Alienware's renowned Area-51 Gaming Laptop returns with an RTX 5080 and is in stock now

Now wielding Blackwell powerfulness and a chassis that tin really breathe.

Alienware has revived its heaviest hitter. The Area-51 gaming laptop has officially returned and it's aiming consecutive for the apical of the nutrient chain. First teased backmost astatine CES 2025, the caller models are disposable to bid close now.

You’ve got 2 sizes to prime from: the 16-inch mentation starts astatine $3,199.99, and the 18-inch exemplary comes successful astatine $3,399.99. Both are expected to commencement shipping connected April 30, assuming you bushed the pre-order unreserved and don’t get bumped to adjacent month. Or adjacent year.

Inside, it's each business. Alienware is pairing Intel's caller Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU with the arsenic caller NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080. The CPU is clocking up to 5.4GHz with 24 cores and 40MB cache, presently topping the Passmark charts for laptop processors. Meanwhile, aboriginal benchmarks enactment the 5080 astatine 16% faster than the RTX 4080 mobile, and that’s earlier DLSS 4 comes into play.

Both sizes travel banal with a QHD+ show (16" oregon 18"), moving betwixt 240Hz and 300Hz with G-Sync support. You besides get 32GB of DDR5 RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and the enactment to bump up to 64GB/2TB if you’ve got country successful the budget. Spoiler: the fund volition not beryllium small.

Cooling has yet caught up with performance. Alienware swapped the chassis for a caller magnesium alloy ammunition with larger airflow cutouts, much copper, and a thermal interface upgrade that lets this instrumentality grip up to 240W TDP without sounding similar it’s astir to assistance off. It’s inactive heavy—7.5 lbs for the 16", 9.6 lbs for the 18"—but astatine slightest it won’t melt itself into your desk.

Design-wise, they ditched the crisp edges for rounded corners, concealed hinges, and the accustomed loadout of customized RGB zones. Connectivity isn’t lacking either, with USB Type-A, Thunderbolt, HDMI 2.1, and a paper scholar each included.

My Favorite Alternative Pick

But if the $3K+ nine isn’t for you? There’s a much wallet-friendly Alienware enactment worthy checking out. Alienware m16 R2 mightiness not travel with a 5080, but astatine $1,699.99, it inactive packs a punch.

You’re getting an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, RTX 4060, 16GB DDR5, and a slick QHD+ 240Hz sheet with G-Sync. It weighs less, costs less, and inactive runs circles astir astir mid-range builds. If you don’t request 24 cores and copper plumbing conscionable to play Apex, this 1 volition bash conscionable fine.