Alienware Aurora R16 gaming PC evaluation

Alienware launched the newest model of its desktop gaming PC, the Aurora R16, in the course of final yr, marking a radically non-radical shift away from its Giger-inspired origins. This launch goes past a mere plexiglass window addition, presenting a completely new chassis design that can elicit both love or disdain. 

Based on Alienware, the redesign responds to the wishes of loyalists looking for an easier chassis that seamlessly suits into their setups and extra simply accommodates aftermarket parts. Alienware most likely did too good a job on one entrance, making a machine that appears decidedly extra earthly than Alien, however nonetheless failed on the opposite with a machine that also is not as upgradeable as PC fanatics would really like. 

The brand new Aurora R16 begins at $1,300 (£1,349 and $2,800 AUD) and in typical Dell vogue, you’ll be able to configure the machine with as little as a thirteenth Gen Intel i7 with Nvidia RTX 4060 all the best way as much as a range-topping 14th Gen Intel i9-14900F, RTX 4090, 64GB DDR5 and 8TB SSD for an absurd $5,300. 

My evaluation unit got here furnished with a liquid cooled Intel Core i9 13900F, 32GB DDR5-5600 reminiscence, a 512GB SSD, and 1TB 7200RPM HDD. Graphics energy is supplied by an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 although I could not make out precisely what model is supplying Dell from the clean shroud round it. There is a new 240mm warmth exchanger on the high of the case and a 120mm exhaust fan on the again. 

Upgrading even this newest Alienware system can nonetheless be a bit difficult on account of its proprietary motherboard and bespoke 1000w energy provide. The motherboard affords solely two DDR5 RAM slots and two M.2 SSD slots with out heatsinks. It is fairly primary, missing essential options, and the RAM and SSDs from Alienware come with out warmth spreaders, being easy barebones chips.

And talking of these storage drives, Dell is being remarkably stingy on the subject of SSD capability. Stuffing only a 512GB SSD right into a machine that prices practically three grand just isn’t a very good have a look at a time when 1TB drives are the minimal we’d advocate for PC avid gamers.

Heading again outdoors to the case design, I am not a fan of what Alienware did there. Cowl the signature alien head emblem and this may very well be another RGB case from across the web. Notice that that is the primary showcase of the corporate’s new Legend 3 industrial design, and it’s miles from the extra trendy Legend 2 Design Language that made the R15 and X16 laptops such standouts. 

The brand new chassis comes solely in black and is 40% smaller than the earlier mannequin, measuring 16.5 x 7.8 x 18.1 inches. Regardless of its compact dimension, it maintains a 25-liter capability, accommodating giant RTX 4090 GPUs. This makes it extra handy for my setup or theoretically even for a front room TV. The R16 options an acrylic aspect panel with a classy honeycomb vent design for improved airflow whereas concealing cable muddle. Nevertheless, the panel’s sliding latch launch system on the again, secured by a Philips-head screw, may definitely be less complicated.

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The entrance of the Aurora has an inch-wide hole that cleverly hides a entrance air consumption whereas nonetheless providing you with a strong panel with three 5Gbps USB Sort-A ports, one 10Gbps Sort-C, and an audio combo jack for straightforward entry. The signature RGB ring can simply distract you from the hole and naturally you’ll be able to customise the wonderful lighting. 

There is a bunch extra ports on the again, too, with a pair of 5Gbps USB-A, one 10Gbps USB-C, one 20Gbps USB-C, and 4 USB 2.0 loads of audio outputs and an Ethernet 2.5Gps port—so connecting all of your peripherals isn’t going to be a difficulty. The R16 helps WiFi6E and comes with a stocky, puck-like antenna which has nice reception. 

The standout function of the brand new R16 design, nevertheless, is its considerably improved thermal efficiency. In contrast to its predecessors, the R16 operates quietly even below heavy masses, sustaining this low noise stage even in Efficiency mode. Throughout stress assessments and demanding benchmarks, similar to Cyberpunk 2077 in 4K with Psycho ray-tracing, the R16 remained remarkably quiet, with each CPU and GPU temperatures comfortably beneath 70°C.

The caveat right here, although, is that Alienware seems to be limiting the ability limits of the Aurora R16’s processor to have the ability to hit these low thermal and acoustic ranges. Though my benchmark scores typically align with expectations, I’ve seen the CPU efficiency in Cinebench and Geekbench was noticeably decrease than a Lenovo Legion PC operating a Core i7 13700F.

Which may additionally clarify the selection of F variant CPUs over the Okay-series, which permit overclocking.

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When it comes to gaming efficiency, although, the Aurora R16 nonetheless excels. It not solely operates a lot quieter than earlier fashions but additionally sustains this efficiency effortlessly. For my gaming and high-productivity duties, similar to video enhancing, the brand new Aurora R16 proved to be a seamless expertise—every thing runs extremely easy and truthfully pleasant. 

That energy restrict solely subject solely actually raises its head whenever you’re testing for uncooked benchmark numbers, and never essentially whenever you’re simply gaming on it. Balancing the ability and the precise expertise would possibly nicely be a worthy compromise for a lot of PC customers, although it does sting somewhat figuring out you’re completely leaving potential efficiency on the desk.

Regardless of its seemingly bizarre look, for me it stands out as the very best gaming PC Alienware has ever produced. The efficiency is close to top-notch, and the acoustics are genuinely spectacular, sustaining quiet operation even throughout probably the most demanding of duties. However that does not imply it is the very best gaming PC; there are quicker, higher worth gaming PCs on the market that do not include the needlessly proprietary nature of Alienware, and people are the place we’d advocate PC avid gamers spend their cash.

However whereas I’ve some reservations about its upgradeability, it is price noting the target market for this machine probably prioritizes the core expertise over tinkering and even uncooked efficiency. Nevertheless, the actual Achilles’ heel for me is the guarantee and repair facet, with Dell providing solely a modest 1-year protection. In a market the place many smaller PC builders present 3 years or extra, Alienware may improve its providing on this division to raised cater to buyer expectations.