Hardware Review: Alienware X51 Desktop

[News Portal]

The Alienware X51 desktop promises an "immersive HD gaming experience" that can "meet any challenge". But does it deliver? We cracked one open and pored over the guts of the machine, coming back to bring you this verdict.

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Read full article by Tim Colwill

[Vengeance47]

Would be nice if the start of the review listed the system specs straight off the bat. More charts/graphs with settings/frame rates would also be appreciated. After all, it is a hardware review, so it should be put through its paces just like any other CPU or GPU would and presented in such a way.

Also, I'm assuming this has a 1GB GTX550ti? Because in the paragraph listing the system specs it says "1GB GeForce GTX 555" then in the final paragraph it says "while maintaining the GeForce GTX 550 level of GPU"

Assuming this is a GTX550ti, I have to disagree about your conclusion in regard to the value of the X51 desktop. I'd say its pretty poor to be honest. I just went on PCCG and spec'd out a build for $1369 with the following specs;

i5 3570k
ASRock Z77 PRO4-M
8GB G.Skill Ripjaws F3 1600MHZ CAS9
Zotac GTX570
Silverstone Strider Plus 600w
Corsair Carbide 500R
Windows 7 HP retail
Logitech G105 KB
Logitech G300 mouse
LG Blu-Ray Reader/DVD Burner combo

That build would net you between 35%-50% more performance depending on the game. For example, BF3 @ 1080P DX11 Ultra settings, the GTX570 is just over double the frame rate as per this review;

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2011/1 ... analysis/4

Performance difference changes marginally as the settings are lowered but either way, if that X51 comes with a 550ti, I have to say its honestly not very good value in that regard. I would expect at least a GTX560ti (which is a noticeable upgrade over the 550ti).

The i7 2600 in the X51 will net you little to no gaming performance increase over the i5 3570k (or 2500(k)). In fact, due to hyperthreading it may actually impede performance.

But back to the review, as I said, it needs the system specs listed in a nice table at the start of the review. Also needs performance charts along with what settings were used. Without knowing the settings it makes it hard to really judge how well this thing runs. I know you mention BF3 performance but there is no resolution mentioned, just says it can get over 80FPS at the "default graphics settings". Doesn't really mean much without knowing the exact settings used.

Don't mean to be an @$$, I just don't like reviews that are thin in the fine details. Like this one. Its all well and good to say 80FPS but without knowing the exact settings and resolution it could potentially be very misleading to potential consumers. Since it would be fair to assume that people considering these are not very tech-literate. In which case, as the reviewer, you need to give them as much detailed information as possible.

Unfortunately, this review is pretty light on and personally, I don't really give it much weight. Because said details were missing.

[^42alpha^]

Mainstream product, not a bad little setup, would do the job.
The more people buying PC's for gaming = more PC games made = win.

[Nekosan]

Mainstream product, not a bad little setup, would do the job.
The more people buying PC's for gaming = more PC games made = win.

I agree, it's definitely much better than I was expecting when it was announced. I could see it being a HUGE money spinner if they announced "upgrade packs" every 12-24 months, just pay another $350 and you get a new graphics card/cpu that's sized right to just clip in.

TBH I'm surprised they didn't do that from the start, make it hugely customizable in a plug and play format and pump out different kits.

[10dollars]

Shame about Dell not allowing customisability.
Not bad though, more PC's are always good.

Does anyone actually use anti-static bands when building computers?

[Danamaniac]

Hahahah good question i have built over 5000 gaming pcs for the company i used to work for, and i have my own it business now but never once did i ever wear one of those stupid wrist bands. Maybe if you lived in antarctica the with the driest air in the world you should wear one, static is a big problem there.

Also mate in your response to the review, good job. Propietary machines are overpriced and suck, they lack character, upgradability and come with a TON of rubbish software installed. I can't stand it when i am setting up a brand new laptop for a customer and there are 50 rubbish programs installed, sometimes i just blow them away and install from fresh, Why, why, why do they do this yes i realise I'm having a rant.

[Danamaniac]

Would be nice if the start of the review listed the system specs straight off the bat. More charts/graphs with settings/frame rates would also be appreciated. After all, it is a hardware review, so it should be put through its paces just like any other CPU or GPU would and presented in such a way.

Also, I'm assuming this has a 1GB GTX550ti? Because in the paragraph listing the system specs it says "1GB GeForce GTX 555" then in the final paragraph it says "while maintaining the GeForce GTX 550 level of GPU"

Assuming this is a GTX550ti, I have to disagree about your conclusion in regard to the value of the X51 desktop. I'd say its pretty poor to be honest. I just went on PCCG and spec'd out a build for $1369 with the following specs;

i5 3570k
ASRock Z77 PRO4-M
8GB G.Skill Ripjaws F3 1600MHZ CAS9
Zotac GTX570
Silverstone Strider Plus 600w
Corsair Carbide 500R
Windows 7 HP retail
Logitech G105 KB
Logitech G300 mouse
LG Blu-Ray Reader/DVD Burner combo

That build would net you between 35%-50% more performance depending on the game. For example, BF3 @ 1080P DX11 Ultra settings, the GTX570 is just over double the frame rate as per this review;

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2011/1 ... analysis/4

Performance difference changes marginally as the settings are lowered but either way, if that X51 comes with a 550ti, I have to say its honestly not very good value in that regard. I would expect at least a GTX560ti (which is a noticeable upgrade over the 550ti).

The i7 2600 in the X51 will net you little to no gaming performance increase over the i5 3570k (or 2500(k)). In fact, due to hyperthreading it may actually impede performance.

But back to the review, as I said, it needs the system specs listed in a nice table at the start of the review. Also needs performance charts along with what settings were used. Without knowing the settings it makes it hard to really judge how well this thing runs. I know you mention BF3 performance but there is no resolution mentioned, just says it can get over 80FPS at the "default graphics settings". Doesn't really mean much without knowing the exact settings used.

Don't mean to be an @$$, I just don't like reviews that are thin in the fine details. Like this one. Its all well and good to say 80FPS but without knowing the exact settings and resolution it could potentially be very misleading to potential consumers. Since it would be fair to assume that people considering these are not very tech-literate. In which case, as the reviewer, you need to give them as much detailed information as possible.

Unfortunately, this review is pretty light on and personally, I don't really give it much weight. Because said details were missing.

Haha yeah cheaper to buy a new one too when that massive huge external power supply dies, they cost a small fortune.

[Tim Colwill]

Don't mean to be an @$$, I just don't like reviews that are thin in the fine details. Like this one. Its all well and good to say 80FPS but without knowing the exact settings and resolution it could potentially be very misleading to potential consumers. Since it would be fair to assume that people considering these are not very tech-literate. In which case, as the reviewer, you need to give them as much detailed information as possible.

Unfortunately, this review is pretty light on and personally, I don't really give it much weight. Because said details were missing.

Hey! No worries at all - to be honest, I'm more than willing to admit I'm not that great at hardware reviews, and every time I post a hardware review to GON I'm worried that people are going to rip me a new one. So thanks for your feedback, I do appreciate it greatly

With regards to BF3, it was running at 1440 x 900. I actually asked our tech moderator steve to put together a couple of builds that are comparable to the X51, and here's what he came up with:

Antec High Current Gamer 620W Power Supply HCG-620
$99
NZXT Phantom 410 Mid Tower Case Black
$129
Seagate Barracuda 1TB ST31000524AS
$99
ASUS P8Z77-V Motherboard
$199
Intel Core i7 3770
$329
Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3
$65
ASUS GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB DirectCU
$129
Pioneer BDR-207DBK Blu-Ray Disc Writer OEM
$109
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit with SP1 OEM
$95
Logitech G400 Optical Gaming Mouse
$39
Logitech G110 Gaming Keyboard
$75

Also, I use anti-static wristbands! I know they're stupid and 99% of the time unnecessary, but it makes me feel like some wacky CSI forensics guy, so just... let me have that.

[dean_doom]

the review lists a core i7 as the cpu but on the website
http://www.dell.com/au/p/alienware-x51/pd
it lists the following specs

Design
Tech Specs
Customer Ratings

Processor

Intel® Core™ i5-2320 Processor (3.0GHz, 6MB Cache, with Turbo Boost Technology 2.0)

Operating System

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium SP1 64 bit (English)

Memory3

Up to 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333Mhz - 2 DIMMS

Hard Drive

Up to 1000GB SATA hard drive

Optical Drive

Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW) (Standard)
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

Video Card

1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 545

Sound Card

Internal High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio with WAVES MAXX Audio (Standard)

Ports

Front I/O Ports
(2x) Hi-Speed USB 2.0
(1x) Microphone In
(1x) Headphone/Speaker Out

Rear I/O Ports
(1x) On-board HDMI 1.4 Output
(1x) RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet
(4x) Hi-Speed USB 2.0
(2x) SuperSpeed USB 3.0
(1x) Front Left/Right Speakers
(1x) Center Speaker
(1x) Rear Left/Right Speakers
(1x) Side Left/Right Speakers
(1x) SPDIF Digital Output (TOSLINK)
(1x) SPDIF Digital Output (Coax)

Chassis

Physical System Dimensions
Height:
Front-Height: 13.504" (343mm)
Rear-Height: 12.54" (318.5mm)
Depth: 12.52" (318mm)
Width: 3.74" (95mm)
Starting Weight: 12.1 lbs (5.49 Kg)

Color
Matte Stealth Black with Dark Chrome Accents

Processor and Core Architecture
Processor Cooling
Alienware™ High-Performance Air Cooling
Chipset Architecture
Intel® H61 Express Chipset
Motherboard Class
Mini-ITX Motherboard
Software
Alienware Command Center
AlienAdrenaline
AlienFX™
AlienFusion
Software Personalization Options
AlienFX™ System Colors
Personal Avatar
Power
Alienware™ 240 Watt Power Supply (Standard)
Alienware™ 330 Watt Power Supply

[Tim Colwill]

That's weird, it was definitely a Core i7 2600. At the top of that page you linked, it says: "Enjoy amazing visuals with desktop graphics card options, including the powerful 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 5552 and speedy Intel® Core™ i7-2600 processor".

I assume there's some sort of upgradable components during purchase that can push it up to an i7, then?

[SaNE]

Probably Dell screwing AU as usual with all of their customisable products.

[Vengeance47]

Hey! No worries at all - to be honest, I'm more than willing to admit I'm not that great at hardware reviews, and every time I post a hardware review to GON I'm worried that people are going to rip me a new one. So thanks for your feedback, I do appreciate it greatly

With regards to BF3, it was running at 1440 x 900. I actually asked our tech moderator steve to put together a couple of builds that are comparable to the X51, and here's what he came up with:

No problem,

I also find its easier to get a quick understanding of the performance if there are some graphs. Or at least the results are tabulated.

Also just noticed, being the spastic I am, I somehow forgot a HDD (monda....i mean derpday). That being the case, the case can change to an Antec 300 and a 1TB WD caviar Blue. Would take the build cost to just a touch over $1400.

However I went on the Dell site just then and the CPU is definitely an i5 2320 @ 3.0GHz (No option to upgrade CPU either) and the GPU is listed as an Nvidia GT545, again, with no upgrade option. Memory is 8GB @ 1333MHz (no upgrade) and that is on the $1499 model too. In which case, I would definitely consider this to be a rip-off.

Perhaps the review units they are sending out are slightly higher spec'd in the hope to get better reviews? I hope that's not true but when Dell's own site lists none of the specs you have given us, one can be forgiven for assuming the worst on Dell's behalf.

[SaNE]

Perhaps the review units they are sending out are slightly higher spec'd in the hope to get better reviews? I hope that's not true but when Dell's own site lists none of the specs you have given us, one can be forgiven for assuming the worst on Dell's behalf.

Look on the Dell US site, as with all of their products they are cheaper and have better options for upgrading/customising.

[Vengeance47]

Perhaps the review units they are sending out are slightly higher spec'd in the hope to get better reviews? I hope that's not true but when Dell's own site lists none of the specs you have given us, one can be forgiven for assuming the worst on Dell's behalf.

Look on the Dell US site, as with all of their products they are cheaper and have better options for upgrading/customising.

Ahhh Australia, why you so far away!?

EDIT: Either way, we should be getting localised versions at GoN, not models not available.

[Goric]

Perhaps the review units they are sending out are slightly higher spec'd in the hope to get better reviews? I hope that's not true but when Dell's own site lists none of the specs you have given us, one can be forgiven for assuming the worst on Dell's behalf.

Look on the Dell US site, as with all of their products they are cheaper and have better options for upgrading/customising.

Ahhh Australia, why you so far away!?

EDIT: Either way, we should be getting localised versions at GoN, not models not available.

Or what GON got was a yet to be released new upgraded version of the X51?