Dell chose to market this machine as upgradeable, knowing that customers would understand that to mean “I can put a CPU or GPU in the machine that was not available on the day the laptop launched.” Desktop replacement PCs have existed for decades. The idea that the Area-51m was a “true” desktop replacement hinged on the idea that you could swap the CPU and GPU out for something new.
What’s particularly damning is that Alienware didn’t bother updating end users that their systems would not be upgradeable until May 2020, long after Area-51m systems had begun shipping to customers. As an OEM, Alienware would have known that Intel would move to LGA 1200 for 10th Gen long before Intel confirmed it publicly, and news of LGA 1200 had leaked by
July 2019.