Alienware has announced a new performance gaming desktop designed for the mainstream market.

The Area-51 750i is Alienware’s newest performance desktop built for PC gamers demanding not only performance, but style and value as well. With a starting price of $1,049, the Area-51 750i may not exactly be considered cheap, but it is currently the most affordable Intel-based desktop that Alienware offers. The AMD-based Aurora is still the least expensive Alienware desktop, priced at $999, but other Alienware PCs, such as the Area-51 ALX, can easily reach upwards of several thousand dollars.

The base configuration of the Area-51 750i features an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 processor (3.0 GHz | 6 MB Cache | 1333 MHz FSB), although an Intel Core 2 Quad or Extreme processor can be equipped instead. The base configuration also comes with 2 GB of DDR2 800 MHz memory, a single 512 MB Nvidia Geforce 9800 GT video card, a 250 GB 7200 RPM HDD and a DVD burner. Some optional upgrades include powerful ATI and Nvidia graphics cards in both single and dual configurations, up to 8 GB of memory and numerous RAID 0 storage options. The system uses the nForce 750i SLI chipset, which works well in a budget gaming system, but it is limited with having only 26 PCIe lanes.

The Area-51 750i comes in a choice of four colors and several system lighting colors; the fancy AlienFX system lighting is extra however. The 750-watt power supply can be upgraded to 1200-watts and the standard cooling system can be upgraded to liquid cooling. The base system also includes Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit, a tool-free design, 7.1 HD audio, dual gigabit Ethernet ports, a keyboard and a mouse.

Source : Tom's Hardware