CES 2025 saw no shortage of laptop announcements from major vendors like Lenovo, HP, MSI, Asus and more. Dell also arrived strong with its rebranded Dell laptops and the resurrected Alienware Area-51 gaming laptop lineup. While every company showed off fantastic notebooks, it’s the latter that got my attention the most.

My hype for the new Alienware laptops isn’t all that surprising. After all, I’m a lifelong gamer who also reviews the best gaming laptops for a living. Based on what I’ve seen, the 16- and 18-inch Area-51 laptops have everything I want in a portable gaming notebook — namely an elegant design, large displays and the latest components from Intel and Nvidia. Though they’re not too dissimilar from the Alienware m16 R2 and Alienware m18 R2 laptops we’ve reviewed, the new laptops are very enticing.

Here are the big reasons why I’m excited about the upcoming Alienware Area-51 gaming laptops.

New Alienware Area-51 Laptops Are Out Of This World! Hands-On Impressions - YouTube

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Even though I love gaming laptops, I’m not a fan of their sometimes outlandish designs. Many manufacturers have veered away from this in recent years, offering devices like the HP Omen Transcend 14, the aforementioned Alienware m16 R2, and Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) with relatively minimalist designs. Area-51 laptops are flashier than those machines while featuring an air of otherworldly elegance.