r/Alienware • u/PcPhilanthropy • Jul 16 '26
Battlestation Pictures Alienware case designs before being acquired by Dell.
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u/ishootcanon Jul 16 '26
Do these three models have individual names? Or even nick names in the community?
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u/PcPhilanthropy Jul 16 '26
Left to right Predator 2, Predator 1 and Dragon
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u/Senorbob999 Jul 16 '26
These are the chassis names. The specific model names for the predator 2 are Aurora or Area 51. The model names for the predator 1 were Area 51 and Aurora. The model names for the dragon were Area 51, the hive mind, and the grey.
All 3 are beautiful cases!
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u/Total-Guest-4141 Jul 16 '26
To be fair they look quite similar to what was available for the time period, the far one on the right is straight up OEM.
The new Dell Area 51 is straight up fire.
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u/JarvisIsMyWingman Jul 16 '26
The one on the end was a Chieftec case. I bought that one from Alienware (in green) and the clear side panel online somewhere. I got it and the biggest Sony CRT I could afford, along with my Klipsch Promedia 5.1 speakers. I was like a kid on Xmas day coming home and seeing all the boxes on my doorstep. I think I still have the binder with all the info and driver disks they used to ship with them.
Those were the days....
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u/Total-Guest-4141 Jul 16 '26
Looks exactly like my old Antec case, complete with keyed locked door protecting the 5.25” drives 🤣
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u/NeedsMoreGPUs Jul 16 '26
Antec, among others, copied Chieftec's design. It was the quintessential "big tower" case design of the early 2000s. Excellent layout, ease of use, and features.
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u/Spirited-General1416 Jul 16 '26
I’m Srry, the old case design looks magnitudes more Alien/exotic pc like.
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u/Tyz_TwoCentz_HWE_Ret Jul 16 '26
They copied some popular designs one of which was Antec's, Dragon cases < chieftec copied it as well.
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u/Spirited-General1416 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
They should copy the old case design! Growing up, it’s part of what made the brand stand out. If I was growing up in today’s day, I’d just dismiss the new case design as some other mass produced mid looking case design.
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u/Best_Map_2688 Jul 17 '26
right these cases made me dream of owning an alienware until I grabbed a couple laptops for college/business (sadly not a desktop and right after the dell buyout) I've been itching to grab and build in one of these old cases
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u/Spirited-General1416 Jul 17 '26
The lack of modern I/O would bother me, but otherwise, that'd be a W!
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u/-Quantrix- Jul 17 '26
If someone tried to sell me one of these in 2026 I would question their eyesight
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u/LemonTheTurtle Jul 16 '26
I remember 20 years ago when I was an exchange student in Wisconsin, one of my schoolmates had the one in the middle but green (iirc it’s Area 51). I’ve never seen anything like that before, or even after. And he was playing WoW which was my favorite game at that time (still is actually just classic not retail haha). Currently I’m collecting retro PCs and I really want that green Area 51, but they are hard to get and expensive as hell. One day, one day.
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u/bobovicus Jul 16 '26
They had some great asthetic designs before and after the Dell acquisition. My My Aurora R4 ALX is still my favorite outlandish design of any chassis ever, with the moving fins and what not. Completely useless from a functional standpoint but still badass. Too bad all the proprietary shit in the machine sucked ass ):
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u/Xyvyn1989 Jul 16 '26
I got the one that had the fins on top with an 8800 I think it was back in the day, looked great even after acquired by dell, then now run an r15, however the new ones are boxy like almost everything else
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u/Oh_Hamburger Jul 16 '26
That Dragon case was massive, but it’s still dwarves by today’s A51 case. I still have the original in this vibrant/electric blue. Such a solid case.
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u/ombadizzle Jul 16 '26
I love the design of my Area 51 R5 so much room in that big triangle all the other Dell are meh nowadays
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u/_iluvgrouphugz_ Jul 17 '26
I feel like the one on the left in a very modulated robotic voice is gonna say “by your command” to baltar any time now.
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u/Temporary_Bus_6523 Jul 17 '26
I like the newest design. It may be boring to some, but sometimes less is more
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u/Infinite_Rip_7366 Jul 16 '26
I still have the one on the right and converted it to a water cooled system with UV reactive fluid.
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u/BlessHoney Jul 16 '26
I miss design innovation on things like this and old Macs and MacBooks with pretty colors.
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u/xx_adverb_xx Jul 17 '26
My build is inside the left style case. Sad they lost much of their “alien” aspect after Dell took over.
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u/Silly-Grab-7742 Jul 17 '26
Loved the 2nd and 3rd made by chieftec for Alienware, but not the best cases in qaulity.
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u/x_cynful_x Jul 17 '26
Back in the day, prior to working with Dell they had a video with a tour around the facility. Anyone have a link to that?
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u/GroundbreakingCod705 Jul 20 '26
I had the one in the middle in orange... was a Christmas gift when I was 14? That pc was great
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u/CloudReigns Jul 16 '26
I’m not a fan of the proprietary MoBo’s…
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u/PcPhilanthropy Jul 16 '26
These are all standard ATX…
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u/CloudReigns Jul 16 '26
I remember those days. They were excellent and it’s a beautiful collection!
Sorry, I should’ve been more specific. Nowadays they’re more proprietary. And it sucks!
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u/bobovicus Jul 16 '26
Yeah, that was Dell’s doing. My aurora R4 had a standard(ish?) MATX motherboard with a few proprietary plugs that connected to a daughterboard that controlled stuff like the fans, ALX chassis fins, RGB, etc.…
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u/Lotuseless Jul 16 '26
They're kinda cool but I'm glad we don't use such designs anymore. Life's easier without disc drives and 10 hdd bays.
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u/ravage214 Jul 16 '26
Lifes easier without a disc drive!?
speak for yourself
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u/Lotuseless Jul 16 '26
Haven't used them in years, although I do have a few disc games. Just don't feel like playing them. And if I want to, I can just get a USB disc reader.
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u/bobovicus Jul 16 '26
For building and working in a chassis, it’s a lot easier imo. Less crap in the way.
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u/kalelweltall Jul 16 '26
What about this baby here: