Alienware Area-51 ALX


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Alienware's latest is packed with the latest kit and all kinds of cool features.

It's easy to dis Alienware sometimes. Their systems are fiendishly expensive, use some often odd proprietary parts, and can be real chore to upgrade. But, when the company's builders get it right, it can be magic - and the new Area-51 ALX, launched last week and on loan to us for a very quick first look, is pretty damn magical.

It also weighs something like a tonne. This pasty journo type had to get some muscly help just to lift it up onto the photo table! But for all that weight you get a water-cooled Core i7 975, with dual 5870s, a terabyte of storage and 6GB of RAM. And the chassis? Yeah, there's a few bells and whistles in there, too. Check out our gallery for that.

The whole setup we scored also comes with LCD monitor, keyboard, mouse and headphones, all sporting the mysterious Alienware logo. It's a pretty compelling package, though just the PC itself is starting to set you back $5499, so it'll be more with the bells and whistles. You're paying a premium, but you're also ending up with a gaming setup that is unsurpassed in terms of power-to-style ratio.

So browse through our pics of all the gear, the funky internals, and neat touches that scads of cash can get you.

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Alienware

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21 Comments

2SHY Nov 5, 2009 3:21 PM	In word no. I can and have built my own system for a lot cheaper than that.
wraith676 Nov 5, 2009 3:30 PM	lol @ "thanks for making it this far." And your welcome. Its a very impressive setup.
Hawkeye Nov 5, 2009 3:30 PM	Oh, absolutely no doubt there :) But... damn, sometimes Alienware does some nice work. You just pay a lot for it. I'd be very happy if someone gave me one for a present, but I'd never actually pay for one, or any other pre-built system for that matter. PS - sorry about the pics, folks. Justin's away, and we only have the crappy office camera :)
nesquick Nov 5, 2009 3:46 PM	Pics are good man, price tag and look of the case though would have me hesitant to ever buy one lol.
tunksy Nov 5, 2009 3:56 PM	ok alienware was bought out by dell now wasnt it? Becuase the build really suggests it, hell i can do alot better cable management than that, the case has also changed and its lost the clean elegent lines it used to have it looks too gimmicky and too fake, hell even the motherboard is shitty dell. You think they'd step up to the plate once acquiring a brand like Alienware? But no. How very sad. /end rant.
kilsabbeR Nov 5, 2009 4:03 PM	lol Mr. Hollingworth... nice camera+hand reflection lolol. i thought it was part of the logo for a sec and was confuzzled.
Mudg3 Nov 5, 2009 4:03 PM	I hate the insides but I love the case wow.
Malkieri Nov 5, 2009 4:06 PM	I think the idea behind the battery powered lights is that it'd help when you're mucking around with components when the computer is off. Over 5 grand for a computer doesn't leave much money for a torch, it seems.
qwakqwak Nov 5, 2009 4:40 PM	OVERPRICED!
danin316 Nov 5, 2009 6:50 PM	yeh i think any reader of atomic could probably build somethin better with that sought of money just a couple of questions tho 1. is the 5870's part of the water cooling loop or are they air cooled 2. what make is the motherboard and ram
MagnumXY Nov 5, 2009 7:06 PM	pretty dodgy cabling and terrible wcing sys for 5.5k but the aw branded stuff looks pretty neat.
Krispy89 Nov 5, 2009 7:36 PM	Looks like Telstra and Alienware aren't as different as we thought.
greycat Nov 5, 2009 8:16 PM	If I had a computer that looked like that, I would have to place it in an empty room because there is no decor that would do it justice.
strifus Nov 5, 2009 11:55 PM	I think the point to such a system even existing in the first place is for people who cant or dont want to have the hassle of building the system themselves. Sure, we atomicans could do a better job for less money. However, the build quality, wiring aside of course, is just out of sight in comparison to any brand I know. I'd get it just for e-peen....if I had the cash.
HuntedWumpus Nov 6, 2009 8:25 AM	Failien Ware
cleadge Nov 6, 2009 8:44 AM	also Strifus dont forget about the warranty, which is usually a reason why people will opt out of BYO system.
ColonelSanders Nov 6, 2009 9:25 AM	Nice but exxxy
Hawkeye Nov 6, 2009 10:01 AM	And Alienware does do warranty and customer support really well.
Wolfshanks Nov 6, 2009 10:55 AM	Hmmm,, from the pics looks to have generic RAM (no heatspreaders etc) and the Water Cooling looks remarkably like an Alienware badge-engineered H50 Corsair closed circuit unit. Looks great but like many here I like the idea of building my own.
thesorehead Nov 6, 2009 2:11 PM	I only wish there were more cases like that available for purchase on their own. Agreed that this is for a very niche market - most people who want that power are enthusiast enough to build their own - but cabling aside it looks like a sweet setup. If I had $5k to blow on a PC ... nah, I'd be buildin'!
thrasher1121 Dec 10, 2009 1:13 PM	I wanted to thank everyone involved with this site for the detailed photos of the ALX. Only place i could find that had any decent info on the new Alienware ALX. Very helpful in my research. I found out something about Dell's marketing skills and thought i'd share. Several comments about the ridiculous cost. No question. I priced up an Area 51 and an ALX. Same specs with the exception of the case and memory. Although the cases look exact in the photo on Alienwares site they are labeled differntly. ALX is listed as Anondized Aluminum Chassis. Area 51 says nothing about Anondysed aluminum. The other difference was the memory options. 1333 is the highest on the Area 51. ALX comes with 1600 standard. ALL OTHER COMPONENTS ARE EXACT!! 3.86 OC, Dual 295, 3gb, 2 drives, 3 year onsite. Ready for this...ALX totaled out at a whopping $6,725!! Area 51 $5,342. Total marketing scam! The ALX charges $100 extra to overclock the same chip that anyone can OC on their own in Bios. Basically, Dell understands there are rich gaming noobs that need a free T-Shirt advertising their insanely priced rig. Bottom line, Dell wants an extra $1,400 for 267mhz more on mem freq and an ALX sticker and T-shirt. Nice.

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