Exclusive: Ryzen Threadripper 1950X Performance First Look With Alienware Area-51 Threadripper Edition
Alienware Area-51 Threadripper 1950X Edition Benchmarks Continued
We have a few more performance data points to share but before we do, let's talk about noise levels with the Alienware Area-51 Threadripper Edition.
Before We Continue, A Note On Acoustics
![Alienware Area 51 Threadripper Gaming Acoustics](https://hothardware.com/ContentImages/Article/2652/content/small_Alienware-Area-51-Threadripper-Gaming-Acoustics.jpg)
Alienware Area-51 Threadripper Edition Acoustic Output While Gaming With GTX 1080 Ti SLI
At idle, the front and back sides of the chassis drops down to about 40 - 41db. A heavy-duty Blender benchmark run on the CPU will take the system up to about 52db, but we did not hear this noise level when gaming, even with an SLI setup. We have heard reports from other members of the press that the Area-51 Threadripper Edition is "loud." However, considering the horsepower of a 16-core CPU with a pair of beastly GPUs under its hood, it is our opinion that the Alienware Area-51 Threadripper Edition's acoustic signature is quite reasonable, relatively speaking, for a powerful gaming desktop.
Alienware Area-51 Threadripper 1950X 3DMark Fire Strike Benchmarks
![Ryzen Threadripper 3DMark Fire Strike Physics Scores](https://hothardware.com/ContentImages/Article/2652/content/Ryzen-Threadripper-3DMark-Fire-Strike-Physics-Scores.png)
![Ryzen Threadripper 3DMark FireStrike Ultra 4K](https://hothardware.com/ContentImages/Article/2652/content/Ryzen-Threadripper-3DMark-FireStrike-Ultra-4K.png)
![Ryzen Threadripper 3DMark FireStrike Ultra 4K Graphics Tests](https://hothardware.com/ContentImages/Article/2652/content/Ryzen-Threadripper-3DMark-FireStrike-Ultra-4K-Graphics-Tests.png)
Again, we see AMD's Ryzen Threadripper 1950X in a virtual dead heat versus Intel's 10-core Core series processors, when it comes to this synthetic gaming and graphics benchmark. 3DMark's Physics test does show about an 8 percent performance edge for Threadripper, however.
Alienware Area-51 Threadripper 1950X Rise Of The Tomb Raider Benchmarks
Rise of the Tomb Raider is a sequel to the 2013 reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise, which took protagonist Lara Croft back to her exploratory “tomb raiding” roots in a deep origin story line. The game, however, was updated and enhanced with new gameplay and combat mechanics, as well as DirectX 12 support and new stunning visuals. The benchmark outputs results from a number of maps; we’re reporting numbers from the average score of all the maps and the minimum score from any single map.Here we're testing both at 4K resolution with the Very High image quality preset, as well as 1080p with Medium quality. We'll look at high fidelity gaming performance with single- and multi-GPU setups, as well as medium fidelity high frame rate performance for gamers that want the latest in high refresh rate panel technology.
![Ryzen Threadripper Rise of The Tomb Raider 4K](https://hothardware.com/ContentImages/Article/2652/content/Ryzen-Threadripper-Rise-of-The-Tomb-Raider-4K.png)
![Ryzen Threadripper Rise Of The Tomb Raider 1080p](https://hothardware.com/ContentImages/Article/2652/content/Ryzen-Threadripper-Rise-Of-The-Tomb-Raider-1080p.png)
Area-51 Threadripper Edition Thermals And First Impressions
![Ryzen Threadripper Idle Temps](https://hothardware.com/ContentImages/Article/2652/content/small_Ryzen-Threadripper-Idle-Temps.jpg)
![Ryzen Threadripper Blender Temps](https://hothardware.com/ContentImages/Article/2652/content/small_Ryzen-Threadripper-Blender-Temps.jpg)
Update, 8/7/17 - 1:57PM - AMD has offered an official statement on Threadripper temperature readings: "The AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ processor also employs a temperature offset on the Tctl sensor for automatic fan policies. This offset is +27°C. "
Again, reports of the Alienware Area-51's AIO cooling system not being up to the task of chilling Threadripper 1950X are totally unfounded as far as we're concerned. We're used to seeing Intel's Skylake-X processors operate in this range with standard single-fan AIO coolers as well, by the way. The Area-51's radiator is very thick and though it's also only a single fan setup, the surface area of the rad is deceivingly larger than it looks. We're still testing, but we're pretty confident in the Alienware Area-51's cooling system and the ability for standard off-the-shelf AIO coolers to keep a beastly Ryzen Threadripper CPU in check, thermally.
And be sure to stay tuned here as we bring you continuing coverage and our full review of AMD's Ryzen Threadripper processor family in the days ahead.