Alienware PCs have all the time had a sure attract. They had been the primary desktops individually styled to be entities unto themselves and there was a time within the lengthy, way back when for those who needed a ‘gaming PC’ that basically meant you needed an Alienware PC. You simply in all probability could not afford it.
Everything else was only a beige field that may have had a graphics card inside it.
But now gaming PCs are available infinite types and hues, are bought by a broad swathe of outlets, and Alienware is now solely a model dwelling in serfdom on the Dell homeworld. Yet, regardless of its company overlords, Alienware machines retain a few of their former mystique, and in addition include Dell ranges of assist and even bespoke {hardware}. Though that latter is to not everybody’s profit.
This Alienware Aurora R13 (opens in new tab) is the newest Intel-powered model of the corporate’s important desktop gaming system, lastly that includes an up to date Aurora chassis. For an organization which pioneered the gaming PC I discover it unusual it is taken so lengthy to leap onboard with the peep-through facet panel thought, however lastly you can also gaze adoringly on the insides of your xenomorphic rig like everybody else.
Aurora R13 specs
CPU: Intel Core i9 12900KF
Cooling: Alienware Cryo-Tech liquid cooling
Motherboard chipset: Z590
Memory: 64GB (2x 32GB) DDR5-4390
Graphics: GeForce RTX 3080 10GB
Storage: 1TB Samsung PM9A1
Power: 750W PSU
Warranty: 1 yr
Price: $3,381 (opens in new tab) | £3,519 (opens in new tab)
The earlier case was additionally surprisingly large, and it is a welcome sight to see the brand new Aurora not dominating your desktop just like the earlier easy white factor did. It nonetheless retains these pleasing curves, making it powerful to steadiness something atop your rig for good or unwell. And there’s nonetheless a particular Heart of Gold aesthetic to the chassis design, contoured as it’s in excitingly chunky shapes.
The case is not the one non-standard factor in regards to the Alienware Aurora R13, nonetheless; there are a number of inside elements that sit outdoors the norms of PC gaming conference. For one, the Z590 chipset-wielding motherboard is not like any you may discover coming from the likes of Asus, MSI, or Gigabyte. It’s a bespoke design that fills out the chassis and conforms to no ATX/micro-ATX customary I can see.
It’s additionally fairly light-weight on the VRM and connected heatsink entrance, too. Which would have me involved over how it may take care of one thing so power-hungry because the Intel Core i9 12900KF that Alienware has packed into this $3,400 machine. And do not get me began in regards to the BIOS that sits on the board; it is just like the final 15 years by no means occurred.
I imply, it does work, and has all the usual settings you want do you have to go digging round in there, and there are even overclocking settings for the chip do you have to so want (I would not, our CPU was throttling even at inventory settings). But the truth that it is referring to the Alder Lake Efficient Cores as simply plain Atom Cores has me considering not quite a bit has been achieved to replace the baked-in software program because it noticed its first engineering pattern from Intel.
The reminiscence additionally appears to be like a bit suspicious in there with its naked inexperienced PCB, particularly once we’ve been used to DDR5 modules sporting funky heatspreaders and RGB’d to inside an inch of their glitzy lives. Looking at you G.Skill. There’s no XMP to talk of, however there may be 64GB of DDR5 working a 4,390MHz, and it pays off on the bandwidth entrance.
The GeForce RTX 3080 (opens in new tab) appears to be like fairly generic, too, although it does at the very least have a fairly hefty heatsink and dual-fan configuration. And it really works, posting some first rate thermal efficiency beneath full gaming load.
It remains to be unusual that you simply’re getting the identical kind of old-school Dell/Alienware naked steel chassis insides, generic motherboard, naked RAM, and fundamental GPU you’d get with the closed case design, however now totally on show. It’s slightly jarring in mild of among the beautiful wanting internals you may discover from extra boutique system builders.
Elsewhere you do get a full 1TB of storage within the guise of the Samsung OEM-focused PM9A1 SSD. It’s a correct PCIe 4.0 drive (opens in new tab), nonetheless, with rated sequential learn/write efficiency measured at 7,000MB/s and 5,100MB/s respectively. And that uncooked pace is borne out by our sport testing, with the Aurora R13 truly posting the quickest FFXIV stage hundreds we have seen in a pre-built system.
And the gaming efficiency is fairly damned spectacular, too. All the trepidation I felt due to surprisingly non-standard internals—which someplace do not match with what has turn out to be the high-end PC gaming customary—has form of evaporated now I’m gaming on it. The efficiency throughout the board is fairly damned spectacular, besting different, pricier methods we have liked and PCs with GPUs that must roast it.
1440p gaming efficiency
4K gaming efficiency
System efficiency
Honestly, I wasn’t actually anticipating that. We’ve had some nice experiences with Alienware machines, however we have additionally had instances the place the non-standard tech has severely held them again and had us questioning simply why they did not carry out. Seeing the CPU hitting a 100°C peak and throttling in our video encoding check had me considering perhaps the Aurora R13 may undergo within the ultimate reckoning, too.
But it ain’t so.
Up in opposition to the Ryzen 9 5900X-powered Corsair One a200 (opens in new tab), additionally with an RTX 3080 inside it, and in opposition to the HP Omen 45L (opens in new tab) with the highest Alder Lake CPU and an RTX 3090, the Aurora R13 holds its personal.
I’m impressed that at 1440p it delivers the identical kind of gaming efficiency because the RTX 3090-powered Omen, trailing by only some fps at most. It’s faster than the ultra-compact Corsair One, although that might be anticipated given the totally different measurement of chassis and the propensity to carry out at larger speeds with superior cooling. The curious factor is the RTX 3080 truly runs hotter within the Aurora than the confined model inside Corsair’s diminutive chassis, but nonetheless delivers larger body charges.
It feels just like the Corsair One is holding again its GPU to maintain its temps down, whereas the Alienware is simply letting it go. The situation with that’s the cooling contained in the Aurora can tend to go buck wild. Sometimes, for seemingly no good purpose, the followers will simply spin as much as turbine proportions to relax issues out. Other instances, it may be thrashing away beneath full load and you may barely discover it.
But I’m tremendous stunned by 4K gaming efficiency that has the Aurora machine pulling forward of the Omen system. This is a system that is comfortably cheaper than both of the opposite two—one thing we hardly ever get to say about an Alienware rig—and I would not have anticipated it to constantly outperform them straight out of the field.
And that performs into the ethos of Alienware methods; they’re virtually as console-like as gaming PCs get. They’re for people who need to purchase right into a PC model however who do not essentially need to must take care of the usual PC gaming setup woes that may beset a brand new system. And these individuals need their rigs to smash it out of the field, which this method completely does.
Though it additionally hints at a difficulty I’ve with the Aurora R13—and Alienware methods basically—from the viewpoint of a long-time PC gaming {hardware} nerd. And that is across the fundamental upgradeability of those partly bespoke machines.
With the non-standard motherboard you’ve gotten the problem that after the platform it is based mostly on is made successfully out of date by far superior {hardware} you haven’t any choice to improve past shopping for a complete new rig. That’s the place a normal gaming PC could have your again. Just purchase a brand new motherboard and chip, and away you go. Not one thing you are able to do with an Alienware rig.
What I’ll say, nonetheless, is that the motherboard platform itself is mostly the very last thing you need to improve, so whereas it does put a finite lifespan on the Aurora R13 as a complete, it is in all probability not that large a deal for almost all of PC avid gamers. Partly that is as a result of the opposite elements of the system are so accessible. Upgrading your reminiscence or including a brand new SSD is a doddle as a result of the marginally odd, bespoke motherboard design places that each one entrance and centre and makes them simple to get at. That’s not one thing you may all the time see on extra customary ATX mobos.
The graphics card is customary dual-slot fare, too, and that is arguably a very powerful part a PC gamer will truly need to improve. The counter to that, nonetheless, is that if the pattern for larger energy GPUs continues your 750W PSU goes to lag behind on the very excessive finish. And that, too, is of a bespoke design within the Aurora, which can make discovering a substitute both powerful or costlier than it may be with a normal ATX design.
These are all points you may need with the Corsair One, too, a gaming PC we won’t assist however love in its personal proper. That’s a system which is throttling for a great purpose—its diminutive scale—but can be far too costly to be a viable advice for most individuals. And strive upgrading that in a pair years.
Which all makes the Aurora an fascinating system to advocate. Pricing of all PC gaming {hardware} is in continuous flux in the mean time, however it’s refreshing to see that Alienware is not going fairly so laborious on the pockets as Corsair, and even the Omen machine we have examined it in opposition to. And, as I mentioned earlier, the worth judgement will not be one thing that all the time suggestions in favour of the Aurora rigs.
Dell does have common gross sales, nonetheless, which might convey its gaming methods right into a extra affordable place. And for this kind of high-spec RTX 3080 system, the ~$3,400 sticker worth is par for the course. Equivalent methods from OriginPC and Falcon Northwest will value much more, and iBuyPower is across the similar stage.
Which, as somebody who would all the time construct their very own rigs, nonetheless kinda sucks.
Paying over three thousand {dollars} for a gaming PC does really feel ludicrous to me, and that makes this particular spec I’ve been testing virtually inconceivable to advocate. And when I’ve been speaking about Alienware as a pure gaming PC model there’s zero level in choosing a SKU with 64GB of DDR5 reminiscence.
Almost every other RTX 3080-based Aurora R13 with an honest CPU would ship primarily the identical efficiency, and include a far lower cost tag. Dropping down to only 16GB DDR5 RAM will prevent an enormous amount of money, and there is a much more tempting Aurora R13 system for $2,369 (opens in new tab) which makes use of the 12-core Alder Lake as an alternative.
And due to my expertise with this model of the R13 I’d fortunately advocate the cheaper construct, a lot to the chagrin of different members of the PC Gamer {hardware} staff. This actual spec? Nah.
But that is additionally as a result of as soon as extra you’ll be able to construct a system your self for much less. Finally. That’s one thing we have solely simply began seeing once more in current gross sales occasions (opens in new tab), the place costs are literally getting aggressive on each a part of PC gaming {hardware} for the primary time in years.
Putting a machine collectively your self is super-satisfying and in reality our personal PC Gamer check rig out-performs any RTX 3080 pre-built gaming PC we have ever examined besides on the high 4K decision. I really like constructing methods, and would advocate everybody ought to give it a go.
Well, everybody with out my phone quantity, that’s, as a result of there are particular individuals I do know who ought to undoubtedly purchase a complete gaming PC as an alternative and by no means take the facet off. I do not want to be their default 24/7 tech assist hotline in spite of everything.
That’s the place a pre-built methods come into their very own: aftersales care. Because that is who an Alienware machine is for. It’s for the kind of gamer whose first intuition is not to tear off the facet panel on the slightest trace of an issue, and that is completely advantageous. I really like the tech stuff, however I get it for those who simply need to play video games and do not need to spend your valuable you-time sticking a screwdriver into your PC. Again.
So yeah, for those who’re one of many few who would genuinely take into account a motherboard and CPU substitute a probable improve down the road, then you definitely’ll need to avoid the Aurora R13 due to its bespoke limitations. But for those who’re taking a look at your new gaming PC as extra akin to a console buy—to final the lifetime of the bottom platform alone—then the Alienware Aurora’s ease of use, easy base upgrades, and main gaming efficiency, make it arguably top-of-the-line gaming PCs on the market. I simply cannot advocate you get this model, as a result of the spec and worth are approach out.