CES 2025 saw no shortage of laptop announcements from major vendors like Lenovo, HP, MSI, Asus and more. Dell also arrived strong with its rebranded Dell laptops and the resurrected Alienware Area-51 gaming laptop lineup. While every company showed off fantastic notebooks, it’s the latter that got my attention the most.
My hype for the new Alienware laptops isn’t all that surprising. After all, I’m a lifelong gamer who also reviews the best gaming laptops for a living. Based on what I’ve seen, the 16- and 18-inch Area-51 laptops have everything I want in a portable gaming notebook — namely an elegant design, large displays and the latest components from Intel and Nvidia. Though they’re not too dissimilar from the Alienware m16 R2 and Alienware m18 R2 laptops we’ve reviewed, the new laptops are very enticing.
Here are the big reasons why I’m excited about the upcoming Alienware Area-51 gaming laptops.
They look awesome!
Even though I love gaming laptops, I’m not a fan of their sometimes outlandish designs. Many manufacturers have veered away from this in recent years, offering devices like the HP Omen Transcend 14, the aforementioned Alienware m16 R2, and Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) with relatively minimalist designs. Area-51 laptops are flashier than those machines while featuring an air of otherworldly elegance.
The new Liquid Teal finish on anodized aluminum gives Alienware’s laptops a dark iridescent sheen that shifts colors when light is absorbed. The AlienFX lighting animations illuminate the translucent shelf on the back to imitate the motions of the Aurora Borealis. Then there’s the clear Gorilla Glass window on the underside that allows you to see the internal components, while the RGB fans cast an underglow through the clear window and up through the keyboard deck.
The Alienware Area-51 laptops certainly have a unique aesthetic, but you can turn off all the RGB lighting if you don’t want to draw too much attention when out in public. In that way, it can be a gaming laptop that doesn’t necessarily look like one.
Lastly, these laptops come with optional low-profile CherryMX switches. If you want mechanical keys, Area-51 laptops have you covered.
Powerful components
Nvidia unveiled its GeForce RTX 50-series GPUs for laptops and desktops during CES 2025, which promise to deliver serious performance and graphical boosts over previous RTX cards. The mobile 50-series GPUs utilize the company’s Blackwell architecture and are made for gaming on the go. DLSS 4 will hopefully help RTX 50-series laptops deliver better graphics and higher framerates without destroying battery life.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Alienware 16 Area-51 | Alienware 18 Area-51 |
| Price | TBA | TBA |
| Display | 16 inch QHD+ (2560 x 1600) 240Hz 3ms | 18 inch QHD+ (2560 x 1600) 300Hz 3ms |
| CPU | Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX |
| GPU | Nvidia RTX 50 series | Nvidia RTX 50 series |
| RAM | 16GB | 32GB | 64GB | 16GB | 32GB | 64GB |
| Storage | 1TB - 12TB | 1TB - 12TB |
| Ports | 3x USB-A, 2x Thunderbolt 5/USB-C, 1x HDMI, 1x SD card slot, 1x headphone jack | 3x USB-A, 2x Thunderbolt 5/USB-C, 1x HDMI, 1x Ethernet, 1x SD card slot, 1x headphone jack |
| Dimensions | 14.3 x 11.4 x 0.8 inches | 16.1 x 12.6 x 1.2 inches |
| Weight | 7.6 pounds | 9.8 pounds |
We’ll need to get some laptops with RTX 50 cards into our testing lab to see what they can do, but the results could be substantial. Regarding Area-51 notebooks specifically, they’ll have 280W of total package power (TPP) on Nvidia RTX 50-series laptop GPUs and up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU. According to Alienware, the laptops’ thermal architecture enables them to move up to 37% more air through the system while being 15% quieter.
In addition, Area-51 machines are the first Alienware laptops to support Gen 5 Solid State Drives (SSDs). When combined with Microsoft DirectStorage technology, the GPU can directly access SSDs to help games run faster, according to Alienware. You can upgrade up to 12TB of SSD storage, which should be plenty of room for dozens of games.
Outlook
Alienware Area-51 laptops should arrive in the first quarter of this year, so it won’t be too long until we get to test these machines. Based on what we’ve heard, these should be exciting gaming machines. However, don’t expect them to be cheap as even the lowest-end configuration starts at $1,999. But if Area-51 laptops live up to their promise, it could be money well spent.
More from Tom's Guide
- I just went hands-on with these smart glasses with an invisible display
- LG G5 and M5 OLED TVs unveiled at CES 2025
- CES 2025 day 1 — 9 new gadgets you need to see
