Acer Veriton X2660g vs. Alienware Area 51 R2

Comparison and Differences

Acer_Veriton_X2660g.jpg case front and back pannelAlienware_Area_51_R2.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorSmallMid Tower
CPU optionsIntel Gen8 i3/i5/i7; Pentium; CeleronIntel Gen5&6 i7 Extreme/K; Xeon E5-v3/v4
ChipsetB360X99 Express
Dedicated GPU *Radeon RX 6400 Low ProfileGeForce RTX 2080 Ti
RAMUDIMM DDR4-2666DIMM DDR4-2133/2667
RAM slots24
RAM speed2666 MT/s2667 MT/s
RAM max32 GB64 GB
USB ports(2x) USB-A 3.0; (4x) USB-A 2.0; (2x) USB-A 3.1(6x) USB 3.0 Type A; (4x) USB-A 2.0;
Video portsDisplayPort 1.2; HDMI 1.4; VGAN/A
Other portsRJ45; (2x) Mic, Speaker; Line in; Line out; PS/2 ports; SerialRJ45; Headset; Line-Out; Line-In; S/PDFI optical/analog; Card Reader;
Optional portsSerial; Parallel; Card readerN.A.
SATA ports46
PCI slotsPCIe 3.0 x16; (2x) PCIe 3.0 x1; PCI(x2) PCIe 3.0 x16; (x2) PCIe 3.0 x4;
M.2 slotsM.2 2280/2230 M-key (PCIe 3.0 x4, NVMe); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT);
Drive bays3.5in; 5.25 inch slim(2x) 2.5in; (x3) 3.25in; 5.25in;
PSU180/250 W850/1500 W
Weight5.00 kg (11.02 lb)28 kg (61.73 lbs)
Released20182018
Manuallinklink
Price**Check PriceCheck Price

** As an Amazon associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
* 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 Acer Veriton X2660g and Alienware Area 51 R2

Both computers, the Alienware Area 51 R2 and the Acer Veriton X2660g, were released during the same year - 2018.

If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Acer Veriton X2660g is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Alienware Area 51 R2 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 Alienware Area 51 R2 as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Acer Veriton X2660g is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.

Memory

The Alienware Area 51 R2 has 4 RAM slots while the Acer Veriton X2660g 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.

The Alienware Area 51 R2 is using the faster 2667 MT/s RAM. The Acer Veriton X2660g is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 2666 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Alienware Area 51 R2 as it has the ability to run 64 GB of RAM. The Acer Veriton X2660g can do a bit less at max 32 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.

Ports

In total the Alienware Area 51 R2 has 10 USB ports. The Acer Veriton X2660g 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 Acer Veriton X2660g, 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.

Unfortunately, only the Acer Veriton X2660g has a DisplayPort. The Alienware Area 51 R2 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 X2660g comes with an HDMI port, while the Alienware Area 51 R2 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 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 Acer Veriton X2660g 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 Acer Veriton X2660g. 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

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 X2660g comes with a decent 250 Watt PSU, but the Alienware Area 51 R2 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

Acer_Veriton_X2660g_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutAlienware_Area_51_R2_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout