Final thoughts, HEXUS.awards, HEXUS.where2buy
There's nothing much to dislike about the Alienware Area-51 7500 at first glance. It looks cool, is quiet, and offers performance that most users would be satisfied with. We'd immediately install a discrete soundcard, though.
It's only when you start digging a little deeper that cracks in the Alienware veneer begin to show. The P2 chassis, for example, carries all the usual Alienware hallmarks but is a little too cramped for an ultra-high-end base unit. As it stands, you cannot add a second optical drive without removing the multicard reader, and that's one disadvantage of using a midi-tower when most vendors utilise aluminium full towers for their luxury PCs.
Performance is just where we'd expect it to be given the default-clocked components. We had hoped that Alienware would have indulged in a little overclocking on this SKU but that's not been the case. We reckon that's fine if backed up by aggressive pricing. However, this Area-51 7500's biggest drawback is, frankly, an exorbitant price-tag of £3112 excluding delivery. That kind of outlay would buy you our comparative Vadim PC, which is significantly faster than the Alienware in almost every regard, and still leave you £200 change. Alternatively, you could opt for the MESH PC, which is equipped with faster graphics and ships with a 20-inch TFT, speakers, and discrete soundcard, and save yourself over £600 in the process.
So no matter which way we dress up the Alienware's performance and feature-set, it's relatively poor in comparison to SKUs that we've reviewed recently. Value for money may not be the greatest concern in this sector of the pre-built market but when you can get substantially more for less, it becomes impossible to recommend this particular Area-51 7500.
There's nothing much intrinsically wrong with the SKU, and other publications reviewing it in isolation may well find it to be a winner... Here at HEXUS, however, we aim to bring you an impartial buyers' guide by providing in-depth information. As such, if you've £3,000 burning a hole in your pocket and want a high-performance PC, there are better and cheaper alternatives to the Alienware Area-51 7500. Now if the price was to drop to, say, £2112.......
HEXUS Awards
In view of the fact that the sample successfully completed a 12-hour test without failure, we certify the Alienware Area-51 7500 an Extreme HEXUS Labs.
