Dell’s new Alienware Area-51m 17″ laptop comes with a hefty footprint, but that’s because they squeezed 8 desktop CPU cores into it (i7 or i9 K series depending on configuration), 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, and up to 64GB of RAM.
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To match the i9-9900HK, the Area-51m offers NVidia’s GeForce RTX 2060, RTX 2070, and RTX 2080 GPUs for the most demanding of video games and fast video editing if you’re a videographer or YouTuber. It also has dual and triple storage options up to 3TB and Killer Wireless 1550 2×2 AC Wi-FI.
In addition to the CPUs having a much higher TDP (therefore a much higher heat output) than the average laptop and the high power of the RTX GPUs, the Alienware Area-51m has to have an outstanding cooling system to dispel all that heat. A big contributor to the heat output is the fact that they used desktop CPUs.
Desktop CPUs are more powerful than laptop ones, but they also generate more heat. The Cryo-Tech 2.0 cooling system is not liquid cooled. However, it employs a dual-intake, dual-exhaust design (powered by two centrifugal fans). It isn’t a thin notebook, but it couldn’t have been with that much heat being generated inside.
Regarding the centrifugal fans. That type of fan (often called blowers) is of the moderate pressure variety and is commonly used in laptops due to their thin profile and ability to force air through narrow passages, fins, and other restricted areas (laptop chassis) effectively.
The Area-51m is the mobile version of the Area 51 gaming desktop and recently made its debut at the CES.