Dell’s Alienware family was an original trailblazer for the modern gaming computer—and their new 18-inch Area-51 laptop proves they’re still a leader in this market.
The mighty Alienware 18 Area-51 Gaming Laptop is every bit as sleek and futuristic as its name implies, with power to match. Aimed at the “core enthusiast” market, for devoted hobbyists who want to play the newest games and push the technological limit, this mobile gaming titan is packed with plenty of potent features.
With so many compelling options on the market today, we didn’t walk, but rather Naruto-ran to put this new gaming laptop through its paces.
Alienware 18 Area-51 Laptop Specifications
While the Area-51 can be configured in various departments on Dell’s website, the only processor offered is the 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX. This chip is no slouch when it comes to gaming performance, if not the sharpest cutting edge on the market, but it excels in virtually every other department. If you dabble in streaming or content creation, this sleek laptop has all the juice you should need across the board.
Of course, video cards are of critical importance when it comes to gaming laptops, and the Alienware 18 Area-51 laptop comes equipped with a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 12GB GDDR7. When building a laptop, this can be upgraded to either a 5080 16GB or a 5090 24GB, but this upper-mid-level card has plenty of potential for its “demanding enthusiast” market. It pairs nicely with the 18″ display to present some truly awesome visuals, including some stunning ray tracing results.
“As someone who spends a considerable amount of time writing, the Alienware 18 Area-51 features one of the most comfortable portable keyboards I’ve ever used.”
And as for that display, it offers a WQXGA resolution of 2560×1600 for a super high-resolution picture with a high pixel density, at a maximum brightness of 500 nits. Bright scenes, dark lairs, high-octane action, and everything in between look stunning. Conversely, the included Thunderbolt 5 technology allows the Area-51 to connect to the best external displays around, supporting up to dual 4K displays at 240Hz.
For memory, 32GB (2x16GB) of DDR5 RAM is the standard (configurable up to 64GB), while customers can choose across the spectrum from 1-12 TB for their NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen 4 solid state hard drive. The 2TB option on our review unit provided ample space for installing a plethora of games while still having plenty left over for media and personal files.
The Alienware 18 Area-51 packs the latest in wireless tech, including Bluetooth 5.4 and Intel’s Killer Wi-Fi 7 BE1750 adapter. This adapter enables speeds up to 5.8Gbps (although download speeds seemed a little slower on my home network than any of the other devices I use on a daily basis).
Fueling this entire package is an upgraded 96WHr Lithium Ion battery. Per the documentation, Alienware rates the Area-51’s battery life at up to 6 hours and 43 minutes during local video playback, though this bar gets considerably lower when using the gaming laptop for… well, gaming. These stats are based on low-rated tasks, and outside of battery performance mode, regular tasks are going to eat this charge up in short order.
Of course, most gaming laptop users aren’t going to be trying to play a marathon while unplugged, but it is worth noting that this unit’s portability factor is going to depend greatly on what you’re doing with it on the go. There are a lot of powerful components here, and naturally, they demand a lot of power.
Alienware 18 Area-51 Laptop Design
On the same note, as we move into the Alienware 18 Area-51’s design, its mighty size makes travel and portability a little tricky. Most conventional laptop bags won’t hack it, and you’ll need a more dedicated means of conveyance if you intend to take it out and about.
Now, if that size allows the convenience of having a full keyboard at my fingertips instead of a TKL keyboard, I consider that a fair trade. The Cherry MX Ultra-low-profile keyboard has all the quality of a desktop keyboard, with mechanical, programmable keys. There’s a row of specialized keys to help control functions like volume, brightness, and even which Alienware performance mode you’re on. As someone who spends a considerable amount of time writing, the Alienware 18 Area-51 features one of the most comfortable portable keyboards I’ve ever used.
Beneath that keyboard resides a spacious glass touch pad with multi-touch inputs and a large palm rest area. Likewise, Alienware’s new flagship laptop didn’t cause me the same inconvenient hassles I’ve had with all the other laptops I’ve owned over the years, where my big mitts feel cramped while operating, or I hit the wrong inputs accidentally. Like the keys, this laptop uses some extra space to ensure the best quality inputs.
One of the most distinctive aesthetic features on the Alienware 18 Area-51 is—of all things—its hinge. Or should I say, the lack of visible hinges? This “invisible” design leaves a ledge of sorts behind the screen when open, where the power, USB, and other connections reside. As a result, it has a distinctive profile, especially when illuminated with Alienware’s array of lighting effects.
“It was clear that the Area-51 could handle just about anything I could throw at it on the highest settings.”
The other big factor setting this laptop apart is a little harder to notice. Beneath the Area-51 is the “Cryo-Chamber”, a “thermal bump” or raised area that’s strategically placed to increase airflow. Cooling air comes in through the bump, and heat is pushed out of vents in the side and back of the laptop. Alienware estimates this feature boosts airflow by 37% while reducing noise by 15%—and with transparent gorilla glass on the bump, users have a unique window into the guts of their computer. Who needs a fancy desktop case to enjoy internal RGBs?
Many of the zones identified above can sport customized illumination through the Alienware Control Panel software. The Area-51 can be lit up in a wide array of patterns, with whatever colour(s) you want. The Alienware logo, keys, touchpad, the Cryo-Chamber, and the hinge’s “ledge” can all be coordinated this way; it scratches the modern game industry’s itch for RGBs, but without being garish about it, and you can even activate a “stealth” profile for more professional settings.
There is one more small fly in the ointment here, in regards to the Area-51’s practicality as a portable computer: the power brick is massive. Maybe not original-model Xbox One-level massive, but like the laptop itself, it requires some careful planning if you do intend to travel with it.
Rounding out the package are an integrated webcam, an array of speakers, and microphones, as well as support for Dolby Atmos via the Alienware Control Center. These standards help enhance the audio-visual presentation of your games, and keep you equipped for regular day-to-day communication—nothing too showy.
Lastly, the laptop’s top shell, made of anodized aluminum, has a dark iridescent finish, giving it a unique teal shade. It feels durable yet light, and while fingerprints and smears can stand out after handling, they wipe away nicely. Users will want to keep up with cleaning, lest they build up over time and mar an otherwise impressive casing.
All told, this gaming laptop is putting up a bold display to match the powerful components within—but how well does it actually work?
Alienware 18 Area-51 Laptop Application
First off, I was impressed with the performance of the Area-51’s Cryo-Chamber. When playing a demanding game, the fans do kick in with a roar that’s hard to miss, but not in an insurmountable way. After the first couple of times, the sound was easily ignorable; even when playing it in the same room as multiple family members while watching TV, the fans never earned me exile to another room. This laptop works hard, but it cools just as efficiently.
With the monitor set to 144 Hz, I ran the Area-51 through the full gamut of 3D Mark benchmarks, and a few other programs besides, and it performed incredibly well on all of the tests. It scored a 98.3% in frame rate stability on the Steel Nomad Stress Test, with consistent results per loop. Other standardized tests in the benchmark suite yielded results surpassing 71-96% of other PCs—71% on “Speed Way,” 96% on Fire Strike Extreme.
It also performed well in program-specific benchmark utilities. In the Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail official benchmark, utilizing the Maximum game settings, the score ranged from a respectable “Standard” (4381) while unplugged and in battery-saving mode, to “Extremely High” (18627) while plugged in, in balanced performance mode; or “Extremely High” (19080) in performance mode.
In the more demanding Cyberpunk 2077, the Area-51 scored highly with the highest settings—even with “psycho” ray tracing, pulling in average FPS of 180-190. Tracking the Alienware Command Center, these demanding settings utilized 90% or higher of the GPU, but only 40% CPU utilization, and with the full power of the cooling system, peaked near 70°F.
Across all my other testing, via a variety of games like Fortnite, Warframe, and Elden Ring, it was clear that the Area-51 could handle just about anything I could throw at it on the highest settings. The only difficulty I encountered was when the network speed itself was an obstacle. This configuration has all the bells and whistles for today’s market and should prove strong enough to keep up with new software for years to come.
Conclusion
In terms of power and design, Alienware has truly achieved orbit with the Area-51 gaming laptop. The exterior is sleek and unique, yet capable of passing incognito as a less-specialized (if bulky) laptop. With even the base configuration’s specs, hobbyist gamers and creators alike should have all the power they need and then some—capable of great performance on maximum settings, and not liable to overheat in the process.
Only two things hold me back from recommending it wholeheartedly: the price and the size.
Starting at $3749.99 CAD, depending on configurations, this is a huge investment. In return, you’re getting a system that has the specs and design to last for many years, so it’s a worthy investment. But it is an important factor, regardless; if you want the best, you’re paying for it here.
Size is a little harder to get past. I love that the Area-51 doesn’t compromise on features or ergonomics; its keyboard and mouse arrangement is quite possibly the most comfortable mobile setup I’ve used, allowing me to type without contorting my large hands to fit a tablet keyboard. Everything I need for daily use and for gaming is at my fingertips, and those fingers aren’t cramped.
But even though a gaming laptop may not leave the home very often, a laptop is still supposed to be portable, even if it’s only once in a blue moon. Even if you aren’t moving it, it’s still a behemoth to fit on a desk or table, and that power brick is an obstacle in itself. This isn’t a dealbreaker, just something to keep in the back of your mind should you pick up your own: with great power comes great space commitment.
And if I can nitpick for just a moment, I could do without the dedicated button for Microsoft’s Copilot. I get it, integrating AI features like this is a current trend. But, I can think of at least half a dozen other shortcuts I’d want taking up 1.5 letter keys’ worth of real estate instead (even on such a big keyboard).
These are minor foibles, at the end of the day, and don’t offset all the power packed into this sleek form. The Alienware 18 Area-51 is a whole lot of tech in every way, and those who hop aboard this spacecraft will surely be on the cutting edge of performance.
