After a five-year hiatus, Dell reintroduced the Alienware Area-51 gaming laptops at CES 2025. The two models the company revealed in early 2025 are the Alienware 18 Area-51 and the Alienware 16 Area-51. The bigger of the two, Alienware 18 Area-51, is the subject of our discussion here, as the 18-incher is on sale at a pretty substantial discount.
The Alienware 18 Area-51 with an RTX 5090 is retailing for $3,749.99 at Dell’s official store. This represents a $300 discount over the $4,050 list price. You can increase these savings to a total of $675 by using a 10% code that Dell provides to new email sign-ups.
While by no means affordable for a vast majority of gamers, the up to $675 discount makes the Alienware 18 Area-51 one of the most reasonably priced RTX 5090 gaming laptops on the market.
Dell Alienware 18 Area-51 specifications
In addition to the RTX 5090 laptop GPU, the Alienware 18 Area-51 features a Core Ultra 9 275HX with 24 cores, 64 GB of DDR5-6400 memory, and 2 TB of Gen 4 storage. Both the storage and the RAM are user-replaceable. A 96 Wh battery is tasked with keeping the lights on.
The outside of the chassis is dominated by an 18-inch QHD display with a super-fast 300 Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 coverage, 500 nits of brightness, and a 3 ms response time. There is also Nvidia G-Sync and Advanced Optimus to ensure tear-free, maximum performance.
For the inputs, Dell has outfitted the Alienware 18 Area-51 with a low-profile CherryMX Ultra mechanical keyboard with per-key RGB backlighting. The spacious, multi-touch trackpad features a glass surface, Windows Precision drivers, and RGB backlighting.
Dell also hasn’t skipped on any ports. On the back, there are:
- Two Thunderbolt 5 ports
- Three Type-A 5 Gbps connectors
- One HDMI 2.1 out
- One RJ45 jack
The left side holds one full-sized SD card reader and a headset jack.
However, potential customers must realize that the laptop is more of a desktop replacement and less of a laptop, since it is quite hefty. Weighing a cumbersome 4.34 kg (9.56 lb.), gamers will find it a chore to transport the Alienware 18 Area-51 frequently.
In short, the Dell Alienware 18 Area-51 is a powerhouse equipped with all the necessary hardware for a high-refresh QHD gaming experience. While not cheap by any means, the laptop will ensure you don’t need to upgrade for years to come.
Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.
Source(s)
slickdeals, Dell (linked above), Teaser image: Dell, Martin Martz on Unsplash, edited