Alienware Area 51 R5 vs. Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower

Comparison and Differences

Alienware_Area_51_R5.jpg case front and back pannelDell_OptiPlex_5000_Tower.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorMid TowerMini Tower
CPU optionsIntel Gen7&9&10 Core X-seriesIntel Gen 12 i3/i5/i7/i9; Pentium
ChipsetX299 PCHQ670
Dedicated GPU *GeForce RTX 3090AMD Radeon RX 6600
RAMDIMM DDR4-2666/3200DIMM DDR4-3200
RAM slots44
RAM speed3200 MT/s3200 MT/s
RAM max64 GB128 GB
USB ports(9x) USB 3.0 Type A; (2x) USB-A 2.0; USB 3.1 Type C; USB 3.1 Type A;(4x) USB-A 2.0; (5x) USB-A 3.0; USB-C 3.1;
Video portsN/A(2x) Display Port 1.4a;
Other portsRJ45; Headset; Line-Out; Line-In; S/PDFI optical; Card Reader;RJ45; Audio; Line-Out/In;
Optional portsN.A.HDMI 2.0b/Displayport/VGA/PS2/serial/USB Type-C; Serial port; SD-card slot
SATA ports44
PCI slots(x3) PCIe 3.0 x16; (x2) PCIe 3.0 x8; PCIe 3.0 x4;PCIe 3.0 x16; PCIe 3.0 x4; (2x) PCIe 3.0 x1;
M.2 slotsM.2 2230 (WiFi/BT); M.2 2280 M-key (PCIe 3.0 x2, NVMe);(2x) M.2 2230/2280 (PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)
Drive bays(2x) 2.5in; (x3) 3.25in;3.5in; (2x) 2.5in; 5.25in (slim);
PSU850/1500 W240/260/400 W
Weight28 kg (61.73 lbs)7.34 kg (16.18 lb)
Released20152022
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 R5 and Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower which was released in 2022. 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 Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower 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 Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower 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

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.

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. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower as it has the ability to run 128 GB of RAM. The Alienware Area 51 R5 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 R5 has 13 USB ports. The Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower 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 Alienware Area 51 R5 as it has 2 USB3.1 ports (the Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower has 1).

Unfortunately, only the Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower 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.

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 Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower has 1 M.2 slots while the Alienware Area 51 R5 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 Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower comes with a decent 400 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

Alienware_Area_51_R5_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutDell_OptiPlex_5000_Tower_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout