Alienware Area-51 750i

Performance gamers know exactly what to look for when it comes to hardware. The Alienware Area-51 750i brings the absolute cutting edge in prestige hardware configurable according to any budget. We spec’ed our machine in an effort to find a good compromise between performance and price. At just over $1,800, the standard “gaming” configuration of the Alienware Area-51 750i is a stylish and ridiculously powerful gaming machine.

Standout Features

• 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Q9550 quad-core processor
• 1 GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 graphics controller
• 4 GB DDR2 RAM
• 1 TB (terabyte) hard drive

Features

You can tell from fifty meters off that the Area-51 750i is an Alienware machine—it features the distinctive build and extraterrestrial aesthetic that has defined the Alienware brand for over a decade now. The chassis features an organic looking grate that glows menacingly with LED light, colored according to your order. And naturally, you’ll find the incandescent-eyed alien head Alienware logo feature prominently.

Assuming that the somewhat over-the-top look of the Alienware Area-51 750i strikes your fancy, you’re going to appreciate the goods under the hood even more than the in-your-face attitude of the tower itself. The Alienware Area-51 750i uses a 750 watt power supply to run enough juice to the performance hardware onboard. The extra wattage also ensures, that should you upgrade your video card or move up to a dual video card configuration, you’ll have plenty of wiggle room in the power department.

For a home machine, the Alienware Area-51 750i is almost overkill—the Intel Core 2 Q9550 has four cores running at 2.66 GHz each. Your everyday apps, media editing programs and video will hardly even put a dent in that gigahertzage. While DDR2 RAM is starting to age a bit, 4 GB will more than handle your gaming and multitasking needs.

If you’re wondering about benchmarks and frame rates on the Alienware Area-51 750i, the full GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 graphics card pushes this gaming rig firmly into high performance territory. Last year’s games will run at 100+ fps, and next year’s games won’t so much as cause the Alienware Area-51 750i to hiccup or stutter.

Voracious video, music and photo compilers will certainly make full use of the terabyte hard drive onboard the Alienware Area-51 750i. At 7,200 RPMs, the massive SATA drive spins fast enough to retrieve information virtually instantaneously.

Summary of Reviews from Across the Internet

Gamers lament the fact that the Alienware Area-51 750i isn’t available with tri-channel RAM.

Despite their subsidiary status under Dell, Alienware doesn’t load up their systems with bloatware. Gamers appreciate the gesture.

Summary

For under $2,000, you’re not going to find a better gaming rig with these components. AMD and ATI Mobility enthusiasts are encouraged to check out the Alienware Aurora. For the rest of us, the Alienware Area-51 750i is a supercharged powerhouse ready to annihilate recommended system requirements well into 2012.

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