Dell Embraces AMD Ryzen With New Inspiron, Area-51 Desktops

Dell announced that its Inspiron gaming desktop PCs will now include AMD Ryzen processor and Radeon RX 500-series options. Additionally, the company revealed that its Alienware Area-51 gaming desktop will soon support AMD Threadripper processors.

New Inspiron, Inspired By AMD

The new Inspiron Gaming Desktop PC features up to an AMD Ryzen 1700X processor (with the Ryzen 5 1600X and 1400 also available), but it also has options for the new 7^th generation AMD 10-9700 and A12-9800 APUs, each with Radeon R7 graphics onboard. All of these chips are set in an AMD X370 chipset motherboard (the APUs will be on a different motherboard, still X370), which supports up to 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-2400 via two UDIMM slots.

Graphics options are also mostly geared toward AMD components, with Dell offering Radeon RX 560, 570, and 580 graphics in the new Inspiron Gaming Desktop. There will also be models sporting an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB graphics card, but the company capped its green-team options with just the one GPU.

For storage, Dell is offering up to a 2TB HDD (3.5” 7,200RPM or 2.5” 5,400RPM) and up to a 256GB M.2 SSD. However, the company wasn’t specific as to what kind of SSDs we’d see in the new Inspiron (NVMe or SATA). Gigabit Ethernet comes standard, and there are options for 802.11ac Wi-Fi, as well.

Inspiron models featuring AMD Ryzen 5 and 7 CPUs feature six USB 3.1 (Gen 1) Type-A ports, a USB 3.1 (Gen1) Type-C port, and four USB 2.0 ports. The APU versions lack a Type-C port and cut the USB 3.1 Type-A ports down by two (for a total of four). Both models also sport a PS/2 connector, audio combo jack, and a 3-in-1 card reader.

The new Dell Inspiron Gaming Desktop will be available June 13, starting at $600.

Alienware Area-51 Threadripper Edition

Dell also revealed that the Alienware Area-51 would soon support AMD Threadripper processors, making it possible to get 16 cores and 32 processing threads out of an Area-51 PC for the first time.

The Alienware Area-51 Threadripper Edition features your choice of an AMD Ryzen Threadripper 12-core/24-thread or 16-core/32-thread CPU, with up to 64GB of quad-channel DDR4 memory. Graphics options include both Nvidia and AMD cards, with the green team starting at a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti and going all the way up to dual GTX 1080 Tis in SLI. AMD Radeon choices start at an RX 570 and go up to triple RX 580 graphics in Crossfire.

For storage, Dell is offering up to a 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD and up to a 2TB HDD. The new Alienware Area-51 comes with an 850W or 1500W power supply, and dual gigabit Ethernet comes standard in the form of a Killer E2500 NIC. Wireless-AC connectivity is optional.

The Area-51 offers plenty of USB connectivity, with a USB 3.1 (Gen2) Type-C port, a USB 3.1 (Gen2) Type-A port, and eight USB 3.1 (Gen1) Type-A ports. There’s also two USB 2.0 ports, in addition to an SPDIF output and a media card reader.

Intel Wants In On The Action

Dell revealed that Intel-powered Alienware Area-51 desktops are also inbound and feature the new Intel X299 processors. These Intel counterparts are nearly identical to the AMD Threadripper Edition Area-51 PCs, with all the same graphics, memory, and storage options. Even the USB connectivity remains the same (according to Dell’s spec sheet). However, the Intel X299 Area-51 can be equipped with Intel Core i7-7800X, i7-7820X, or i9-7900X processors, in addition to sporting Intel Optane memory configurations that will be available in 16GB and 32GB capacities (paired with a 7,200RPM HDD).

The Dell Alienware Area-51 Threadripper Edition will be available July 27, but the pricing is yet to be determined. Similarly, Dell has no timetable for the arrival of the X299-equipped Area-51 but said that pricing would be revealed soon.