• Digital Thermal Controller

Re:Alienware Area 51 ALX: A X79 summer project 2012/09/13 03:07:07 Hi all Last night I finally got time to work and almost finished my Alienware case (which is amazing, I don’t care how hard and complicate is to work on it) with a full reliable and truly powerful set of hardware (a real gaming machine). The Dell XPS 730x is an eXtreme Performance System for gaming and high-performance computing released November 16, 2008 and ended life in August 2009. The XPS 730 series was unique in that they had user-servicable non-proprietary standard ATX-size computer components that allowed the user to upgrade the components through an Exchange Program.

Alienware is an American computer hardware subsidiary of Dell. Their products are designed for gaming and can be identified by their alien-themed designs.^[5] Alienware was founded in 1996 by Nelson Gonzalez and Alex Aguila.The company's corporate headquarters is located in The Hammocks, in Miami, Florida.^[6]

• 1History
• 2Computer systems models (after acquisition by Dell)

History[edit]

Overview[edit]

Established in 1996 as Sakai of Miami, Inc. by Nelson Gonzalez and Alex Aguila, Alienware assembles desktops, notebooks, workstations, and PC gaming consoles.^[7][8][9] According to employees, the name 'Alienware' was chosen because of the founders' fondness for the hit television series The X-Files, which also inspired the science-fiction themed names of product lines such as Area-51, Hangar 18, and Aurora.^[10] In 1997, it changed its name to Alienware.

Acquisition and current status[edit]

Dell had considered buying the Alienware company since 2002, but did not agree to purchase the company until March 22, 2006.^[11][12] The new subsidiary retains control of its design and marketing while benefiting from Dell's purchasing power, economies of scale, and supply chain, which lowered its operating costs.^[12]

Initially, Dell maintained its competing XPS line of gaming PCs, often selling computers with similar specifications, which may have hurt Alienware's market share within its market segment.^[13][14] Due to corporate restructuring in the spring of 2008, the XPS brand was scaled down, and the Desktop line was eliminated leaving only the XPS Notebooks.^[14]Product development of gaming PCs was consolidated with Dell's gaming division, with Alienware becoming Dell's premier gaming brand.^[15][16] On June 2, 2009, The M17x was introduced as the first Alienware/Dell branded system. This launch also expanded Alienware’s global reach from 6 to 35 countries while supporting 17 different languages.^[17]

Computer systems models (after acquisition by Dell)[edit]

Windows OS-based consoles[edit]

Alienware announced that it will be releasing a series of video game consoles starting in 2014, aiming to compete with the SonyPlayStation, NintendoWii U, and the MicrosoftXbox.^[18] The first version in this series, the Alpha, ran Windows 8.1.^[19] The operating system and ability to play PC games is what separates the Alpha from the eighth generation of video game consoles. At E3 2016, Alienware announced the second rendition of the Alpha, the Alpha R2. The R2 adds 6th generation Intel processors, a choice of either the AMDRadeon R9 M470X or NvidiaGeForce 960 graphics cards, and support for Alienware's proprietary Graphics Amplifier. It also ships with Windows 10.^[20]

Graphics Amplifier[edit]

The Graphics Amplifier allows an Alienware laptop to run most full length (or smaller, non-hybrid) desktop GPUs.^[21]

Laptops[edit]

18 Inch

• M18x (Discontinued) - Introduced in 2011, it is considered a replacement for the original M17x design, but with a bigger chassis, a screen up to 18.4 inches, dual MXM 3.0B GPU support, special keyboard macros, and up to 32 GB of DDR3-1600 MHz RAM. Shipped with Intel Sandy Bridge processors and the option of single or dual AMD Radeon 6870M/6970M/6990M Radeon HD 6000 Series GPU(s), single or dual Nvidia GeForce 500 Series GPU(s). Factory CPU overclocking was also an available option.
• M18x-R2 (Discontinued) - 2012 revision of the M18x; originally shipped with Intel Sandy Bridge processors, later shipped with updated with Intel Ivy Bridge Processors, single or dual Nvidia GeForce 600 Series GPU(s), single or dual AMD Radeon HD 7970M Radeon HD 7000 Series GPU(s), up to 32 GB of DDR3-1600 MHz, and optional factory overclock.
• Alienware 18 (Discontinued) - 2013 refresh of the M18x; updated with Intel Haswell Processors, single or dual Nvidia GeForce 700 Series GPU(s), single or dual AMD Radeon R9 M290X GPU(s), and up to 32 GB of DDR3L-1600 MHz RAM, and 1TB Raid0 configured SSD along with facelift with new design. Marketed as 'Alienware 18' but listed in some countries as 'M18XR3 Viking'.^[22]
• Alienware 18 (2014) (Discontinued) - 2014 Updated version of the Alienware 18 or 'M18x R3'; updated with Intel Haswell micro architecture processors, single or dual Nvidia GeForce 800 Series GPU(s), up to 32 GB of DDR3-1600 MHz, and optional overclock.
• Alienware 18 (2015) (Discontinued) - 2015 version was a limited re-release of the previous Alienware 18, with updated dual Nvidia GeForce 900 Series GPUs and up to 32 GB of DDR3L-1600 MHz.

17 Inch

• M17x (Discontinued) - Introduced in 2009, it is the first laptop released by Alienware after the company was bought by Dell. The name and some of the design is based on the Alienware 17 inch laptop, the Alienware M17.
• M17x-R2 (Discontinued) - 2010 Revision of the M17x, adding support for Intel i5 and i7 processors, dual MXM 3.0B graphic cards.
• M17x-R3 (Discontinued) - 2011 Revision of the M17x, changes from aluminium chassis to a simplified plastic design, 3D Ready through a 120 Hz screen. Removes Dual-GPU capability.
• M17x-R4 (Discontinued) - 2012 Revision of the M17x, updated with Windows 8, Intel Ivybridge Processors and Nvidia GeForce 600 Series or the AMD Radeon HD 7970M.
• Alienware 17 (Discontinued) - 2013 refresh of the M17x, updated with Intel Haswell Processors and Nvidia GeForce 700 Series GPUs or the AMD R9 M290X with new facelift and body design. Marketed as 'Alienware 17' but listed in some countries and order details as 'M17XR5 Ranger'. Updated with Nvidia GeForce 800 Series in 2014
• Alienware 17 R2 (Discontinued) - 2015 revision of the Alienware 17, updated with Nvidia GeForce 900 Series. Features FHD matte display or FHD touch display. A port on the rear for Graphics Amplifier. This model introduced BGA mounted CPU and GPU, removing the ability to replace the CPU or GPU without changing the entire motherboard.
• Alienware 17 R3 (Discontinued) - 2015 refresh of the Alienware 17, Windows 10 available. Features FHD overclocking display. Ultra HD IGZO Display also available, as well as a Nvidia GeForce 900 Series with 4GB GDDR5 and 8GB GDDR5 option.
• Alienware 17 R4 - 2016 Alienware 17 (2016), Windows 10. Features Tobii eye tracking, Ultra HD Display also available, as well as a Nvidia GeForce 1000 series with up to 8GB GDDR5.
• Alienware M17 - 2019 Thin and light gaming laptop for 17' category. Comes with 8th Gen Intel CPU up to Core i9-8950HK, GTX 1080, 16GB of RAM and 17.3' 1080P display with optional 4K upgrade.^[23]
• Alienware Area-51m - 2019 desktop replacement gaming laptop with a desktop CPU, up to Intel Core i9 9900K, 64GB of upgradeable memory, upgradeable GPU (ships with GTX 1080 but will be upgraded to RTX 2080) and overclockable as well. Also features two power adapters and new Legend design language for Alienware.^[24]

15 Inch

• M15x (Discontinued) - Introduced in 2009.
• M15x-R2 (Discontinued) - 2010 revision of the M15x, with Nvidia GeForce 200 Series and adding support for Intel i5 and i7 processors.
• Alienware 15 (Discontinued) - 2015 revision of the M15x, updated with Intel Haswell Processors and Nvidia GeForce 900 Series. Features FHD matte display or UHD touch display. Features a port on the rear for Graphics Amplifier.
• Alienware 15 R2 (Discontinued) - 2015 refresh of the Alienware 15, updated with Intel Skylake processors and using the same NVIDIA graphics chipsets. Uses same FHD and UHD screens and Graphics Amplifier port on the rear.
• Alienware 15 R3 - 2016 Alienware 15 (2016), Windows 10. 1080p standard display and Ultra HD 4K Display and 120 Hz TN+WVA Anti-Glare 400-nits NVIDIA G-SYNC Enabled Display also available, as well as a Nvidia GeForce 1000 series with up to 8GB GDDR5.
• Alienware m15 - Thin and light gaming laptop. 1080p standard display and Ultra HD 4K Display and 144 Hz IPS 1080p display also available, as well as a Nvidia GeForce 1000 series with up to a GTX 1070 Max-Q design.

14 Inch

• M14x (Discontinued) - Introduced in 2011 as a replacement for the M15x, with Nvidia GeForce 500 Series and support for Intel i5 and i7 processors.
• M14x-R2 (Discontinued) - 2012 revision of the M14x, updated with Intel Ivybridge Processors and Nvidia GeForce 600 Series and Blu-ray slot drive.
• Alienware 14 (Discontinued) - 2013 refresh of the M14x, updated with Intel Haswell Processors and Nvidia GeForce 700 Series and Blu-ray slot drive with new facelift and body design. It also features an IPS display. Marketed as 'Alienware 14' but listed in some countries and order details as 'M14XR3'.

13 Inch

• Alienware 13 (Discontinued) - Introduced in 2014 as a replacement for the M11x, with Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M and ULV Intel Haswell and Broadwell i5 or i7 processors. Features HD or FHD matte display's or QHD touch display. Alienware's thinnest gaming laptop to date. Updated with Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M in 2015. A port on the rear for Graphics Amplifier.
• Alienware 13 R2 (Discontinued) - 2015 refresh of the Alienware 13 featuring ULV Intel Skylake Processors. It retains the same Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M from the previous generation.
• Alienware 13 R3 - Refreshed 2016 Alienware 13 featuring either a 13.3 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits Display or a 13.3 inch QHD (2560 x 1440) OLED Anti-Glare 400-nits Display with Touch Technology. It is equipped with a Nvidia GeForce 1000 series GTX 1060 with 6GB GDDR5. This generation also saw the use of the H-series quad core CPUs as opposed to the ULV CPUs.

11.6 Inch

• M11x (Discontinued) - First introduced in early 2010, it is the smallest-size gaming laptop from Alienware. It is equipped with 1GB DDR3 RAM and a Penryn dual-core processor, with a Pentium SU4100 at the entry-level and a Core 2 Duo SU7300 at the top. Driving the 11.6 inch screen are two video processors, a GMA 4500MHD integrated and a discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 335M.
• M11x-R2 (Discontinued) - The late 2010 revision, it is now uses ULV Intel Arrandale Core i5 and i7 processors. The revision also added a rubberized 'soft-touch' exterior to the design. The same GT 335M is used for video; however, NVIDIA's Optimus technology has been added to automatically switch between it and the still-used GMA 4500MHD.
• M11x-R3 (Discontinued) - The 2011 revision, it adds support for the second generation of Intel's Mobility series Core i3, i5, and i7 processors. It also provides a 500GB 7200RPM HDD . It now includes the Nvidia GeForce GT 540M and Intel Integrated HD Graphics 3000. A second revision of the motherboard design used on the R3 series came in Q4 2011, although on a limited amount of laptops. This version used the Nvidia GeForce GT 550M.

In 2012, Alienware announced that they would discontinue the M11x model due to decreasing consumer interest in small form factor gaming laptops.^[25] The company went on to offer refreshed models for the rest of their laptop range: the M14x, M17x, and M18x.^[26]

Desktops[edit]

Aurora

• The Aurora R1 (Discontinued) - This model was based on the Intel's X58 platform (LGA 1366 Socket). It shared identical hardware with the Aurora ALX R1. The Aurora R1 is equipped with 1st Gen Intel® Core™ i7 and i7 Extreme Processors. In order of model number: 920, 930, 940, 950, 960, 965, 975 (quad core), 980X, 990X (six core). Sealed liquid cooling units for the processors came factory installed. The X58 platform also uses Intel Xeon Processors, but none were used in the Aurora. The R1 used triple channel Memory and had Dedicated Graphics Card options from AMD's HD 5000 series line as well as Nvidia GeForce 400 Series and Nvidia GeForce 500 Series line. Power Supply options included a 525 watt Power Supply Unit, 875 watt Power Supply Unit and a 1000W Power Supply Unit. Power Supply and Motherboard supports both SLI and CrossfireX.
• The Aurora R2 (Discontinued) - This was the second revision of the Aurora, and the first Alienware Desktop to be sold in retail chains such as Best Buy. It was based on Intel's P55 platform (LGA 1156 Socket). Processors include the Core i5 and i7(first generation Lynnfield quad core only). In order of model number: i5 750, i5 760, i7 860, i7 870, i7 875 and i7 880. Sealed liquid cooling units for the processors came factory installed. The R2 used dual channel Memory and had Dedicated Graphics Card options including AMD Radeon HD 5000 Series, Nvidia GeForce 400 Series and Nvidia GeForce 500 Series. Power Supply options included a 525 watt Power Supply Unit or an 875 watt Power Supply Unit. Power Supply and Motherboard supports both SLI and CrossfireX.
• The Aurora R3 (Discontinued) - This was the third revision of the Aurora. It was based on Intel's P67 platform (LGA 1155 Socket). Processors included Core i5 and i7 processors only(second Generation quad core Sandy Bridge). In order of model number: i5 2300, i5 2400, i5 2500, i5 2500K, i7 2600, i7 2600K. Sealed liquid cooling units for the processors came factory installed. The R3 used Dual Channel Memory and had Dedicated Graphics Card options including AMD Radeon HD 5000 Series and Radeon HD 5000 Series as well as Nvidia GeForce 400 Series and Nvidia GeForce 500 Series. Power Supply options included a 525 watt Power Supply Unit and an 875 watt Power Supply Unit. Power Supply and Motherboard supports both SLI and CrossfireX.
• The Aurora R4 (Discontinued) - This is the fourth revision of the Aurora. It is based on Intel's X79 platform (LGA 2011 socket). This model shares identical hardware with the Aurora ALX (R4). Processors include Core i7 processors only (third generation quad core and hexacore Sandy Bridge Extreme). In order of model number: i7 3820, i7 3930K (six core) and i7 3960X (six core). Sealed liquid cooling units for the processors came factory installed. The R4 is the first to use Quad Channel Memory and has Dedicated Graphics Card options including AMD Radeon HD 6000 series and Radeon HD 7000 series as well as Nvidia GeForce 500 Series. Nvidia GeForce 600 Series were added later in the year. Power Supply options included a 525 watt Power Supply Unit and an 875 watt Power Supply Unit. Power Supply and Motherboard supports both SLI and CrossFireX. -Note: The optional ALX chassis offers Thermal Controlled Venting, tool-less/wireless Hard Drive Bays, internal Theater lighting and an extra array of external LEDs. Coupled with the TactX Keyboard and Mouse it offered up to 25 billion lighting color combinations.
• The Aurora R5 - The fifth revision of the Aurora was announced on June 13, 2016 and was available to purchase June 14, 2016. The updated Aurora was given a facelift and ergonomical handle on the top of the case and is the first of its kind to offer tool-less upgrades to graphics cards, hard drives, and memory. The Aurora was being marketed as being VR ready out of the box, even so far as being HTC Vive Optimized and Oculus Certified. The base model was released with an MSRP of $799.99(US) and adding all the extra hardware can cost the consumer up to $4,189.99(US). The processor options are Intel based; i3 6100, i5 6400, i5 6600K, i7 6700, & i7 6700K. The Aurora R5 was released during the transitioning phase between the GeForce 900 series and GeForce 10 series graphics cards, and the list was extensive; GTX 950 with 2GB GDDR5, GTX 960 with 2GB GDDR5, GTX 970 with 4GB GDDR5, GTX 980 with 4GB GDDR5, and the GTX 980 Ti with 6GB GDDR5, all of which could also be put in SLI. Alienware, however, would only allow one GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5 or one GTX 1080 with 8GB GDDR5X to be installed at launch. Consumers were also allowed to purchase but one GPU from AMD, the Radeon R9 370 with 4GB GDDR5 (CrossFire R9 370 was optional). PSU choices were 460 Watts or 850 Watts, or a liquid cooled 850 Watt PSU. Hard-drive and SSD options ranged from 1TB and 256GB, respectively to 2TB and 1TB, respectively. RAM was available at launch between 8-64GB of DDR4 all clocked at 2133 MHz.^[27]
• The Aurora R6 - The sixth revision was announced on February 22, 2017. According to Windows Central, 'The Aurora R6 is only a mild refresh over the previous generation R5, with the main attraction being the new 7th Generation Kaby Lake processors from Intel.' There are dozens of factory built combinations possible. Four processors to choose from i5-7400, i5-7600k, i7-7700, i7-7700k. Video cards offered include AMD RX 460, 470, 480, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti, 1060, 1070, 1080, 1080Ti (11GB), Titan X (12 GB), Dual RX 460 (Crossfire Enabled), Dual GTX 1070 (SLI Enabled), Dual GTX 1080 (SLI Enabled), Dual GTX 1080Ti (SLI Enabled), Dual GTX Titan X (SLI Enabled). Memory Options start at 8Gb and go til the full 64Gb. Factory installed storage can be a single drive (7200k drive or PCIe SSD) or dual drive including both. Standard PSU or one with High Performance Liquid Cooling in 450 or 850 Watt is offered in Aurora R6.

Aurora ALX

• ALX (R1) (Discontinued) - This model is based on the intel's X58 platform (LGA 1366 Socket). This model shared the identical hardware with the Aurora R1. The ALX R1 is equipped with 1st Gen Intel® Core™ i7 and i7 Extreme Processors. In order of model number: 920, 930, 940, 950, 960, 965, 975 (quad core), 980X, 990X (six core). Sealed liquid cooling units for the processors came factory installed. The X58 platform also uses Intel Xeon Processors but none were used in the Aurora. The R1 used triple channel Memory and had Graphics Card options from AMD Radeon HD 5000 Series, Nvidia GeForce 400 Series and Nvidia GeForce 500 Series line. Power Supply options included 525 or 875 watt Power Supply Units. Power Supply and Motherboard supports both SLI and CrossfireX. -Note: The ALX (X58 platform) was offered from the beginning alongside the Aurora R1, R2 and R3. It offered Thermal Controlled Venting, tool-less/wireless Hard Drive Bays, internal Theater lighting and an extra array of external LEDs. Coupled with the TactX Keyboard and Mouse it offered up to 25 billion lighting color combinations.

Area-51

• Area-51 R1 (Discontinued) - This model is based on the intel x58 platform (LGA 1366 Socket). This model shares identical hardware with the Area 51 ALX. The Area-51 R1 is equipped with 1st Gen Intel® Core™ i7 and i7 Extreme Processors. In order of model number: 920, 930, 940, 950, 960, 975 (quad core), 980X, 990X (six core). The X58 platform also uses Intel Xeon Processors but none were used in the Area 51. The Area 51 used triple channel Memory and had Graphics Card options from AMD Radeon HD 5000 Series, Radeon HD 6000 Series as well as Nvidia GeForce 400 Series and Nvidia GeForce 500 Series. Power Supply options included 1000 watt or 1100 watt Power Supply Units. Power Supply and Motherboard supports both SLI and CrossfireX. -Note: The Area 51 was offered from the beginning alongside the Aurora R1, R2, R3 and the Aurora ALX (R1). It offered Thermal-Controlled Active-Venting, tool-less Hard Drive Bays, internal Theater lighting and an array of external LEDs. Area-51 was offered in either semi-gloss black or lunar shadow (silver) finishes, with a non-motorised front push-panel. Command Center software and AlienFx features are offered via a discrete master i/o daughterboard.
• Area-51 ALX R1 (Discontinued) - Alienware's most expensive desktop to date ($5000–$7000 US fully equipped), ALX offered every available option as the standard model (see above); ALX is distinguished from the standard model by its matte black anodized aluminum chassis, and motorised front odd panel powered by a dedicated ALX-specific master i/o daughterboard.
• Area-51 R2 (Discontinued) - unveiled late Aug 2014 - available Oct 2014; newly redesigned Triad chassis; Intel x99 Chipset, support for socket LGA 2011-3 Intel Haswell-E processors; 2133Mhz DDR4 memory; Up to 1500W Power Supply; support for 3-Way/4-Way SLI graphics; Liquid cooling and the return of Command Center 4.0 with AlienFx/overclocking features via fi/o daughterboard.
• Area-51 R3 (Discontinued) -
• Area-51 R4 - The fourth revision of the Area-51 was announced at E3 2017. The base model was released with an MSRP of $1899.99(US) and adding all the extra hardware can cost the consumer up to $6,659.99(US). The Area 51 R4 is based on the Intel X299 chipset and the processor options include Intel based; Core i7 7800X, Core i7 7820X, Core i9 7900X Core i9 7920X, Core i9 7960X and Core i9 7980XE. Memory options include 8GB, 16GB, 32GB or 64GB DDR4 2400Mhz memory or 8GB, 16GB or 32GB of HyperX DDR4 2933Mhz memory (64GB kits sold separately). The Area-51 R4 was configurable with Nvidia GeForce 10 series, AMD RX Vega series or AMD Radeon 500 series graphics cards. Video cards offered include AMD RX 580, RX Vega 64, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti, 1060, 1070, 1080, 1080Ti (11GB), Liquid cooled 1080 (8GB), Dual GTX 1070 (SLI Enabled), Dual GTX 1070Ti (SLI Enabled), Dual GTX 1080 (SLI Enabled), Dual GTX 1080Ti (SLI Enabled), Triple AMD Radeon RX 570 or RX 580. Available PSU choices were 850 Watts or 1500 Watts. Storage options ranged from a 2TB Hard drive, 128GB M.2 SATA, or 256GB - 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD.

Area-51 Threadripper Edition

• Area-51 R4 - The fourth revision of the Area-51 was announced at E3 2017, and the first Area-51 model to be sold with AMDRyzen Threadripper processors. The base model was released with an MSRP of $2399.99(US) and adding all the extra hardware can cost the consumer up to $5,799.99(US). The Area 51 R4 Threadripper Edition is based on the AMD X399 chipset and the processor options include Ryzen Threadripper 1900X, 1920X and 1950X. Memory options include 8GB, 16GB, 32GB or 64GB DDR4 2400Mhz memory or 8GB, 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of HyperX DDR4 2933Mhz memory. The Area-51 R4 was configurable with Nvidia GeForce 10 series or AMD RX 580 graphics cards, which include; GTX 1060 6GB, GTX 1070 8GB, GTX 1070 Ti 8GB, GTX 1080 8GB, GTX 1080 Ti 11GB, or an AMD RX 580 8GB. Available PSU choices were 850 Watts or 1500 Watts. Storage options ranged from a 2TB Hard drive, 128GB M.2 SATA, or 256GB - 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD.

X51

• R1/R2/R3 (Discontinued) - This model is equipped in 4th Gen Intel® Core™ processors and Nvidia GeForce 700 Series GPUs. The hard drive is 256GB SSD 6Gbit/s MAIN plus 1TB 7200RPM Storage. Updated in 2015 with Nvidia GeForce 900 Series GPUs and added port for graphics amplifier.

Video game console hybrids[edit]

Alienware Alpha

• Alienware Alpha (Discontinued) - A PC/console hybrid introduced in 2014. It contains a custom-built Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M; a Core i3, i5, or i7 Intel Processor, depending on what model is purchased, up to 8 gigabytes of RAM; and between 500 gigabytes and 2 terabytes of hard drive space.
• Alienware Alpha R2 - Alienware's update to the small form factor released on June 13, 2016. It contains (depending on customer choice) a AMD Radeon R9 M470X GPU with 2 GB GDDR5 memory or an NVIDIA GeForce GTX960 GPU with 4GB GDDR5. The processor line chosen this rendition are 6th generation Intel processors; the i3 6100T, i5 6400T, or i7 6700T. The RAM from factory comes in either 1 stick of 8GB or 16GB configurations of DDR4 memory clocked at 2133 MHz, and the system comes with but 1 SoDIMM slot. Hard-drive options have been expanded to include a HDD, SSD, or both. The HDD comes in one size, 1TB at 7200rpm, whilst the SSD is available in the M.2 mini-PCIe standard ranging in sizes between 256GB to 1TB. The new console also has a Graphics Amplifier slot with all models except the AMD Radeon R9 M470X equipped variant. The console ships with Windows 10.^[28]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'Alienware - Timeline'. Facebook. 2016-10-23. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
2. ^'News Bits: Alienware Turns 10, AMD Fusion Announced, Acer Turns 30 and Predicts Major Growth'. NotebookReview.com. 2006-10-25. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
3. ^'Detail by Entity Name'. Sunbiz.org. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
4. ^Hoovers (retrieved on 3/24/11)
5. ^'The History of Alienware Alienware Arena'. na.alienwarearena.com. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
6. ^Dahlberg, Nancy (2014-05-04). 'Game on! Video gaming industry growing in South Florida'. Miami Herald. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
7. ^Chacos, Brad (2014-06-09). 'Meet Alienware's Alpha console, a Steam Machine without SteamOS (for now)'. PCWorld. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
8. ^Leather, Antony (2015-08-27). 'Alienware Launches Three New Gaming Laptops'. Forbes. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
9. ^Byford, Sam (2015-08-27). 'Alienware's gaming laptops and X51 desktop get faster specs and extra features'. The Verge. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
10. ^Pain, John (March 13, 2006). 'Alienware racks up gamers, and millions'. The Associated Press. USA Today. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
11. ^Nguyen, Tuan (2006-03-22). 'DailyTech - Dell Buys Alienware'. www.dailytech.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-05. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
12. ^ ^abHachman, Mark (2006-03-22). 'It's Official: Dell Beams Up Alienware'. PCMag. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
13. ^Hruska, Joel (2008-05-13). 'Dell XPS phase-out symptomatic of declining PC gaming sector (updated)'. Ars Technica. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
14. ^ ^abShaun, McGlaun (2008-05-13). 'Report: Dell Axes XPS Line in favour of Alienware Gaming PCs'. Daily Tech. Archived from the original on 2014-03-14. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
15. ^Scheck, Justin (2008-05-13). 'Dell Tries to Revive Its Game PCs'. Wall Street Journal.
16. ^'Desktop Computers & All-in-One PCs'. Dell. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
17. ^Hachman, Mark (2009-03-23). 'Alienware Plans Worldwide Expansion; Layoffs, Too'. PCMAG. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
18. ^Broekhuijsen, Niels (2014-06-10). 'Alienware's Alpha Gaming Console: What is it?'. Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
19. ^Ackerman, Dan (2014-12-04). 'The Alienware Alpha is a PC that thinks like a game console'. CNET. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
20. ^Ackerman, Dan (2016-06-13). 'A big boost for the pint-sized Alienware Alpha'. CNET. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
21. ^'Alienware Graphics Amplifier Dell'. www.dell.com. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
22. ^'Product details: Dell Alienware M18XR3 Viking Bærbar (n00aw843)'. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
23. ^Strategy, Moor Insights and. 'Alienware Shoots For The Moon At CES 2019'. Forbes. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
24. ^Strategy, Moor Insights and. 'Alienware Area-51m: A Return To PC Gaming Roots At CES 2019'. Forbes. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
25. ^Smith, Mat (2012-04-19). 'Alienware's M11x is no more, bigger is apparently better'. Engadget. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
26. ^Pinola, Melanie. 'Dell Refreshes Alienware Laptop Line, Discontinues M11x'. PCWorld. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
27. ^'New Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop Dell'. Dell. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
28. ^'New Alienware Alpha Dell'. Dell. Retrieved 2016-06-20.

External links[edit]

Today's best Alienware Area-51 deals

Meet the mother ship of gaming rigs. In the Area-51, Alienware has translated its trademark space-age aesthetic into tower form — a beastly, 59-pound tower, complete with a trio of Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 cards and customizable LEDs. The Area-51 is tailor-made for shredding through games at 4K resolution, and it keeps quiet while doing so. Priced at $4,549 as configured (starting at $1,699), this rig is a serious investment, but it actually costs hundreds of dollars less than the competition.

Our Configuration

Alienware Area 51

Design

Befitting its brand, the Area-51 has a 'take me to your leader' vibe that just makes me smile. If you're familiar with the company's current line of laptops, you'll immediately notice the similarities between the tower's plastic gray (steel-reinforced) side panels with the trio of otherworldly customizable LED strips and the notebooks' lids. Alienware does a remarkable job of mixing the familiar and foreign, as the tower looks like nothing you've ever seen before.

Both panels can be removed via a pair of release latches, just in case you need to access the tower's interior to gaze at the motherboard and the trio of Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 cards. The panels are easy to remove and reattach — they snap in and out of place, which should come in handy when you're swapping out components, to keep the tower fairly future-proof.

Instead of a boring, rectangular tower, the Area-51 more closely resembles a triangle whose points have been removed. Dubbed the Triad chassis, the unique shape is both functional and fashionable, allowing air to reach the rear ports and vents that would normally be obstructed by a wall. The functional form extends to the top of the tower, with the top of the rig functioning as a sturdy handle.

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On the front of the Area-51 is a panel of glossy black plastic cut into vertical strips that resemble gills. Closer examination of the panel reveals a hidden crisscross pattern. Toward the top of the panel sits a large, glowing alien head, which removes any doubt that this is an Alienware system. A pair of LED strips wraps around the panel, completing the Tron-like look.

Measuring 22.4 x 25.2 x 10.7 inches, the Area-51 takes up a significant amount of space. The extraterrestrial monster manages to dwarf the Maingear Shift (21.5 x 24 x 8.6 inches) and the Origin PC Millennium (21.4 x 24.8 x 9.75 inches) — which is no small feat. However, at 59 pounds, the Area-51 is lighter than both the Millennium (60 pounds) and the Shift (65 pounds).

Alien Command Center

If it doesn't glow, then it's not Alienware. As the company has done with some of its other devices, Alienware has preinstalled its Alien Command Center software on the Area-51. The ACC includes several helpful utilities, giving you the ability to do things like create custom shortcuts, adjust power settings and, of course, customize the tower's lighting.

As it lets me unleash my inner rave kid, AlienFX continues to be my favorite Alienware software. I created a multihued color theme from the 20 available colors and added a few pulsating lighting effects to create a flashing masterpiece Skrillex would be proud of. You can also create lighting themes for system events (for example, when you receive an email or when the tower is in sleep mode).

The Thermal Controls feature allows gamers to configure the Area-51's fan speed and venting behavior, while AlienFusion lets you adjust the power settings.

AlienAdrenaline gives you the ability to create custom shortcuts that launch with a designated game. For example, when I played BioShock Infinite, I set one of my custom color themes to launch along with XSplit Gamecaster (which I installed myself).

Lastly, there's OC Controls, which provides a quick and easy method to overclock the processor and DRAM.

Configurations

My review configuration of the Alienware Area-51 costs $4,549. It comes loaded with powerful goodies, such as a 3.8-GHz Intel Core i7-5820K processor (6-core) with 16GB of RAM; a 256GB SSD with a 4TB, 6K-rpm hard drive; and three Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 GPUs in SLI configuration with 4GB of VRAM each.

If that's too rich for your blood, you can go for the $1,699 base model, which has a 3.3-GHz Intel Core i7-5820K CPU with 8GB of RAM; a 2TB, 7,200-rpm hard drive; and AMD Radeon R9 270 with 2GB of RAM.

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Gamers looking for the crème de la crème experience will want to check out the $5,649 model. That hefty sum buys you a 3.8-GHz Intel Core i7-5820K CPU (6-core); 16GB of RAM; a 256GB SSD with a 4TB, 6K-rpm hard drive; and two Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan Z GPUs in SLI with 12GB of VRAM each.

Ports

Got a peripheral? The Area-51 has a port or slot for it somewhere on its massive frame. You'll find a pair of USB 3.0 ports along the front panel, along with a media card reader, a slot-loading Blu-ray reader/DVD writer, and jacks for a headset and headphones.

The rear of the tower is where you'll find most of the ports, including four USB 2.0 ports and four additional USB 3.0 ports. Between the three GPUs, there's a trio of HDMI ports, three DVI ports and nine DisplayPort ports, so you can set up a multidisplay extravaganza that's only been witnessed in the most fevered of gamers' dreams.

For audio, you have a coaxial S/PDIF connector, an optical S/DIF connector, jacks for L/R speakers, Surround L/R and Center/Subwoofer LFE.

Rounding out the ports are the security lock slot and the massive power jack. In case you're having trouble plugging in your various gadgets, Alienware was kind enough to add a small light to illuminate the rear panel. A small button on the upper-right side of the panel switches the light on and off.

Graphics and 4K Gaming

When it comes to GPUs, three is never a crowd. Outfitted with a trio of Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 GPUs with 4GB of VRAM each in SLI configuration, the Alienware Area-51 is ready to kick ass and take names.

Playing 4K games on the Area-51 is as smooth as silk. As I made my way through Shangri-La in Far Cry 4, even the most unpleasant scenarios revealed an unsettling beauty. I grimaced at a recently beheaded body, the mouth still frozen in a silent scream, with small droplets of blood frozen in time. The tower delivered consistent performance throughout my play-through, averaging 30 frames per second at 4K on ultra settings.

Metro: Last Light's ruined subway system looked eerily beautiful in 4K. The Area-51 served up 105 fps on low and dropped to an unplayable 26 fps on high. The Maingear Shift fared somewhat better, at 118 and 28 fps, respectively, while the Origin PC Millennium produced frame rates of 84 fps (on low) and 16 fps (on high). Both the Maingear Shift and the Origin PC Millennium are equipped with three GTX 980 GPUs, albeit not in SLI configuration.

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On BioShock Infinite, the Area-51 delivered 284 fps on low at 1080p, beating the 228-fps desktop average. The Shift notched an impressive 335 fps, and the Millennium hit 286 fps.

When we switched the game's effects level to high, the Area-51 scored 185 fps, which was enough to beat the 134-fps category average. However, it wasn't enough to top the Millennium (201 fps) or the Shift (237 fps).

During the resource-intensive Metro: Last Light benchmark, the Area-51 obtained 157 fps at 1080p on low. It beat the 121-fps average, but not the Millennium's 184 fps. At the highest settings, the Area-51's frame rate dropped to 77 fps, falling slightly behind the Shift's 82 fps.

Performance

Overclocked to within an inch of its life, the Alienware Area-51's 3.8-GHz Intel Core i7-5820K processor (6-core) with 16GB of RAM has plenty of multitasking muscle to spare. Despite running Far Cry 4 and BioShock Infinite simultaneously in the background, I could still stream an episode of 'Once Upon A Time' on Netflix and download Battlefield: Hardline without a hint of lag.

The Area-51 produced 21,060 on Geekbench 3, which measures overall performance. That was enough to breeze past the 17,446 desktop average. However, it couldn't hold a candle to the Origin PC Millennium (3-GHz Intel Core i7-5960X) or the Maingear Shift (3.6-GHz Intel Extreme Core i7-5960X), which hit 32,240 and 33,950, respectively.

Armed with a 256GB SSD with a 4TB, 6K-rpm hard drive, the Area-51 duplicated 4.97GB of multimedia files at a relatively swift 221 MBps, matching the Millennium (4TB hard drive, 1TB SSD) and beating the 170.6-MBps average. The Shift (two 250GB SSDs; 1TB, 7,200-rpm hard drive) was significantly faster, at 318 MBps.

On the OpenOffice Macro Test, the rig matched 20,000 names and addresses in 3 minutes and 50 seconds, falling short of the 3:33 average. The Millennium and Shift posted times of 3:34 and 3:17, respectively.

Noise and Heat

Out with the hot air; in with the cool air. Instead of placing vents along the sides of the Area-51, Alienware designed the gill-like front panel to pull cool air into the chassis. From there, the air is expelled through a series of rear vents.

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Other than the consistent low hum I heard as I played Far Cry 4, the Area-51 was fairly quiet. The tower maintained its relative silence after nearly an hour of gameplay. The rig was also relatively cool, blowing temps of 92 degrees Fahrenheit. (We consider anything above 95 degrees uncomfortable.)

Software and Warranty

The Area-51 comes blissfully free of bloatware. Aside from the usual Windows 8.1 software and Alienware-branded apps, the rig comes preloaded with several useful third-party applications.

In addition to the Alien Command Center, the tower has AlienRespawn, which backs up and restores your precious game data in case of a system crash. Alienware Digital Delivery automatically installs any software you might have ordered when configuring your system. Diagnostic checks are performed by PC Checkup, but Support Assist takes things to the next level, immediately connecting you with tech support if a problem is detected.

Third-party software includes the music-creation tool Stagelight, Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di, Creative ALchemy and Flipboard. CyberLink Media has a cache of software, including ISO Viewer, PowerDirector 10 and Virtual Drive.

The Alienware Area-51 comes with a one-year Alienware Basic Support warranty, which is on a par with Origin and Maingear.

Bottom Line

If you're searching for form and function with a heaping helping of extraterrestrial badassery, look no further than the Alienware Area-51. The unique design allows for maneuverability, easy access to ports and consistent cooling, all while delivering a customizable light show you'll love.

Digital Thermal Controller

On top of that, Alienware found a way to offer gamers the power of a Core i7 processor and three Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 GPUs at a price that's considerably less than the competition. Yes, $4,549 is still nothing to sneeze at, but the Maingear Shift ($6,000) and the Origin Millennium ($6,399) cost hundreds more when similarly equipped.

For the additional money, both the Origin and the Maingear offer significantly more customization options that affect the tower's power or aesthetics. The Millennium, for example, has a configuration that accommodates four of the massively powerful Titan X GPUs. However, the Area-51 is a great choice for gamers in the market for a seriously powerful tower with a functional, eye-catching design.

Sherri L. Smith is a Senior Writer at Tom's Guide. When she's not reviewing the latest headphones and speakers, you'll find her gaming on her Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or PC. Follow Sherri at @misssmith11. Follow us @TomsGuide, on Facebook and on Google+.

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