Acer Veriton S2690g vs. Alienware Area 51 R5
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Acer Veriton S2690g and Alienware Area 51 R5
If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Acer Veriton S2690g which was released in 2021. The Alienware Area 51 R5 is older and entered production in 2015.
If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Alienware Area 51 R5 is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Acer Veriton S2690g and will fit more easily under your desk.
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 Acer Veriton S2690g as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Alienware Area 51 R5 is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.
Memory
The Alienware Area 51 R5 has 4 RAM slots while the Acer Veriton S2690g has only 2 slot(s). This is not something to worry about. Just make sure you take it into consideration when planning how much RAM you are going to use.
None of the desktops has an advantage when it comes to the speed of the RAM being used. Both models support RAM speeds of up to 3200. 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 R5 has 13 USB ports. The Acer Veriton S2690g is inferior in this regard and packs 8 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 R5, is that it has 2 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the Acer Veriton S2690g 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.
Unfortunately, only the Acer Veriton S2690g has a DisplayPort. The Alienware Area 51 R5 does not have one? Don't worry though, nowadays video adapters are cheap and you can get almost any combination of conversion types.
The Acer Veriton S2690g comes with an HDMI port, while the Alienware Area 51 R5 does not support the interface. Of course missing HDMI port is something that can be easily fixed with a good adapter (e.g. DisplayPort to HDMI).
SATA slots are located on the motherboard and it is where SSD, HDD and Optical Disk Drives are connected. Each of the two models being compared have 4 SATA slot(s). Keep in mind that having too few SATA slots might limit your options for connecting additional memory drives.
When your goal is to have the fastest SSD transfer speeds, an M.2 interface is crucial. Thus, it is good that both models have M.2 SSD slots. Today M.2 SSDs are not much more expensive than the average SATA drives, so it really does not make sense to invest in SATA drives anymore.
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
Having a Power Supply Unit with high power rating is important, if you are going to use components which require extra power. The Acer Veriton S2690g comes with a decent 300 Watt PSU, but the Alienware Area 51 R5 has a more powerful one rated at 1500 Watts. Choosing either one depends on your specific requirements and use case. Also don't forget that some models might have more than one PSU option - try to always get the most powerful one, especially if you plan to upgrade to a powerful GPU.
Motherboard
