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“Alienware’s Space-51 R5 annihilated our benchmarks with out breaking a sweat.”
Sturdy configuration choices
Distinctive gaming efficiency
Modern design
Device-free upkeep
Very quiet
Dear at most configurations
The Alienware Space-51 has all the time been a hanging machine. With its angled edges, pyramidal design, and gently glowing LED lighting, there’s simply nothing else prefer it. The bizarre case design is often paired with extravagantly highly effective and the Space-51 R5 is not any exception.
Our evaluation unit featured a liquid-cooled overclocked 18-core Intel Core i9-7980XE processor, two liquid-cooled Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics playing cards operating in SLI, 64GB of RAM, and a 1TB M.2 SSD with a 2TB mechanical exhausting drive backup.
Principally, the Space-51 R5 has all the things pushed to its logical excessive — even its value. All this and knowledgeable engineering will run you about $6,709. The Space-51 is billed as a gaming desktop, however with value like that, and such unfettered energy buzzing away inside this factor, it’s wasted for use on gaming alone. Let’s present you what all this factor can do.
An actual eye-catcher
Simply have a look at this factor. Like we talked about, it’s solely in contrast to anything in the marketplace. The Space 51’s iconic “triad” design has served Alienware effectively through the years, and the Space-51 R5 options the second-generation model with a number of inside tweaks and refinements.
Regardless of its uncommon form, we really didn’t have any hassle becoming it below desks, on prime of desks, or wherever actually.
Externally, the Space-51 just about seems the identical because it all the time had — and that’s not a nasty factor. It’s simply sort of polarizing. It is a very giant pc, and its design doesn’t lend itself to being tucked away below a desk, toiling in obscurity. It is a desktop pc that begs to be seen, to be displayed, and its dimension makes it somewhat exhausting to search out area for it.
The angles on the case make it a bit longer than a typical PC. Regardless of its uncommon form, we really didn’t’ have any hassle becoming it below desks, on prime of desks, behind screens. It’s massive and heavy, nevertheless it’s not as massive because it appears. Nonetheless, that further weight means you’ll positively want a sturdy desk.
For the Alienware Space-51 to actually be a desktop pc, you’re going to wish a reasonably substantial desk. Its total footprint isn’t that a lot greater than a conventional gaming desktop, however it’s a bit completely different. It’s taller, for one, and somewhat thicker.
All of the ports, after which some
Resulting from its uncommon form, you could be questioning concerning the ports. Relaxation assured, they’re all the place you’d anticipate them to be — with a number of handy modifications. First, changing the top-side ports on many desktops, the Alienware Space-51 R5 options 4 USB ports on the entrance of the chassis. It’s angular design really makes them extra simply accessible than typical front-facing ports when it’s below a desk.
In any other case, the exterior connectivity round again is about what you’d anticipate, 9 USB ports, not one however two ethernet ports, a USB-C port, and there’s even a handy little button that activates a small exterior mild, so you may see the ports extra simply.
Spacious inside
With such an uncommon exterior design, you may anticipate the inside of the Alienware Space-51 to be cramped or awkward, and also you’d be incorrect. When you unscrew the outside lock on the Space 51’s case, all you should do open it’s pull a pair of switches alongside the top-side of the case. The panels pop open like automobile doorways.
With out shifting a single inside element, you’ve got entry to the RAM, the graphics playing cards, the ability provide, and the fan assemblies.
When you take away the panels, you’ll see what we meant concerning the inside. It’s luxurious. There’s loads of open area, nevertheless it’s not wasted! The within of the entrance panel is the place you’ll discover an consumption fan, and two of the followers linked to the liquid cooling models on the graphics playing cards. The rear panel is attached to the liquid cooling block on the CPU.
Cables are neatly zip-tied collectively in response to their function, energy cables are labeled and elegantly strung via the case with out pointless slack. Strive as you may, you gained’t discover a single tangled cable in right here — not even on the back-side of the motherboard, the place cables usually go to braid themselves into dense brambly nests. Nothing. Simply easy, simple cable administration with an eye fixed towards accessibility and future upgrades.
With out shifting a single inside element, you’ve got entry to the RAM, the graphics playing cards, the ability provide, and the fan assemblies. Due to the excellent cable administration right here, performing routine upkeep is a breeze. Eradicating elements is sort of solely tool-free, due to the clip that holds the graphics playing cards in place. There’s even a battery-powered work mild that activates if you open the case, so you may see each port, cable, and plug.
These little particulars are an necessary a part of what you get if you spend money on a system just like the Space 51. Certain, you would simply choose up all of its inside elements and put it collectively your self, or purchase an identically-outfitted PC from every other producer. However what you get by going with the Space-51 is an unparalleled stage of engineering and intuitive inside design.
A souped-up every day driver
For on a regular basis workloads, operating Phrase, Excel, even egregiously, insanely intensive web-browsing, the Space-51 R5 is a champ. Between its Core i9 processor and 64GB of RAM, a median workplace workload isn’t going to wherever close to the restrict of this machine’s capabilities.
One factor is abundantly clear; our commonplace take a look at suite could not be capable to sustain with this machine.
To offer you some context, we threw completely all the things we might consider on the Space-51 R5. We opened up 4 browser home windows, with 25 reside tabs operating a 4K video in every one, ran Geekbench four, and a Deus Ex: Mankind Divided benchmark, all concurrently whereas we wrote this evaluation. We didn’t discover even a single second of slowdown in Phrase, not a hitch, stutter or hiccup.
Even the Space-51 R5’s exhausting drives are spectacular. Effectively, one among them is. Our evaluation unit featured a 1TB M.2 SSD — concerning the dimension of a stick of gum — and a regular-sized mechanical drive packing an additional 2TB of space for storing.
Clearly the Space-51 R5’s SSD isn’t the quickest we’ve ever seen, nevertheless it’s very fast for its dimension. Coming in with a learn pace of 1,734 megabytes-per-second it’s a couple of third slower than the 2TB M.2 drive within the Falcon Northwest Tiki, and the 512GB M.2 drive within the Origin Millennium.
The mechanical drive carried out effectively for a mechanical drive, topping out at a 195 MB/S learn pace and a 193 MB/s write pace. Nonetheless, shifting huge recordsdata round on the M.2 drive was simply as fast as you’d anticipate. The identical M.2 drive is out there in 256GB and 512GB configurations, with the 2TB mechanical drive as backup.
So, if a normal workplace workload on steroids gained’t journey up the Space 51, that begs the query: What’s going to?
Maintaining with an i9
The Alienware Space-51 R5 is out there in configurations with Intel Core i7-7800X, i7-7820X, and i9-7980XE processors. Our evaluation unit is the monstrous 18-core i9-7980XE variant. To get an concept for simply how highly effective the contained in the Alienware Space-51 R5 actually is, we gave it a run via Geekbench four — and the outcomes are positively instructive. Taking a look at single core efficiency, it’s clear this overclocked Core i9 is an above common performer.
It’s outperformed by Eighth-generation Core i7-8700Okay processors right here, however that’s to be anticipated, these are six-core processors, so every core is somewhat faster than every core within the Core i9-7980XE, which is an 18-core processor. Multi-core efficiency is the place the Core i9 actually shines. The 18-core processor simply outruns the inventory Core i7-7700Okay and even the Eighth-generation Core i7-8700Okay in multi-core efficiency.
One factor is abundantly clear, our commonplace take a look at suite could not be capable to sustain with this machine. Taking a look at how shortly the Space-51 R5 crunched our 4K video encode, you may see what we imply.
The Space-51 R5 simply obliterated our take a look at right here. It crunched the 4K encode so quick we needed to run it a pair occasions to verify we set it up proper. It completed the encode in simply 123 seconds, or simply two minutes, three seconds. That’s the quickest we’ve ever seen — by a major margin.
GPU Efficiency
Our Alienware Space-51 R5 evaluation unit is, as we talked about, mainly maxed out. It has some of the highly effective processors in the marketplace, 64GB of RAM, and two high-end graphics playing cards. It must be no shock to say that it handles most video games with aplomb.
Taking a look at its efficiency in 3DMark you may get a superb sense for the way effectively it performs operating precise video games. With its twin GTX 1080 graphics playing cards, its total rating in each Fireplace Strike and Time Spy simply eclipses the scores we noticed out of single-card machines just like the Falcon Northwest Tiki and Velocity Micro M60. In comparison with the Origin Millennium, with its twin GTX 1080 TI graphics playing cards although, the Alienware Space-51 R5 slips behind a bit.
That’s not an excessive amount of of an issue, contemplating you may spec the Space-51 R5 with twin GTX 1080 Ti graphics playing cards for comparable efficiency.
It’s a development we see right here in our 1080p efficiency, with the Space-51 R5 taking a detailed second to the Origin Millennium and its faster SLI setup. Nonetheless, it’s necessary to level out that the efficiency hole is small usually, and even a single 1080 Ti just like the one within the Falcon Northwest Tiki, is greater than able to operating your video games maxed out at 1080p.
In actual fact, SLI setups are greater than somewhat overkill for 1080p, as you may see from these figures. However, when you’ve got a excessive refresh charge monitor, an SLI setup is a straightforward method to hit a framerate excessive sufficient to reap the benefits of a 144Hz refresh charge.
Transferring on to 1440p, we will see efficiency dip appropriately throughout the board. Trying particularly on the outcomes for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided at Extremely settings, we see one thing fascinating. There’s no denying that operating two graphics playing cards in SLI or Crossfire mode offers you a efficiency increase. And in the event you’re in search of top-tier efficiency it’s a good way to realize it. However these outcomes there’s solely a small margin between the best-in-class efficiency you see on the Origin Millennium, with its two GTX 1080 Ti graphics playing cards, and the efficiency you see in a single-card machine just like the Tiki or Velocity Micro M60.
The distinction between 70 and 88 FPS is massive on paper however if you’re really enjoying a recreation it’s not as noticeable as you may suppose. Nonetheless, it’s acceptable to level out right here that each one of those machines carried out precisely as we’d anticipate given the energy of their .
Our 4K figures right here make one factor abundantly clear: 4K remains to be very exhausting on gaming . A well-optimized recreation like Battlefield 1 offers you the most effective outcomes, with framerates in extra of 100 FPS in the event you’re operating an SLI setup. However highly-detailed, environment-dense video games like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided offers you a bit extra hassle. You’re nonetheless going to hit good framerates like 45 FPS with all of the settings maxed out, however barely. For many video games 60 FPS is right, 30 is playable, and something much less is effectively, something however.
In VRMark, the Space-51 R5’s highly effective pushed it to the highest of the pile. You shouldn’t have any hassle in any respect operating probably the most demanding VR video games on this machine, however these benchmark scores illustrate that whereas the R5 is highly effective, VR remains to be very graphically intensive and doesn’t all the time make the most effective use of SLI setups.
It’s as hanging as it’s useful, and it could serve you effectively it doesn’t matter what you pack inside.
The Space-51 hit a rating of 9,534 within the entry-level Orange Room benchmark, which is somewhat decrease than what we noticed out of the Falcon Northwest Tiki — it hit 13,276 on the identical benchmark. There’s a purpose for that. Whereas the Alienware Space-51 R5 is a way more highly effective pc total, VR and these VR benchmarks don’t all the time use a twin graphics card rig in addition to they may. Which means you may see higher efficiency out of a system operating a single 1080 Ti than you’ll out of a system with two common 1080 graphics playing cards.
In fact you would all the time spec as much as a twin 1080 Ti model of the Alienware Space-51 R5 to resolve that downside. Nonetheless, it’s one thing to keep watch over in the event you plan on shopping for one among these PCs to run VR demos. Spring for the 1080 Ti as an alternative.
Revamped, refreshed command middle
Proprietary software program isn’t normally all that noteworthy, however the brand new Alienware Command Heart is unquestionably an exception. The software program unifies the Space 51’s lighting, fan management, and even its overclock settings. Placing all the things below one roof makes it straightforward to handle the Space 51’s numerous options, and the interface lays all the things out in a approach that is sensible.
Even in the event you’ve by no means used Alienware’s proprietary software program earlier than, you must be capable to discover something you want simply opening the brand new command middle. Change the lighting on the case, flip the manufacturing facility overlock on or off, and even regulate your energy saver settings, multi function place.
Our Take
Judging a desktop just like the Alienware Space-51 R5 is hard, however there are a number of details to think about. First, the design and inside structure. These components are going to be the identical it doesn’t matter what you choose for it. Whether or not you down-spec the Space-51 to a extra inexpensive $1,900, or crank all of it the way in which up previous $eight,000, the case, the structure these are the constants you must have a look at — and within the Space-51 R5’s case, these two components are world-class.
Whereas the design could also be atypical, it’s extremely considerate and intuitive and completely stands the take a look at of time. With regards to , our evaluation unit is kitted out with the most effective of the most effective and it reveals. Let’s break it down.
Is there a greater various?
Should you’re available in the market for a gaming desktop with a design that’s going to climate the ravages of time, the Alienware Space-51 R5 is difficult to beat. It’s constructed like a tank however contains a distinctive and uniquely intuitive design. Taking out the graphics playing cards will be executed with no single device, similar with the RAM. All the things is laid out precisely the place it must be, and no single element obscures one other. In comparison with a normal boxy desktop case, performing commonplace upkeep or eradicating elements from the Space-51 R5 is an absolute breeze — irrespective of how a lot you spent on it.
That’s an necessary level as a result of it’s an enormous a part of what makes the Alienware Space-51 R5 stand out in a crowded subject. Nonetheless, you would pack this into nearly every other main producer’s gaming desktop — the Origin Neuron comes shut, so does the Falcon Northwest Tiki.
The highly effective processor, maxed out RAM, and twin graphics playing cards make for a really highly effective machine, nevertheless it’s efficiency you may get elsewhere for about the identical value. Should you make investments about $6,700 at different producers you’re going to finish up with very comparable .
The particular sauce right here is the the expertly engineered case and inside structure. In that regard, there actually isn’t a greater various in the event you don’t thoughts the Space 51’s dimension.
How lengthy will it final?
The development of the Alienware Space-51 R5 is extremely strong. You’ll discover that if you first pull it out of its transport field. Its dimension and weight encourage confidence that this desktop will take no matter you may throw at it. Due to its inside design and the benefit with which you’ll be able to carry out routine upkeep, you may end up doing it extra typically which might completely lengthen the lifespan of the inside.
Should you went all-in and picked up an Space-51 R5 with specs much like our evaluation unit, it’s protected to say you’re going to be in good arms for no less than 4 to 5 years — in all probability longer. Our evaluation unit’s was extremely highly effective and completely has the efficiency headroom to face as much as more and more demanding software program — and video games.
The Space-51 R5 options a normal one-year guarantee, however you should purchase further help from Dell, as much as 5 years in the event you don’t thoughts spending one other $813. The usual guarantee isn’t dangerous, it’s what we’d anticipate from most producers. Nevertheless it’s a far cry from what you get from Falcon Northwest with its above-and-beyond in a single day service and three-year guarantee.
Must you purchase it?
Sure. Should you’re available in the market for a desktop PC, and also you want one thing with extremely highly effective and a singular inside and exterior design, then you must completely purchase the Alienware Space-51 R5.
Even in the event you scale down the to a configuration somewhat extra affordable for some mid-range gaming, the Space-51 R5 is a superb selection. The design is unquestionably somewhat on the market, nevertheless it grows on you, and it by no means appears like Alienware sacrificed operate for kind. The case is as hanging as it’s useful, and it could serve you effectively it doesn’t matter what you pack inside.
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