Alienware Area-51m R2 gaming laptop: fast enough for aliens to game on

Alienware has just unveiled its newly-upgraded Area-51m R2 gaming laptop, which packs some seriously fast desktop-class components.

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The new Alienware Area-51m R2 packs an Intel Core i9-10900K which means you have a super-fast 10C/20T processor, at up to a huge 5.3GHz. GPU wise you're looked after, with Alienware tapping NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER graphics with 8GB of GDDR6 memory.

Alienware has really stepped up with the new Area-51m R2 gaming laptop, as it has a bunch of user-replaceable parts. This includes the CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, thermal cooling components, and more. It's not perfect though, but it's nice to see that you can make changes to core components like the CPU and GPU post-purchase.

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There are plenty of display options to choose from, where you have 3 different models with 1080p resolutions. First, there's 1080p with 144Hz and no G-SYNC, while another offers the same 1080p 144Hz but adds G-SYNC. The other 1080p offering has a much higher 300Hz refresh display and 3ms response (down from 9ms on the other panels) and offers 100% of the sRGB color gamut while the other 2 panels offer 72% of the NTSC color gamut.

The company offers a higher-end 4K panel but locks it to 60Hz with a much higher 25ms response, but has 100% of the Adobe RGB color gamut. All of the panels have Tobii Eyetracking technology.

CPU wise, Alienware lets you configure the Area-51m R2 gaming laptop with 4 difference CPUs -- 2 x Core i7 chips, and 2 x Core i9 chips. We have the Core i7-10700 which is an 8C/16T chip at up to 4.8GHz, and the Core i7-10700K which is another 8C/16T chip but up to 5.1GHz.

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The other two offerings are the Core i9-10900 which is a higher-end 10C/20T processor at up to 5.2GHz, while the flagship Core i9-10900K is offered with it also being a 10C/20T chip but up to 5.3GHz. All of these CPUs are part of Intel's new 10th-gen Core family of processors.

You have plenty of GPU options with Alienware offering some from everyone. You get a starter kit with NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, but also an AMD Radeon RX 5700M offering, as well as the GeForce RTX 2060, GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, and flagship GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER graphics cards.

RAM wise you can start with 8GB of dual-channel DDR4, all the way through to higher-end (and faster) 16GB/32GB options, right up to 64GB.

The new Alienware Area-51m R2 gaming laptop will be released on June 9, 2020 -- starting at $3049, and will scale up considerably once you start cramming in the bleeding edge CPU, GPU, RAM, and SSD options.

Display options:

• 17.3″ FHD (1920 x 1080) 144Hz 9ms 300-nits 72% NTSC color gamut + Tobii Eyetracking technology
• 17.3″ FHD (1920 x 1080) 144Hz 9ms 300-nits 72% NTSC color gamut with NVIDIA-GSYNC technology + Tobii Eyetracking technology
• 17.3″ FHD (1920 x 1080) 300Hz 3ms 300-nits 100% sRGB color gamut + Tobii Eyetracking technology
• 17.3″ UHD (3840 x 2160) 60Hz 25ms 500-nits 100% Adobe RGB color gamut + Tobii Eyetracking technology

CPU options:

• 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 10700 (8-Core, 16MB Cache, 2.9GHz to 4.8GHz w/Turbo Boost Max 3.0)
• 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 10700K (8-Core, 16MB Cache, 3.8GHz to 5.1GHz w/Turbo Boost Max 3.0)
• 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9 10900 (10-Core, 20MB Cache, 2.8GHz to 5.2GHz w/Thermal Velocity Boost)
• 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9 10900K (10-Core, 20MB Cache, 3.7GHz to 5.3GHz w/Thermal Velocity Boost)

GPU options:

• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB GDDR6
• AMD Radeon RX 5700M 8GB GDDR6
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 with 6GB GDDR6
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB GDDR6
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8GB GDDR6

I/O:

• (1x) Power/DC-in Jack
• (1x) RJ-45 Killer Ethernet E3000 10/100/1000Mbps/2.5Gbps Port
• (2x) Type-A USB 3.2 Gen 1 Port
• (1x) Type-A USB 3.2 Gen 1 Port with Powershare Technology
• (1x) Push-Pull Media-Card Reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC formats)
• (1x) Thunderbolt 3 Port (USB Type-C with support for USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps, 40Gbps Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort 1.2)
• (1x) Alienware Graphics Amplifier Port
• (1x) HDMI 2.0b with HDCP 2.2 Output Port
• (1x) Mini-Display Port 1.4 (certified) Output
• (1x) Audio Out 1/8″ Ports (Compatible with inline mic headset)
• (1x) Global Headset
• (1x) Wedge-shaped lock slot (cable and lock sold separately)
• (1x) microSD 5.1, UHS-II HD312 Card Reader