We have all be anticipating something big from AlieNware – Dell’s in-house gaming machine manufacturer. And that big announcement, which is genuinely, physically big as well, is out now. The headline already reveals what it is — The Alienware Area-51M — a portmanteau nomenclature of Dell’s two most reputed gaming brands — Alienware (for laptops) + Area-51m (for desktops).
Obviously, it is not that Dell hasn’t used that nomenclature before. It used Area-51 for laptops before, most recently around 2010. But then, seldom have the two names been combined, and whenever they have been , the result is a monster of a gaming machine.
Powered by a ninth-gen Intel CPU and 20-series overclockable Nvidia GPU, the components are modular. That essentially means, that they can be upgraded in near future, except for the GPU unit, considering it is top notch already. Theoretically, or rather hypothetically though, it can be swapped.
This is also Alienware’s first laptop to support eight-core processors, 2.5Gbit Ethernet and 64GB of RAM. And while under the hood, it is expectedly impressive, its the neatly finished outer body that steals the show this time. The body is made from a magnesium alloy and available in either white or matte black (called Lunar Light or Dark Side of the Moon), and it’s easily the most sophisticated-looking Alienware to date. It is however, definitely not slim or light — this is still a 17-inch, 8.5-pound monster.
Despite the size though, the screen is still with thin bezels, additionally powered by a 144Hz G-Sync display. Below the screen is Tobii eye-tracking hardware, primarily meant for those looking to take this monster to competitive gaming or esports.
Such a heavy machine will stay hot eh? Not this one. The cooling tech is called Cryo-Tech 2.0, which covers the dual-intake, dual-exhaust airflow design, copper fin stacks, heat pipes and high-voltage fans. The vents are all around this laptop, with no liquid cooling. However, the laptops still remains cool enough, thanks to Dell’s advanced Cryo-Tech 2.0
Lets now get to what you might be waiting to hear, the price. Well, it is competitively priced, and starts at just $2000. Pretty slick if you ask me, considering the desktop components this “laptop” houses in. Expect it to become available from January 21st.
Stay tuned to our CES 2019 coverage!
