Alienware Aurora proves not all prebuilt gaming PCs are awful

You have to hand it to Alienware. Although it bears the brunt of criticism player l33t from buying Dell in 2006, after all, machines Alienware have tended to resemble something book-sketch high school 12 years old, the company has plowed ahead, creating increasingly elegant desktop and laptop computers.

His last, squat tower, midsize called Aurora, is even more desirable Alienware machine. Taking cues from the company giant Area 51, the Aurora sports a form factor surprisingly compact, restricted (by Alienware at least) aesthetics, and a price that is not far from a self-construction. It even has a decent cooling performance.

For the first time in a long time, if a novice family game or PC-tech timid question whether or not a desktop Alienware worth, you can finally say yes.

Standing 472.52mm (18.6 inches) in height, a 360.5mm (14.19 inches) deep and 212 mm (8.35 inches) wide grouper, Alienware Aurora is smaller and wider than your average desktop game. That, given the trend towards smaller systems that are just at home in the living room, as they are in an office or bedroom, it is not a bad thing. In fact, this is probably the first Alienware could be placed in a living room, the view, and not get cold, hard ashamed of a loved one.

That is partly thanks to the flat front panel of the Aurora, which was finished in a matt black plastic top resistant up with a piano black grille below nonthreatening. Older models were somehow much more curves and more angular way once, which led to some questionable aesthetics. That said, there is still light up, RGB LED alien-head power switch, but you can disable if you prefer a more subdued look.

Specs at a glance: Alienware Aurora
	Lowest	Best	As reviewed
OS	Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU	6th Generation Intel Core i3-6100 (Dual-core, 3.7GHz, 3MB cache)	6th Generation Intel Core i7-6700K (Quad-core, 4.0GHz, 8MB cache)	6th Generation Intel Core i7-6700K (Quad-core, 4.0GHz, 8MB cache)
RAM	8GB DDR4 2,133MHz (4GBx2)	16GB 2,133MHz DDR4 (2x8GB)	16GB 2,133MHz DDR4 (2x8GB)
GPU	Nvidia GTX 950 2GB	Nvidia GTX 1080 8GB Founders Edition	Nvidia GTX 1080 8GB Founders Edition
HDD	1TB (64MB Cache) 7,200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s	1TB (64MB Cache) 7,200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s	256GB Toshiba M.2 NVMe SSD, 1TB (64MB Cache) 7,200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s
PSU/Cooling	460W PSU and air cooler	850W modular PSU and liquid cooler	850W modular PSU and liquid cooler
NETWORKING	RJ-45 Killer Networks e2400 Ethernet, Intel 3165 1x1 802.11ac Wi-Fi Wireless LAN, Bluetooth 4.2
PORTS	7 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-A, 1 x USB-3.1 Type-C, 6 x USB 2.0, 4 x DisplayPort, HDMI, optical out, headphone jack, microphone jack, 7.1 surround sound out
SIZE	Height: 472.52mm (18.6 inches), depth: 360.5mm (14.19 inches), width: 212mm (8.35 inches)
WEIGHT	Average weight 14kg (30lbs)
WARRANTY	One year premium support with Onsite
NOTE	Dell's prices can vary wildly thanks to its "instant savings." The prices below include VAT.
PRICE	£699 ($799)	£1,679 ($1,949)	£1,789 ($2,179)

The Aurora has a unique look that quickly grows on you. [That's the Ars UK office, by the way -Ed.] The ignition switch Alienware head lights but the lighting can be turned off. On the front panel are four USB and headphone and microphone jacks. The feet of the Aurora. The other side of the Aurora has vents for the graphics card. rear IO of the Aurora, which includes a lot of USB jacks.

The sleeker styling continues with the side panels, which have a smooth finish and gray, and the same light bars LED tri-appearing across the range of Alienware. The panels are not flat, and actually bow outward from the front panel somewhere, but look good, carefully avoiding the effect of swelling that many cases of PC sufferers with a similar design. The left panel also has air intakes for the (s) graphics card inside.

The top of the Aurora has the same bright as the front grill and an exhaust fan 120 mm. If you opt for the cooling solution all-in-one liquid, radiator stands here along with the fan. The asymmetrical top panel also has a useful handle transport, which makes carrying around the Aurora LAN parties (still a thing, right?) Much easier. And with an average weight of 14 kg (32lbs), depending on the configuration, it is almost possible to lift with one hand as well.

Unfortunately, the reasonable weight comes at the expense of building materials: the entire exterior of the Aurora case is made of plastic. It's a good, solid, plastic, quality, but when there are so many other desktop high-end are being built with quality materials like aluminum and glass, plastic is a disappointment. In fact, when removed, the side panels make that awful hole, jingling sound so reminiscent of pre-built PC from the 90's.

Yes, it is upgradable

At least the side panels are easy to remove. While the Aurora could be a PC game off-the-shelf, Alienware has made it easy to enter. On the back of the box it is a plastic handle that, when pulled, ejects the side panel revealing a tight airy interior and a unique design. Where most PCs have a top- or lower power supply assembly, Aurora saves space by placing the power supply above the motherboard. Right next to the lever side panel are two sliding switches that open the power supply, allowing them to move up and out of the case, the cables still attached.

This gives you unrestricted access to the CPU-cooler and socket, memory slots (there are four, with two populated by default), and PCIe slots. There is room for two full-length graphics cards, although the use of two means providing access to one of the smaller slots 4X. There is a slot for M.2 PCIe based storage NVMe as a Samsung 960 Pro, two sleds without tools standard 2.5-inch SSD drives, and a single slot 3.5-inch hard drive, which is located just below the power supply. These should provide sufficient storage options for most users, although not a great setup for anyone who wants to store large amounts of data.

Pull the lever and the side panel is triggered. The power supply is uniquely mounted above the motherboard. It sits on a hinge that turns, which gives you access to all internal components. With the graphics card can access the M.2 slot and SATA sockets. RAM, GPU, and memory M.2 SSD removed. The power supply flip-out in all its splendor. Another look inside. This particular system comes with a cooling system all-in-one liquid. The SSD and RAM that Aurora uses.

The only thing you can not do is replace the motherboard. It is standard fare Dell owner, although it seems near Micro ATX size with little in the way of easy access. Cable management is good, but with wires tied tightly into position along the sides of the box bare steel. This particular configuration comes with a modular power supply of 850W, but Alienware pre-wire any additional cable you might need in their respective positions. There are pieces of SATA power connectors near the bays of 2.5 inches, for example, and there is an additional PCIe power connector, if you want to add another graphics card.

With a configuration of this unique type, you might be wondering how the airflow is in charge of Aurora. The good news is that despite the location of the power supply, we had no problem strangulation. 120 mm fan on the front pulls in fresh air, with the radiator and fan upper mounting evacuate air out of the box. Meanwhile, the card (like the blower) graphics sucks fresh air grilles on the side panel. There is no removable fan filter on the grid, which means you have to carry all the side panel around in order to clean the dust. I also wonder how well the Aurora would with an air cooler (as offered in certain configurations) instead of all in one. I suspect overclocking would be out of the question.