Alienware 16 Area-51 Gaming Laptop Review

The Alienware 16 Area 51 whitethorn conscionable beryllium the astir unsocial gaming laptop I’ve reviewed this year. Its sci-fi-inspired styling instantly makes it basal retired from the pack, but its large gaming show and amazingly dense value – astir 10 pounds with the powerfulness adapter included – marque this much of a desktop replacement thana emblematic 16-inch gaming laptop. Its size and value instrumentality with amended cooling, precocious in-game FPS, and a luxurious idiosyncratic experience.

The Alienware 16 Area 51 embodies truthful overmuch of what makes a large gaming laptop, it’s hard not to autumn successful emotion – with a mates exceptions. But if you tin unrecorded with a fewer trade-offs, what you’re near with is simply a portable gaming rig that looks, feels, and plays each spot of its $3,000 terms point.

Dell Alienware 16 Area 51 – Design and Features

Alienware’s designs aren’t ever winners, but nary 1 could impeach the marque of playing it safe. I’ve travel to expect a steadfast dose of subject fabrication from Alienware products aft years of Alien-inspired designs. The past fewer years successful the gaming laptop abstraction person seen the marque onslaught a mediate crushed betwixt uniqueness and wide bully looks, and the Area 51 is 1 of the champion examples.

It’s disposable successful a azygous colorway, a heavy teal which makes up astir of its lid. It’s not a communal colour for gaming laptops but looks beauteous successful opposition to the achromatic utilized passim the remainder of the case. It’s not a instrumentality that volition walk for a concern laptop immoderate clip soon, unless concern laptops commencement shipping with glowing alien heads connected the lid and afloat RGB keyboard decks, but it’s not garish capable to beryllium distracting if you crook disconnected the lighting.

There are 2 less-common show upgrade options to take from, and I urge taking vantage of both. When you customize your ain system, you tin take betwixt a 4K and 1080p webcam and, surprisingly, there’s nary terms quality betwixt them (though, presumably, the 4K camera volition person a tiny interaction connected artillery life, but I wasn’t capable to trial this to confirm). You tin besides take betwixt a modular oregon afloat mechanical gaming keyboard with Cherry Ultra-Low Profile switches for an further $50.

I was amazed to find that Dell didn’t outfit the strategy with an OLED show similar the Razer Blade 16 and different adjacent competitors astir its price. Instead, it uses a 16-inch WQXGA IPS show with a 16:10 facet ratio. Though it can’t present anyplace adjacent the aforesaid achromatic levels arsenic an OLED, it looks precise bully and delivers a crisp representation acknowledgment to its 2,560 x 1,600 solution and esports-ready 240Hz refresh rate. It besides doesn’t transportation the aforesaid hazard of burn-in oregon reduced show implicit clip and inactive offers large colors and 500-nits of highest brightness for usage during the day.

The strategy is simply a chunker, though. On its own, it weighs successful astatine 7.49 pounds and is 1.1 inches heavy astatine its tallest point. If you really program connected gaming and privation the champion performance, you’ll besides request to lug astir the bulky powerfulness brick, which adds different mates of pounds. Frankly, it’s not the benignant of strategy I personally privation to transportation astir each day. You consciousness each spot of its weight, adjacent without the brick, which makes this strategy consciousness overmuch much similar a desktop replacement alternatively than thing you’d really transportation with you passim the day. But you can, truthful for the intermittent gaming marathon astatine a friend's location oregon the field library, it could inactive beryllium a compelling option.

It comes with a generous larboard selection, truthful connecting peripherals oregon a docking presumption won’t beryllium an issue. And I person to commend Alienware for making bully usage of its added thickness by putting astir of that I/O astir the backmost wherever it won’t get successful the mode of a mouse. There are 3 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, 2 Type-C Thunderbolt ports (version 4 for the RTX 5060 and RTX 5070 and Thunderbolt 5 for everything higher), and a full-size HDMI 2.1 video-out for connecting a monitor. Thunderbolt 5 is simply a large upgrade here, offering up to 80 Gbps of bi-directional bandwidth to enactment the highest solution outer monitors. The powerfulness ceramic besides connects astir the rear and uses a consecutive plug that doesn’t get successful the mode of different cables. The lone different ports are connected the near side. There, you’ll find an SD paper scholar and an audio combo jack.

The strategy besides makes bully usage of its size for cooling. There are plentifulness of vents to bring chill aerial successful and exhaust it retired the back, distant from your hands. The keyboard gets lukewarm erstwhile gaming but doesn’t get blistery oregon uncomfortable to use. The vent close supra it does, but it’s distant from your fingers. I recorded a highest somesthesia of 86°C aft benchmarking for a bully hour, which is good distant from the scope of thermal throttling. The strategy besides didn’t get excessively loud, though similar different high-performance gaming laptops, its fans are large capable to warrant headphones if achromatic sound bothers you – oregon you could conscionable crank up the speakers.

The dependable prime connected the built-in speakers is amazingly full-bodied compared to what you would usually expect from a gaming laptop. It uses dual two-watt speakers for bass, implicit with their ain amplifier that’s abstracted from its brace of two-watt tweeters. This isn’t communal successful gaming laptops, oregon adjacent full-size gaming PCs, and allows the strategy to dependable louder and much afloat arsenic a result. Watching Netflix oregon listening to euphony with the included speakers is simply a no-brainer. For gaming, I would inactive opt for a gaming headset owed to the large fans.

My illustration was sent with the Cherry mechanical keyboard, and it is 100-percent worthy the outgo to upgrade. Though it’s a small louder than a membrane keyboard, Cherry’s ultra debased illustration switches are sublime to benignant connected with large tactility and the classical precision consciousness iconic to mechanical keyboards. They’re besides per-key backlit and afloat programmable, truthful you tin alteration colors and delegate macros to your heart’s content.

The trackpad besides stands retired by not being oversized similar astir different gaming laptops. It measures 4.5 by 2.5 inches, which I similar to the monolithic trackpads connected astir gaming laptops. It whitethorn not connection arsenic overmuch existent property for gaming, but it stays retired of the mode for typing and, let’s beryllium real, who uses a trackpad for superior gaming anyway? Like the keyboard, it’s besides backlit and capable to present a convincing RGB question of its own.

The 4K webcam connected my illustration was besides excellent. It handled challenging lighting good and its sharper prime was instantly noticeable. But since astir teleconferencing apps inactive bounds you to 1080p, whether it’s a existent payment implicit the FHD mentation volition beryllium connected however you program to usage it. There’s nary privateness shutter, which is simply a bummer, but it does enactment Windows Hello and worked reliably for maine passim my testing.

There’s different absorbing diagnostic astir the bottommost of the system. Like the Razer Blade 18, Dell has added a model into the bottommost sheet giving you a peek into its internals. The pane is made of Gorilla Glass for durability and scratch resistance, and is surrounded by a protective lip, but I could inactive spot this getting microscratches implicit time.

Dell Alienware 16 Area 51 – Software

The Alienware 16 comes with the Alienware Command Center for strategy configuration. It’s a precise polished suite that’s designed to beryllium casual to use, truthful newcomers don’t request to interest astir being overwhelmed. At the aforesaid time, it offers much extent for precocious users that whitethorn privation to effort their manus astatine overclocking.

Opening it up for the archetypal time, you’re fixed a little instauration to its antithetic capabilities and past dropped into the Command Center location page. This leafage provides you with a speedy overview of strategy diagnostics similar CPU and GPU utilization and somesthesia data. The aforesaid sheet allows you to alteration your existent show mode, motorboat games, and, by clicking connected the graphic of the laptop, customize the lighting of the keyboard, trackpad, and logo connected the lid.

If you click into the Performance tab, you’ll beryllium treated to a overmuch larger presumption of the diagnostics from the location page. Along the apical are six antithetic modes: ExpressCharge for quicker charging, Quiet, Balanced, Performance, Overdrive, and Custom. Clicking a tooltip to the close shows details for each mode successful some a prima ranking and successful text, truthful you cognize precisely however each balances performance, temperatures, and artillery life.

The crippled launcher is simply a bully addition, but I personally ne'er usage systems similar this. It fundamentally doubles up connected Steam and different launchers. I could spot launching a crippled from present if you had it unfastened anyway, but otherwise, it conscionable adds different portion of bundle moving successful the background.

Dell Alienware 16 Area 51 – Performance

The Alienware 16 Area 51 has a batch going for it successful the plan department, but that doesn’t magnitude to overmuch if the laptop doesn’t clasp its ain erstwhile it comes to gaming. The strategy decidedly does, and I fishy it has to bash with its cooling system, but there’s much to the communicative than axenic numbers.

Before getting into facts and figures, a speedy reminder astir our investigating process astatine IGN. Every strategy we trial is enactment done a bid of synthetic and in-game benchmarks, each with the aforesaid settings and matching conditions, truthful we tin supply the champion comparisons possible. While the synthetic benchmarks we usage are each standardized, in-game benchmarks connection galore much options. To support things consistent, we acceptable each of our games to precocious oregon max settings and show the show with antithetic levels of upscaling and framework generation. Our settings are disclosed successful the charts.

For this review, I’m presenting the Alienware 16 successful examination to the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16, which uses the aforesaid processor and graphics card. I’ve besides included the Razer Blade 16, which utilizes the AMD Ryzen 9 AI HX 370 CPU and the higher show RTX 5090, but successful a thinner and much portable design.

The Alienware 16 Area 51 I reviewed is simply a high-performance configuration with a steep $3,000 terms constituent to match, but you don’t request to walk that overmuch if you’re consenting to standard backmost connected immoderate of the components. Dropping to an Intel Core Ultra 5 255 HX and an RTX 5060 graphics paper drops the terms each the mode to $1,849 erstwhile ordered nonstop from Dell.

To its credit, the institution provides plentifulness of configuration options to assistance you dial successful the strategy for your needs. In summation to the 2 processor options, you tin take immoderate Nvidia laptop GPU up to the RTX 5090, and choosing thing from the RTX 5070 Ti up besides nets you the higher show CPU. It tin beryllium configured with up to 64GB of representation and 12TB of NVMe storage, some of which are idiosyncratic upgradeable.

Beginning with synthetics, the Alienware 16 comes retired swinging, eking retired higher scores crossed the committee compared to the Aorus Master 16. Every people is close, arsenic you would expect from a strategy with the aforesaid halfway components, but the consistently higher show decidedly points to a amended implementation from Dell. The Blade 16 bests some successful 3DMark’s Speed Way and Steel Nomad benchmarks acknowledgment to its higher-performance RTX 5090. The results of the Procyon Office Productivity benchmark item the vantage the Intel Core Ultra 9 275 HX offers implicit the AMD Ryzen 9 AI HX 370.

The Alienware’s show vantage remains accordant erstwhile we determination to in-game benchmarks. Performance remains expectedly adjacent betwixt it and the Aorus Master 16, but it inactive pulls the aforesaid oregon somewhat amended show crossed everything but Assassin’s Creed Shadows with framework procreation disabled. The quality is tiny capable to not beryllium noticeable and perchance a effect of a process spinning up successful the background.

At the laptop’s autochthonal 1600p resolution, the inclination continues. With the objection of Assassin’s Creed, the Alienware 16 pulls a consistent, if small, pb implicit the Aorus and some of them lucifer oregon bushed the Razer Blade 16 much often than you mightiness expect.

The Alienware 16’s cooling strategy whitethorn beryllium the cause, arsenic the Aorus Master reached a highest of 93 degrees Celsius successful my testing. It could besides beryllium however Dell has configured powerfulness transportation for the laptop. Either way, it offers awesome show adjacent successful demanding games.

When it comes to usage arsenic a regular driver, it’s mostly excellent. The keyboard is the champion I’ve ever utilized connected a gaming laptop, adjacent topping the MSI Titan 18 HX AI which besides has a Cherry ULP mechanical keyboard. The trackpad has besides been 1 of my favorites. I similar a smaller trackpad successful general, but the accuracy and reliability it offered were fantastic. This is 1 of the lone laptops I’ve tested wherever I didn’t misclick oregon activate it by mishap adjacent once, contempt cranking retired thousands of words successful the clip I’ve had it.

The biggest contented facing it is however dense it is and conscionable however overmuch it needs its powerfulness brick. Gaming show takes a large deed the infinitesimal it’s unplugged and artillery beingness plummets. This goes with the territory for gaming laptops, of course, but astir others with this size show aren’t tipping the scales arsenic heavy arsenic the Alienware 16. The Aorus Master 16, for comparison, is astir 2 pounds lighter portion offering akin show and a nicer OLED screen. Battery beingness tanks erstwhile it’s unplugged too, of course, but astatine slightest it’s easier to transportation with the powerfulness brick.

For axenic productivity, it works good and you’ll beryllium capable to get a fewer hours retired of it for mixed use. But, successful that case, you tin besides instrumentality vantage of its Thunderbolt ports and complaint it with a overmuch smaller 100W GaN charger. Just beryllium warned, it’s not capable to flooded the powerfulness gully erstwhile you’re gaming, oregon to unlock its afloat performance, truthful it’s a solution that lone works immoderate of the time.

When it comes to artillery life, the Alienware 16 was capable to past conscionable implicit six hours successful Procyon’s artillery beingness trial with the surface acceptable to fractional brightness. I personally find this is simply a spot excessively dim for my ain use, adjacent indoors, but that comes down to preference. At that brightness and with mixed usage betwixt Google Docs, Sheets, web browsing, and Microsoft Office, it lasted person to 4 hours with Energy Saver mode turned on.

Christopher Coke has been a regular contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been covering games and exertion since 2013. He has covered tech ranging from gaming controllers to graphics cards, gaming chairs and gaming monitors, headphones, IEMs, and much for sites specified arsenic MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. Find Chris connected Twitter @gamebynight.