Verdict
The Alienware Area-51 offers unparalleled power in a sleek, redesigned chassis with the option to upgrade both the CPU and GPU.
For
- Stunning space station aesthetic
- Excellent graphics and overall performance
- Lightning fast SSDs
- All major components upgradable
Against
- Exorbitantly expensive
“High above the ground but I’m under her charisma” – Pink Floyd “Dark Side Of The Moon”
Alienware came to kick ass and chew bubblegum. You know the rest. Sporting a new look and the first-ever design that enables upgradeable graphics Alienware is ready to take its place as the king of semi-mobile gaming. The Area-51m (starting at $2,549, $5,099 as tested) doesn’t look like anything we’ve ever seen from the brand. It’s less Independence Day and more Flight of the Navigator. But there’s more to this baby than just a pretty new visage.
Armed with a desktop Intel Core i9 processor and one of Nvidia’s superpowered RTX GPUs, it absolutely demolished every test we put in front of it with graceful aplomb. It will also make a big dent in your wallet.But you consider that this is the first future-proof gaming laptop, it seems a small price to pay for a truly upgradable system and what Alienware is calling its first real desktop replacement.
Alienware Area 51-m Price and Availability
Having this much fun with a laptop should be illegal. I got to play with one of the more extravagant models of the Area-51m. Priced at $5,099, the system has and overclockable 3.6-GHz Intel Core i9-9900K desktop chip with 64GB of RAM, two 1TB PCIe M.2 SSDs in RAID 0 configuration with a 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 GPU with 8GB of RAM, an Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU and a 1920 x 1080 144Hz display.
The $2,549 base model has a more reasonable price and specs. You get a 3.6-GHz Intel Core i7-8700 CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 GPU with 8GB of RAM, an Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU and a 1920 x 1080 60Hz display.
Design
“I’ll be waiting for you, On the dark side of the moon”
This is something that’s been two years in the making. At long last, we bid a fond farewell to Alienware’s familiar Epic design language and give a warm welcome to Legend. It’s a bittersweet end to what became a familiar friend, but when you take stock of what Alienware’s come up with, I think you’ll find this beginning way more sweet.
For starters, all the pointy edges and sharp bisecting angles have vanished in favor of rounded corners and silky smooth finishes. And instead of anodized alluminium, the majority of the Area-51m’s chassis is constructed from magnesium alloy in a color dubbed Dark Side of the Moon. The soft touch finish invites you to touch while rebuffing even the oiliest of fingerprints. It’s all very V, but without the subversive alien occupation by lizard people disguised as humans.
These are by far the slimmest I’ve seen on any Alienware. It really puts the focus on the lovely display.
And while this presentation is mild by Alienware standards, this is still Alienware as signified by the glowing turquoise alien head near the top of the lid. In the bottom left corner, you’ll find rather large embossed lettering spelling out A51. There’s more customizable LED lighting outlining the rear vents, showing off a fun little honeycomb pattern.
If you’ve ever seen an Alienware laptop, the interior will be familiar to you. The palm rest and keyboard deck are coated in more of that smoky black soft touch. The touchpad and keyboard, complete with macro keys and a num pad glow expectantly. Another alien head sits at the top of the deck and pulls double duty as the power button. The 17-inch display is surrounded in glossy bezels — all the better to show off the silver Alienware lettering at the bottom and the Tobii eye tracker module just below. And speaking of bezels, these are by far the slimmest I’ve seen on any Alienware. It really puts the focus on the lovely display.
Although Dark Side of the Moon is a beautiful color, I’m really over the moon (pun totally intended) for the white pearlescent Lunar Light. It has this serious “I come in peace” vibe that I really dig. Plus, it just makes the RGB backlighting pop even more. For those of you that are wishing the system had a bit more lighting since this is Area-51m’s first showing, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that we won’t get some lighting accents along the sides in the future.
Specifications
General
| Sales Package | Laptop, Battery, Power Adaptor, User Guide, Warranty Documents |
| Model Number | AW177161TB8S |
| Part Number | B569901WIN9 |
| Series | 17 |
| Color | Silver |
| Type | Gaming Laptop |
| Suitable For | Gaming, Processing & Multitasking |
| Battery Cell | 6 cell |
| MS Office Provided | Yes |
Processor And Memory Features
| Dedicated Graphic Memory Type | GDDR5 |
| Dedicated Graphic Memory Capacity | 8 GB |
| Processor Brand | Intel |
| Processor Name | Core i7 |
| Processor Generation | 8th Gen |
| SSD | Yes |
| SSD Capacity | 512 GB |
| RAM | 16 GB |
| RAM Type | DDR4 |
| HDD Capacity | 1 TB |
| Processor Variant | 8750H |
| Clock Speed | 2.2 GHz with Turbo Boost Upto 4.1 GHz |
| Memory Slots | 2 Slots |
| RAM Frequency | 2666 MHz |
| Cache | 9 MB |
| RPM | 7200 |
| Graphic Processor | NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1070 |
| Number of Cores | 6 |
Operating System
| OS Architecture | 64 bit |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| System Architecture | 64 bit |
Port And Slot Features
| Mic In | Yes |
| RJ45 | Yes |
| USB Port | 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 3.0 Type C, 1 x Thunderbolt 3 |
| HDMI Port | 1 x HDMI Port (v2.0) |
Display And Audio Features
| Touchscreen | No |
| Screen Size | 43.94 cm (17.3 inch) |
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixel |
| Screen Type | Full HD LED Backlit IPS Anti-glare Display with NVIDIA G-sync Enabled |
| Speakers | Built-in Speakers |
| Internal Mic | Built-in Digital Microphone |
Connectivity Features
| Wireless LAN | IEEE 802.11ac |
| Bluetooth | v5.0 |
| Ethernet | Gigabit Ethernet |
Dimensions
| Dimensions | 424 x 332 x 29.9 mm |
| Weight | 4.42 kg |
Additional Features
| Disk Drive | Not Available |
| Web Camera | Alienware Full HD Webcam |
| Lock Port | Noble Lock Port |
| Antivirus | McAfee LiveSafe 12 Months Subscription |
| Keyboard | Alienware TactX Keyboard |
| Pointer Device | Touchpad |
| Included Software | Alienware Sound Center, Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016 |
| Additional Features | Li-ion Polymer Battery |
Warranty
| Warranty Summary | 1 Year Onsite Warranty |
| Warranty Service Type | Onsite |
| Covered in Warranty | Manufacturing Defects |
| Not Covered in Warranty | Physical Damage |
| Domestic Warranty | 1 Year |