Alienware Announces its Spring 2020 Product Update

[btarunr]

Dell's coveted Alienware gaming PC division announced three new product updates. This include the Aurora R11 desktop updated with 10th gen Intel Core processor options; updated Area 51m R2 17.3-inch gaming notebook; and a pair of m-series notebooks. To begin with, Alienware updated its Aurora R11 desktop with processor options that now include the Core i5-10400F, i5-10600KF, i7-10700KF, and i9-10900KF. Memory options now start with DDR4-2933, and go up to DDR4-3200, with size options including 8 GB single-channel, 16 GB dual-channel, 32 GB dual-channel, and 64 GB dual-channel. Storage options begin with 1 TB and 2 TB 7,200 RPM HDD; and go up to M.2 NVMe SSDs ranging between 250 GB to 2 TB, with various options for secondary drives that include SATA SSDs and HDDs. There are also options that combine Optane M10 drives with 7,200 RPM HDDs. Graphics options range all the way from GeForce GTX 1650 to RTX 2080 Super, with all SKUs along the way. 2.5 GbE connectivity is now standard, WLAN options include Intel and Killer 802.11ax + Bluetooth 5 solutions.

Next up, is the Area 51m R2, a 17.3-inch desktop-replacement gaming notebook that comes with desktop-grade hardware. Built into an airy chassis with 17.3-inch screen (options include Full HD and 4K UHD with various refresh-rate options), these notebooks come with CPU options that include Core i7-10700, i7-10700K, i7-10900, and i7-10900K; with memory options ranging between 8 GB single-channel to 32 GB dual-channel, ticking between 2933-3200 MHz. NVMe SSDs are standard issue, beginning with a 256 GB option, with dual-drive and NVMe RAID options being included. Graphics options go from GTX 1660 Ti to RTX 2080 Super (mobile).




Lastly, there are the 2020 Alienware m15 R3 and m17 R3, featuring 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch screen-sizes respectively; and various resolution- and refresh-rate options ranging between Full HD thru 4K UHD, and 60 Hz thru 300 Hz, with Tobii Eye-tracking available as an option. These notebooks use 10th gen "Comet Lake-H" mobile processors, with options that include the Core i5-10300H, i7-10750H, and i9-10980HK. Memory options range between 8 GB single-channel to 32 GB dual-channel, with speeds of DDR4-2933. M.2 NVMe SSDs ranging between 256 GB to 1 TB are standard issue. Graphis options range between the GTX 1650 (mobile) to RTX 2080 Super (mobile).

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Animalpak]

Look at the desktop one... Coooompletely proprietary hardware, you buy that thing and do not even dare to open it for ANY upgrade.

I mean they are pushing hard the fact : " Do not touch my interiors ".


I imagine they are tired of people who opened and did damage and then demanded the replacement by guarantee.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

That desktop pc looks like its going to be an overheaters nightmare.

 

[wolar]

Not so sure it will overheat, both cpu and gpu are liquid cooled so if there is some opening below and on top then it will be fine

 

[Vayra86]

That desktop pc looks like its going to be an overheaters nightmare.

I actually did think it was a portable radiator at first, some Dyson hot air device or something.

 

[Cranky5150]

Pretty hideous looking TBH..Then again it is a Dell...

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Not so sure it will overheat, both cpu and gpu are liquid cooled so if there is some opening below and on top then it will be fine

We had a member on here with the same system (that maybe upgraded his GPu???) his 9900k wouldnt hold its 5ghz turbo because the 120 or 140mm AIO they had cooling it was literally melting.

It was in fact a 9900KS - same case. He got beaten down so much about the style over substance of his machine that he's not been back since.

 

[dyonoctis]

When I was a teenager I used to crave alienware desktop. Now I'm just thinking: "that's a lot of expensive plastic". They can't even bother to paint the steel in black for that "premium" pc.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

When I was a teenager I used to crave alienware desktop. Now I'm just thinking: "that's a lot of expensive plastic". They can't even bother to paint the steel in black for that "premium" pc.

I think the internet has been a mixed blessing over all. Anyone can look for guides on youtube about how to mod their own PC cases. You learn from watching others do it and practise using cheap cases or ones you pick up out of the dumpster.

Yes its dirty work, but you can make your case the way you want it if you dont like the way it looks with some paint and power tools.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Can someone explain the graphics card in that desktop?
The second chunk is the radiator and fan, in a graphics cards physical size?
That must be the worst GPU cooler ever made, as you're simply moving the heat further down in the case...

 

[TheDeeGee]

Plasticware, and just a $1000 premium.

 

[Seyumi]

The case literally only has 1x 120mm intake fan and 1x 120mm exhaust fan which is being used by 120mm CPU AIO radiator. In other words, 1 freaking intake fan to feed up to 2x RTX 2080 Ti SLI GPU's and a superhot Intel 10-core i9-10900KF or 16-core AMD 3950x. I had a micro-atx Thermaltake Core V21 that costs $60 and is able to hold 13 (THIRTEEN) case fans with a mix between 120mm and 140mm sizes. Alienware has the looks down but they chose form over function way too much.

The sad thing is, Alienware used the same exact internal steel chassis as the last generation model so they didn't even bother to improve their product one generation to the next. They just slapped a new shiny white plastic on it and called it a day. They claim like "40% more ventilation from previous generation" but all they did was allow more slits in the side panel to allow more airflow to the PSU which literally affects nothing. Also don't forget that their cases use proprietary connectors for their case lights & features so you can't simply buy your own internal motherboard unless you want to lose all your case features.

 

[Valantar]

Look at the desktop one... Coooompletely proprietary hardware, you buy that thing and do not even dare to open it for ANY upgrade.

I mean they are pushing hard the fact : " Do not touch my interiors ".


I imagine they are tired of people who opened and did damage and then demanded the replacement by guarantee.

Proprietary? That's an mATX motherboard, a (short, likely standard length) ATX PSU mounted internally, an Asetek 120mm AIO, and regular old PCIe slots. What's proprietary about that?

On a side note, that AIC form factor GPU radiator is really, really interesting. Should utilize the strength of radial fans (static pressure) well and thus provide good cooling at relatively low noise (not as low as a slow axial fan, obviously). Also, it exhaust the heat of the GPU in its entirety, which is beneficial for a system with limited airflow like this one. Definitely a good idea.

 

[Seyumi]

Proprietary? That's an mATX motherboard, a (short, likely standard length) ATX PSU mounted internally, an Asetek 120mm AIO, and regular old PCIe slots. What's proprietary about that?

I've owned multiple Alienware Aurora & Area 51 towers so I can speak from experience. The only proprietary thing are some headers on the motherboard that connects to the daughterboard that controls all the case lighting & features . Unfortunately this is the most important part of your PC as everything plugs into it. You will definitely be limited on memory selections & speeds. You may not be able to overclock your CPU & GPU as much due to limited power connections & circuity. You may also have compatibility issues with future M.2 hard drives.

The Alienware motherboard is also one of the weakest parts as well. I know it's technically an MSI motherboard but the overall looks & design, circuity, heat sinks, power phases, and just overall lack of usage of the PCB is worse than the CHEAPEST motherboards being sold on Newegg (comparing same chipset of course), while the Alienware motherboard costs more than some of the MOST EXPENSIVE ones on Newegg.

Note edit: Alienware towers are sold with the same thought process as a console. They don’t expect nor want their customers to open up the machines. Absolutely no attention to detail is given when it comes to INTERNAL looks or even performance. EVERYTHING including the graphics cards, PSU's, motherboards, etc. are bare-bone OEM made-in China items. You can’t even buy a motherboard nor a GPU as barebone looking as the ones that comes in Alienware towers (yes even high end Nvidia GPU’s, they have like green PCB’s and plastic shrouds – you can’t even buy a worse looking RTX card in America even if you tried). Their primary market is probably China and internet gaming cafes. Don’t buy Alienware unless looks are more important to you than performance, price, noise, heat, and upgradeability (I’m speaking from experience, unfortunately I am a sucker for their looks).

 

[thekaidis]

Was it seriously easier for Dell to RFP, design, manufacture,& validate a unique blower AIO than it was to just...have a 92mm fan location anywhere on the chassis?

 

[bug]

Spring update? How old is this article?

 

[KnightStorm]

So the Area 51m that's already available can't use Super cards...which likely means the Area 51 r2 won't be able to use Ampere cards next year...necessitating an r3. Interesting definition of "upgradable".

 

[Seyumi]

You have to admit though, interesting take on the GPU liquid cooling which hasn't been done by anyone else before. It's definitely better than nothing and most likely better than a stock blower since Alienwares only use oldschool blower fans on their GPU's and not 2 or 3 fan solutions as those dump heat into the case. It's sad though that they have to design something so odd and unique around their bad case design. Just 1 more freaking 120mm fan slot would have allowed them to use a normal regular AIO GPU solution that's been around for several years now. It's not possible on the current chassis design.

I also wonder why they only option it for the 2080 Super and not the 2080 Ti even though the Ti could actually use AIO cooler more.

 

[Valantar]

So the Area 51m that's already available can't use Super cards...which likely means the Area 51 r2 won't be able to use Ampere cards next year...necessitating an r3. Interesting definition of "upgradable".

Can't use? As in they won't work if you plug one in? I don't believe that for a second. These PCs have PCIe, and must thus support PCIe devices. Not selling a specific model with a specific part is not the same as them not being able to work together.

You have to admit though, interesting take on the GPU liquid cooling which hasn't been done by anyone else before. It's definitely better than nothing and most likely better than a stock blower since Alienwares only use oldschool blower fans on their GPU's and not 2 or 3 fan solutions as those dump heat into the case. It's sad though that they have to design something so odd and unique around their bad case design. Just 1 more freaking 120mm fan slot would have allowed them to use a normal regular AIO GPU solution that's been around for several years now. It's not possible on the current chassis design.

I also wonder why they only option it for the 2080 Super and not the 2080 Ti even though the Ti could actually use AIO cooler more.

Because the 2080S delivers pretty much identical performance for less money and power?

You're right about the case design - it's also a compact mATX case framr wrapped in enough plastic to make it rather huge for what it fits. Aesthetics obviously trumps functionality here.

I've owned multiple Alienware Aurora & Area 51 towers so I can speak from experience. The only proprietary thing are some headers on the motherboard that connects to the daughterboard that controls all the case lighting & features . Unfortunately this is the most important part of your PC as everything plugs into it. You will definitely be limited on memory selections & speeds. You may not be able to overclock your CPU & GPU as much due to limited power connections & circuity. You may also have compatibility issues with future M.2 hard drives.

The Alienware motherboard is also one of the weakest parts as well. I know it's technically an MSI motherboard but the overall looks & design, circuity, heat sinks, power phases, and just overall lack of usage of the PCB is worse than the CHEAPEST motherboards being sold on Newegg (comparing same chipset of course), while the Alienware motherboard costs more than some of the MOST EXPENSIVE ones on Newegg.

Note edit: Alienware towers are sold with the same thought process as a console. They don’t expect nor want their customers to open up the machines. Absolutely no attention to detail is given when it comes to INTERNAL looks or even performance. EVERYTHING including the graphics cards, PSU's, motherboards, etc. are bare-bone OEM made-in China items. You can’t even buy a motherboard nor a GPU as barebone looking as the ones that comes in Alienware towers (yes even high end Nvidia GPU’s, they have like green PCB’s and plastic shrouds – you can’t even buy a worse looking RTX card in America even if you tried). Their primary market is probably China and internet gaming cafes. Don’t buy Alienware unless looks are more important to you than performance, price, noise, heat, and upgradeability (I’m speaking from experience, unfortunately I am a sucker for their looks).

You have very wrong expectations from this type of product. These PCs do not target PC enthusiasts, but rather gamers with money but little interest in hardware (beyond it working reasonably and looking the part). Fancy internal designs have zero value without a window, which this lacks, and designing simple black boxes is cheaper than anything fancy looking while doing the same job. The same goes for overclocking - this isn't an overclocking PC, so why make the motherboard with a feature that nobody will use? Remember, components sold at retail need to appeal to buyers somehow. Thus they get fancy designs, "enthusiast features" (that >99% of users never use or need) etc to serve as selling points. None of this is necessary for a pre-built. Alienware is likely one of the divisions of Dell where they have margins beyond a few percent, but on the other hand it's low enough volume that any R&D will drive up prices noticeably. Thus we get a fancy casewith little thought to the difficult functional parts, and utilitarian internals. I agree that not painting the frame is cheaping out though, but everything else is as I would expect. This is an appliance, not a boutique PC.

 

[bizzmeister]

I've been in this pc/console gaming thing my entire life. I dont think ive ever purchased an alienware product. Are they still popular these days??? I feel like Razer is what all the new kids that want to get into PC gaming are telling their parents to get them.

 

[QUANTUMPHYSICS]

I have two Alienware Area 51 towers and two Alienware laptops: 15" and 17"

The laptops have been perfect.

I upgraded my desktops - specifically with 2080Ti GPU and EVGA's GPU AIO kit. Then I added 10TB worth of Crucial SSD storage using the stock 2TB HDD for large, less-prioritized files like porn and mp3 songs.

So long as you have a good AIO for your i9 and a AIO (seperate) for your GPU, I'd wager that thermal throttling isn't a problem you can't handle.

My problem with Alienware is the proprietary motherboard. You have to buy new motherboards from Dell directly and can't buy your own.

I love the AREA 51 style. I'm not a fan of the Aurora - although I like the new 34" monitor.

The next computer I build will be a DDR5 with a next generation i9 and a 3080Ti but that will be a few years from now.