Alienware Brings AMD X3D Chips to its Flagship Area-51 Gaming PCs

Alienware is beefing up the gaming chops of its flagship prebuilt Area-51 gaming PCs with AMD Ryzen 9000 X3D processors – the most effective gaming processors within the enterprise. Alienware has introduced that, beginning at the moment, North American players can select an Area-51 desktop with both a Ryzen 7 9800X3D or a Ryzen 9 9950X3D, beginning at $4,350. The Ryzen 7 9700X, a good CPU in its personal proper, may even be out there.

When we reviewed it final 12 months, we discovered that the 8-core 9800X3D outperformed non-X3D chips nearly throughout the board, due to AMD’s so-called 3D V-cache that places its on-die reminiscence just below the core chiplet die (CCD) to permit for extra and lower-latency reminiscence. Months later, IGN reviewed the much more highly effective 16-core 9950X3D and located it spectacular… and doubtless overkill for most individuals.

Both chips are power-hungry – the 9800X3D pulled as much as 160.3W of energy throughout testing, whereas 9950X3D peaked at 200W. That did not cease them from getting the highest two slots in IGN’s checklist of finest gaming CPUs; they’re simply that good, and can assist Alienware’s finest gaming PC to compete with gaming prebuilts from the likes of MSI and Asus. That does not come low cost: the $4,350 beginning worth is a whole bunch larger than the $3,650 Dell is at present charging for the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K version of its desktop.

Beyond the brand new AMD chips, out there configurations look to be the identical as earlier than. For occasion, you possibly can outfit the machine with Nvidia GPUs starting from the GeForce RTX 5070 to the RTX 5090 – however you will not discover the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT that is our present favourite graphics card. RAM, port rely and kind, and storage choices all stay the identical, as properly. And after all, you will have that entrance cooling vent that I assume each proprietor of considered one of these makes use of as a seize deal with for when they should pull the chassis out to get at its ports within the again.

Wes is a contract author (Freelance Wes, they name him) who has lined know-how, gaming, and leisure steadily since 2020 at Gizmodo, Tom’s Hardware, Hardcore Gamer, and most just lately, The Verge. Inside of him there are two wolves: one which thinks it would not be so unhealthy to begin gathering recreation consoles once more, and the opposite who additionally thinks this, however extra strongly.