Dell revives Alienware Area-51 with powerful new gaming PCs

Alienware Area-51 laptops (2025)
Dell unveiled a pair of Alienware Area-51 gaming laptops earlier this year at CES 2025. Now, those PCs are ready to ship. (Image credit: Dell)

Alienware's Area-51 gaming PCs have been around for ages, but they were briefly on a break. That changed when Dell announced the Alienware Area-51 gaming desktop, Alienware 16 Area-51 gaming laptop, and Alienware 18 Area-51 gaming laptop.

As was the case with the Area-51 hardware of yesteryear, the new desktop and laptops have high-end specs that go toe-to-toe with the best pre-built gaming PCs and best gaming laptops.

Our Cale Hunt already covered the new Alienware Area-51 PCs when they were first announced. I'll recap them below, but the big news here is that you can now buy the devices through Dell.

Alienware Area 51 gaming desktop

First announced at CES 2025, the Alienware Area-51 pairs up to an RTX 5090 with an Intel Core Ultra 9. (Image credit: Dell)

Dell made upgradeability a priority for the Area-51 gaming desktop. That's a welcome focus since proprietary components have made upgrades difficult in the past.

The 80L case of the Area-51 gaming desktop can be opened using quick-release side panels and has enough space inside for easy repairs and upgrades.

The motherboard of the Area-51 gaming desktop uses the standard ATX shape, but that motherboard only has two UDIMM slots.

In terms of processing power, the Area-51 gaming desktop leads the pack of pre-built PCs, featuring NVIDIA's next-gen RTX 5000 GPUs and Intel's Core Ultra Series 2 desktop chips.

Several configurations of the Alienware Area-51 gaming desktop are available through Dell's website. Somewhat surprisingly, one of them is already discounted.

The Area-51 gaming desktop with an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is $400 off. That brings the price down to $4,649.99.

That's still a premium price, of course, but every bit of savings helps.

For those seeking top-tier performance, an RTX 5090 configuration is available for $5,499.99.

Alienware Area-51 gaming desktop
Alienware Area-51 gaming desktop: was $5,049.99 now $4,649.99 at Dell

This gaming desktop pairs an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080. When Alienware revived the Area-51 brand, it made the gaming desktop easier to repair and upgrade.

Alienware Area 51 gaming laptops

Alienware has a pair of Area-51 gaming laptops that are now available. (Image credit: Dell)

The Area-51 laptops are also available starting this week. Both the 16-inch and 18-inch models can be ordered through Dell.

The new laptops have rounded aluminum chassis and an improved design for thermals. With up to 280W of power between the CPU and GPU, these laptops currently offer the best performance in their class.

The bottom of the new Area-51 laptops features a glass panel, allowing you to see the internals.

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Alienware Area-51 laptop specs

Specs

Alienware Area-51 16"

Alienware Area-51 18"

Processor

Up to Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX

Up to Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX

Graphics

NVIDIA next-gen Laptop GPUs

NVIDIA next-gen Laptop GPUs

Memory

Up to 64GB DDR5-6400

Up to 64GB DDR5-6400

Storage

Up to 3x4TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, one 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD

Up to 3x4TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, one 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD

Display

16 inches, QHD+, 240Hz, 3ms, 100% DCI-P3, 500 nits, G-Sync

18 inches, QHD+, 300Hz, 3ms, 100% DCI-P3, 500 nits, G-Sync

Ports

2x Thunderbolt 5, HDMI 2.1, 3x USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1), SD card reader, 3.5mm audio

2x Thunderbolt 5, HDMI 2.1, 2.5GbE, 3x USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1), SD card reader, 3.5mm audio

Battery

96Wh

96Wh

Wireless

Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4

Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4

Both new Area-51 laptops are powered by NVIDIA's next-gen mobile GPUs and up to Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX mobile CPUs.

Alienware 16 Area-51 gaming laptop
Alienware 16 Area-51 gaming laptop: $3,199.99 at Dell

This gaming laptop pairs up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080. Configurations start at $3,199.99 for the model with 1TB of storage and 32GB of RAM, but you can max things out with 2TB of storage and 64GB of RAM for $3,599.99.

Alienware 16 Area-51 gaming laptop
Alienware 16 Area-51 gaming laptop: $3,399.99 at Dell

Powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, this gaming laptop should tear through the best PC games. Prices start at $3,399.99 but if you want 64GB of RAM and 2TB of storage you'll need to spend $3,799.99.

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Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He's covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean's journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_. 

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