Alienware Area 51 R2 vs. Alienware Area 51 R4

Comparison and Differences

Alienware_Area_51_R2.jpg case front and back pannelAlienware_Area_51_R4.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorMid TowerMid Tower
CPU optionsIntel Gen5&6 i7 Extreme/K; Xeon E5-v3/v4Intel Gen7&9&10 Core X-series
ChipsetX99 ExpressX299 PCH
Dedicated GPU *GeForce RTX 2080 TiGeForce RTX 3090
RAMDIMM DDR4-2133/2667DIMM DDR4-2666/2933
RAM slots44
RAM speed2667 MT/s2933 MT/s
RAM max64 GB64 GB
USB ports(6x) USB 3.0 Type A; (4x) USB-A 2.0;(8x) USB 3.0 Type A; (2x) USB-A 2.0; USB 3.1 Type C; USB 3.1 Type A;
Video portsN/AN/A
Other portsRJ45; Headset; Line-Out; Line-In; S/PDFI optical/analog; Card Reader;RJ45; Headset; Line-Out; Line-In; S/PDFI optical; Card Reader;
Optional portsN.A.N.A.
SATA ports64
PCI slots(x2) PCIe 3.0 x16; (x2) PCIe 3.0 x4;(x3) PCIe 3.0 x16; (x2) PCIe 3.0 x8; PCIe 3.0 x4;
M.2 slotsM.2 2230 (WiFi/BT);M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT); M.2 2280 M-key (PCIe 3.0 x2, NVMe);
Drive bays(2x) 2.5in; (x3) 3.25in; 5.25in;(2x) 2.5in; (x3) 3.25in; 5.25in;
PSU850/1500 W850/1500 W
Weight28 kg (61.73 lbs)28 kg (61.73 lbs)
Released20182015
Manuallinklink
Price**Check PriceCheck Price

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* Dedicated GPU warning: Check if your particular power supply model has enough power. Additionally some PSUs don't come with an auxiliary PCIe power connector and you may need to buy a SATA to PCIe power adapter.

Differences between Alienware Area 51 R2 and Alienware Area 51 R4

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Alienware Area 51 R2 which was released in 2018. The Alienware Area 51 R4 is older and entered production in 2015.

Both models have the same form factor, meaning reoughtly they have the same phiysical size and form.

Processor

Usually the newer the generation of the CPU, the better the performance and efficiency is. If your budget allows it, you should go with the Alienware Area 51 R4 as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Alienware Area 51 R2 is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.

Memory

Both models have have equal amount of ram slots (4 RAM). Usually two RAM slots are more than enough for most cases. However, the count should be taken into account when planning how much and what combination of RAM you are going to need for your system.

The Alienware Area 51 R4 is using the faster 2933 MT/s RAM. The Alienware Area 51 R2 is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 2667 MT/s. In addition, you will be able to install the same amount of RAM in both models, and most probably 64 GB of RAM will be enough for most people. However, if you will be needing more RAM, make sure to check other desktop models too.

Ports

In total the Alienware Area 51 R4 has 12 USB ports. The Alienware Area 51 R2 is inferior in this regard and packs 10 USB ports. In any case, if you miss USB ports, you can always purchase a USB hub. What is nice about the Alienware Area 51 R4, is that it has 2 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the Alienware Area 51 R2 has no such port, thus restricting your transfer speeds significantly. For people who want to use external drives on regular basis, this might be an issue.

Nowadays, almost every new computer comes equipped with a DisplayPort. However, none of the devices being compared here has one. Don't worry though, DisplayPort adapters are very cheap and you can get virtually any combination of conversion types.

None of the models has an HDMI port. If your monitor supports only the HDMI interface, you will need to buy an adapter. Such adapters are cheap so nothing to worry about.

SATA ports are placed on the system board and it is where you connect your HDD, SSD and Optical Disk Drives. More SATA slots will allow you to have more drives running at the same time. In this regard the Alienware Area 51 R2 is better equipped as it comes with 6 SATA slot(s), while the Alienware Area 51 R4 has 4 slot(s).

If you want the fastest transfer speeds for your SSD, an M.2 interface is crucial. Thus, if the M.2 SSD slot is a mandatory requirement for you, go with the Alienware Area 51 R4. Sadly, the Alienware Area 51 R2 has no such slot, and you will be forced to use the SATA interface instead.

Make sure that the available M.2 slot supports the PCIe (also called NVMe) interface. This is important as there are M.2 slots which support only the inferior SATA III interface. For comparison, the SATA III interface has max speeds of 6Gb/s, while the PCIe 3.0 x4 will support speeds up to 32Gb/s!

Power Supply

Looking at the Power Supply Unit (PSU) of the two models we don't see any differences. For either of them you get a maximum power of 1500 Watts. However be careful, many models have more than one power supply option. When buying your computer, it is a good idea to get a version with the most powerful PSU. This will potentially allow you to upgrade to a more powerful GPU for example.

Motherboard

Alienware_Area_51_R2_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutAlienware_Area_51_R4_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout