Alienware Aurora R16 Desktop Evaluation: An Attention-grabbing Possibility, however Not the Smartest Choose

Alienware Aurora R16 Desktop

Execs

Slick and pretty compact design
Largely quiet even below load
Software-less entry and elements abound
Good I/O

Cons

Underwhelming efficiency for the worth
Proprietary as may be
Possible a mud magnet

Alienware has by no means been identified for its worth. It has all the time had extra occurring with model and efficiency. The Alienware Aurora R16 desktop suits that mould with a curious design that eschews lots of typical approaches to PC constructing in favor of one thing a bit offbeat. It isn’t as wild because the Aurora R15 externally, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a curious sight.

As for efficiency, the Alienware Aurora R16 has loads. The airflow is perhaps a bit of complicated, and common dusting will in all probability be excessive on the upkeep checklist, however the Aurora R16 can ship the place pace is anxious. That mentioned, it isn’t precisely punching above its weight. That is very true as configured right here for $2,365 with simply an RTX 4070 inside. Nonetheless, that’s paired with a monster of an Intel Core i9-14900KF. That is not essentially the most wise pairing, because it goes a bit of CPU-heavy. Think about that Lenovo’s Tower 7i Gen 8 is simply barely extra, at $2,549, with the identical CPU, beefier liquid cooling, fewer proprietary elements and most significantly, an RTX 4080 Tremendous. With a selection between the 2, I would not even hesitate to go for Lenovo’s much more value-minded possibility.

Alienware Aurora R16 Specs

Worth as reviewed	$2,365
Measurement	38-liter customized (16.5 x 7.8 x 18.1 in/418 x 197 x 458 mm)
Motherboard	Alienware 0RF96M Z690 customized
CPU	3.2GHz Intel Core i9-14900KF
Reminiscence	32GB DDR5-5600
Graphics	NVIDIA RTX 4070
Storage	1TB NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD (boot) (SK Hynix PC801)
Networking	GbE, Killer Wi-Fi 6E AX1675x 802.11AX, Bluetooth 5.3
Connections	USB 2.0 (x2 rear), USB 3.2 Gen 1 Sort-A (x3 entrance, x2 rear), USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-C (x1 entrance, x1 rear), USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Sort-C (x1 rear), 3.5mm audio connector (x1 entrance, x6 rear), Optical SPDIF, Coaxial SPDIF, Gigabit Ethernet, Antenna x2, HDMI (x1 on GPU), DisplayPort (x3 on GPU)
Working system	Home windows 11 Professional

The Alienware Aurora R16 begins at $1,344. This will get you an air-cooled Intel Core i7-14700F, Nvidia RTX 4060, 16GB of DDR5-5600 reminiscence, 1TB of NVMe storage, a 500-watt 80 Plus Platinum energy provide, Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 and no peripherals. From there, Alienware gives a ton of improve choices. Earlier than we get into that, nevertheless, it is price noting that as of this writing, Nvidia’s new 50-series playing cards can be found and may discover their means into the Aurora quickly sufficient. The precise construct of our take a look at PC won’t be obtainable. So the pricing beneath, correct as of this writing, will probably be completely different by the point you learn this. It ought to provide you with a common thought concerning the R16’s worth and different improve choices, although.

With that in thoughts, you will get a number of Intel CPUs, together with the Core i7-14700F, -14700KF, i9-14900F, -14900KF and even a Thirteenth-Gen i9-13900F. The entire Ok Collection processors require upgrading to a 1,000-watt energy provide and liquid cooling. On the GPU facet, there’s every little thing obtainable from an RTX 4060 Ti to an RTX 4090, with many steps in between. You may even go the AMD route with a Radeon RX 7900XTX. Every little thing above the RTX 4070 additionally requires upgrading the facility provide to a 1,000-watt mannequin.

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DDR5 reminiscence at 5600MT/s is out there in 16GB or 32GB capacities and 64GB at 5200MT/s. Storage additionally is available in a variety with 1, 2 and 4TB M.2 SSDs obtainable to populate a single slot or each obtainable slots. Alienware additionally gives a 7,200rpm laborious drive with 1TB of storage. There’s each air cooling for the CPU or 120mm or 240mm radiators for liquid cooling. One liquid cooling possibility has AlienFX lighting, however that features solely a 500-watt energy provide and 120mm radiator.

Our take a look at unit prices $2,364 as configured. Dell does not supply this config with Home windows 11 Professional however our take a look at unit got here with it as an alternative of Home windows 11 House. If we had been constructing one ourselves, and once more this was earlier than the 50-series GPUs grew to become obtainable, we would go for the RTX 4070 Tremendous configuration since there was no further cost on the time of this writing, or we would spend the additional $100 for the 4070 Ti Tremendous. The Intel Core i9-14900KF appeared a bit overkill when paired with an RTX 4070. As an alternative, we would decide to save lots of a bit of and get the cheaper Core i7-14700KF and even the air-cooled Core i7-14700F. Doing so would largely offset the price of the sooner video card.

Typically talking, whereas there have been a plethora of improve choices obtainable, they shortly may balloon the worth of the R16 to far above what a similarly- outfitted PC can be from a extra value-oriented producer. It is simply one thing to remember.

Speedy, however not exceedingly or class-leadingly

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In some ways, the Alienware Aurora R16 is a efficiency powerhouse. The processor included in our take a look at unit is a correct beast, and although the followers can ramp up a bit to maintain it cool with only a single 240mm radiator, they do not make rather more than a chilled hum whereas the Core i9 blasts via workloads. In Geekbench 6, it even zipped previous the Core i9-14900KF contained in the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 by a modest margin. Nonetheless, the Lenovo got here out forward within the Cinebench R24, the place its 360mm radiator probably helped sustain the sustained efficiency required for that take a look at.

The mixed efficiency of the R16’s CPU and GPU, in addition to its quick reminiscence and storage, make it a pressure to be reckoned with within the holistic PCMark10 benchmark, the place it hit an enormous 9,778 factors. So nearly any on a regular basis computing activity thrown its means might be a breeze.

Its gaming efficiency is predictably sturdy, with the RTX 4070 placing up stable numbers in our benchmark suite. Regardless of the graphics card being on the small facet, it seems to get loads of air from the one entrance consumption fan and the facet vents, which helped it preserve warmth down and pace up. There is a good hole between it and the efficiency of the RTX 4060 within the Lenovo Legion Tower 5i Gen 8 I examined, nevertheless it’s additionally a far cry from the Tower 7i Gen 8’s RTX 4080 Tremendous.

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The system is ready to put up triple-digit body charges at 1080p simply sufficient, hitting a bit of over 200fps in Guardians of the Galaxy at Excessive settings and in Shadow of the Tomb Raider at Highest settings. Nonetheless, there’s nonetheless room for enchancment. It underperformed in some areas subsequent to the RTX 4070 FE in our checks of that card, which managed higher leads to 3DMark’s Port Royal Time Spy and Hearth Strike Extremely benchmarks and The Riftbreaker’s GPU benchmark.

On the plus facet, the Alienware Aurora R16 can maintain its efficiency. Working 3DMark’s Metal Nomad stress take a look at, which pushes the system with a demanding benchmark run 20 occasions in a row, the Alienware Aurora R16 handed with 99.1% consistency, seeing scores starting from 3,610 to three,644 with solely mild noise coming from the system.

Some alien oddity inside to get a considerably smaller outdoors

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The Alienware Aurora R16 is an interesting-looking machine. It isn’t fairly as out-there because the alien heads of yore, nevertheless it includes a distinctive air channel on the entrance with a hoop of RGB lighting that syncs with an exhaust fan within the again. The highest of the system and half of the glass facet panel each function a lattice of honeycomb-shaped holes that present trendy air flow.

Out in entrance, Alienware has an nearly barren case aside from the glowing Alienware emblem that doubles as an influence button, a recess with three USB-A ports, one USB-C port and a headphone combo jack. These ports are complemented by a great assortment of connections on the again: six USB-A and two USB-C ports (one clocking in at 20Gbps), plus surround-sound-ready audio ports, Wi-Fi antenna connections, Ethernet and the standard array of video outputs coming from the graphics card.

The system is not huge, nevertheless it’s not precisely small both, at 16.5 by 7.8 by 18.1 inches. It suits neatly between the ATX-sized Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 and mATX Legion Tower 5i Gen 8 whereas being barely narrower than each. Nonetheless, the place these two desktops conform to some requirements, the Alienware Aurora R16 largely does not.

Because the title may counsel, the within of the Alienware Aurora R16 is really alien. Having messed round with PCs a great bit, I felt like I wasn’t in Kansas anymore once I cracked open the case. It is simple sufficient to get inside, with a quick-release glass facet panel and toolless entry on the alternative facet. That is the place the normality ends.

The R16 has a customized motherboard, particular energy provide and all kinds of inner case accouterments. A cumbersome plastic bracket attaches to the one entrance case fan and appears to channel the air towards the graphics card whereas additionally slotting right into a GPU assist bracket. One other bracket attaches atop the PSU’s personal cowl, and it appears to easily function a plug for holding onto the ends of unused energy connectors. Like the skin, a ton of elements inside use toolless attachments, which may be helpful however might make upgrades and replacements tough (other than the half removing).

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The motherboard itself is not the standard ITX, mATX or ATX form, as an alternative stretching out horizontally about as a lot as an ATX board however solely about as tall as an mATX. It isn’t even rectangular: a bit protrudes close to the case’s entrance. Cables run in sudden locations and are uncommon sorts. Upgrading or changing elements on this system appears prefer it is perhaps a substantial headache outdoors of storage upgrades. These, nevertheless, needs to be easy with a free M.2 2280 slot and a cage for a single 3.5-inch drive. Upgrading the GPU would require not solely making certain it is quick sufficient but additionally not too thick, as something above a 2.5-slot thickness is liable to run into the PSU enclosure. It might additionally undoubtedly name for a blower-style cooler. Reminiscence upgrades are additionally a letdown, as there are solely two slots, so that you’d probably need to sacrifice the prevailing sticks quite than add to them. Then once more, chances are you’ll wish to, since they’re ugly sticks with no warmth spreaders, simply naked inexperienced PCB.

With one consumption fan, three exhaust followers and loads of unfiltered inlets, the Alienware Aurora R16 is all however assured to finish up having unfavourable strain contained in the case, which can suck in mud. I would encourage common cleansing, which the quick-release facet panel fortunately makes straightforward.

Total, the Alienware Aurora R16 is an fascinating system: highly effective and enticing but additionally dear, which is fairly commonplace for Alienware. With Nvidia’s RTX 50-series playing cards coming quickly, you may in all probability wish to maintain off both for the most recent CPU and GPU choices or if the costs come right down to filter the remaining inventory of the R16.

Geekbench 6 (single-core)

Alienware Aurora R16 3092Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 34IRZ8 3062Dell XPS 8960 2948Minisforum AtomMan G7 Ti 2833HP Omen 35L 2656Lenovo Legion Tower 5i 26IRB8 (90UT001AUS) 2427Lenovo LOQ Tower 17IRR9 (90WY0000US) 2273