I found the ultimate gaming machine in the Alienware 16 Area-51

Price When Reviewed

$3,349

Best Prices Today: Alienware 16 Area-51

The Alienware 16 Area-51 is a high-end gaming laptop computer with a high-end Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU and Nvidia RTX 5080 graphics, which had been each only in the near past launched. It’s a stupendous machine with premium touches like a mechanical keyboard. While it’s no budget gaming laptop, it’s competitively priced in comparison with different laptops with comparable {hardware} — and Alienware’s model may be a greater package deal.

Alienware 16 Area-51: Specs

The Alienware 16 Area-51 is a 16-inch gaming laptop computer that mixes a 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU together with an Nvidia RTX 50-series GPU. Our evaluate mannequin had an RTX 5080 GPU, however you can even get this machine with an RTX 5070 Ti or 5090 GPU. While the mannequin we reviewed retails for $3,349, the bottom mannequin begins at $2,999.

That Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is value highlighting! This Core Ultra (Series 2) processor relies on the Arrow Lake structure and is screaming quick. In our benchmarks, this machine topped out the charts. However, it has a gradual neural processing unit (NPU) and doesn’t meet the bar for Windows 11’s Copilot+ PC AI features, if these matter to you. (Unless that is one thing you already know you care about, I wouldn’t fear about it — particularly since Microsoft is signaling it could in the future roll out these options extra broadly. But they aren’t right here at launch, and which will matter to some folks.)

• Model quantity: Alienware 16 Area-51 AW30
• CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
• Memory: 32GB DDR5 RAM
• Graphics/GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080
• NPU: Intel AI Boost (as much as 13 TOPS)
• Display: 16-inch 3200×1800 IPS show with 240Hz refresh price
• Storage: 1 TB SSD
• Webcam: 8MP 3840×2160 digicam
• Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 5 (USB Type-C), 3x USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x combo audio jack, 1x SD card slot
• Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
• Biometrics: IR digicam for Windows Hello
• Battery capability: 96 Watt-hours
• Dimensions: 14.37 x 11.41 x 1.12 inches
• Weight: 7.49 kilos
• MSRP: $3,349 as examined

Alienware 16 Area-51: Design and construct high quality

IDG / Chris Hoffman

The Alienware laptops I’ve reviewed have had stable construct high quality, and this laptop computer isn’t any exception. The “Liquid Teal” colour has a lid that appears loads like forest inexperienced in some lighting. Dell describes it as “a dark iridescent finish on the anodized aluminum [that] gives the system a dynamic sheen.” At about seven and a half kilos, it’s no thin-and-light laptop computer, however it is vitally affordable for a machine this highly effective.

With a glowing Alienware brand on the lid, a lightweight bar on the bump on the again, and black used all through the remainder of the machine — together with on the keyboard tray and lid, so that you aren’t taking a look at that Liquid Teal on a regular basis — that is very a lot an Alienware design. I just like the look and the way the colour stands out. It doesn’t appear like simply one other gaming laptop computer, however you’ll should resolve whether or not it’s the correct search for you. I do know not everyone seems to be searching for this kind of colour scheme, and there’s a cause why so many gaming laptops are a standard black or a pointy and clear white.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

On the underside, there’s a “thermal bump” with gorilla glass that isn’t nearly airflow consumption: it enables you to look inside the underside of the machine. This is the form of high-end contact you’ll discover on this machine. It does look cool!

The anodized aluminum end does choose up fingerprints just a little greater than I’d like — one thing you’ll see in a couple of of the pictures. That’s commonplace, however since we’re speaking high-end touches, it’s value noting.

Alienware 16 Area-51: Keyboard and trackpad

IDG / Chris Hoffman

The Alienware 16 Area-51’s keyboard is completely glorious. Our evaluate unit had a Cherry MX extremely low-profile mechanical keyboard. A mechanical keyboard in a laptop computer is nearly exceptional — I feel the one time I’ve ever used a mechanical keyboard constructed right into a laptop computer was once I reviewed one other Alienware machine. It’s positively a tiny bit louder than the standard non-mechanical keyboards, nevertheless it’s pretty quiet.

There’s not a lot room to complain, though I’ll say that many avid gamers would most likely desire that the Copilot key wasn’t so giant. Located simply to the left of the arrow keys, it’s sure to get in the best way. Sure, it appears laptops should have a Copilot key as of late — however why does the important thing should be so broad? Luckily, you may disable it or remap it to a different perform.

The laptop computer’s keyboard additionally has per-key backlighting you may customise. Even the touchpad is an RGB touchpad that lights up once you contact it — and shortly after, so it’s not on on a regular basis. The touchpad itself feels nice to make use of, with a clean floor, a crisp mechanical clicking motion, and a great place under the keyboard.

Alienware 16 Area-51: Display and audio system

IDG / Chris Hoffman

The Alienware 16 Area-51 has a 16-inch IPS show with a QHD+ decision (that’s 3200×1800) together with a quick 240Hz refresh price, 3ms response time, Nvidia G-Sync, and 500 nits of brightness.

On paper, these are nice specs — they usually look nice in actual life, too. It’s an superior show that makes video games look nice, and the quick refresh price and response time are a part of what makes it really feel so good. Combined with the speedy {hardware}, this laptop computer delivered glorious efficiency in Doom: The Dark Ages, rendering excessive element settings at a excessive body price.

The downsides are the identical ones you see on paper. There’s no assist for HDR in video games right here, and the decision comes in need of 4K. This isn’t an OLED—some folks will desire the extra vivid colours of an OLED display, even when it comes with a decrease refresh price or decrease response time. But, if you happen to aren’t itching for HDR or an OLED show, I feel you’ll be proud of this show.

The audio system are additionally unusually good for a laptop computer. Many gaming laptops — even costly ones — minimize corners on the audio system. Audio sounded nice and punchy in video games like Doom: The Dark Ages. Music was unusually good for a laptop computer, however I’ll be trustworthy: when it got here to the readability of the devices in Steely Dan’s Aja and the bass in Daft Punk’s Get Lucky, the audio system didn’t wow as a lot as the opposite parts on this laptop computer. The expertise is all the time finest with a great pair of headphones or exterior audio system — no shock there.

Alienware 16 Area-51: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The Alienware 16 Area-51’s 8MP 3840×2160 digicam sounds spectacular on paper. And it appears high quality in the true world, nevertheless it doesn’t wow. Look at a great exterior webcam. This is greater than adequate for on-line conferences and video chats. But, this being a gaming laptop computer, I’d plan to get an exterior webcam if you happen to plan on streaming.

There’s no bodily digicam privateness shutter, which I do know many individuals prefer to see.

The microphone setup additionally simply sounds high quality to me — it may choose up clear sufficient audio, however you received’t be getting the form of crisp, high-quality audio you’d with an exterior microphone. It’s high quality, however you’ll all the time have a greater gaming expertise with exterior audio.

When it involves biometrics, this machine has an IR digicam for Windows Hello so you may register along with your face. As standard on Windows 11 laptops, it labored nicely. There’s no fingerprint reader right here, nonetheless.

Alienware 16 Area-51: Connectivity

IDG / Chris Hoffman

The Alienware 16 Area-51 has a stable assortment of connectivity choices. On the left aspect, you’ve received a combo audio jack in addition to a full-size SD card reader.

You’ll discover a lot of the ports on the again — which is the place I desire to see them, because it will get them out of the best way of your mouse and minimizes annoying cable muddle in your desk.

On the again of the machine, you’ll discover two Thunderbolt 5 (USB Type-C) ports, three USB Type-A ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a spot to plug within the energy adapter. Thunderbolt 5 has been missing in action, so it’s spectacular to see it in any respect — though configurations with an RTX 5070 and under get these ports in Thunderbolt 4 kind. While it’s all the time good to see higher-end {hardware}, it seemingly received’t make a distinction in the true world.

On the opposite hand, that’s it. If you had been searching for an Ethernet port, for instance, you’ll have so as to add it through a dongle.

Wireless connectivity is sweet now that Intel’s {hardware} has caught up — this laptop computer helps the newest Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 wi-fi requirements, and I had no issues with the Wi-Fi.

Alienware 16 Area-51: Performance

The Alienware 16 Area-51 delivered screaming-good gaming efficiency, and I used to be tearing via demons within the just-released Doom: The Dark Ages on the very best “Ultra Nightmare” settings with clean efficiency. Dell has loads to say in regards to the “cryo-tech cooling technology” and this laptop computer’s elevated airflow, quieter followers, and all-around improved cooling efficiency. While gaming, the cooling labored nicely, with the keyboard staying moderately cool and the machine blasting a lot of the scorching air straight out of the again the place it received’t trouble you.

As all the time, although, we ran the Alienware 16 Area-51 via our standard benchmarks to see the way it performs.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

First, we run PCMark 10 to get an concept of total system efficiency. With an total PCMark 10 rating of 8,768, this Alienware machine beat different current gaming laptops we examined with Nvidia RTX 50-series GPUs. It noticeably outpaced the HP Omen Max 16, regardless of each machines having the identical CPU.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

Next, we run Cinebench R20. This is a closely multithreaded benchmark that focuses on total CPU efficiency. It’s a fast benchmark, so cooling beneath prolonged workloads isn’t an element. But, because it’s closely multithreaded, CPUs with extra cores have an enormous benefit.

With a Cinebench R20 multi-threaded rating of 14,145, the Alienware 16 Area-51 topped out the charts as soon as once more, narrowly scraping forward of the Asus ROG Strix G16 and its AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D. (Although, to be honest, the outcomes are mainly throughout the margin of error right here.)

IDG / Chris Hoffman

We additionally run an encode with Handbrake. This is one other closely multithreaded benchmark, nevertheless it runs over an prolonged interval. This calls for the laptop computer’s cooling kick in, and lots of laptops will throttle and decelerate beneath load.

The Alienware 16 Area-51 accomplished the encode course of in a median of 434 seconds, which is simply over seven minutes. The solely different machine even inside spitting distance was the HP Omen Max 16, which has the identical CPU. (HP’s machine was forward right here for some cause, however we will put it all the way down to the margin of error.)

The outcomes present simply how highly effective Intel’s 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU is for multithreaded efficiency. This factor is a beast.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

Next, attending to gaming efficiency, we begin with a typical graphical benchmark. We run 3DMark Time Spy, a graphical benchmark that focuses on GPU efficiency.

With a 3DMark Time Spy rating of 20960, the Alienware 16 Area-51 delivered excessive efficiency — coming second to the HP Omen Max 16. Both have the identical Nvidia RTX 5080 GPU. Again, this can be the margin of error, or the HP Omen Max 16’s cooling could also be a bit simpler.

Both machines beat the Razer Blade 16 regardless of that machine having a sooner RTX 5090 GPU. That machine lags in performance, sacrificing it for a sleeker design. This reveals how essential benchmarks are as a substitute of simply on-paper specs!

After that, we run the benchmarks constructed into some commonplace video games. First, we use the benchmark in Shadow of the Tomb Raider to check all of the gaming laptops we evaluate. It’s an older sport, nevertheless it’s an effective way to match graphical efficiency throughout totally different PCs.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

With a median FPS of 213, the Alienware 16 Area-51 delivered high-end efficiency and left many comparable techniques within the mud.

Finally, we run the benchmark in Metro Exodus. This is a extra demanding sport, and we set the benchmark to 1080p decision on the excessive element setting.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

With a median FPS of 92 on this high-end Metro Exodus benchmark, the Alienware 16 Area-51 topped all its opponents — even the Razer Blade with its RTX 5090 GPU couldn’t outpace it, which simply goes to indicate the downsides of packing such highly effective {hardware} into such a skinny machine.

Overall, the Alienware 16 Area-51 is an absolute monster that squeezes an unbelievable quantity of efficiency out of its high-end Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU. There’s not a lot room to enhance right here — exterior of splurging for an improve to an RTX 5090 GPU on this machine or getting a desktop gaming PC as a substitute!

Alienware 16 Area-51: Battery life

The Alienware 16 Area-51 is a gaming laptop computer designed for optimum efficiency, not for lengthy battery life. However, Dell has put an enormous 96 watt-hour battery on this machine — it couldn’t be a lot bigger or the U.S. Transportation Security Administration wouldn’t permit it on an airplane.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

To benchmark the battery life, we play a 4K copy of Tears of Steel on repeat on Windows 11 with airplane mode enabled at 250 nits display brightness till the laptop computer suspends itself. This is a best-case situation for any laptop computer since native video playback is so environment friendly, and actual battery life in day-to-day use is all the time going to be lower than this.

The Alienware 16 Area-51 ran for a median of 253 minutes earlier than suspending itself — that’s simply over 4 hours. It’s decrease than a few of its opponents, although not by a lot. And that doesn’t actually matter if you happen to’re searching for a beefy gaming laptop computer to make use of whereas plugged into an outlet.

In different phrases, you should use this laptop computer away from an outlet for a couple of hours in a pinch, however you received’t wish to. Also, it’s value mentioning that, for severe gaming efficiency, you’ll want to have the laptop computer plugged into an outlet anyway.

Alienware 16 Area-51: Conclusion

The Alienware 16 Area-51 is a tremendous 16-inch gaming laptop computer. Yes, it’s a great sum of money — nevertheless it’s competitively priced with different high-end gaming laptops with comparable {hardware}, and also you additionally get a tremendous package deal. I like having a mechanical keyboard in a laptop computer.

If you’re searching for a succesful PC with the newest high-end {hardware} and this suits your funds, you’ll be proud of this machine. It’s glorious.

But not the whole lot is for everybody! Be certain to think about what kind of show you need — if you’d like an OLED display, the HP Omen Max 16 could also be a greater choose. That greenish “Liquid Teal” might give some folks pause, too — I just like the look, however I think about it’s not everybody’s model. It’d be good if Dell provided a number of colour choices for this laptop computer.