The Aurora collection of gaming desktops from Alienware maintains the company’s well-earned name in the gaming world while boasting compact designs and more affordable costs. Throughout the years, Alienware has developed a reputation for producing huge, powerful, and costly gaming computers. It appears that the Alienware Aurora R6 will carry on that legacy.
The high-end Alienware Area 51 and the cheap and portable Alienware Alpha line of PCs are sandwiched by the Alienware Aurora R6. Although this places the Aurora R6 in Alienware’s middle of the line lineup, don’t be misled into thinking this is just a standard gaming PC.
Pricing and accessibility
The Aurora R6 is available in a variety of configurations, as is common with Alienware gaming desktop PCs. The entry-level model, which costs $799.99 (£849), includes an AMD Radeon RX 560 GPU, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 7th-generation Intel Core i5-7400 processor.
The base Aurora R6 model is slightly different in Australia; it costs AU$1,799 and has an Intel Core i7-7700 processor, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti.
A model with an Intel Core i7-7700K processor, 64GB of RAM, and two GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards in SLI is available at the top of the range. Only available in the US, this model costs $3,799.99.
The top-tier Alienware Aurora R6 costs £2,599 in the UK and includes 16GB of Memory and a GTX Titan X graphics card. The top-tier Aurora R6 costs AU$2,999 in Australia and has nearly identical specifications to the UK model, but with a GTX 1080 graphics card. These costs all include delivery.
The version we received for testing is in the top middle of the spectrum and has a GTX 1080 Ti, 16GB RAM, and an Intel Core i7-7700K CPU. At $2,249.99 (about £1,700, AU$2,800), it is offered on the US Dell Store. Although that specific configuration is not offered in the Dell shop in the UK or Australia, we have contacted Dell to learn the exact cost.
You have a ton of flexibility to design an Aurora R6 PC that precisely meets your needs and budget thanks to the wide variety of configurations available and the ability to upgrade and alter components on the website before you buy.
Dell has, regrettably, stopped selling the Alienware Aurora R6 as of this writing. Yet, it is still accessible online. For instance, you can purchase it with a Core i5-7400, GTX 1060, and 8GB of RAM for $1,366 (about £1,032, AU$1,846) on Amazon in the US.
Aurora R6 specification
A keyboard and mouse are undoubtedly among the components you believe should come with a gaming computer that costs £800 or more. Dell does supply a set with the device, but they are your typical, everyday peripherals and, while they are convenient to have, they fall short of mechanical alternatives. The provided set was clearly changed with a demo set of Roccat equipment, thus we were unable to check it out.
Before you play any games on the device, change out the free gear for your own gaming keyboard and mouse. We’ll speak about how well the rig handles games in a minute. Alienware recently produced their own gaming keyboard and mouse, which do match the tower nicely, if you wanted to acquire a matching setup.
The several Alienware programs that handle all the little adjustments you may make to the device, like lighting, cooling, power management, and game management, are already included in the pre-installed software. Using AlienFX, the side panels and logo have lighting color options, but what I did not anticipate was the ability to alter the color separately for each panel. It’s wonderful to have the option, even though most gamers might not use it because we can be a little silly when it comes to matching colors.
Verdict
There isn’t really much wrong with this machine; judging by how thoughtfully the internals are set up, it has been designed quite well. It can be extremely misleading how Dell has managed to cram so much power into such a small space while still maintaining a high level of cooling and ventilation. With just as much attention, the outside has been designed to resemble an Alienware-branded system without going overboard with flashy lighting and odd angles.
If there is to be anything “wrong,” I would have to argue that the accessories ought to be better given the amount you are likely to pay for the machine. Although Alienware does have a unique keyboard and mouse, I believe it would be wise to have a smaller version of these. Given that gamers purchase a gaming Computer, they don’t have to be as expensive to produce, but mechanical would be a smart bet. The counterargument is that they expect someone to have their own, like a Razer or SteelSeries, but if you also sell PC gaming accessories, at the very least, give customers a discount if they buy everything at once.
The Alienware Aurora R6 is absolutely great, and the model we evaluated is a top-notch gaming desktop. Because to the many configuration choices, there is a lot to customize for those who don’t want to spend a ton of money. The machine’s internal area allows for future updates, providing you plenty of flexibility to expand and getting the most use possible out of your purchase.
This is primarily because to the custom chassis Dell created, which keeps a lot of powerful technology in a small but airtight tower. You may take it LAN because of its size, which makes it easy to transport, but keep in mind that it is hefty. It can easily be placed on top of a desk rather than underneath and not look out of place.
Overall, there aren’t many reasons not to acquire the Aurora gaming PC, and with Alienware’s well-known reputation for high-quality construction, you should be able to use it for the foreseeable future.
Conclusion
The Alienware Aurora R6 has a keyboard and mouse built in, unlike many other gaming desktops, so you don’t have to worry about buying those two essential items separately. All you need is a monitor. Also, you’ll have some extras if you already depend on a mouse and keyboard for gaming.
The mouse and keyboards that come with the Aurora R6 work well, but they fall short of mechanical keyboards and mice made specifically for gaming. They both have the Alienware logo on them, so next to the desktop they both appear professional.
