Alienware returns with Area-51 desktops, laptops, and QD-OLED monitors at CES 2025

Note: This feature was first published on 7 January 2025.

Alienware is back in a big way. At CES 2025, this gaming sub-brand of Dell has announced the return of its Area-51 flagship series gear, replete with new gaming notebooks, desktops, and QD-OLED monitors. 

Let us walk you through the new Alienware products while every other gaming brand watching on sweats bullets and forfeits its PvP matches before they even start. 

Alienware Area-51 flagship gaming desktop PC

The Alienware Area-51 Desktop is back to retake its former flagship gaming throne and once again protect true hardcore gamers from useless, worldly distractions like falling in love or buying luxury cars and watches.

In case you missed it, this launch happens once in a blue moon. The last time Alienware did an Area-51 Desktop was in 2017. It’s been almost eight years since (and Alienware’s history goes back 30 years).

The new 2025 version comes in an 80L full-sized tower with 600W of available headroom for graphics power, up to 280W of processing power, and support for components like the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K CPU (review here).

Alienware said that its critical components are all industry-standard (motherboard, power supply, CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, fans, etc.), so users who wish to replace or service them can easily do so.

Also, its 80L size makes it possible to push the Area-51 Desktop even further should users choose to add more components or fit in their preferred thermal management cooling system. 

That said, the Area-51’s airflow design features no exhaust fans (100% intake) and a passive exhaust at the back. The air intake includes two 140mm fans pointed upwards at the GPU, two 180mm fans laterally pushing air towards the GPU, CPU, and memory from the front of the body, and dual (or triple) 120mm fans pulling air from the top. This design is also compatible with any liquid cooling configurations.

The chassis contains QR codes, which lead to video guides instructing users on upgrading, updating, modifying, and repairing their key components. Three removable dust filters at the front, top, and bottom help manage dust.

Optional or additional components available through Alienware include:

• Up to 64GB DDR5 XMP RAM (6,400MT/s, 2 x 32GB configuration)
• Up to 8TB storage (4TB NVM M.2 PCIe Gen4 SSD for booting, another for storage)
• Choose between 360mm or 240mm liquid cooling, with DIY options for 420mm
• Get a 1,500W, platinum-rated ATX12VO PSU for power supply, or an 850W gold-rated one instead
• Seven customisable lighting zones called AlienFX (16.7 million colour support)
• Optional Alienware Elite Care customer support (24/7, accidental damage coverage, onsite repairs, etc.)

One of the first Alienware Area-51 Desktops will be available in Q1 2025. It will have “a high-end, next-generation NVIDIA GPU” and a suggested starting retail price of US$4,999 (~S$6,813.88). More details will be announced later.

Alienware Area-51 laptops (16-inch and 18-inch)

Gaming notebook makers thought they were safe because Alienware has stopped making flagship-grade Area-51 laptops for some time now. Well, Alienware also thought they were getting too comfortable.

The brand also announced 2025 versions of the 16-inch and 18-inch Alienware Area-51 gaming laptops. Alienware claimed that these laptops could have up to 280W of power with “next-gen NVIDIA graphics” and “next-gen Intel Ultra CPU”, with 35% more air intake while being 15% quieter (when compared against their old Alienware 16 Area-51 and Alienware x16 R2).

These laptops also come with otherworldly aesthetics, like its Liquid Teal finish, a translucent thermal shelf with AlienFX lighting, a new Aurora lighting effect for boot-up, a clear Gorilla Glass viewing window underside to let its users see how it works, RGB fans that can be seen, and a Zero-Hinge design to top it all off.

The first entry configurations of Alienware Area-51 laptops will be available in Q1 2025, followed by additional graphics options and configurations launching later. The entry configuration price starts at U$S$1,999 (~S$2,724.95), while the system with “a high-end, next-gen NVIDIA GPU” starts at US$3,199 (~S$4,360.73).

Alienware 4K QD-OLED gaming monitor (27-inch)

As a follow-up to last year’s 4K QD-OLED gaming monitor, which came in at 32 inches, Alienware now has a 27-inch version available for gamers who want a more compact alternative with higher pixel density (PPI).

Like its previous formats, the Alienware 27 4K QD-OLED gaming monitor has a 4K resolution QD-OLED panel (3,840 x 2,160 pixels), offering 166 PPI while maintaining perks like 240Hz refresh rate, 0.03ms response time, Dolby Vision HDR and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification, 99% of DCI-P3 colour coverage with Delta E <2 accuracy. The monitor is G-Sync compatible and certified for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and VESA AdaptiveSync. 

An interesting button is Creator mode, which lets the user flit between DCI-P3 display to sRGB colour space for video editing.

It supports 4K240Hz with HDMI 2.1 FRL, Variable Refresh Rate, and Auto Low Latency Mode. If you have a compatible soundbar, the HDMI 2.1 FRL supports eARC. 

The Alienware 27 4K QD-OLED Gaming Monitor (AW2725Q) is priced at US$899 (~S$1,225.48) and will be available in the Asia Pacific / Japan market in March 2025, while China gets dibs with its January 2025 launch.

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