer.

Not Apple, Microsoft, Lenovo, Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, or any other significant computer manufacturer. Just Alienware.

It goes without saying that you will still be able to purchase a Threadripper processor from a computer retailer, and this arrangement excludes specialized system builders like Origin PC in the US and Overclockers in the UK. In spite of its exclusivity, Threadripper is the best upgrade for the Alienware Area 51 for both gamers and content makers. However, all this powerful performance will come at a high price.

Alienware Area-51 Threadripper

Technical Specifications

pros and cons

Alienware Area51 Threadripper Review

Design & Built

Our review unit costs $4,129 (about £3,175, AU$ 5,225). The Area 51’s triad design by Alienware hasn’t altered all that much since it was first unveiled in 2014, but it hasn’t become boring either. Even the HP Omen X, a cuboid desktop that stands on an edge, is the most bizarre PC that any firm has attempted to market.

We wouldn’t describe Alienware’s flagship desktop as being little, despite the Area 51 not being as big as certain dual-system cases like the EVGA DG-87 or Cooler Master’s reborn Cosmos II 25th Anniversary Edition. Everything about this desktop is large, from the imposing 61.73lb (28kg) weight of Area 51’s empty chassis to its side panels’ potential use as heat shields.

Naturally, this massive behemoth is also intelligent. To improve ventilation, Area 51 angles all the inside parts at a 45-degree angle. This enables the system to directly push and pull air towards the GPU(s) blower-style fan and CPU liquid cooler, respectively.

The power supply and other fans are not placed on the desktop’s bottom panel, so you won’t really need to worry about ground clearance or putting a board on your carpet.

Pricing & Availability

We can attest that this is a very, very costly PC now that you’ve had a chance to process that. Even after subtracting the costs of the Threadripper 1950X ($999; £999; AU$1,439) and the Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti ($699; £689; AU$1,099) Founders Edition, the cost of the basic chassis and other parts would be close to $2,000, which should seem absurd to anyone who has experience putting together systems on their own.

Of course, the cost of AlienwareArea 51 is influenced by the labor, engineering, and materials used in its production. The same characteristics as our test unit are recommended if you want to maximize the power of AMD’s top enthusiast processor.

For its $2,999 (about £2,310, AU$3,795) pricing, the Area 51 Threadripper Edition’s base setup is truly appalling. The system at this level has the same CPU but only supports an Nvidia GTX 1060 with 6GB of VRAM, 8GB of RAM, and a 2TB hard drive as its additional components.

Configurations with an Intel Core i7-6800K, AMD Radeon RX 560 2GB of VRAM, 8GB of RAM, and a 2TB HDD start at $1,699 or £1,499 if you’re determined to stick with Intel. The Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti with 2GB of VRAM is the graphics card included in Australia’s base model, which costs AU$2,999. Users can then upgrade to last-generation Broadwell Extreme CPUs, but Alienware has declared that it would soon release versions with Intel Core X processors.

We are unable to compare prices of pre-built systems because Alienware has exclusive rights to Threadripper. However, you can anticipate spending roughly the same amount of money on Area 51 if you’re wanting to purchase a custom PC from system builders.

Connectivity & Upgradability

The Alienware Area51 Threadripper Edition is equipped with a number of connectivity options, including USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, Thunderbolt 3 ports, and an Ethernet port. The machine also has a built-in 802.11ax wireless card, which provides fast wireless connectivity.

The machine also has a built-in keyboard and mouse, which are designed to be comfortable and easy to use. The keyboard and mouse are also backlit, which makes them easy to use in low-light conditions.

As was the case with the Alienware Aurora R5, the Area 51 hardly requires any tools for its many upgrades. Users only remove the lock from the expansion slots, turn a few thumbscrews on the GPU support bracket, and pull the lock on the expansion slots in order to update the graphics card or install a second one. Even the water-cooling bracket has thumbscrews so that storage can be quickly inserted, memory can be easily plugged in, and so on.

The only thing you’ll really need a screwdriver for is changing out the power supply, which shouldn’t be a problem for those of you who splurged on the exorbitant 1,500-watt PSU. The only thing you’ll really need a screwdriver for is changing out the power supply.

Performance

The 16-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X in Area 51 is functional; it does work. It is the most potent machine we have ever examined, with four times as many cores as any pre-built PC we have ever evaluated.

With significantly higher benchmark results and in-game frame rates than the Corsair One and MSI Aegis 3, which are powered by the most recent quad-core, seventh-generation Intel processors, the Area51 easily outperforms them.

Due to the Origin Millennium’s last-generation Intel Core i7-6850K Extreme processor, it performs better and even outperforms the Area 51 in graphically demanding benchmarks, but this is primarily because it has two Nvidia GTX 1080 GPUs configured in SLI.

Despite having a lot of power, the Threadripper 1950X should be usable in certain modes.

As mentioned in our assessment of the processor, AMD’s top model has two modes: creative and gaming. The latter reduces the CPU’s core count by half and changes to a more conventional memory access protocol to increase frame rates during gameplay. However, we discovered that, aside from real-time strategy games, Game Mode did not significantly improve performance in our tests of the processor with this gaming computer.

The Alienware Area51 Threadripper is a gaming PC that excels outside of benchmarks. It addressed all of our requirements for video and, of course, game editing. With Battlefield 1’s extreme settings, we were able to experience the gorgeously portrayed world at battle without experiencing any frame rate drops. With Rise of the Tomb Raider, which clocked in at roughly 27 frames per second at 4K and 58 at 1440p, we couldn’t claim the same.

The performance will therefore differ between games, but with a few adjustments, you ought to be able to play them all.

Conclusion

The most potent gaming computer we’ve ever examined is without a doubt the Alienware Area51 Threadripper Edition. This PC isn’t for everyone, though, due to the cost and complexity of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X.

A rig like this will be most helpful to gamers who want to break through on YouTube or Twitch, especially if they don’t feel they have the skills to create one themselves. Whether you’re playing, filming, streaming, or encoding video, this system can do all of these tasks at once since Threadripper was built for the most intensive mega-tasking.

With the exception of the Threadripper Edition, Area 51 is an extremely flexible and well-designed PC platform, albeit a pricey one. This pre-built gaming PC is unique in that it’s neither as cool nor as flexible as many others, so it’s definitely worth looking into.