Alienware has a definite model that actually attracts potential patrons all by itself. However for those who’ve already selected Alienware as a model on your subsequent gaming PC, that makes the selection pretty easy, as Alienware has cleaned up its lineup fairly a bit and now sells solely the Aurora R16 and R15.
The newer providing, the Aurora R16, which was launched earlier this 12 months, is our choose of the very best Alienware gaming PC that you can purchase as we speak.
One of many largest causes for selecting the Aurora R16 is the redesigned chassis. It isn’t as flashy because the previous-generation fashions, however that’s really a superb factor. Gone are the big plastic bits masking the complete body, making for a cleaner and extra refined look. Additionally it is far more compact, with out compromising on the elements that go inside. It appears and feels quite a bit like an everyday gaming desktop, which ought to attraction extra to the lots. The chassis is 8 inches deep, 16.5 inches tall, and about 8 inches large, whereas the big air consumption on the entrance is surrounded by Alienware’s Stadium Lighting, which appears like a neat gentle bar. Different RGB components embrace the Alienware brand energy button and the rear exhaust fan.
The aspect panel is made out of acrylic as a substitute of tempered glass and provides a transparent view of the internals. Notably, the underside half of the aspect panel is tinted. By doing this, the corporate has managed to cover all of the cable mess under. The decrease portion of the aspect panel additionally features a honeycomb sample with mesh perforations, permitting the system (particularly the GPU) to tug in contemporary air. Even the highest has air flow, one thing that the earlier fashions struggled with. Alienware additionally provides the desktop with an air-cooled CPU and a stable aspect panel, if that’s one thing you favor.
The Aurora R16 represents greater than only a substantial design shift for Alienware; it additionally introduces a discount in value. The beginning configuration is priced at $1,300, providing an Intel Core i7-13700F, an RTX 4060, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD. Nonetheless, the choices for personalization are intensive. On the excessive finish, you’ll be able to elevate your expertise with an Intel Core i9-13900F, Nvidia RTX 4090, 64GB of DDR5-5200 RAM, and an 8TB storage answer for $4,980.
Whereas there are a number of configurations to select from, we advocate going for an Intel Core i7-13700F, RTX 4070, 32GB of DDR5-5600, and 1TB of NVMe storage, paired with a 1,000-watt PSU, 240mm all-in-one liquid cooler, and a transparent aspect panel. The configuration ought to value round $1,750, which is a really aggressive value in comparison with the Lenovo Legion Tower 5i.
Attending to the internals is quite a bit less complicated too. There’s now a single screw on the again and a tab that simply pops off the aspect panel. You continue to get a proprietary Alienware motherboard, together with a skinny energy provide, making them non-user upgradable. One can, nevertheless, swap or add extra storage utilizing the 2 M.2 slots, in addition to a 2.5-inch SSD or 3.5-inch HDD. Aside from that, you’ll be able to exchange the Wi-Fi card and probably improve to a 14th-gen Intel Raptor Lake refresh CPU, for the reason that motherboard comes with an LGA1700 socket.
Relying on the configuration, you will get loads of efficiency from the Aurora R16. Having mentioned that, this 12 months Alienware has opted to make use of non-Ok Intel CPU fashions. Not solely do they lack the potential of overclocking, however the chips have been tuned barely decrease to make sure higher thermals and fan noise. Whereas it is probably not a major concern for players, it holds extra weight for customers searching for a stability between productiveness and gaming efficiency. Throughout our testing of the Aurora 16, we discovered that the Core i7-13700F was a bit of slower than the Ok mannequin contained in the Dell XPS Desktop 8960.
You possibly can count on glorious gaming outcomes on the Aurora R16. With the above beneficial configuration (Intel Core i7-13700F with RTX 4070), the system is able to dealing with most video games at 4K decision and extremely graphics settings at 60 frames per second (fps). It even managed to attain very near a customized RTX 4070 desktop with AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X in 3DMark benchmark assessments.
For many players, the Alienware Aurora R16 ought to provide an impeccable gaming expertise. Simply be sure you select the proper configuration based mostly in your use case. You possibly can nonetheless go for the Aurora R15 with the newest {hardware}, together with the choice of unlocked Intel CPUs, however in our expertise, the older chassis design shouldn’t be actually price spending extra cash on.
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