(Credit :Joseph Maldonado)
At CES 2025, Alienware is reinventing its gaming laptop family, bringing the classic Area-51 brand back to the lineup in new 16-inch and 18-inch models. We had the chance to see them at a Dell preview event, but they were kept behind nylon ropes.
These new laptops take design cues from the recent Alienware M and X series laptops, and add a heap of modern styling. This iteration of the Area-51 debuts an eye-catching sheen, a glass window, and a translucent rear block.
Crucially, this laptop will house next-generation Nvidia graphics and Intel processing. Alienware also has a new Area-51 gaming desktop for the occasion. The laptops will launch later in Q1 in a higher-end $3,199 configuration, while a less-expensive $1,999 starting model will arrive later this year.
The 2025 Area-51 Laptops: Design From the Future, Today
We last saw the Area-51 in 2019, where it led the way with an all-white look that meshed with Alienware’s design philosophy of the time. You can see the throughline from then to now, but things have changed. Currently, Alienware utilizes a modern, even space-age, look with its current systems; I think they look well-designed and cohesive, though I wouldn't be surprised if the style puts off a subset of shoppers.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The new Area-51 laptops lean even further in that direction. Even with a generally shared aesthetic, several notable aspects of this new look separate it from the current crop of systems and lend them a more premium feel. Their aluminum chassis have a Liquid Teal color scheme, giving the laptop an iridescent shine when it catches direct light. I suspect not everyone will love the color or pearlescent effect, as it's arguably even bolder than the designs of the previous-generation systems. Still, it stands out and fits the branding.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Recent Alienware laptop designs feature a rear thermal block where most of the cooling and ports reside, and it remains, but with a new look. The block is now somewhat translucent, and the lighting underneath shows a soft glow. The company calls it a tribute to the aurora borealis, which is a bit more poetic than I’d get on the topic, but it fits the theme and looks cool.
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The unique inclusions don’t stop there, though, with more surprises on the bottom of the device. The RGB built into the fans casts toward the desk and up through the keyboard deck, which will also sync with the glowing touchpad. The laptop's underside also includes a glass window, through which you can see the glowing fans. This looks cool, though I have to question how often you’ll enjoy it, given it’s beneath the laptop.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Overall, I appreciate this design. It gives off a hyper-modern, even futuristic vibe and looks like a true premium laptop. While I hardly expect it to please everyone, it’s OK to have a bit of fun with your gaming system, and Alienware commits to the bit with a cohesive aesthetic. It's also the type of design you can get away with on a top-of-the-line system that you're buying as a statement, as much as anything else—this unit will not blend in at the office or coffee shop. It's also worth noting that these features are unified across this laptop's 16-inch and 18-inch versions.
What's Inside Area-51? The Latest Silicon From Intel and Nvidia
We all know that high-end gaming laptops are more than just looking the part, and Alienware will deploy the latest components announced at CES 2025 inside the Area-51. It will run on an Intel "Arrow Lake" Core Ultra 9 275HX mobile processor and Nvidia’s top-end new graphics chips for up to 280W total system power.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Previously, the Area-51 laptop's calling card was that it used a legit desktop-class chip, which, on paper, was a rare point of appeal in the laptop space. Theoretically, this made the laptop upgradable down the line, tempting users to buy it with the hopes of keeping and upgrading it later. This ultimately landed Dell in legal hot water, as the supposed upgradability didn't pan out that way. This time, Dell will stick with Intel's top-end mobile chips to push performance.
Dell's engineers improved the thermal design from the existing models to move a claimed 37% more air through the chassis while being 15% quieter. The Area-51 supports XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) for memory speeds up to 7,200MT/s and is the first Alienware laptop to sport PCIe Gen 5 solid-state drives.
As noted, the Area-51 will launch later in Q1, first in a high-end-only configuration: $3,199 with a top Nvidia GPU option. Its entry-priced configuration will come later, though, as this is a premium machine, even that will be pricey, at $1,999. We plan to thoroughly review both models, so check back later this year for our full bench tests and our verdicts.