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English => Reviews => Topic started by: Redaktion on April 22, 2026, 17:57:10

Title: Alienware 16 Area-51 review: New Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus is all power at any cost
Post by: Redaktion on April 22, 2026, 17:57:10
Intel Arrow Lake-H kicks it up a notch with an even more powerful SKU this year to supersede the Core Ultra 9 275HX. However, squeezing more performance out of the same underlying architecture has its consequences.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Alienware-16-Area-51-review-New-Core-Ultra-9-290HX-Plus-is-all-power-at-any-cost.1276167.0.html
Title: Re: Alienware 16 Area-51 review: New Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus is all power at any cost
Post by: Pi-Qui on April 23, 2026, 11:38:45
When I read this review I get a sour taste in my mouth, the verdict should not be very good but good. The way Notebookcheck is judging laptops becomes stranger by the day! I start to dissgree more and more with their reviews!
Title: Re: Alienware 16 Area-51 review: New Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus is all power at any cost
Post by: How about this on April 23, 2026, 14:24:12
4000 bucks (+ taxes on top still?) for 16 GB VRAM and 32 GB RAM. Do you really want to carry 7.28 pounds + the power supply 2.43 pounds? Maybe get a (Apple Refurbished) MacBook Air and get/build a desktop PC instead? This will still be cheaper and the desktop PC will be repairable, upgradable and run quieter.
Title: Re: Alienware 16 Area-51 review: New Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus is all power at any cost
Post by: Yuriy on April 24, 2026, 19:35:25
20% memory latency is a good number for latency intensive task. That CPU now is better for work.
Title: Re: Alienware 16 Area-51 review: New Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus is all power at any cost
Post by: Gastredner on May 22, 2026, 21:07:20
Quote from: How about this on April 23, 2026, 14:24:124000 bucks (+ taxes on top still?) for 16 GB VRAM and 32 GB RAM. Do you really want to carry 7.28 pounds + the power supply 2.43 pounds? Maybe get a (Apple Refurbished) MacBook Air and get/build a desktop PC instead? This will still be cheaper and the desktop PC will be repairable, upgradable and run quieter.

Good luck with your MacBook Air if you want to play games or work on computationally intensive projects (like 3D animation) in your holiday apartment, a hotel during a business trip or at your parent's home (if your are a student not living at home anymore). Or if you want to take it to a friend's house to game together. Or if you're commuting between your home office and the office and doing CAD work. Or if you don't want to constantly syncronize your laptop and your desktop.

You don't seem to understand the concept of desktop replacement notebooks, do you? Not everyone is constantly on the go, feeling the need for an ultra portable laptop with shitty cooling (or none at all like on the Air).

Cooling on this Alienware is simply outstanding. 300W system power at 49db is insanely good. The CPU and GPU temperature would even allow quieter fans. Due to diminishing returns, by reducing performance by a virtually imperceptible 10%, power consumption of CPU and GPU should drop by 60–70 W, allowing fan noise in the lower 40db range, which is totally fine.
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