Categories: Gaming

Alienware 18 Area-51 Evaluation: Oversize, Over-the-Top and Outrageously Priced Gaming Laptop computer

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Pros

RTX 5090 delivers excellent 3D efficiency
18-inch show is huge and quick
CherryMX mechanical keyboard is superior
Dazzling RGB lighting is all over the place
RAM and storage may be upgraded after buy

Cons

Pricing will make you weak within the legs
You’ll have to elevate together with your legs to maneuver it
No OLED or mini-LED show choices
Battery life is predictably brief

The Alienware 18 Area-51 is a laptop computer in title solely. Its excessive measurement makes it extra of a desktop PC that may occur to fold shut. This is a desktop alternative laptop computer that is not leaving your desk fairly often. Unless you’re the measurement of knowledgeable wrestler turned actor like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or Danny Bautista, I do not advocate inserting the Alienware 18 Area-51 in your lap.

Even should you wished to take it with you, I’d wish to see you attempt to slide this factor into your backpack. No, you will want a duffle bag to hit the street with the Alienware 18 Area-51. Still, it’s going to really feel extra like touring with an all-in-one than a laptop computer — this 18-inch, 9-pound behemoth weighs practically as a lot as Apple’s 24-inch iMac.

But what you will be lugging round or, extra probably, have anchored to your desk is a ripper of a gaming laptop computer. The Alienware 18 Area-51 gives a alternative of three Intel Arrow Lake CPUs and as much as Nvidia’s flagship GeForce RTX 5090 GPU. You can load it up with as a lot as 64GB of DDR5-6400 RAM and 12TB of storage. The RAM and SSD aren’t soldered to the motherboard, so you may substitute or improve every.

The expansive-for-a-laptop 18-inch show targets players. Its 2,560×1,600-pixel decision helps you to play video games at 1440p, and its speedy 300Hz refresh fee will sustain with the excessive body charges at 1080p. But for the value, I’m stunned it is a normal IPS LCD and never an OLED or mini-LED show. Creators searching for a 4K decision with stronger coloration efficiency and higher distinction might want to search elsewhere for one thing, such because the Asus ProArt P16.

Likewise, creators do not want the Alienware 18 Area-51’s mechanical keyboard improve, however players will definitely love the texture of the CherryMX switches. Just be ready for sticker shock for the pleasure of mashing these mechanical keys.

If you’ve got obtained a piece of cash to throw at an oversize, over-the-top gaming laptop computer, the Alienware 18 Area-51 is a good goal at which to goal.

Alienware 18 Area-51

Price as reviewed	$5,350
Display measurement/decision	18-inch 2560×1600 300Hz IPS LCD
CPU	Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
Memory	64GB DDR5-6400
Graphics	Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090
Storage	2TB SSD
Ports	2x USB-C Thunderbolt 5, 3x 1 USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, SD card slot, combo audio
Networking	Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
Operating system	Windows 11 Home 25H2
Weight	9.2 lbs (4.2 kg)

Dell sells three mounted configurations of the Alienware 18 Area-51 and gives a customizable mannequin as effectively.

The entry-level mannequin prices $2,400 for an Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX processor and RTX 5060 graphics together with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. That’s the bottom of the three mounted configurations, in addition to the place to begin of the configurable mannequin. The center of the three mounted fashions prices $2,950 for a Core Ultra 9 275HX, RTX 5070 Ti and a 2TB SSD. For $3,500, you get RTX 5080 however oddly drop again to 1TB of storage with the highest preconfigured system.

Even greater CPU and GPU choices can be found with the customizable system the place you may get a Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus and an RTX 5090, plus as much as 64GB of RAM and 12TB of storage in a RAID 0 array.

Our check system prices $5,350 and options the Core Ultra 9 275HX, 64GB of RAM, RTX 5090 graphics and a 2TB SSD. The lone show provided is an 18-inch IPS panel with a 2.5K (2,560×1,600 pixels) decision and 300Hz refresh fee. The laptop computer comes with two keyboard choices; our check system has the CherryMX mechanical keyboard that provides a hefty $520 to the invoice.

The Alienware 18 Area-51 begins at £2,299 in the UK and AU$5,298 in Australia. Pricing for the US and worldwide fashions displays Dell’s reductions on the time of this assessment.

The Alienware 18 Area-51’s RGB lighting extends to the highest cowl and rear thermal shelf.

Matt Elliott/CNET

Big and daring and suffering from RGB lighting

The Alienware 18 Area-51 is the XL model of the Alienware 16 Area-51 we reviewed final 12 months. The two share the identical design with gently curved edges, aluminum high and backside panels, a big thermal shelf behind the show and windowed part on the underside panel that does not allow you to see rather more than a pair cooling followers and some ribbon connectors. And there’s RGB lighting all over the place.

The 18-inch mannequin is completely large. The laptop computer weighs a staggering 9.2 kilos, which is a full 2 kilos heavier than the 16-inch model. Meanwhile, the 360-watt energy adapter provides one other 2.2 kilos if you wish to take this factor on the street. That’s about 11.5 kilos of laptop computer.

A window on the underside panel helps you to peek inside, however you may’t see rather more than a pair cooling followers and the RGB lights.

Matt Elliott/CNET

But if you’d like an enormous laptop computer for gaming at residence (although even transferring it from one room to a different is a two-handed operation), then the 18-inch show definitely offers a bigger canvas. This is a show geared towards players particularly and never creators who may also wish to sport. It’s an LED-backlit IPS LCD panel that does not have the vast coloration protection or distinction of an OLED you can normally discover at this worth (or much less), comparable to with the Asus ProArt P16 or Asus ROG Zephyrus G16.

On my show checks with a Spyder X Elite colorimeter, it lined 100% protection of the sRGB coloration area however got here up brief within the bigger coloration gamuts, hitting 98% of P3 and 88% of AdobeRGB. Compare these figures with the ProArt P16, a real creator laptop computer, that gives 100% protection of the sRGB and P3 gamuts and 95% of AdobeRGB.

The Alienware 18 Area-51 proved to be a lot vibrant, nevertheless, reaching a peak brightness of 509 nits. And with a 300Hz refresh fee, it has the pace that players search for. It’s each greater and sooner than the Alienware 16 Area-51, which has a 16-inch, 240Hz panel.

The keyboard has per-key RGB lighting, and it’s also possible to set the trackpad to gentle up while you contact it.

Matt Elliott/CNET

With or with out the keyboard improve, the Alienware 18 Area-51 is extreme. So, I’d argue that it does not make sense to spend the cash for this over-the-top laptop computer with out additionally spending the cash for the mechanical keyboard. The CherryMX switches present a tactile suggestions that’s a lot snappier and extra satisfying to mash in video games than membrane keys. And with the ultralow-profile design retains key journey to an affordable stage; I used to be in a position to kind at my regular clip and loved the clicky-clack really feel. It’s definitely noisier than a traditional laptop computer keyboard, however the monumental Alienware 18 Area-51 is not more likely to be lugged to a library, espresso store or every other public area with any regularity.

With both keyboard possibility, you get per-key RGB lighting. And along with the keyboard, the Alienware 18 Area-51’s RGB lighting extends to the trackpad, the alienhead brand on the highest panel, the thermal shelf behind the show and the 2 cooling followers you may see by way of the window on the underside panel. The customization choices are boundless utilizing the Alienware Command Center app.

I wished extra from the quad audio system, which did not do Angine de Poitrine (or extra normal-sounding music) any favors.

Matt Elliott/CNET

The Alienware 18 Area-51 has a quad-speaker array, with two tweeters positioned on both aspect of the keyboard and two woofers on the entrance fringe of the underside panel. The total sound is a bit fuller than that of a typical laptop computer however nonetheless felt a bit flat to me, particularly once I had the amount pushed close to the max. Gamers, maintain your headset useful.

The webcam can also be a bit underwhelming. It’s only a 1080p digital camera, whereas many laptops that price 1000’s lower than the Alienware 18 Area-51 provide a 1440p or perhaps a 4K digital camera. It suffices for informal video calls, however streamers will need to use an exterior webcam. The webcam does have an IR sensor for facial recognition Windows Hello logins, which is very helpful as a result of the laptop computer lacks a fingerprint reader.

Most of the Alienware 18 Area-51’s ports are positioned round again.

Matt Elliott/CNET

Given the large measurement of the Alienware 18 Area-51, it is no shock that it has no scarcity of ports. Most are positioned on the again fringe of the thermal shelf, the place you will discover two Thunderbolt 5 ports, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1 and Ethernet outputs and the facility connector. Two extra connections may be discovered on the laptop computer’s left aspect: a headset jack and a full-size SD card reader. One be aware on Thunderbolt connectivity: It’s GPU dependent. Thunderbolt 5 comes with configurations with RTX 5070 Ti graphics and above.

Inside, the laptop computer offers you the power to improve each the RAM and storage. Instead of onboard reminiscence soldered to the motherboard, the Alienware 18 Area-51 makes use of DDR5 modules you can swap out. And there are a complete of three M.2 slots, solely considered one of which was occupied in our check system with the 2TB SSD.

Inside, you may take away the RAM and add as much as three SSDs.

Matt Elliott/CNET

Alienware 18 Area-51 efficiency

What can I say in regards to the Alienware 18 Area-51’s efficiency apart from it is extremely quick and spectacular. With its Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, the Alienware 18 Area-51 delivered wonderful multicore and single-core outcomes on our Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024 CPU checks.

It was much more spectacular on our 3D gaming checks, the place its RTX 5090 working at a full 175 watts turned in blazing body charges, though the hole between it and lower-cost fashions with RTX 5080 and 5070 GPUs aren’t as huge as you may assume. But Guardians of the Galaxy and Shadows of the Tomb Raider are older video games that are not pushing these GPUs to their breaking factors.

To additional gauge its 3D prowess, I ran our two new gaming benchmarks on the Alienware 18 Area-51. I haven’t got outcomes from Assassin’s Creed Shadows and F1 24 from the competing programs, however I can let you know that the Alienware 18 Area-51 ran each video games with ease. It averaged 98 frames per second on Assassin’s Creed Shadows at 1080p and High settings. And it maintained a excessive framerate once I pushed the standard settings to Ultra High, averaging 78 fps. On F1 24, it averaged 171 fps at 1080p and 154 fps at 1440p, each with settings at Ultra High.

Also spectacular was the laptop computer’s means to remain cool and quiet throughout gaming. The whir of the cooling followers was a relentless presence throughout video games, however they by no means reached jet-engine ranges of noise. The again half of the underside of the laptop computer obtained heat throughout longer gaming periods, however to not a worrying diploma.

Battery life was predictably brief. The Alienware 18 Area-51 lasted simply over 4 hours on our YouTube streaming battery drain check. That’s not the shortest runtime I’ve seen from a gaming laptop computer, but it surely nonetheless does not allow you to stray too removed from a wall outlet, even should you wished to lug this nine-plus-pound laptop computer someplace.

Is the Alienware 18 Area-51 price shopping for?

The Alienware 18 Area-51 is overkill, and that is the purpose. No one wants a laptop computer this massive, however if you’d like the most important, baddest gaming laptop computer and have the cash to get it, it is a supercolossal showpiece. From the 3D energy of Nvidia’s flagship RTX 5090 and massive 18-inch show to the implausible tactile really feel of the mechanical keys and dazzling RGB lighting, the Alienware 18 Area-51 is a wonderland of gaming laptop computer tech.

The assessment course of for laptops, desktops, tablets and different computerlike gadgets consists of two components: efficiency testing beneath managed situations within the CNET Labs and in depth hands-on use by our skilled reviewers. This contains evaluating a tool’s aesthetics, ergonomics and options. A remaining assessment verdict is a mix of each goal and subjective judgments.

The listing of benchmarking software program we use adjustments over time because the gadgets we check evolve. The most essential core checks we’re presently working on each suitable pc embrace Primate Labs Geekbench 6, Cinebench R23, PCMark 10 and 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra.

A extra detailed description of every benchmark and the way we use it may be discovered on our How We Test Computers web page.

Geekbench 6 CPU (multicore)

Alienware 18 Area-51 21472Alienware 16 Area-51 20043HP Omen 16 Max 18924Alienware 16X Aurora 18587Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI 18113Asus ProArt P16 15377Lenovo LOQ 15 9711