The Alienware Area-51 is an absolutely monstrous gaming PC, but I sort of wish it felt more otherworldly

Upon gazing at the freshly unboxed Alienware Area-51 as it dominated my living room, I almost thought I was in for a wild experience. Its monstrous stature is largely what originally trickled me into believing I was about to fool around with extraterrestrial tech for the sake of Steam games. However, it turns out this is one of Dell’s most ordinary machines yet, as it takes a large step away from what made the former best Alienware gaming PC models stand out.

If I’m being real, the Alienware Area-51 is just a much bigger version of the Aurora R16 with a silver paint job. Yes, there’s plenty of changes going on under the UFO’s metaphorical hood, but since many of you will associate the brand with space-age case designs and mid-2000s level of gaming PC edge, it’s worth stressing that point. The issue is that with prices starting at an absolutely bananas $3,749.99 for an RTX 5070 build, you’re paying more than ever for something that feels very much of planet earth.

Put it this way, the Alienware Area-51 is like if ET got comfortable in suburbia and started driving a BMW X7 to a respectable office job. Yes, it’s all very flashy, and I’m happy that my glowing little oddball has found a way to fit in, but I can’t help but feel this rig is missing its own point. The spoiler here is that the system has ditched most of the Alienware elements I’d fire into space, like proprietary components and motherboard elements, but has, in turn, forgotten how to flee on a bicycle away from the government.

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Design

Dell constantly finds itself in a struggle between otherworldly designs and trying to appeal to standard sensibilities. That back and forth is perhaps how you end up with machines like the Alienware Area-51, as it almost feels like a no-nonsense box with its sights largely on enthusiast wallets. However, while I welcome the stripping back of proprietary innards and embracing practicality, I can’t help but feel like the original target audience wants its eggs back.

I’m of course referring to machines like the R15, one of the last pod-shaped rigs by the brand post switch to the current boxy Alienware Aurora R16 formula. Before actually getting to see the Area-51, I figured Dell would perhaps find a way to bring back weird-shaped cases that serve as a setup spectacle while addressing all of the elements that peeve sensible PC builders, but instead, we’ve got a scaled-up R16 with a silver paint job.

All the newly established Alienware hallmarks are present, like the RGB-accented Stadium Loop side ventilation and glowing Zeta-head on an otherwise plain front. The 80-liter case does have a larger transparent side to show off its roomy innards and expensive components. You can even get the sides off using a knob and a big push button around back (just remove the shipping safety screw first). The top comes off too, if you’re looking to fit fans for an AIO cooler, and the case will support 240 mm, 280 mm, and 420 mm options.

Yes, the Area-51 is the most customizable Alienware PC ever, and the relatively standard case design certainly contributes to that. I’m not saying you couldn’t have made a standard ATX motherboard in something prism-shaped like the original, but it’s certainly easier to fit parts in a cuboid. The extra conventional room means that if the next wave of best graphics card contenders decide to become bigger than a PS2, or you need a specific cooler to combat CPU temperatures, making upgrades will be just as easy as with a regular rig.

There are some nice case comforts included with the Area-51, like dust covers at the PSU, radiator, and intake vents. You’re also getting plenty of real estate for cable management at the right-hand panel alongside support for either 2.5-inch SSDs or even larger 3.5-inch mechanical hard drives. But, those ought to be included, considering prices start just shy of $4,000, and the specific RTX 5090 model I’m reviewing comes in at $5,000.

Specs and Features

The question is, what does spending thousands on the Alienware Area-51 actually get you? Well, if we use the $5,000 unit I’m testing as an example, it’s all about the specs. The RTX 5090 flagship graphics card at the heart of this system alone makes up for more than half the price if you factor in current inflation, and I guess the accompanying 64GB DDR5 RAM is a chunk of the rest. That’s before you get to the fact that it’s packing an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K CPU and a 2TB NVMe M.2 drive.

Here’s the deal - if we go by today’s PC component prices, you’re actually getting a whole lot of rig for your money in the Area-51. This is very much a case of all or nothing, though, as going for the top specs somewhat maximises the value you’ll get. Of course, you’ll always want to play around with Dell’s configurable options to dial things in better for your needs because that will shave a chunk off your end price, but I’d say the trick is to get the best GPU you can while avoiding high costs for elements like storage.

Specs aside, you’re also paying for the privilege of minimal proprietary parts. Dell’s included motherboard is a standard ATX affair, meaning complete overhauls are on the table. I do find the idea of swapping out bits of the $5,000 build pretty funny, but since the components all should remain relevant for at least a few generations, it does mean the system is more futureproof.

Annoyingly, there are still a couple of customization hurdles. For starters, if you opt for a replacement motherboard that doesn’t use Intel’s ATX12VO PSU standard, you’ll have to swap the power supply out too. You’ll also need an adapter kit to keep the AlienwareFX daughter board, alongside its RGB and IO functionality, alive and kicking, too, which rather insultingly costs an additional $35. Dell really should have just thrown this in for good measure if it was insistent on integrating the native support into its mobo, but I digress.

Performance

This is the part where I tell you the Alienware Area-51 is a beast, but of course it is. We’re talking about a gaming PC that costs more than my car, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t boost fps to stupid levels since it’s armed with an RTX 5090. Still, I’ve put the rig through the same rigmarole as every system that passes my desk, and while the results speak for themselves, it should help add some performance perspective.

It might come as somewhat of a surprise that, despite packing a GPU now worth over $2,000, hitting the 60fps sweetspot in Cyberpunk 2077 still isn’t a given. The RPG still serves as a brutal benchmark when AI tricks like DLSS 4 are switched off, and the Alienware Area-51 averages out at around 56fps. That’s still impressive, given that the benchmark was set to 4K Ultra with ray tracing enabled, and ditching the latter lighting options ramps things up to 110fps.

The point is that hitting well over 60fps with little compromise in CD Projekt Red’s ruthless RPG is possible without AI, but that’s a luxury afforded to machines at this price range. If you are of the opinion that the PC gaming scene has a “fake frames” issue, then this is the frame rate range to expect using a high-end RTX 5090 build. If you actually leverage Multi-Frame Generation and Super Resolution features, though, you’re talking well over 200fps with everything cranked up full.

The rest of my test games paint a very similar performance picture, with Hitman 3 staying within the same 60-70fps range and jumping to 120fps with ray tracing disabled. Shadow of the Tomb Raider feels especially slick on the Area-51 since it can easily reach 220fps without fancy lighting, while landing at around 154fps if you need all the bells and whistles. Compare that to the latest Aurora model rocking an RTX 5070 Ti, and you’re talking about a near 100fps gap between the two in the same benchmarks, which perhaps softens the higher price blow.

Results for Total War: Warhammer 3 illustrate the benefits of an all-round high-end build, as this machine hits over 150fps even with max settings. Yes, you can attribute some of those frames to the Core Ultra 9 285K that’s buddying up with the RTX 5090, and it certainly blows my Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 and Intel Core i9-13900K combo out of the water. This is absolutely a “get what you pay for” scenario, and while I’m not remotely on board with paying $5,000 for a rig, it’s very much the going rate right now.

Furious frame rates aside, let’s talk about fighting the resulting temperature fires. The Area-51 is pretty spacious, and that helps the GPU keep things at around 72°C. No surprises there since every Nvidia RTX 50-series card I've tested so far hits those sorts of temps, and the AIO cooler within this rig largely kept the Ultra 9 285K under 60°C under load and during gaming. It’s worth noting that it managed to pull this off without much racket too, and I almost missed the eerie sci-fi hum produced by the Alienware Aurora R15 during testing.

Should you buy the Alienware Area-51?

Technically speaking, the Area-51 is the best Alienware gaming PC on the market today. If you’re looking for a machine with top-of-the-line components and that iconic Zeta head logo on the front, this is it. That said, it’s hard to imagine DIY system builders are enthusiasts splashing out on this rig specifically, especially since its main selling point of being more customizable is just an inherent part of regular systems.

Simply put, the fact that the Alienware Area-51 is trying to appeal to players who like the brand’s space-age vibes and enthusiasts is what keeps it from greatness. That’s not to say this isn’t a good PC, and the RTX 5090 model is pretty beastly. The real issue is that it’s not really doing anything that different, and trimming down on proprietary parts should at least still come with some old-school Alienware design flair.

How I tested the Alienware Area-51

For two weeks, I used the Alienware Area-51 as my main PC for casual play and everyday tasks. In addition to using the machine as my daily driver, I also benchmarked the system’s gaming performance using a specific set of releases, including Cyberpunk 2077, Hitman 3, Total War: Warhammer 3, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Throughout testing, I also evaluated the system’s design, exclusive features, and temperatures while comparing them to previous Dell systems and other builds.

For more information on how we test gaming PCs and other systems, swing by our full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.