With AMD releasing its flagship Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition CPU, Alienware has become the first PC brand to debut the chip on its Area-51 gaming desktop. According to the company, it is the most powerful Alienware desktop that they have ever built powered by an AMD processor. Naturally, it doesn't come cheap with pricing starting at $4,299.99, but one has to consider the $900 MSRP of the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2.
In addition to the existing Ryzen 9000 series configurations, the Area-51 desktop lineup will offer the new Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 CPU, AMD’s most ambitious consumer desktop CPU. It features 16 cores, 32 threads, and a massive cache of 208MB, making it one of the best CPUs for gaming. The CPU will be paired with a standard ATX Alienware X870E motherboard available with up to 64GB of dual-channel DDR5 XMP memory at 6400 MT/s. For graphics, Alienware sticks with Nvidia’s RTX 5000 series, ranging from the RTX 5070 to the RTX 5090. Storage options include 1TB/2TB NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen 5 SSD or a 4TB NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD. Depending on the configuration, the Area-51 can be paired with either an 850W Gold or 1500W Platinum power supply, along with options for a 240mm or 360mm AIO liquid cooler.
We recently tested the Area-51 with top-of-the-line Intel and AMD configurations and found it to be a noteworthy improvement over the company’s previous gaming desktop offerings. It features a rather large 80-liter chassis measuring 22.4 x 24.04 x 9.12 inches (569 x 610.5 x 231.6 mm), with a ‘Lunar Silver’ finish and a glass side panel to showcase the internals. It uses standard PC hardware, meaning you’re not fully restricted to OEM parts if you plan to upgrade in the future. However, you may need to purchase a $35 adapter kit for the included AlienwareFX daughterboard.
There’s plenty of I/O available, including two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, and dedicated microphone-in and line-out ports at the front. At the back, there are two USB 4.0 Type-C ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, five USB 2.0 Type-A ports, and additional line-in, line-out, and SPDIF audio ports. The system also includes a Realtek RTL8125BG 2.5G Ethernet controller, along with a MediaTek Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 wireless networking chip.
As expected from any Alienware product, there’s a large RGB light ring around the air intake, along with additional lighting inside the case. Apart from the included CPU liquid cooler, the case comes with dual 180mm fans at the front and two 140mm fans at the bottom.
The base configuration, priced at $4,299.99, includes a 1TB SSD, 32GB of RAM, an Nvidia RTX 5070, an 850W PSU, and a 240mm liquid cooler. That said, Alienware’s system configurator recommends opting for the 1500W PSU and 360mm liquid cooler combo, which bumps the price up to $4,449.99. At the top end, a fully maxed-out configuration can go all the way up to $7,049.99.
Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.