Alienware Area-51 (2025): Two-minute review
Alienware has a reputation among system-building enthusiasts for being, well, a little odd, a little out of the ordinary. As premium brands go, there's a certain air about it, a je ne sais quoi, so to speak. Iconic? Perhaps, but it also doesn't know quite what it wants to be. Whether it's a company that's dedicated to the teenage gamer from yesteryear or the modern-day millennial professional is still up for debate, and its products show that. None more so than the Alienware Area-51 (2025), I've been testing over the last few weeks.
Built for a gamer who's not interested in the finer details, yet equipped with enough hardware to simulate the sun, it has a professional workstation price tag but a physical appearance that'd be more at home in 2009 than 2025. It's got a top-tier spec sheet, yet lacks some of the fundamentals that would make it a more pro-grade workstation. In short, who it's for is kind of a mystery.
The unit I tested comes with an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor, Nvidia RTX 5090 GPU, 64GB of DDR5, and a 2TB PCIe 5.0 SSD, so this is not going to be a budget gaming PC, that's for sure. The configuration I tested comes in at $5,700 in the US (although that's with a 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, not the 5.0 SSD in review), £5,469 in the UK, and an obscene AU$12,320 in Australia. That is a staggering cost, particularly when you consider similar-spec'd DIY machines can be built for a lot less.
That, of course, comes with some fairly major caveats. If you do want to build your own machine, you have to know what you're doing, put in the research, and be comfortable buying all those individual parts and putting it all together. There is some justification for skipping all of that and picking one of these up. Particularly if you're dead set on the hardware and have the budget for it.
What you get is otherworldly performance, as you'd imagine. Computational tasks absolutely crumble before the Area-51, and gaming, particularly at 4K, is outstanding with even the most intense titles out there landing north of 100 fps on average without AI upscaling or any of the more modern frame generation shenanigans. Slap those settings on top of that stock performance, and that RTX 5090 just runs away with it, hitting frame rates well into the 200s.
The Area-51 keeps its components nice and cool too, thanks to twin 180mm intake fans in the front, two 120mm fans in the PSU floor, plus a 360mm AIO in the roof, exhausting upwards. That's all backed up with a rather curious 1500W platinum-rated PSU delivering power to the lot.
Aside from the premium pricing, problems also arise when you begin to dig under the surface. The rear I/O on that custom Alienware motherboard is sub-tier at best, with an overreliance on USB-C and very little USB-A at all, and the rest of the I/O is equally as lackluster, with minimal ethernet support and little in the way of integrated HDMI/DisplayPort or other features all too commonplace on even the cheapest of modern-day Z890 boards.
Then there's the case itself. It's big, bulky, and far too heavy. The dimensions are massive, and on delivery, the entire thing weighs 88 lbs (or 40 kg), requiring either one strong PC gamer or a two-person team to lift it and chuck it on your desk. That's surprising given the exterior of the chassis feels particularly dull, mostly composed of an unemotive satin plastic, rather than the thick, girthy steel you'd likely expect, given the heft.
Yes, there are those signature Alienware curves and lines and enough RGB lighting dotted around to keep that 15-year-old kid in you happy, but it just lacks the finesse that the best gaming PCs of this price and caliber should come with, and that's a problem.
Alienware Area-51 (2025): Price & Availability
- How much is it? Starting at $3,749.99 / £3,799 / AU$7,271
- When is it available? You can pick one up today
- Where can you get it? Directly from Dell's webstore
Let's be fair, we all knew the price tag for this thing was going to be ridiculous; after all, it's without a doubt Alienware's signature party trick and is loaded down with top-tier specs from the best graphics cards, best processors, best RAM, and best SSDs you can find on the market right now.
The Area 51 starts at $3,749.99 / £3,799 / AU$7,271 in the US, UK, and Australia, respectively, which is still pretty premium as far as gaming PCs go. That's especially true considering you're getting a Core Ultra 7 system with an RTX 5080, 32GB DDR5 (or even 16GB DDR5 in Australia), and fairly modest 1TB or 2TB storage. The RTX 5090 configuration I tested (with Core Ultra 9 285K, 64GB RAM, and 2TB PCIe SSD) comes in at $5,699.99 in the US, £5,469 in the UK, and a frightful AU$12,320 Down Under.
If I'm honest, we've not tested much like this PC at TechRadar to date, largely because of the RTX 5090 at its heart. And while it's an unabashed monster that delivers exceptional performance, compared to last gen's RTX 4090, it's seen a significant price increase—and that was before Nvidia's low availability and stock issues that it's suffered since its release.
Put this against the best price possible on a DIY rig, though, with the same component tier as my review unit, and the price difference is substantial. According to PC Part Picker, a DIY build would set you back just $4,842.91 in the US, £4,267.64 in the UK, or AU$9,914.60 in Australia. It's up to you whether you want to pay a roughly 18-28% premium to have a prebuilt system like this, but you can likely get the same performance for cheaper.
- Value: 3 / 5
Alienware Area-51 (2025): Specs
- Solid starting configurations in the US and UK
- Easy to upgrade later down the line
- Configuration options vary greatly by region
Region | US | UK | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
Price | |||
CPU | Intel Core Ultra 7 265 | Intel Core Ultra 7 265 | Intel Core Ultra 7 265 |
GPU | Nvidia RTX 5080 | Nvidia RTX 5080 | Nvidia RTX 5080 |
Memory | 32GB DDR5-6400 | 32GB DDR5-6400 | 16GB DDR5-5600 |
Storage | 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD | 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD | 1TB SSD |
Cooling | 240mm AIO | 360mm AIO | 240mm AIO |
PSU | 1500W 80+ Platinum | 1500W 80+ Platinum | 850W 80+ Gold |
All configurations come with a custom 02JGX1 E-ATX Z890 motherboard and vary from there based on region. Additionally, all models feature a bespoke PSU, with the US and Australia starting with an 80+ Gold 850W power supply, while the UK only has an option for a 1500W 80+ Platinum PSU.
The US and Australia start with 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD storage, while the UK starts with a larger 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. The US and Australia also start with a smaller 240mm AIO cooler, while the UK only has a 360mm AIO option.
There are also a total of eight fans included: two 180mm intakes, two 120mm intakes in the PSU floor, and three 120mm exhausts hidden above the topmost radiator.
Starting memory options come in the form of a dual-channel kit of Kingston Fury DDR5, ranging from 16GB all the way up to 64GB capacity, depending on your region.
Region | US | UK | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
Price | |||
CPU | Intel Core Ultra 9 285K | Intel Core Ultra 9 285K | Intel Core Ultra 9 285K |
GPU | Nvidia RTX 5090 | Nvidia RTX 5090 | Nvidia RTX 5090 |
Memory | 64GB DDR5-6400 | 64GB DDR5-6400 | 64GB DDR5-6400 |
Storage | 4TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD | 4TB + 4TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs | 4TB + 4TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs |
Cooling | 360mm AIO | 360mm AIO | 360mm AIO |
PSU | 1500W 80+ Platinum | 1500W 80+ Platinum | 1500W 80+ Platinum |
When it comes to max spec configurations, there's not much difference between regions, other than the US maxing out at just one 4TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, while the UK and Australia come with two 4TB PCIe 4.0 SSDs for a total of 8TB of storage.
For the top-tier configurations, you get an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K CPU, an Nvidia RTX 5090 GPU, 64GB DDR5-6400 memory with XMP overclocking, a 1500W Platinum-rated PSU, and a 360mm AIO cooler.
Price |
| $5,699.99 at Dell.com / £5,469.01 at Dell.com / AU$12,320 at Dell.com |
CPU |
| Intel Core Ultra 9 285K |
GPU |
| Nvidia RTX 5090 |
Memory |
| 64GB DDR5-6400 |
Storage |
| 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD (PCIe 4.0 in the US, PCIe 5.0 in UK and Australia) |
Cooling |
| 360mm AIO |
PSU |
| 1500W 80+ Platinum |
The configuration I'm reviewing here is towards the higher end, featuring a Core Ultra 9 285K, RTX 5090, 64GB DDR5 RAM, and a 2TB SSD, though the closest US config to my review unit has a PCIe 4.0 SSD, rather than a PCIe 5.0. It also has a 360mm AIO cooler and the beefier 1500W PSU.
- Specs: 4 / 5
Alienware Area-51 (2025): Design
- Oversized case leaves much to be desired
- Internal industrial styling is intense
- External shell a bit dull in the modern era
The Alienware Area-51 desktop is big. Seriously big. Its monstrous size will likely keep it off most desks. Even on my own test bench, at three meters long and 60cm deep, it could easily hang off the edge if I had situated it like I do my normal machine.
It's heavy too; that nearly 90 lbs/40kg weight is nothing to snort at—it's the kind of heft I'd expect from a custom liquid-cooled machine, not a pre-built system like this that's mostly comprised of plastic and a single AIO cooler.
The overall design is alright. It's got that Alienware chic, with the curves and the alien head logo on the front. Fonts are tidy, and cooling is for the most part well implemented across the board. The internal layout is massive, and there are QR codes littered everywhere for you to scan if you ever need a handy guide on how to update the graphics card or install new memory in the future. It still looks better suited to a launch a decade ago by modern styling standards.
What's less impressive is Alienware cutting some corners to bring this machine to market. Cable management internally is less than stellar. There are no braided cables here, and although the rear of the case is tidy, neat, and well-managed, there's a lot of extra cable around the front jutting out that's quite unsightly, or it's bound together awkwardly, pushed into headers on that bespoke motherboard.
There's even a massive chunk of metal strapped to the right-hand side of the GPU, solely to help cable-manage that 12VHPWR cable going into the RTX 5090, which not only feels massively overkill but also kind of doesn't work, as it's still draped along the top of it anyway. I mean, yes, technically it is acting as an anti-sag bracket as well here. The RTX 5090 isn't the lightest of cards out there, but there are so many better, more elegant solutions out there these days than just a large block of rectangular metal. It's a real shame.
Then there's that custom Z890 motherboard, the adorably named—hang on, let me check my notes here—ah yes, the 02JGX1. A bizarre-looking thing, complete with two DIMM slots for your RAM, three M.2 ports, and, well, that's about it.
It does look like Alienware has attempted to lean into that industrial aesthetic here, but there's so much exposed PCB, wireless cards, and ports just littered everywhere, combined with that poor cabling, it's seriously distracting.
Power phase setup is fairly tame too (which directly translates to CPU performance, which I'll speak to momentarily), with a 14-phase design, and the rear I/O is practically nonexistent, with only a smattering of USB Type-A and far too many USB Type-C.
You get one Ethernet port and WiFi support (weirdly running as a passthrough all the way at the bottom of the chassis), and that's kind of it. No Clear CMOS, BIOS flashback, HDMI or DisplayPort out, and no 5.1 audio either.
I bring this up very specifically because this is a $5,700 machine, and motherboards at $235 deliver far more for far less.
- Design: 3 / 5
Alienware Area-51 (2025): Performance
- Incredible 4K gaming framerates
- PCIe 5.0 SSD rips
- CPU relatively sluggish
Here's how the Alienware Area-51 (2025) performed in our suite of synthetic and gaming benchmarks:
Cinebench R24 (Multi-core): 2,186; (Single-core): 136
Geekbench 6.4 (Multi-core): 21,786; (Single-core): 3,148
CrossMark Overall: 2,500
CrossMark Creativity): 2,872
CrossMark Productivity: 2,256
CrossMark Responsiveness: 2,242
3DMark Fire Strike: 44,342
3DMark Time Spy: 36,886
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra: 30,352
3DMark Time Spy Extreme: 22,215
3DMark Speed Way: 14,285
3DMark Steel Nomad: 13,707
3DMark Port Royal: 34,020
Black Myth: Wukong (1080p, Cinematic): 102 fps; (4K, Cinematic): 59 fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, Ultra): 120 fps; (4K, Ultra): 57 fps
Metro: Exodus (1080p, Extreme): 149 fps; (4K, Extreme): 90 fps
Monster Hunter Wilds (1080p, Highest): 102 fps; (4K, Highest): 79 fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p, Highest): 244 fps; (4K, Highest): 169 fps
Total War: Warhammer III Battle (1080p, Ultra): 291 fps; (4K, Ultra): 150 fps
When it comes to performance, the Area-51 delivers, although you probably expect it to with top-line specs like it has.
Cinebench R24 performance was well into the two thousands, with a multi-core count of 2,186, on average, and an average single-core score of 136. That's not too shabby at all. In fact, the multi-score number is around 91 points per thread, making it wildly efficient. Similarly, Geekbench 6 also had a pretty good outing, with 21,786 points scored on the multi-core and 3,148 in single-core performance.
That SK Hynix PCIe 5.0 drive in my system, though, is the real winner, and although its sequentials were relatively low for a modern-day PCIe 5.0 drive (averaging just 12.3 GB/s on both read and write), the random 4K performance absolutely decimates pretty much every drive I've seen this year. Its random 4K read performance hit a relatively speedy 113 MB/s, with random writes coming in at 350 MB/s. You're going to see some seriously quick load times with this drive.
Temperatures and power draw were well within parameters, too, with the CPU topping out at around 92°C and the GPU at 75.8°C. Nothing out of the ordinary there. And while it is power-thirsty, the max power draw I saw during testing hit 840.8 W from the wall at peak, which isn't great, but isn't the worst either.
On the gaming side, in my 1080p testing, pretty much every title was well into the 120+ fps range or higher without the help of DLSS or Frame Gen, and a 4K, I saw upwards of 150 fps in Total War: Warhammer III's Battle benchmark, while Cyberpunk 2077 averaged 57 fps at 4K with ray tracing and no DLSS support at all.
The only mild problem I have with this setup is the slight discrepancy against an equally kitted-out rig I built earlier this year. Complete with an RTX 5090 plus Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, my own DIY rig beat out the Area-51 in practically every graphical and computational test.
At a guess, this is likely down to that CPU performance being heavily limited by the 14-phase VRM design, as it just couldn't produce enough juice to keep that Ultra 9 running at full speed for as long as its DIY counterpart.
The odd element about that, though, is that the DIY machine only featured a $220 Gigabyte motherboard, yet temps were at 100°C for the chip (and stable), but performance, both computational and in-game, was around 5-10% higher, depending. For a system that's $1,500 cheaper, that's not a good look.
- Performance: 4 / 5
Should You Buy The Alienware Area-51 (2025)?
Category | Verdict | Score |
|---|---|---|
Value | This isn't a cheap gaming PC, not one bit. Unless you can justify the cost, or it saves you time in some manner, you'd be far better off building your own. | 3 / 5 |
Specs | With the right config, you can easily get the best of the best hardware on the market right now, and you can upgrade it later—if you've got any budget left over. | 4 / 5 |
Design | A design straight of the 2010s, there's numerous fumbles here that let down an otherwise stellar spec sheet. | 3 / 5 |
Performance | Unsurprisingly with that top-tier hardware it absolutely dominates 4K gaming and any task you can throw at it. | 4 / 5 |
Total | Big, bold, and a bit brash. It delivers on the performance front, but with mediocre styling, average build quality, and an insane price, it doesn't quite hit the mark. | 3.5 / 5 |
Buy the Alienware Area-51 If…
You need to save time
If you're not interested in building your own machine but want the best hardware, there's no denying this is a good pick, and easily upgradable long-term.
You have the desk space for it
It's massive; the case is seriously long, and it's heavy enough that you'll need help just getting it on your desk.
Don't buy it if...
You want the best value
A similarly kitted-out gaming PC, built yourself, can save you a lot of money.
You're looking for something a little more stylish
Alienware has a style you'll either love or hate, but if you're after something with sharp lines and modern flair, then aside from the interior, you might want to look elsewhere.
- Originally reviewed May 2025
