FEBRUARY 2019 PCWorld 23Below, we’ll highlight some of the innovations
and specs.
THE BEST FEATURES OF THE
ALIENWARE AREA-51M
We’ll talk about the design first, because
you’ll start to see it on future Alienware
products as the year progresses. Dell wanted
to get away from the bristly, black aesthetic
that one might call “classic gamer.” The new
look, called Legend, features softer, sculpted
forms and lighter colors: Lunar White, and a
charcoal that Alienware calls Dark Side of
the Moon.
Most notably, the rear exhaust ports of
the Area-51m sport a backlit oval that Dell
has variously called a “stadium loop” or an
“infinite loop.” It follows whatever lighting
pattern you’ve chosen for the keyboard
and is ready to taunt your opponents at a
LAN party.
The upgradability of the Area-51m is
impressive and includes the discrete GPU as
well as the memory and storage. Most
notably, the bottom panel of the laptop
includes markers to guide users toward the
right tool for the job.
The Area-51m also features dual AC
adapters: A 180W brick that can be taken on
the road (it will power most activities except
the highest-end games), and a 250W or
330W anvil for no-holds-barred power
consumption. The battery is large at 90Wh,
but expect it to be just as helpless as any
other gaming laptop’s battery once you fire
up a game.The Alienware Area-51m comes in two colors: Dark Side of the Moon and Lunar White.