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Alienware pushes its Area-51 ALX to the limit

by Parm Mann on 23 May 2008, 16:08

Tags: Alienware (NASDAQ:DELL)

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Pure, Unadulterated, Power

Acer's Predator may be the latest beast-of-a-machine to target the hardcore gamer, but, the high-end supremo, Alienware's Area-51 ALX, is just getting quicker and quicker.

The Area-51 ALX, pictured below, has been given a small-but-definitive upgrade. Its 3.2GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme processor, the QX9770, now comes pre-overclocked at a tidy 4GHz.

Throw in 4GiB of RAM, and a pair of NVIDIA 9800 GX2s or a pair of ATI Radeon 3870 X2s, and you've got a system that might just run Crysis.

As you'll no doubt have guessed, that 4GHz quad-core goodness comes at a heavy price. $5,864 US, to be precise. If you're feeling really crazy, start adding all the optional extras and you'll find the price creep up to around a jaw-dropping $10,000.

Unfortunately for us UK customers, the Area-51 ALX available in the UK store comes with an older Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9650 processor, complete with 1,333MHz FSB, clocked at 4GHz. Let's face it, if you're spending a few thousand, you'll be wanting the 1,600MHz FSB that the US model already has.

So, who's buying one?

HEXUS Forums :: 8 Comments

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Posted by stevie lee - Fri 23 May 2008 17:24
Let's face it, if you're spending a few thousand, you'll be wanting the 1,600MHz FSB that the US model already has

nope - i'll be wanting a skulltrail wth 2 x Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9775 - 8 cores of mind expanding, skull bending, eye popping power.. for a few thousand.. :O_o1:

:p and my current system already runs crysis, so why pay thousands more for a new system to do stuff my current one can already do..:cool:


what i might do is wait a little longer and hope AMD does a dual CPU board like the skulltrail (spiderweb?) and get 2 of the 12 core chips mentioned here.. Analysis :: AMD: Page - 1/2, for 24 cores of trouser expanding, pant dampening action..:surprised:
Posted by moogle - Fri 23 May 2008 18:02
not wasting my money on that crap, paying like a grand just for the name alienware. the depreciation on that is gonna be so massive…
Posted by baius - Fri 30 May 2008 15:37
Alienware's case is enough to twist my arm severely behind my back… I appreciate it can't possibly be to everyone's tastes - it's certainly “niche” - but I really, really love it.

You're paying for a name - sure. A name can and DOES have value, though, in my view. (Otherwise, Alienware wouldn't be in business, would they?)
Posted by stevie lee - Fri 30 May 2008 15:41
pssst Baius.. buy one of the cheaper alienwares, then you can use the case and put your own bits inside… but you'll loose the warranty.. in effect - buy the case with the mobo, overclocked chip, with inbuilt cooling,hard drive with OS, - then buy the graphics, more hard drives, more ram and soundcard from elsewhere


could work out cheaper than all from alienware…
Posted by baius - Tue 03 Jun 2008 01:37
stevie lee;1433829
pssst Baius.. buy one of the cheaper alienwares, then you can use the case and put your own bits inside…
You know, that's a very good idea. I'm seriously thinking about it… :rolleyes:

I still think the name's worth something, though. I currently build my own systems, but if I was just slightly better off than I am now, I would strongly consider Alienware - or anyone else in their leet.

There's a lot to be said for having a warranty with a company who values their name. An awful lot.

Anything goes wrong - the worry's theirs.

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