Alienware's
Area-51 7500 desktop has certainly been on the
chopping block before, but the inquisitive folks over at Bit-Tech were able to land a refreshed unit that not only featured dual NVIDIA
GeForce 8800 GTX graphics card and a 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme
X6800 processor, but a built-in (unbranded Matshita)
Blu-ray drive to boot. Instantly, reviewers expected the snazzy looking machine to spin right on through every benchmark laid in front of it, and for the coin you'd be paying, we can't say that's such an unrealistic request. During 2D / 3D testing, the SLI-equipped system simply dominated in terms of FPS, image quality, and smoothness, as reviewers actually stated that current games couldn't even take full advantage of all that horsepower just yet. Also of note was the Blu-ray playback, which ended up being practically flawless after the review crew had their (understandable) doubts about how well the unit itself and HDCP films would operate within a PC environment. After trying out both analog and digital monitor connections, the player streamed out films in crisp 1,920 x 1,080 resolution without a hitch after
PowerDVD 6.5 was loaded up, officially allowing for a collective sigh of relief. With a system this pricey, however, criticisms come easier, and they were quick to note that the included Patriot RAM was likely hindering performance somewhat due to "faulty memory timings," and also stated that the lackluster audio card should have been spruced up given the lofty cost. Overall, Bit-Tech was quite pleased with
Alienware's latest, but while the machine itself landed an 8 out of 10 rating, the £3,434 ($6,780) pricetag resulted in a paltry 5 out of 10 in the "Value" department, which is about par for the course for these guys.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Andy @ Jan 27th 2007 6:25AM
swwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet
Mark @ Jan 27th 2007 8:02AM
I own an Alienware laptop, and although it's a nice fast machine, I agree that the prices are outrageous. I'm sure you could get a gaming rig like that for 2k less somewhere else.
Tim @ Jan 27th 2007 9:44AM
a blu-ray drive aaaaand a floppy?! waaaooow.
John B @ Jan 27th 2007 11:10AM
"a blu-ray drive aaaaand a floppy?! waaaooow."
Hey, if you're going to "go extreme", you might as well do it from both ends of the current technology spectrum. :)
John B @ Jan 27th 2007 11:09AM
Okay, can someone please tell me WHY he would spend such ungodly amounts of money on a PC when they could build one very similar in speed and performance for about 1/2 the money if not even less than that? If you're that hard-up to spend money just for the bragging rights, then build two on your own and sell one through some kind of charity auction. THAT'S something worth bragging about.
Jason Brown @ Jan 27th 2007 11:33AM
If you want to spend that much on a machine don't by a Dell(alienware). buy voodoopc or someone else. they at least make a machine that looks expensive.
Jeff @ Jan 27th 2007 1:48PM
Real gamers build their own computers, that's all you really need to know.
Your parents buy Dells, your trendy non-gamer friends buy Macs, you build your own. How it's always been, how it always will be.
Zam786 @ Jan 27th 2007 3:02PM
well said jeff
Tajrian Talukder @ Jan 27th 2007 5:37PM
Unless your blood and sweat is inside the PC, it's not a gaming PC.
Dave @ Jan 28th 2007 6:10AM
Excellent!
James @ Jan 28th 2007 2:03PM
How fast does that Blu ray drive write at, if at all?
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