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Your Questions Answered About Alienware Area-51 Threadripper

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I’ve considered myself a multi-tasking expert for most of my life, but digital transformation is creating a new breed – the mega-tasker. We’re talking about people who want to do 3D modeling, digital audio, live streaming, video rendering and gaming – sometimes all at once.

For them, a computer with four cores is simply not enough. That’s why we’re excited now to start offering  Alienware’s first 16-core/32-thread Area-51 with AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X on July 27.

First introduced at E3, it “has room for some truly ridiculous specs” and we’re the only major PC vendor to deliver Threadripper pre-built systems at the chip’s launch. Each overclocked from factory.

How many cores are enough?

A single core CPU is rare these days. The most basic new system is going to have at least two – very often four. And, as you might surmise, four is better than two. Continuing that logic, then eight is better than four, right?

The number you need, though, will depend on what you plan to do with your computer. A 16-core processor would be excessive for simple web surfing and your basic school or office productivity software. However, if you’re creating high-end content with applications like SolidWorks, AutoCAD, Autodesk or Cakewalk you need more powerful core compute performance.

Dell Precision workstations are tested to ensure such high-performance applications run smoothly on them; but, as gaming grows into more than just a leisure pastime for many creators, and gamers become creators themselves, sometimes you want a bit more. Creators and gamers want a system that is designed for a high performance gaming experience with the ability to carry-out their creative dreams, goals or everyday hobbies thanks to the monster truck-like power Area-51 will deliver.

Why a triangle?

The Alienware Area-51 triad design is far from a boring box. When it first launched in 2014 it created a completely new experience in desktop computing.

“Alienware might call it Triad, but we’d actually call it pretty bad-ass,” said Hot Hardware. And The Verge called it “a spaceship disguised as a gaming PC.”

So, yeah, this is really going to stand out on your desktop. It’s also a pretty intelligent design. You can easily access the rear ports to connect or disconnect cables by pivoting it on one of its corners, and there’s even a little light back there so you don’t have to find a flashlight to see what you’re doing.

All the input/output ports face you directly making it easy to connect your headphones, media card readers or any other USB devices. The internal component layout is even designed to have a low center of gravity to help prevent it from tipping when being lifted.

One of the biggest benefits to the angled design is how it keeps things cool. It provides a large space for hot air to escape where a traditional, rectangular chassis only leaves a small space between internal components and the wall. Oh, and it also has advanced liquid cooling.

Isn’t water bad for a computer?

Technically, what’s in the Alienware Area 51’s liquid cooling system is an environmentally friendly mixture of demineralized water and propylene glycol that has benefits ranging from anti-freeze, anti-corrosion and anti-bacterial. It’s totally safe and maintains your CPU temperatures as low as possible at all times.

It’s not just sloshing around in there like an overturned energy drink, though. The liquid running through the system absorbs the heat from the CPU as it is pumped across a cold plate. That heated liquid is then pumped through the radiator, which acts as a heat exchanger. Heat from the liquid is pushed out of the chassis and then cooled liquid is returned to the cold plate. The new Area 51’s has been equipped with our highest performance liquid cooling unit as a result of having the thickest heat exchanger we’ve ever had.

That’s important if you’re mega-tasking like rendering video while gaming in 4K. More energy is needed to run data-intensive workloads, and just as many of us humans tend to move a bit slower in the summer heat, the movement of electronic impulses in a computer chip can slow down when it gets warmer.

Is Alienware Area-51 Threadripper Edition for me?

Well, if you are looking for a new home system for you kids to do their homework on or to access your bank for online bill-payments. It’s probably more machine than you need. And if your teenager was only able to save less than $1,500 from his summer job for a new gaming system, you might want to show him our Alienware Aurora which comes VR ready for $1299.

But, if you use high-performance creative applications and want to spend more time creating than waiting. If you’re a diehard performance enthusiast demanding the absolute best rig for 4K, 8K or virtual reality applications. Or you want to play your favorite games in 4K while broadcasting live HD streams around the world on Twitch. Then this is the pre-built system for you.

So to recap the highlights of the new Alienware Area-51 Threadripper Edition

  • Available July 27th
  • Alienware’s first 16-core processor desktop
  • Features Alienware’s Triad chassis – prioritizing thermal management and ergonomics
  • Offers “All Cores Overclocked” AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors
  • Supports up to 1125W (3x 375W) dedicated to graphics
  • New Premium CPU Liquid Cooling, available on all configurations
  • Offers M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD options with additional 7200RPM storage drives
  • Features Dual Killer Gigabit Ethernet ports
  • Includes 802.11ac Wireless and Bluetooth technology
  • Starting price $2999 (with 16-core processor)

Further Reference:  www.alienware.com/desktops

Alienware Arena Experience Page:  https://na.alienwarearena.com/products/area-51-threadripper-edition

About the Author: Laura Pevehouse

Laura Pevehouse was profiled as one of five “social media mavens” in the March 2009 issue of Austin Woman Magazine and named an AdWeek’s TweetFreak Five to Follow. She has been part of the Dell organization for more than 15 years in various corporate communications, employee communications, public relations, community affairs, marketing, branding, social media and online communication roles. From 2014-2018, Laura was Chief Blogger/Editor-in-Chief for Direct2DellEMC and Direct2Dell, Dell’s official corporate blog that she help launch in 2007. She is now a member of the Dell Technologies Chairman Communications team. Earlier in her Dell career she focused on Global Commercial Channels and US Small and Medium Business public relations as part of the Global Communications team. Prior to that, she was responsible for global strategy in social media and community management, as well as marcom landing pages, as a member of Dell’s Global SMB Marketing, Brand and Creative team. When she was part of Dell’s Global Online group, Laura provided internal consulting that integrated online and social media opportunities with a focus on Corporate Communications and Investor Relations. She managed the home page of Dell.com, one of the top 500 global web sites in Alexa traffic rank, and first brought web feeds and podcasts to the ecommerce site. In her spare time she led Dell into the metaverse with the creation of Dell Island in the virtual world Second Life. Laura has earned the designation of Accredited Business Communicator from the International Association of Business Communicators, and received her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Louisiana State University. Before joining Dell Financial Services in 2000, she worked at the Texas Workforce Commission and PepsiCo Food Systems Worldwide.
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