Alienware Area 51 R4 vs. HP EliteDesk 800 G8 SFF
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Alienware Area 51 R4 and HP EliteDesk 800 G8 SFF
If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 SFF which was released in 2021. The Alienware Area 51 R4 is older and entered production in 2015.
If you are looking for the smaller form factor the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 SFF is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Alienware Area 51 R4 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 HP EliteDesk 800 G8 SFF as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Alienware Area 51 R4 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 HP EliteDesk 800 G8 SFF is using the faster 3200 MT/s RAM. The Alienware Area 51 R4 is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 2933 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 SFF as it has the ability to run 128 GB of RAM. The Alienware Area 51 R4 can do a bit less at max 64 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.
Ports
In total the Alienware Area 51 R4 has 12 USB ports. The HP EliteDesk 800 G8 SFF 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. It's great that both of the models have USB 3.1 ports which will allow you to exchange data with your peripherals at up to 10Gb/s. But if you need maximum connectivity, go with the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 SFF as it has 3 USB3.1 ports (the Alienware Area 51 R4 has 2).
Unfortunately, only the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 SFF has a DisplayPort. The Alienware Area 51 R4 does not have one? Don't worry though, nowadays video adapters are cheap and you can get almost 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 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.
An M.2 SSD can be several times faster than a SATA one. Thus, we are happy to see that both models support the M.2 interface. However, the HP EliteDesk 800 G8 SFF has 1 M.2 slots while the Alienware Area 51 R4 comes with just 1.
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 HP EliteDesk 800 G8 SFF comes with a decent 260 Watt PSU, but the Alienware Area 51 R4 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
