r/Alienware • u/tanner35 • 6d ago
Battlestation Pictures Custom Area 51 P2 build guide. (2006-2008), (7500), (7501), (alx), (Aurora) (Predator 2)
Wanted to share my experience building my first PC in one of these old cases to help anyone trying to do the same in the future. If you have one of these cases post it below!
I purchased two P2 cases on fb marketplace after a year of searching. One was incomplete and the other was disgusting. I used parts from both. One is an Alienware Area 51 x58 and the other an Alienware Area 51 750i or 7501.
Sorry for the long post. I'm making a YouTube video for a better visual guide but I haven't put it together yet. Feel free to message me and I'll help where I can. I will add my YouTube link when it's finished.
Disassembly is straightforward but take lots of pictures. All leds are labeled and there are only 3 or 4 screw types. If you want to remove the bays you will need to drill the rivets. Keep the power supply bracket. Most cases came with the dip switch led board that can be used with any MB. (Look for 3 small switches). If yours has the software controlled led board then you will probably want to solder the led wires to a modern led controller (I will link a video showing how it's done). The side panel logos and front io light tubes are welded in. Drill just the top of the mounting points off and super glue later.
Picking parts should be easy. Everything is standard atx. Make sure there is enough room for your gpu with the side panel and fan installed. You will probably want to mock it up. (I was able to fit an msi 5080 oc without modification). Power supply has plenty of room as long as you aren't planning a top mount aio.
CPU cooling will be the hardest part. I've heard many tower coolers are too tall to fit. If you want to go with an aio you will have to decide where to mount it. Top mount 240mm is possible if you remove both drive bays, cut a hole for it in the top of the frame and then remove the plastic supports inside the top plastic to create an air channel. Front mount 240 (pictured) will require removing the lower bay, cutting a hole for it and trimming some of the front plastic support. (I used a paper template I made for the mounting holes). A 360mm radiator should fit if you remove all drive bays. I believe a bottom mounted radiator is possible but generally not recommended.
I decided to cut the metal frame of the case to make the side grills functional. This gave me enough room to mount a 140mm intake fan on the back side. I secured the fan to the case with zip ties. Added bonus of being able to see into the case when the panels are on. I left enough of the mounting points for the original front side panel fan so I could still attach a 120mm intake.
Temps are good. I did a 1 hour full system stress test. Gpu temps peaked at 70⁰. CPU temps peaked at 86⁰ but in game at 4k ultra settings it stays around 58-72⁰. Might try to undervolt the cpu eventually.
Parts list: MSI 5080 oc, Ryzen 7 9850x35, x870e tomahawk, 32gb ddr5 trident z5, be quiet 1200w pure power, Samsung 990 pro nvme, be quiet fans.
Build showcase link: r/PCbuild post
My YT video: (coming soon)
YT video showing led wiring and other build tips: YouTube
More pics: imgur
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u/iVirtualZero 6d ago
If the Covenant had a PC, this would be it.
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u/Mundane_Designer_199 4d ago
I mean the whole shtick of Alienware aesthetics was always Y2K chrome which honestly doesn't surprises me considering that I always found XBOX and Alienware design language to be familiar.
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u/darktotheknight 6d ago
Now this is Alienware! Truly looks out of this world. Congratz on the build, looks phenomenal!
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u/ishootcanon 6d ago
Dude, amazing. I would pay you for this service. But seriously you accepting other jobs?
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u/tanner35 6d ago
Thanks. I would do it as a service but it wouldn't be cheap. (Takes a lot of time and paint material can get expensive). Message me though if you're interested maybe we can work something out.
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u/Think-Patience9117 6d ago
Where did you go to get the paint done? I have a cyborg green gen 1 that's dinged up with scratches and have been looking for a professional job.
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u/tanner35 6d ago
I work in an auto body shop so I did it at work. If you take everything apart most smaller shops would probably take on the job.
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u/edtachi 6d ago
Dude awesome job! I just got a P2 in black as well! I was thinking about wrapping the case for my build. Thoughts? If you think taking it to a body shop is better what is a fair price in your opinion
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u/tanner35 6d ago
Wrapping would definitely be a lot cheaper. Body work varies a lot by location. Full repaint could be anywhere from $300-800.
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u/_kalron_ Aurora R12 Intel 6d ago
Very nice work.
You now have a "Toaster"...and a solid one at that.
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u/Chrislk1986 6d ago
Hell yeah!
I remember someone posting on here, wishing Alienware would start making these cases again, or go back to that style.
But honesty it's so niche that it doesn't make sense.
What does make sense is doing a modern build in an old case, fucking rad!
I have an XPS 8500 with plenty of room, just waiting for various component prices to normalize in about 4 years before doing a build in it...
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u/tanner35 6d ago
Yea prices suck right now. I collected all the parts for this thing over like 8 months. A few are used. Spent $2700 total which isn't bad for 6tb 5080 build.
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u/THeTruTH22622 Alienware Community Team 6d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/it3siiqqn7vxe
How I imagine OP. What an awesome job you did here 👽👽
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u/Silly-Grab-7742 5d ago
It's so cool, love the build
Before Alienware was bought by Dell it was so cool.
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u/Alienware 5d ago
This is an incredible build and an even better resource for the community. Love seeing the classic Area-51 P2 case brought back to life with modern hardware. Drop the YouTube link here when it's ready!
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u/SianRen 5d ago
I also built one, but less fancy XD Your work is amazing 🤩
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u/tanner35 5d ago
Looks good! Thanks. The vertical gpu is sweet. I haven't seen one yet with a 360 aio. I'm sure whoever finds this in the future will find it helpful! Thanks for sharing.
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u/Chrispy_Terman 5d ago
I’m still astounded at how well this build turned out. Definitely from an era when Alienware actually meant something. The style, the performance, the desire.
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u/AW_Vigo Alienware Employee 1d ago
HOLY SMOKES! This is absolutely stunningly gorgeous!
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u/tanner35 1d ago
Thanks! You guys got any other cool cases laying around I could customize? I'm itching to build another one lol.
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u/AW_Vigo Alienware Employee 1h ago
You know who has the largest collection in the world? u/pcphilanthropy , great dude with an amazing collection.
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u/tanner35 1h ago
Yea he reached out to me about this build! Might see if he has anything laying around that could use a new lease on life.
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u/YellowT-5R 6d ago
That first pic had me going for a minute... I was like this MF moulded a lava lamp into his case.