Alienware Aurora R16 review: New design, new life

since Alienware debuted the Aurora R16 last year, I’ve always longed to see it with my own eyes. The brand was once synonymous with high-end, albeit with somewhat bizarre and often polarizing designs. The previous Aurora under the so-called “Legend 2” design had a raised effect, with a strange conical front panel that seemed to be lifted off a Starship steering gear and was not actually designed for the human hand. It’s certainly unique, but it’s also bulky and too large for a midrange tower.

But in comparison, the Aurora R16 with the “Legend 3” design concept seems low-key, even elegant in its seemingly minimalist and simple design. The midsize tower is still marketed as a “Gamer PC,” but now you can stack stuff on top of it (I’m not suggesting you block the top vents, of course). Alienware says this new design is 40% smaller than the past Aurora R15. However, it still has the same internal breathing space to house a water-cooling system, and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super graphics card itself is large enough to take up the PC’s entire interior from bow to stern, at least on my build.

But this redesign also begs the question: What’s the point of a pre-built PC if you end up with something that looks like anyone can build it? Sure, you’ll save yourself the trouble of applying thermal paste, but you’ll probably save time on the graphics card.

Some people might look at the new Alienware tower, with its matte black front panel and single glowing LED strip, and think it’s “boring.” Me, not so much. The gaming hardware brand owned by Dell has been emphasizing usability lately, such as reducing trunk space on its latest cooling racks. M16 gaming laptop, first revealed earlier this year. The company told Gizmodo that this isn’t a massive attempt to rethink its aesthetic, but I prefer these new designs to the old ones. The new Aurora PC is small enough to sit perfectly on a desk, most notably the soft glow from the LEDs in the front air intakes and rear fans. I don’t need to be bathed in an actual rainbow to get into the gaming mood.

Alienware Aurora R16 case design and cooling

Overall, the new case design looks better

Alienware’s PCs start at a decent price, but the price increases quickly as specs increase. This is a baseline PC with a GeForce RTX 4060 and Intel Core i7-13700F, but we’ll talk about upgradeability later. Gizmodo received the 2024 version of the Aurora R16 with 32 GB DDR5 RAM, Intel Core i9 14900KF, and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super with 16GB VRAM. Total MSRP $3,200. It’s all mounted on a custom Alienware-branded proprietary motherboard that supports the Intel Z690 chipset. Note that the graphics card takes up the entire length and width of the case.

Internal space is approximately 35.9 L Aurora R16, although the overall size has been reduced, it is the same as the R15. In addition to the proprietary motherboard, there is also a proprietary PSU, in my case a 1000W Platinum power supply. It also comes with a 240mm liquid cooling unit attached to the CPU case. While I can’t say whether all ducting needs to reduce excess heat, it does help reduce the overall amount of heat emitted by each vent, even under load.

The front-mounted LED light strip doubles as the PC’s air intake, turning the entire front panel into a large wind tunnel. There is a subtle whirring sound when the internal fan kicks in, and I was surprised not to find it so unpleasant. Since the GPU takes up most of the space inside, air comes out of the back or top, while some of the air blown by the graphics card fan comes out of the side hexagonal vents.

Even under heavy load, the computer won’t get overheated. The side vents don’t generate much heat, even under pressure. The maximum temperature I recorded for the rear fan was about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The top vents are where most of the PC’s heat goes, which makes sense since the CPU cooling system is connected directly to these fans.At maximum temperature, after about 30 minutes of continuous play, I read about 111 degrees Fahrenheit Cyberpunk 2077. That’s well within the realm of acceptability, although it does mean you shouldn’t put anything you care about on the Aurora R16, whether for a PC or for your precious gadgets.

Older Alienware PC models had a tool-less design, but newer versions require you to loosen a cross-head and pull a pull tab to release the side panel. This isn’t a huge problem, but it does mean that if you want to get inside the computer, you’ll need to have a screwdriver nearby. There’s essentially no room for additional components, in part because the mounting bracket supports the huge GPU. It can be said that this is a beautiful-looking and well-made machine. Just because Alienware looks more standard doesn’t mean the company has compromised on quality.

Alienware Aurora R16 Quality of Life and Upgradeability

Proprietary parts mean limited upgrade paths

All cables are routed behind the motherboard, so you have a complete view of all internal components. That is, there is no thermal insulation around the RAM, SSD, or Wi-Fi chips. I checked to see if any of these components were getting particularly hot inside, and while I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, it’s something you should be aware of because it’s a bit odd compared to other pre-built gaming rigs. I don’t mind because there don’t seem to be any heat issues overall, and I prefer seeing my components through the boxes rather than staring at a bunch of boxes that look like gifts that I know I’ll never open.

It’s an overall quiet operation that, even under pressure, didn’t distract me from hanging out right next to it, especially since there’s almost no air blowing in my direction. It’s not too bright, and you can change the individual colors and patterns of the LEDs through some RGB presets using the Alienware Command Center app. To avoid being too distracted while working on the computer, I choose a single color block. The application also allows you to change the AlienFX lighting for each title.

So, yes, this functionality is neatly included in a package that’s pretty enough to tie a bow on. The biggest issue remains the proprietary nature of the motherboard. There are only two RAM slots, which means future memory upgrades will require replacing two memory sticks. Alienware says this actually makes the system faster, but even if that were true, I’d go with a slightly slower system to make my computer more future-proof. You can also upgrade the GPU and storage, but there’s not much else you need to do.

I understand why Alienware wants to build better cable management motherboards, but why not give PC gamers a taste of what it’s like to finally upgrade their machines? Just because it’s a beast now, doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way two or even three years from now.

Alienware Aurora R16 performance

A true gaming oasis

We tested several games on a QHD monitor at a refresh rate of 240 Hz, and on a separate 4K monitor at up to 160 Hz. In fact, with these statistics, you already know what the frame rates of the most demanding games are.

In a game like Cyberpunk 2077, Aurora can hit an average of 60 FPS on a 240 Hz monitor with Ultra settings enabled, full ray tracing enabled and no DLSS AI Super Scaling. With DLSS enabled, you can double those frame rates to an average of 120, but when there’s a bunch of NPCs on the screen, the frame rates can drop to around 80 FPS. Once you upscale it to 4K, the framerate starts to drop, so you’re better off enabling DLSS to push it up to an average of 80 FPS based on in-game benchmarks.

In Baldur’s Gate III, you could hit 140 FPS in indoor locations and never drop below 100 unless there were more NPCs running around the city areas in Act III. Other games also performed very well, easily exceeding 250 FPS. Halo: Infinite and finals. Still, 4K gaming will still see performance drops at the highest settings, which means you should look for different super-zoom options to beat above 60 FPS.

In 3DMark, the Aurora R16 performed as well as expected in Time Spy and the high-end Speed ​​Way tool, which is very, very good. It exceeds expectations for a QHD display and remains stable at 4K resolution.

This setup works best in games with sub-4K resolutions, so people with FHD to QHD monitors will have a great time watching these framerates hit triple digits. The 4080 Super can still handle 4K for most games, though you’ll need a boost from Nvidia’s superscalar to maintain playable frames in some of the most demanding titles.

With the Core i9-14900KF, the CPU benchmarks are quite strong.I just finished reading Razer Blade 16 With its mobile version of the i9 and 14900HX, the Aurora might win on Geekbench. The system also beat our Blender tests, rendering a BMW image in just over a minute on the CPU. The i9-14900KF also passed the video encoding test using the Handbrake program.

It’s a high-end computer, and it feels that way whether you’re gaming or doing anything else.

If you want to pre-build, make sure it lasts

Alienware is still an expensive brand; there’s no two ways about it. I can’t guarantee that this PC is worth the price, starting at $1,150. Still, if you want to eventually jump from the low end of 16 GB RAM to 32 GB, it’s hard to justify the lower specs as there are relatively few upgrade paths – something that will become over the next few years. More standard.

But if you want to buy the super expensive version Aurora R16, at least you won’t be disappointed with its performance. So all that’s left is appearance. Aesthetics are a matter of taste, and to me, the old Alienware desktops seemed to mean that your PC was more than just a gaming device, it was a form of transportation. But I’m not going anywhere. I prefer to know where I am, and the new Aurora R16 is both comfortable and pleasing to the eye for someone like me. I wanted to feel special, but not have to explain to anyone who entered my room that this giant desktop computer wasn’t a detection device that fell off a passing dish.

Updated February 24, 2024 at 7:32 AM ET: This article has been updated to correct ownership of the Alienware brand.