Set faces to stunned: Alienware has revived its fabled Area-51 flagships for 2025, bringing new levels of performance to its gaming laptop and desktop PC line-up. Things have changed a lot in the few years since the last Area-51 landed, with Intel Core Ultra CPUs and Nvidia RTX 5000 series graphics now running the show. Fresh designs and majorly uprated cooling are sure to turn heads, too.
The Area-51 laptops are touching down in 16in and 18in varieties, each with a distinctive new Liquid Teal anodised aluminium chassis. The way the iridescent sheen shifts colours in different light sounds appropriately otherworldly, while a thermal shelf at the rear of the machine glows like the Aurora Borealis. Underneath, a Gorilla Glass window shows off the inner hardware, with RGB fans illuminating the engine bay.
Alienware’s latest Cryo-tech cooling system promises to move up to 37% more air through each laptop, while being 15% quieter than the previous generation. That lets it deliver what the firm says is the highest total power ceiling of any gaming laptop, with up to 175W of total graphics power (TGP) and up to a 105W processor thermal design profile (TDP).
As for what GPUs and CPUs they’ll be cooling? Nvidia’s stranglehold over news means “next-gen Nvidia graphics” is as specific as Alienware would get in time for launch, but that will almost certainly translate to a choice of RTX 5070, RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 chips depending on how flush you’re feeling at the checkout.
You’ll be able to spec up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, as much as 64GB of DDR5 memory (or 32GB of 7200MT/s RAM if speed matters more than capacity) and 1 or 2TB of PCIe Gen5 SSD storage. Need more? RAID 0 configurations let you climb as high as 12TB. Both the 16in and 18in model get a 96Whr battery, though don’t expect to last very long away from the mains if you plan on gaming.
That almost all the connectivity is found around back is the biggest clue these machines are designed mainly for desktop use. You’ll find two USB 3.2 Type As, two Thunderbolt 5 ports, an HDMI 2.1 video out and Ethernet port here, while an SD card reader and 3.5mm combo audio port sit at the side.
Whichever size you go for you’ll be looking at a 2560×1600 display, with 500 nits peak brightness and Nvidia G-Sync adaptive refresh rate. The 16in model tops out at 240Hz, while the 18in model can manage 300Hz.
The Alienware Area-51 16 and Area-51 18 will be launching later in the Spring, with prices for the launch model starting from $3100. A more entry-grade spec will follow later for $1999.
Don’t need to take your gaming setup with you, or want the option to upgrade certain parts later down the line? The Area-51 desktop might be a safer bet. The full tower case has a huge 80 litre capacity, up significantly over Alienware’s other desktop models. There’s space inside for either a 240mm or 360mm liquid cooling setup from the factory, and mounting points for an aftermarket 420mm cooler if you’re feeling up to the task. The positive pressure airflow maximises cooling, while keeping sound levels sensible.
It can swallow graphics cards up to 450mm long and four slots wide – handy, given Nvidia’s RTX 5090 is expected to be a 3.5-slot behemoth. A built-in retention bracket should prevent GPU sag, and custom motherboard (which uses a traditional ATX layout) supports PCIe Gen5 cards.
PCIe Gen5 SSDs slot straight into the motherboard, and there are 2.5in and 3.5in storage caddies for old school mechanical storage. A separate daughterboard takes care of the AlienFX RGB lighting effects.
Expect the Alienware Area-51 to launch later this Spring, with up to an Intel Ultra 9 285K CPU, Nvidia ‘next-gen’ graphics, as much as 64GB RAM and 4TB of storage. The initial run will have a single spec that’ll set you back an eye-watering $4499, with entry-level models to follow later.