Alienware

History

Overview

Acquisition and current status

Computer systems models (after acquisition by Dell)

Windows OS-based consoles

Graphics Amplifier

Laptops

• M18x - Introduced in 2011, it is considered a replacement for the original M17x design, but with a bigger chassis, a screen up to 18.4 inches, dual MXM 3.0B GPU support, special keyboard macros, and up to 32 GB of DDR3-1600 MHz RAM. Shipped with Intel Sandy Bridge processors and the option of single or dual AMD Radeon 6870M/6970M/6990M Radeon HD 6000 Series GPU, single or dual Nvidia GeForce 500 Series GPU. Factory CPU overclocking was also an available option.
• M18x-R2 - 2012 revision of the M18x; originally shipped with Intel Sandy Bridge processors, later shipped with updated with Intel Ivy Bridge Processors, single or dual Nvidia GeForce 600 Series GPU, single or dual AMD Radeon HD 7970M Radeon HD 7000 Series GPU, up to 32 GB of DDR3-1600 MHz, and optional factory overclock.
• Alienware 18 - 2013 refresh of the M18x; updated with Intel Haswell Processors, single or dual Nvidia GeForce 700 Series GPU, single or dual AMD Radeon R9 M290X GPU, and up to 32 GB of DDR3L-1600 MHz RAM, and 1TB Raid0 configured SSD along with facelift with new design. Marketed as "Alienware 18" but listed in some countries as "M18XR3 Viking".
• Alienware 18 - 2014 Updated version of the Alienware 18 or "M18x R3"; updated with Intel Haswell micro architecture processors, single or dual Nvidia GeForce 800 Series GPU, up to 32 GB of DDR3-1600 MHz, and optional overclock.
• Alienware 18 - 2015 version was a limited re-release of the previous Alienware 18, with updated dual Nvidia GeForce 900 Series GPUs and up to 32 GB of DDR3L-1600 MHz.

• M17x - Introduced in 2009, it is the first laptop released by Alienware after the company was bought by Dell. The name and some of the design is based on the Alienware 17 inch laptop, the Alienware M17.
• M17x-R2 - 2010 Revision of the M17x, adding support for Intel i5 and i7 processors, dual MXM 3.0B graphic cards.
• M17x-R3 - 2011 Revision of the M17x, changes from aluminium chassis to a simplified plastic design, 3D Ready through a 120 Hz screen. Removes Dual-GPU capability.
• M17x-R4 - 2012 Revision of the M17x, updated with Windows 8, Intel Ivybridge Processors and Nvidia GeForce 600 Series or the AMD Radeon HD 7970M.
• Alienware 17 - 2013 refresh of the M17x, updated with Intel Haswell Processors and Nvidia GeForce 700 Series GPUs or the AMD R9 M290X with new facelift and body design. Marketed as "Alienware 17" but listed in some countries and order details as "M17XR5 Ranger". Updated with Nvidia GeForce 800 Series in 2014
• Alienware 17 R2 - 2015 revision of the Alienware 17, updated with Nvidia GeForce 900 Series. Features FHD matte display or FHD touch display. A port on the rear for Graphics Amplifier. This model introduced BGA mounted CPU and GPU, removing the ability to replace the CPU or GPU without changing the entire motherboard.
• Alienware 17 R3 - 2015 refresh of the Alienware 17, Windows 10 available. Features FHD overclocking display. Ultra HD IGZO Display also available, as well as a Nvidia GeForce 900 Series with 4GB GDDR5 and 8GB GDDR5 option.
• Alienware 17 R4 - 2016 Alienware 17, Windows 10. Features 6th / 7th Intel CPU, Tobii eye tracking, Ultra HD Display also available, as well as a Nvidia GeForce 1000 series with up to 8GB GDDR5.
• Alienware 17 R5 - 2018 Alienware 17, Windows 10. Features Tobii eye tracking, Ultra HD Display also available, as well as a Nvidia GeForce 1000 series with up to 8GB GDDR5, 8th / 9th generation of Intel processors.
• Alienware M17 - 2019 Thin and light gaming laptop for 17" category. Comes with 8th Gen Intel CPU up to Core i9-8950HK, RTX 2070 Max-Q, 16GB of RAM and 17.3" 1080P display with optional 4K upgrade.
• Alienware M17 R2 - 2019 Thin and light gaming laptop for 17" category, replace the M17 after 6 months of announcing. Comes with 9th Gen Intel CPU up to Core i9-9980HK, up to RTX 2080 Max-Q, 16GB of RAM and 17.3" 1080P display with optional 4K upgrade. The Alienware m17 R2 will be based on the same design language and chassis material as the beefier 17.3-inch Area-51M.
• Alienware Area-51m - 2019 desktop replacement gaming laptop with a desktop CPU, up to Intel Core i9 9900K, 64GB of upgradeable memory, upgradeable GPU and overclockable as well. Also features two power adapters and new Legend design language for Alienware.

• M15x - Introduced in 2009.
• M15x-R2 - 2010 revision of the M15x, with Nvidia GeForce 200 Series and adding support for Intel i5 and i7 processors.
• Alienware 15 - 2015 revision of the M15x, updated with Intel Haswell Processors and Nvidia GeForce 900 Series. Features FHD matte display or UHD touch display. Features a port on the rear for Graphics Amplifier.
• Alienware 15 R2 - 2015 refresh of the Alienware 15, updated with Intel Skylake processors and using the same NVIDIA graphics chipsets. Uses same FHD and 4K UHD screens and Graphics Amplifier port on the rear.
• Alienware 15 R3 - 2016 Alienware 15, Windows 10. 6th / 7th gen Intel CPU, 1080p standard display and Ultra HD 4K Display and 120 Hz TN+WVA Anti-Glare 400-nits NVIDIA G-SYNC Enabled Display also available, as well as a Nvidia GeForce 1000 series with up to 8GB GDDR5.
• Alienware 15 R4 - 2018 Alienware 15, Windows 10. Features Tobii eye tracking, Ultra HD Display also available, as well as a Nvidia GeForce 1000 series with up to 8GB GDDR5, 8th / 9th gen Intel CPU.
• Alienware m15 - Thin and light gaming laptop. 1080p standard display and Ultra HD 4K Display and 144 Hz IPS 1080p display also available, as well as a Nvidia GeForce 1000 series with up to a GTX 2070 Max-Q design.
• Alienware m15 R2 - Thin and light gaming laptop. 1080p standard display and 60 Hz Ultra HD 4K Display,144 Hz IPS 1080p, and 240 Hz IPS 1080p display also available, as well as a Nvidia GeForce 20 series with up to a RTX 2080 Max-Q, 9th gen Intel CPU.

• M14x - Introduced in 2011 as a replacement for the M15x, with Nvidia GeForce 500 Series and support for Intel i5 and i7 processors.
• M14x-R2 - 2012 revision of the M14x, updated with Intel Ivybridge Processors and Nvidia GeForce 600 Series and Blu-ray slot drive.
• Alienware 14 - 2013 refresh of the M14x, updated with Intel Haswell Processors and Nvidia GeForce 700 Series and Blu-ray slot drive with new facelift and body design. It also features an IPS display. Marketed as "Alienware 14" but listed in some countries and order details as "M14XR3".

• Alienware 13 - Introduced in 2014 as a replacement for the M11x, with Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M and ULV Intel Haswell and Broadwell i5 or i7 processors. Features HD or FHD matte display's or QHD touch display. Alienware's thinnest gaming laptop to date. Updated with Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M in 2015. A port on the rear for Graphics Amplifier.
• Alienware 13 R2 - 2015 refresh of the Alienware 13 featuring ULV Intel Skylake Processors. It retains the same Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M from the previous generation.
• Alienware 13 R3 - Refreshed 2016 Alienware 13 featuring either a 13.3 inch FHD IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits Display or a 13.3 inch QHD OLED Anti-Glare 400-nits Display with Touch Technology. It is equipped with a Nvidia GeForce 1000 series GTX 1060 with 6GB GDDR5. This generation also saw the use of the H-series quad core CPUs as opposed to the ULV CPUs.

• M11x - First introduced in early 2010, it is the smallest-size gaming laptop from Alienware. It is equipped with 1GB DDR3 RAM and a Penryn dual-core processor, with a Pentium SU4100 at the entry-level and a Core 2 Duo SU7300 at the top. Driving the 11.6 inch screen are two video processors, a GMA 4500MHD integrated and a discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 335M.
• M11x-R2 - The late 2010 revision, it is now uses ULV Intel Arrandale Core i5 and i7 processors. The revision also added a rubberized "soft-touch" exterior to the design. The same GT 335M is used for video; however, NVIDIA's Optimus technology has been added to automatically switch between it and the still-used GMA 4500MHD.
• M11x-R3 - The 2011 revision, it adds support for the second generation of Intel's Mobility series Core i3, i5, and i7 processors. It also provides a 500GB 7200RPM HDD. It now includes the Nvidia GeForce GT 540M and Intel Integrated HD Graphics 3000. A second revision of the motherboard design used on the R3 series came in Q4 2011, although on a limited amount of laptops. This version used the Nvidia GeForce GT 550M.

Desktops

• The Aurora R1 - This model was based on the Intel's X58 platform. It shared identical hardware with the Aurora ALX R1. The Aurora R1 is equipped with 1st Gen Intel® Core™ i7 and i7 Extreme Processors. In order of model number: 920, 930, 940, 950, 960, 965, 975, 980X, 990X. Sealed liquid cooling units for the processors came factory installed. The X58 platform also uses Intel Xeon Processors, but none were used in the Aurora. The R1 used triple channel Memory and had Dedicated Graphics Card options from AMD's HD 5000 series line as well as Nvidia GeForce 400 Series and Nvidia GeForce 500 Series line. Power Supply options included a 525 watt Power Supply Unit, 875 watt Power Supply Unit and a 1000W Power Supply Unit. Power Supply and Motherboard supports both SLI and CrossfireX.
• The Aurora R2 - This was the second revision of the Aurora, and the first Alienware Desktop to be sold in retail chains such as Best Buy. It was based on Intel's P55 platform. Processors include the Core i5 and i7. In order of model number: i5 750, i5 760, i7 860, i7 870, i7 875 and i7 880. Sealed liquid cooling units for the processors came factory installed. The R2 used dual channel Memory and had Dedicated Graphics Card options including AMD Radeon HD 5000 Series, Nvidia GeForce 400 Series and Nvidia GeForce 500 Series. Power Supply options included a 525 watt Power Supply Unit or an 875 watt Power Supply Unit. Power Supply and Motherboard supports both SLI and CrossfireX.
• The Aurora R3 - This was the third revision of the Aurora. It was based on Intel's P67 platform. Processors included Core i5 and i7 processors only. In order of model number: i5 2300, i5 2400, i5 2500, i5 2500K, i7 2600, i7 2600K. Sealed liquid cooling units for the processors came factory installed. The R3 used Dual Channel Memory and had Dedicated Graphics Card options including AMD Radeon HD 5000 Series and Radeon HD 5000 Series as well as Nvidia GeForce 400 Series and Nvidia GeForce 500 Series. Power Supply options included a 525 watt Power Supply Unit and an 875 watt Power Supply Unit. Power Supply and Motherboard supports both SLI and CrossfireX.
• The Aurora R4 - This is the fourth revision of the Aurora. It is based on Intel's X79 platform. This model shares identical hardware with the Aurora ALX. Processors include Core i7 processors only. In order of model number: i7 3820, i7 3930K and i7 3960X. Sealed liquid cooling units for the processors came factory installed. The R4 is the first to use Quad Channel Memory and has Dedicated Graphics Card options including AMD Radeon HD 6000 series and Radeon HD 7000 series as well as Nvidia GeForce 500 Series. Nvidia GeForce 600 Series were added later in the year. Power Supply options included a 525 watt Power Supply Unit and an 875 watt Power Supply Unit. Power Supply and Motherboard supports both SLI and CrossFireX. -Note: The optional ALX chassis offers Thermal Controlled Venting, tool-less/wireless Hard Drive Bays, internal Theater lighting and an extra array of external LEDs. Coupled with the TactX Keyboard and Mouse it offered up to 25 billion lighting color combinations.
• The Aurora R5 - The fifth revision of the Aurora was announced on June 13, 2016 and was available to purchase June 14, 2016. The updated Aurora was given a facelift and ergonomical handle on the top of the case and is the first of its kind to offer tool-less upgrades to graphics cards, hard drives, and memory. The Aurora was being marketed as being VR ready out of the box, even so far as being HTC Vive Optimized and Oculus Certified. The base model was released with an MSRP of $799.99 and adding all the extra hardware can cost the consumer up to $4,189.99. The processor options are Intel based; i3 6100, i5 6400, i5 6600K, i7 6700, & i7 6700K. The Aurora R5 was released during the transitioning phase between the GeForce 900 series and GeForce 10 series graphics cards, and the list was extensive; GTX 950 with 2GB GDDR5, GTX 960 with 2GB GDDR5, GTX 970 with 4GB GDDR5, GTX 980 with 4GB GDDR5, and the GTX 980 Ti with 6GB GDDR5, all of which could also be put in SLI. Alienware, however, would only allow one GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5 or one GTX 1080 with 8GB GDDR5X to be installed at launch. Consumers were also allowed to purchase but one GPU from AMD, the Radeon R9 370 with 4GB GDDR5. PSU choices were 460 Watts or 850 Watts, or a liquid cooled 850 Watt PSU. Hard-drive and SSD options ranged from 1TB and 256GB, respectively to 2TB and 1TB, respectively. RAM was available at launch between 8-64GB of DDR4 all clocked at 2133 MHz.
• The Aurora R6 - The sixth revision was announced on February 22, 2017. According to Windows Central, "The Aurora R6 is only a mild refresh over the previous generation R5, with the main attraction being the new 7th Generation Kaby Lake processors from Intel." There are dozens of factory built combinations possible. Four processors to choose from i5-7400, i5-7600k, i7-7700, i7-7700k. Video cards offered include AMD RX 460, 470, 480, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti, 1060, 1070, 1080, 1080Ti, Titan X, Dual RX 460, Dual GTX 1070, Dual GTX 1080, Dual GTX 1080Ti, Dual GTX Titan X. Memory options start at 8Gb and max out at 64Gb. Factory installed storage can be a single drive or dual drive including both. Standard PSU or one with High Performance Liquid Cooling in 450 or 850 Watt is offered in Aurora R6.
• The Aurora R7 -
• The Aurora R8 -
• The Aurora R9 - The Aurora R9 was first made available to purchase August 20, 2019. It comes in both Lunar Light and Dark Side of the Moon color options.

• ALX - This model is based on the intel's X58 platform. This model shared the identical hardware with the Aurora R1. The ALX R1 is equipped with 1st Gen Intel® Core™ i7 and i7 Extreme Processors. In order of model number: 920, 930, 940, 950, 960, 965, 975, 980X, 990X. Sealed liquid cooling units for the processors came factory installed. The X58 platform also uses Intel Xeon Processors but none were used in the Aurora. The R1 used triple channel Memory and had Graphics Card options from AMD Radeon HD 5000 Series, Nvidia GeForce 400 Series and Nvidia GeForce 500 Series line. Power Supply options included 525 or 875 watt Power Supply Units. Power Supply and Motherboard supports both SLI and CrossfireX. -Note: The ALX was offered from the beginning alongside the Aurora R1, R2 and R3. It offered Thermal Controlled Venting, tool-less/wireless Hard Drive Bays, internal Theater lighting and an extra array of external LEDs. Coupled with the TactX Keyboard and Mouse it offered up to 25 billion lighting color combinations.

• Area-51 R1 - This model is based on the intel x58 platform. This model shares identical hardware with the Area 51 ALX. The Area-51 R1 is equipped with 1st Gen Intel® Core™ i7 and i7 Extreme Processors. In order of model number: 920, 930, 940, 950, 960, 975, 980X, 990X. The X58 platform also uses Intel Xeon Processors but none were used in the Area 51. The Area 51 used triple channel Memory and had Graphics Card options from AMD Radeon HD 5000 Series, Radeon HD 6000 Series as well as Nvidia GeForce 400 Series and Nvidia GeForce 500 Series. Power Supply options included 1000 watt or 1100 watt Power Supply Units. Power Supply and Motherboard supports both SLI and CrossfireX. -Note: The Area 51 was offered from the beginning alongside the Aurora R1, R2, R3 and the Aurora ALX. It offered Thermal-Controlled Active-Venting, tool-less Hard Drive Bays, internal Theater lighting and an array of external LEDs. Area-51 was offered in either semi-gloss black or lunar shadow finishes, with a non-motorised front push-panel. Command Center software and AlienFx features are offered via a discrete master i/o daughterboard.
• Area-51 ALX R1 - Alienware's most expensive desktop to date, ALX offered every available option as the standard model ; ALX is distinguished from the standard model by its matte black anodized aluminum chassis, and motorised front odd panel powered by a dedicated ALX-specific master i/o daughterboard.
• Area-51 R2 - unveiled late Aug 2014 - available Oct 2014; newly redesigned Triad chassis; Intel x99 Chipset, support for socket LGA 2011-3 Intel Haswell-E processors; 2133Mhz DDR4 memory; Up to 1500W Power Supply; support for 3-Way/4-Way SLI graphics; Liquid cooling and the return of Command Center 4.0 with AlienFx/overclocking features via fi/o daughterboard.
• Area-51 R3 -
• Area-51 R4 - The fourth revision of the Area-51 was announced at E3 2017. The base model was released with an MSRP of $1899.99 and adding all the extra hardware can cost the consumer up to $6,659.99. The Area 51 R4 is based on the Intel X299 chipset and the processor options include Intel based; Core i7 7800X, Core i7 7820X, Core i9 7900X Core i9 7920X, Core i9 7960X and Core i9 7980XE. Memory options include 8GB, 16GB, 32GB or 64GB DDR4 2400Mhz memory or 8GB, 16GB or 32GB of HyperX DDR4 2933Mhz memory. The Area-51 R4 was configurable with Nvidia GeForce 10 series, AMD RX Vega series or AMD Radeon 500 series graphics cards. Video cards offered include AMD RX 580, RX Vega 64, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti, 1060, 1070, 1080, 1080Ti, Liquid cooled 1080, Dual GTX 1070, Dual GTX 1070Ti, Dual GTX 1080, Dual GTX 1080Ti, Triple AMD Radeon RX 570 or RX 580. Available PSU choices were 850 Watts or 1500 Watts. Storage options ranged from a 2TB Hard drive, 128GB M.2 SATA, or 256GB - 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD.

• Area-51 R4 - The fourth revision of the Area-51 was announced at E3 2017, and the first Area-51 model to be sold with AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors. The base model was released with an MSRP of $2399.99 and adding all the extra hardware can cost the consumer up to $5,799.99. The Area 51 R4 Threadripper Edition is based on the AMD X399 chipset and the processor options include Ryzen Threadripper 1900X, 1920X and 1950X. Memory options include 8GB, 16GB, 32GB or 64GB DDR4 2400Mhz memory or 8GB, 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of HyperX DDR4 2933Mhz memory. The Area-51 R4 was configurable with Nvidia GeForce 10 series or AMD RX 580 graphics cards, which include; GTX 1060 6GB, GTX 1070 8GB, GTX 1070 Ti 8GB, GTX 1080 8GB, GTX 1080 Ti 11GB, or an AMD RX 580 8GB. Available PSU choices were 850 Watts or 1500 Watts. Storage options ranged from a 2TB Hard drive, 128GB M.2 SATA, or 256GB - 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD.

• R1 - This model is equipped with a choice of 2nd or 3rd Gen Intel® Core™ processors and Nvidia GeForce 500 or 600 Series GPUs.
• R2 - This model is equipped with 4th Gen Intel® Core™ processors and Nvidia GeForce 700 Series GPUs.
• R3 - This model is equipped with 6th Gen Intel® Core™ processors and Nvidia GeForce 900 Series GPUs. Added port for graphics amplifier.. The hard drive is 256GB M.2 SSD 6Gbit/s MAIN plus 1TB 7200RPM Storage.

  Video game console hybrids

• Alienware Alpha - A PC/console hybrid introduced in 2014. It contains a custom-built Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M; a Core i3, i5, or i7 Intel Processor, depending on what model is purchased, up to 8 gigabytes of RAM; and between 500 gigabytes and 2 terabytes of hard drive space.
• Alienware Alpha R2 - Alienware's update to the small form factor released on June 13, 2016. It contains a AMD Radeon R9 M470X GPU with 2 GB GDDR5 memory or an NVIDIA GeForce GTX960 GPU with 4GB GDDR5. The processor line chosen this rendition are 6th generation Intel processors; the i3 6100T, i5 6400T, or i7 6700T. The RAM from factory comes in either 1 stick of 8GB or 16GB configurations of DDR4 memory clocked at 2133 MHz, and the system comes with but 1 SoDIMM slot. Hard-drive options have been expanded to include a HDD, SSD, or both. The HDD comes in one size, 1TB at 7200rpm, whilst the SSD is available in the M.2 mini-PCIe standard ranging in sizes between 256GB to 1TB. The new console also has a Graphics Amplifier slot with all models except the AMD Radeon R9 M470X equipped variant. The console ships with Windows 10.