Alienware Area-51m: an exclusive look inside

The Alienware Area-51m might be the ultimate portable desktop: a 17-inch laptop that adds interchangeable graphics cards and swappable desktop processors for the first time in years. This one fits up to an Nvidia RTX 2080 and an Intel Core i9-9900K, the fastest parts in a notebook yet. Alienware designed the Area-51m to be easily rebuilt so we tore it down to see what’s inside.

[TheVerge]

Would you rather have a thick gaming laptop with swappable components like a desktop, or a thinner machine that plugs into an external GPU?

[akkhoroffline]

Omg the Alienware guy is so honest! So refreshing to see!

[imtiajuddin]

Only person from any company who talks straight forward

[riazulrahil]

Alienware got a director who actually cares for consumers! EXCELLENT.

[delightfulsquirtle]

if I had the money I would buy isntantly just to support this kind of strategy.

[MrParadoxHD]

Actually suprised that Alienware is allowing upgrades. This is huge.

[minullamahewage]

So refreshing to see a company rep being honest and straightforward about their product.

[Sadlylate]

"they decided to do something thicker for once" Bro Alienware has always made refrigerator sized laptops.

[StevenEveral]

Who else is here from the Framework 16 video?

[ENDESGA]

I didn't know the director of Alienware was that open! So refreshing to hear him speaking honestly

[undifini]

I really like their honesty. No bullshit, no hype the thing can't possibly live up to. Just a good concept, with all its perks and all its shortcomings. And what seems like an honest willingness to support the product in the future, if technically possible. Nice.

[JacksonHustler]

darn good and straight honest review from both the presentor and the maker.

But, I think they should sell with a lower end CPU like an AMD Ryzen 3 with 1050ti graphics, and sell it at a competitive price

[VERSATILEKNOWLEDGE]

Nice Work Team Verge. Thanks for amazing CES Coverage for us.

[rwantare]

Under what rock have you been living? MXM was available on old MSI and Clevo laptops. Alienware did it years ago too. It's exciting that it's kinda back, but it's not new.

[Itbankrock]

Yeah sure upgradable...
CPU... it's Intel, they change socket for every other goddamn generation.
GPU... it COULD be hard to find graphics cards sold in that form factor

[Fakeman]

never been able to swap out the graphics card.... EVER UNTIL NOW ... if you ignore all previous laptops with MXM slots and the old traditional M cpus like the 4700MQ that allowed CPUs to be swapped out. Advertising old features as new. Classic. At least they didn't use 3 screws on the GPU and CPU this time.

[iawarenow]

Alienware got a director who actually cares for consumers and sounds like is really giving it how it is! EXCELLENT...

[hasanjawad]

Thank you Alienware. This was much awaited. Hopefully ASUS and razor learns something from this

[vladimir]

You can not get electrocuted from a laptop battery.. That warning is there to tell you to disconnect the battery so you wont short out something on the motherboard..

[serialtoon]

Not the first time mobile GPUs have been interchangeable and definitely not Dells first attempt at this either.