The Ryzen Threadripper 16-core AMD CPU with Nvidia’s top graphics cards should result in a multitasking gaming enthusiast’s dream computer. The Alienware Area-51 Threadripper edition (starts at $2,399; $5.919 as of testing) is a well-equipped PC that handles multimedia tasks swiftly and offers smooth 4K gaming. In a triangular design It’s priced and designed as a premium gaming PC. It’s expensive as it is with a particular test that it’s not the most efficient PC we’ve evaluated. There are competitors such as those of the Velocity Micro-Raptor Z95 and the Origin Neuron are more suitable for multimedia projects as well as gaming while the Neuron is considerably less expensive.
An Imposing Aesthetic
Its Area-51 Threadripper Edition’s frame is made from metal and is clad with plastic panels that are molded. The design has not changed from the 2015 model. Instead of the rectangular boxes that are typical of desktop PCs, the new system has an unruly hexagon featuring three short sides and three sides that are longer. The domed right and left-side panels are silver, and the front and back panels are made of black plastic with Slats for cooling. The dimensions are 22.4 by 10.75 by 25 inches (HWD) which is larger than towers such as that of Origin Neuron (17.8 by 9 by 15.7 inches) and the Velocity Micro Raptor Z95 (17.5 by 7.25 by 20.5) in all dimensions. The huge ROG GT51 is a tad larger, but a bit smaller and less pronounced (23.1 by 10.31 by 23), as well as the massive HP Omen X, is nearly twice as large (20.3 by 19.9 by 16). The conclusion is that you’ll have to find a space for this oddly-shaped monolith. There’s a handle in each edge of the chassis that can aid in moving the 62-pound bulk.Our experts have tested 32 products from the Desktop PCs category since the year 1982 PCMag have tested and reviewed thousands of items to assist you in making more informed buying choices. ( See how we test every item in our review(Opens within a fresh tab).)
Alienware Area-51 Threadripper Edition – One Cool Thing
Alienware’s typical multi-zone lighting effects allow you to alter the RGB lighting across nine areas across most of Area-51’s surface, and the overall appearance is less flashy and extravagant as those of MSI Aegis Ti3 . It is possible to control the lighting effects using Alienware’s Alienware Control Center utility. A series of lights will turn into the case when you open the left-hand side door and let you view the motherboard and other components when playing around, and a second row of lights shines over the ports on the rear for the sake of visibility while plugging and unplugging cables.
SIMILAR PRODUCTS
Origin Neuron
Velocity Micro Raptor Z95 (2017)
Read Our Velocity Micro Raptor Z95 (2017) Review
Alienware Area-51 (2015)
Check for stock at Amazon(Opens in an entirely new window) Read Our Alienware Area-51 (2015) Review
Asus ROG GT51
Check the stock on Amazon(Opens in an entirely new window) Read Our Asus ROG GT51 Review
HP Omen X
$1,599.99See it at HP(Opens in an entirely new window) Read Our HP Omen X Review
MSI Aegis Ti3 (VR7RE SLI-054US)
Read Our MSI Aegis Ti3 (VR7RE SLI-054US) Review
Digital Storm Velox (Core i7-7700K)
Check out Our Digital Storm Velox (Core i7-7700K) Review
Cool air is pushed across at the top of the computer and then flows through internal coolers for CPUs and GPUs, while hot air escapes through the back. Due to the efficiency of airflow, fans don’t even get to a level that is audible, even while running test benchmarks. It was as silent as MSI Aegis Ti3, which automatically shuts down the fans to reduce the noise.
The doors on the left side of the case open by using an upper-mounted latch. The interior compartment has room for three graphics cards. There’s an extra PCIe x16 slot as well as a PCIe x4 slot that can be used for future expansion However, I don’t believe you’ll require it for a long time (if ever). The 4 DIMM slots of the motherboard can be loaded with 32GB of memory. enough to last the lifetime of your PC.
Open the door on the right to gain access to your 2TB SATA hard drive (the 1TB M.2 SSD boot drive is placed directly on your motherboard). Two 3.5-inch bays, and 2 2.5-inch bays available for free storage devices, such as hard drives and SSDs. The drive bays that are free come pre-wired, which is a great advantage to upgrade later on. In general, it offers the same upgrade capabilities as that of the Velocity Micro Raptor Z95, but it offers more expandability than Origin Neuron and most other gaming desktops with high-end specs.
There’s plenty of room on the large chassis, therefore, there is a wide range of ports. On the front, there is an audio Jack, a headphone Jack as well as the SD slot as well as two USB 3.0 ports. Also, there’s a slot-loading DVD drive in the front of the unit, which is rare. Flip the screen around and you’ll be able to access six DisplayPorts and two HDMI ports as well as two Ethernet jacks. surround audio ports, including an S/PDIF connector and 2 USB 2.0 ports and one USB-C port along with seven USB 3.0 ports on the back of the panel. However, USB-C does not have Thunderbolt 3 technology, which could be beneficial in the transfer of videos to or to external SSDs. Branded as Killer, 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1 can handle wireless connections. The warranty and home service following the remote diagnosis lasts for one year.
What Can You Do With 16 Cores?
Apart from the processor as well as a pair of Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards The Area-51 I tested also comes with 32GB of RAM as well as 3TB of storage, split between 1TB SSD and an additional 2TB hard drive. The SSD as well as graphics cards and processor make up the bulk of the purchase cost. The basic model is priced at $2,699 and includes the 12-core Ryzen Threadripper 1920X CPU, 8GB of RAM and 2TB of hard drive and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card.
The main component of Area-51 is the AMD Ryzen Threadripper processor. We’ve used it in an home-built computer and our sister website Computer Shopper(Opens in a new tab) calls it “a no-brainer for serious content creators and uncompromising multi-taskers.” In the end, this desktop earned the highest score we’ve ever had, which was 3,047 on our Cinebench test. This is 657 points higher than those of Velocity Micro Raptor Z95, that has a 10 core overclocked Intel Core i7-7900X processor and 1,973 points higher over Origin Neuron. Origin Neuron ($2,399.00 at ORIGIN PC)(Opens in the fresh window) . Animation professionals as well as other CGI artists will definitely be interested by this performance. It took just 28 seconds to complete the Handbrake video-encoding test, which is just in front of those of Raptor Z95 (0:25). A Handbrake time that is less than one minute is great and Gaming PCs with Core-i7 processors will require around 45 seconds for the identical test.
Other scores on the test were slightly lower than the highest marks: The score of 3,330 in the PCMark 8 Work Conventional test is behind it by a few points behind the Origin Neuron (4,271) along with MSI’s Aegis Ti3 (4,136). The Photoshop score was also lower than the other competitors, with a time of 3 minutes and 44 seconds, over half a minute further than it. The other two scores were the Neuron along with Digital Storm Velox (2:06). The last one was quite disappointing however it was isn’t a shock since Photoshop only utilizes a small portion of the Threadripper’s cores in contrast, CineBench completely utilizes the full potential of the CPU.
The Area-51 is fitted with two top-of-the-line 11GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards. It’s able to play 3D games in 4K resolution without lag, as demonstrated through its performance of 84 fps (frames per second) in the Heaven test, and 80fps on the Valley test. If you’re spending $5,799 on an gaming machine that you’d insist, that it compete with the top. The honor was awarded towards Origin Neuron Origin Neuron (95fps on Heaven and 113fps in Valley) while the Raptor Z95 came in superior by a substantial distance (88fps on Heaven and 103fps in Valley). Your eyes might not be able to discern the distinction between 113fps and 80fps however, your wallet will, and the cost differs between these two PCs is substantial.
The Area-51 isn’t as good when viewed as a gaming system however, there is a group of people for whom this setup is suitable for those who want for a way to work in a variety of ways as well asplay games. The Area-51 can be used to do this. Through some informal testing I connected both an a 3K and a 4K display to the Area 51 in order to evaluate its multitasking abilities. This system managed play both Heaven as well as Valley at 1080p with ease when streaming video from YouTube while having the Word application open and also running handbrake tests. I had no issues when I typed in Word as well as the games’ animation continued to be smooth, with more than 60fps during the course of the test.
Massive Multitasking, but at a Price
The Alienware Area 51 Threadripper Edition is certainly capable of performing multi-media tasks within a relatively short period of time. Additionally, it won’t require you to abandon your game while your project runs within the background. I love the idea to share several tasks across one PC, however in this instance you’ll be faced with a hefty price. People who want to experience multimedia will be better off removing some of these graphics devices in order to save $1000. However If gaming is your primary concern then switching to a less expensive processor is worth it. For instance, the Original Neuron continues to be our Editors’ choice and our primary choice for gaming desktops since it’s more efficient on 3D games and costs around $1,900 less. Its Velocity Micro Vector Z95 is an alternative for artists, including photographers, animators, and videographers.
