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Alienware Aurora R16 Desktop Review: An Interesting Option, but Not the Smartest Pick

Pros
  • Slick and fairly compact design
  • Largely quiet even under load
  • Tool-less access and parts abound
  • Nice I/O

Cons

  • Underwhelming performance for the price
  • Proprietary as can be
  • Likely a dust magnet

Alienware has never been known for its value. It has always had more going on with style and performance. The Alienware Aurora R16 desktop fits that mold with a curious design that eschews a lot of typical approaches to PC building in favor of something a bit offbeat. It’s not as wild as the Aurora R15 externally, but it’s still a curious sight. 

As for performance, the Alienware Aurora R16 has plenty. The airflow might be a little confusing, and regular dusting will probably be high on the maintenance list, but the Aurora R16 can deliver where speed is concerned. That said, it’s not exactly punching above its weight. That’s especially true as configured here for $2,365 with just an RTX 4070 inside. However, that is paired with a monster of an Intel Core i9-14900KF. That’s not the most sensible pairing, as it goes a little CPU-heavy. Consider that Lenovo’s Tower 7i Gen 8 is only slightly more, at $2,549, with the same CPU, beefier liquid cooling, fewer proprietary parts and most importantly, an RTX 4080 Super. With a choice between the two, I wouldn’t even hesitate to opt for Lenovo’s far more value-minded option. 

Alienware Aurora R16 Specs

Alienware Aurora R16

Alienware Aurora R16

Alienware Aurora R16

Alienware Aurora R16

Alienware Aurora R16

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

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

Geekbench 6 (multi-core)

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

Cinebench 2024 GPU

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance