NEW Reviews Beta Feedback

Alienware AREA-51 7500

84

Very Good

Avg User Rating
0 User Reviews | add yours »

Pros
High-end Logitech peripherals
DirectX 10-ready SLI graphics
Cons
Expensive

Pricing: Very Expensive: $6007 (5/22/2007)
Performance: Superior: 90
Features: Very Good: 84
Design: Very Good: 89

Find out how these four scores, and their relative weights, combine to produce the PC World Rating.

Pricing

Very Expensive: $6007

Performance

Superior: 90

WorldBench 6 Component Results (seconds)
Adobe Photoshop CS2	295
Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 DirectX	333
Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 Rendering	296
Firefox 2	199
Microsoft Office 2003 with SP-1	321
Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9.0	185
Multitasking	230
Nero 7 Ultra Edition	332
Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator 1.5	189
Winzip Computing WinZip 10.0	205

Graphics Tests (frames per second)
Overall Graphics Score	Superior
Doom 3, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit	161.63
Doom 3, 1280 by 1024, 32-Bit	168.6
Doom 3 with AA, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit	163.93
Doom 3 with AA, 1280 by 1024, 32-Bit	165.47
Far Cry, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit	194
Far Cry, 1280 by 1024, 32-Bit	206.42
Far Cry with AA, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit	191.38
Far Cry with AA, 1280 by 1024, 32-Bit	186.87

Features

Very Good: 84

Basics
CPU	2.66-GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6700
System Memory	2048MB Memory

Video & Display
Graphics Adapter	EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX
Graphics Board Type	PCI Express-SLI
Graphics Board RAM (MB)	768
Graphics Board RAM Type	DDR3
Monitor Model	Dell UltraSharp 2407WFP
Monitor Type	LCD
Monitor Size	24

Storage
Hard Drives	3
Total HD Size (GB)	550GB Hard Drive
RAID Type	striped
Optical Drive Type	DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/-RAM
Optical Drive Speed	18

Expansion
PCI Slots	2
PCI Express Slots	4
Open PCI Express X16 Slots	1
Open PCI Express X1 Slots	1
Open Slots	2
External Drive Bays	3
Open External Drive Bays	2
Internal Drive Bays	4
Open Internal Drive Bays	1

Ports
Serial Ports	0
Parallel Ports	0
Front USB Ports	2
Rear USB Ports	6
Front FireWire Ports	1
Rear FireWire Ports	1

Other
Audio Adapter Model	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi
Audio Channels	7.1 surround
Network Adapter	gigabit network adapter
Case Type	Tower
Operating System	Windows Vista Home Premium (32 bit)
Other Included Hardware	Logitech G5 mouse, G15 keyboard, Z-5300 5.1 speakers
Included Software	CyberLink PowerDVD 7, Nero 7, AlienRespawn

Warranty & Support
Labor Warranty (years)	One
Parts Warranty (years)	One
Weekday Support Hours	24
Saturday Support Hours	24
Sunday Support Hours	24
Toll-Free Support	Yes

Reliability & Service
Summary of results for all of brand's products in this category	A builder of high-end gaming PCs, Alienware did okay on most reliability measures, except one: a relatively high number of out-of-box problems.

Reilability of brand's products in this category
Reports of products with core component problems	Worse than Average
Reports of products with failed components	Average
Reports of products with any significant problems	Average
Reports of products arriving with problems	Average
Overall satisfaction with reliability of brand's products in category	Average

Design

Very Good: 89

Alienware Area-51 7500 Review

by Richard Baguley and Danny Allen

- The impressive Alienware Area-51 7500 delivers strong performance and excellent features. At $6007 (as of July 11, 2007), it's the most expensive quad-core model we've tested thus far. You get a lot for your money, though. Our review system carried 2GB of 800-MHz DDR2 memory and Intel's 2.66-GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6700 quad-core processor, overclocked by Alienware to 3.2 GHz and kept stable with liquid cooling. It's the first overclocked Area-51 7500 system to come through the PC World Test Center. Alienware began overclocking the line only in March 2007; the company previously reserved such CPU tweaks for its premium ALX machines, in which pricey extras like liquid cooling and 1066-MHz RAM are standard. Alienware's adjustments helped the Area-51 7500 to a WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 125, a mark on a par with those of other overclocked gaming PCs and just four points behind the fastest PC we've tested to date, CyberPower's Gamer Infinity Ultimate.

Read Complete Review »