MSI Stealth 18 HX AI (2026) vs Dell Alienware 18 Area-51
69
out of 100
VS
62
out of 100
Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Review
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Portability
Design, materials, durability and usability
Pick the usage scenario that best matches your needs
Value for money (Beta)
Key Differences
Advantages of the MSI Stealth 18 HX AI (2026)
- Can run popular games at about 94-128% higher FPS
- Easier to carry: weighs 260 grams less (around 0.57 lbs)
- Performs significantly better (up to 72%) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
Advantages of the Dell Alienware 18 Area-51
- Higher screen refresh rate: 300 versus 144 Hz
- Includes an old-school USB-A port
- Thinner bezels and 9% higher screen-to-body ratio
- Better webcam recording quality
- 33% sharper screen – 168 versus 126 pixels per inch (PPI)
- Smaller footprint: 9% more compact case (164.1 vs 179.6 square inches)
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 2.89 kg (6.37 lbs) | 3.15 kg (6.95 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 399.99 x 289.67 x 19.9-23.99 mm 15.75 x 11.4 x 0.78-0.94 inches |
365 x 290 x 21.6-28.5 mm 14.37 x 11.42 x 0.85-1.12 inches |
| Area | 1159 cm2 (179.6 inches2) | 1059 cm2 (164.1 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~81.1% | ~88.7% |
| Side bezels | 6.1 mm | -11.3 mm |
| Colors | Black | Black, Green |
| Material | Aluminum | Top: Aluminum |
| Transformer | No | No |
| Opening angle | 170° | 140° |
Size comparison
| Cooling system | Active | Active |
| Vapor chamber | Yes | Yes |
| Liquid metal | No | No |
| Number of fans | 2 | 4 |
| Noise level (max. load) | 63 dB | 55.9 dB |
Display
| Size | 18 inches | 18 inches |
| Type | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| Refresh rate | 144 Hz | 300 Hz |
| PPI | 126 ppi | 168 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1200 pixels | 2560 x 1600 pixels |
| HDR support | No | Yes, HDR10 |
| Sync technology | No | G-Sync |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Coating | Matte | Matte |
| Ambient light sensor | No | No |
| Contrast | - | 1200:1 |
| sRGB color space | - | 100% |
| Adobe RGB profile | - | 89.7% |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | - | 96.1% |
| Response time | - | 3 ms |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
| Voltage | - | 11.7 V |
| Full charging time | 2:00 hr | 2:00 hr |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
| Charging via USB (Power Delivery) | Yes, 140 W | Yes |
| Charging port position | Right, Bottom | Bottom |
| Charge power | 280 W | 360 W |
| Weight of AC adapter | 723 grams | 1045 grams |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 2.4 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Turbo frequency | 5.2 GHz | 5.2 GHz |
| Cores | 20 (8P + 12E) | 20 (8P + 12E) |
| Threads | 20 | 20 |
| L3 Cache | 30 MB | 30 MB |
| Integrated GPU | Arc Graphics (4-Cores) | Arc Graphics (4-Cores) |
| Fabrication process | 3 nm | 3 nm |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)
Graphics Card
GPU name
| TGP | 115 W | - |
| Nvidia Optimus | MUX | Yes, Advanced Optimus |
| Type | Dedicated | Dedicated |
| Fabrication process | 4 nm | 4 nm |
| FLOPS | 26.2 TFLOPS | 9.7-16.6 TFLOPS |
| Memory size | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | GDDR7 | GDDR7 |
| Memory bus | 128 bit | 128 bit |
| Memory speed | ~24 Gbps | ~24 Gbps |
| Shading units (cores) | 4608 | 3328 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 144 | 104 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 48 | 48 |
| GPU performance | 26.2 TFLOPS | 9.7-16.6 TFLOPS |
GPU Benchmarks
Steel Nomad Lite Score
| Blender GPU | 4599 | 2842 |
| Solar Bay | 67471 | 41266 |
Expected FPS based on average performance across 9 popular games. Details
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | 2x16 GB | 1x16 GB |
| Clock | 6400 MHz | 6400 MHz |
| Type | DDR5 | DDR5 |
| Upgradable | Yes | Yes |
| Total slots | 2 | 2 |
| Max. ram size | 128 GB | 96 GB |
Storage
Storage size
| Bus | PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) | PCI-E Gen 5.0 (4x) |
| Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
| Channels | 1x1024 GB | 1x512 GB |
| Upgradable | Yes | Yes |
| Total slots | 2 | 3 |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Audio chip | - | Realtek ALC3329 |
| Speakers | 2.4 (2 tweeters and 4 woofers) | 2.2 (2 tweeters and 2 woofers) |
| Power | 2x2W, 4x2W | 2x2W, 2x2W |
| Dolby Atmos | No | Yes |
| Loudness | ~90 dB | ~87.9 dB |
| Microphones | 2 | 2 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | v7 | v7 |
| Bluetooth | v5.4 | v5.4 |
| Fingerprint | Yes | No |
| Infrared sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Optical drive | No | No |
| Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
| Webcam resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 3840 x 2160 |
| USB-A | 2x USB 3.2 | 3x USB 3.2 |
| USB Type-C | 2x USB 4.0 | 2x USB 4.0 |
| Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 5 |
| HDMI | 1x HDMI 2.1 | 1x HDMI 2.1 |
| DisplayPort | No | No |
| VGA | No | No |
| Audio jack (3.5 mm) | Yes | Yes |
| Ethernet (RJ45) | Yes | Yes |
| SD card reader | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary charging port | Yes | Yes |
Input
| Keyboard type | Island | Mechanical |
| Numpad | Yes | Yes |
| Backlight | Yes | Yes |
| Size | 13.5 x 9.0 cm | 13.1 x 8.0 cm |
| Surface | Plastic | Glass |
| Windows Precision | Yes | Yes |
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
Cast your vote
Total votes: < 1