Alienware Area-51 X58

Pros: One of the first to market with the Core i7
Large case and clean interior allows easy modifications and upgrades
3rd party components (i.e. non-dell motherboard) exudes quality.
It works, Vista is the only thing that doesn't
Imposing PC case
Quiet

Cons: Upgrades can be terribly overpriced
Large, heavy and clunky PC case
No tv tuner, wireless card options
customer service is 'diverse' with limited knowledge.

Summary: I haven't built a PC before. Also, I do not have the time. Still I want to be able to overclock the cpu/ram, fiddle with the BIOS and maybe add a few components here and there. This is I bought the Alienware over Dell's Studio XPS, which also had the specs I wanted. Gateway's FX6800-01e was quite comparable as well. However, 3gb of ram and a 750gb HD as well as a 500W PSU was a downer, even with its significantly lower price of <$1300.

Price-wise Alienware's X58 is a reasonable improvement of the ridiculous costs of its older systems. However, the cost to upgrade components is a sure way to empty the wallet since those are usually overpriced. For example, to upgrade 1 geforce 9800gt to dual geforce 9800gt's is +$230 when you could buy another for <$130 on amazon.

Had it for over a month now, no jarring hardware failures. Vista is still a pain though as it has made the PC crash and freeze. Talking with customer service is a hit and miss. They are professional, but their accents can be difficult to understand depending on your own ears. Don't expect them to be all knowing about your system's problems.

In summary: If your time is worth a few hundred dollars and you want to have the freedom of tinkering/overclocking. You should consider purchasing this PC.

Final Spec: Vista home premium, Core i7 920, Asus P6T Deluxe mobo, 6gb ddr3 1066mhz elpida brand ram, 512mb nvidia geforce 9800gt, 750W PSU, 1TB Hard Disk (western digital), standard 20x dvd dual layer burner, media card reader with bluetooth, standard logitech keyboard & mouse, cap

Price: $2050 before tax and shipping. As of the time of this review the pricing hasn't changed since the system became available.

Updated on Jan 26, 2009

The HD is a Seagate drive not WD as previously stated.