r/Alienware • u/tanner35 • 21h 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
