Alienware Upgrades Its Finest Gaming Laptop computer So It Seems as Good as It Feels

The Alienware Area-51 was the type of laptop computer that will get you excited to sport. It felt nice on the fingertips because of its mechanical keyboard with Cherry Ultra switches. It regarded the half—prefer it had fallen off a UFO fuselage and was glowing with vibrant otherworldly power via its backside panel glass window. Its extraterrestrial design was sadly hampered by a boring IPS LCD display. Dell’s gaming model could have come again to make amends. However, a revised display—plus the skyrocketing value of RAM—will seemingly demand a heftier price ticket.

The new model of the Alienware 16 Area-51 for 2026 will sport an OLED panel on the identical 2,560 x 1,600 decision and 240Hz refresh charge because the earlier mannequin. This show will declare a 0.2ms response time and 120% DCI-P3 shade gamut, typical of natural light-emitting diode screens. The new gaming laptop computer guarantees HDR True Black 500 certification in addition to a peak of 620 nits of brightness in HDR. No, it’s not the brightest show obtainable. If you’re not already conscious, OLED shows provide much better distinction and black ranges than different LCD-based screens. There are extra fashionable, up to date OLED screens coming to CES 2026, which promote higher brightness general.

Alienware guarantees the display can have an anti-glare protector to maintain the floor from reflecting an excessive amount of gentle. Take the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i for instance of ultra-bright shiny shows that can replicate virtually every little thing when not enjoying in a dim inside. The tradeoff with most anti-glare screens is a much less vibrant image. Indeed, each Alienware laptop computer is getting an OLED choice. This contains the 16X Aurora, which may also pack an identical 240Hz panel.

There seemingly received’t be any 18-inch OLED model, sadly. Alienware informed Gizmodo that there aren’t sufficient 18-inch OLED panels obtainable to make the laptop computer cost-effective. Either means, the 16-inch will help the top-end Intel Core Ultra 200HX processors. The 2025 model of the 16-inch Area-51 topped out with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, one step in need of the highest-end 285HX, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 laptop computer GPU. The system additionally carried 32GB of high-speed DDR5 RAM. That reminiscence spec will seemingly turn into a problem for shoppers in 2026, contemplating the spiking worth of RAM throughout the board.

Dell has beforehand informed Gizmodo that it’s going to take “targeted pricing action when necessary” because of the spiking value of reminiscence. Already, the corporate has elevated costs for company shoppers, in response to a report from Business Insider. AI information facilities are demanding a lot high-bandwidth reminiscence (HBM) that the semiconductor makers who’re chargeable for immediately’s consumer-level RAM are shifting their focus—inflicting an enormous scarcity in reminiscence throughout RAM and storage choices.

Which is why shoppers could also be extra enticed by the cheaper choices. Dell’s gaming model can also have an “entry level” in addition to an “ultra-slim gaming laptop” that’s solely round 17mm thick. I noticed it in individual, although Alienware was adamant I didn’t take any images of the laptop computer in its pre-production, comparatively simplistic physique. That new kind issue will are available in 14- and 16-inch sizes and can nonetheless help an Nvidia GPU in addition to “next-gen” Intel CPUs, which could possibly be one of many new Panther Lake variations. We can count on these laptops are supposed to compete towards immediately’s 14- and 16-inch Razer Blade laptops.

No matter what, count on that laptops will value extra, however for now we will take into consideration what could come sooner or later.

Gizmodo is on the bottom in Las Vegas all week bringing you every little thing you could know concerning the tech unveiled at CES 2026. You can comply with our CES dwell weblog right here and discover all our protection right here.