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Alienware R16
It’s a solid desktop PC with a nice-looking case, although you’re limited on future upgrades.
The Alienware R16 desktop design is the right step toward creating a fun, albeit functional, gaming PC. The performance is exactly what you want, but the proprietary motherboard means you’ll have to pay more to upgrade its specifications in the future. Starting at $1,150 (reviewed at $3,200)
Pros
great looking case
cooling system
Performance is what you’d expect from high-end specifications
Shortcoming
It’s a pain to upgrade due to the proprietary motherboard and lack of RAM slots
since Alienware first unveiled its Aurora R16 last year, I’m jonesing to see it in person. The brand has been synonymous with high-end, though quirky—often polarizing—designs for quite some time now. The effect was heightened by previous Auroras under the so-called “Legend 2” design, which featured a strange conical front panel that appeared to emerge from a starship’s steering apparatus that was not actually designed for human hands. It was certainly unique, but it was also cumbersome and excessively large for a mid-range tower.
But the Aurora R16 with its “Legend 3” design ethos feels puny in comparison, perhaps even elegant in its minimalism and simplicity. The medium-sized tower still screams “gamer PC,” but you can now put things on top of it (though, of course, I’m not suggesting you block the top air vent). Alienware says this new design is 40% smaller than the previous Aurora R15. Nevertheless, it still has that much internal breathing space to fit a water cooling system and, at least as far as my version is concerned, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super graphics card, which takes up the entire inside of the PC. Big enough to occupy. From stem to stern.
But that redesign also begs the question: If you have something that looks like anyone can build it, what’s the point of a pre-built PC? Sure, you’ll be spared the pain of applying your own thermal paste, but the time you spend slotting in your graphics card could turn into savings.
Some people will look at the new Alienware tower with its matte black front panel and single glowing LED strip and consider it “boring.” Me, not so much. The HP-owned gaming hardware brand has been emphasizing utility lately, such as reducing the trunk space of the thermal shelf on its latest M16 gaming laptop, first appeared earlier this year. The company tells Gizmodo that this is not a wholesale effort to rethink its aesthetic ethos, but I prefer these new designs to the older ones. The new Aurora PC has been scaled to such an extent that it will fit nicely on a desk, where the soft glow of the LEDs in both the front air intake and rear fan are most prominent. I don’t need to bathe in an actual rainbow to get in the gaming mood.
Alienware Aurora R16 case design and cooling
The new case design is a better form factor overall
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<p><figcaption class="sc-7s1ndr-0 fPOdhF no-caption">picture<!-- -->, <!-- -->Kyle Barr/Gizmodo</figcaption></p>
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<p class="sc-77igqf-0 fnnahv">Alienware’s PCs start at a good price scale but rise rapidly as you add those specifications. This is a baseline PC with a GeForce RTX 4060 and an Intel Core i7-13700F, though we’ll touch on upgradability later. Gizmodo obtained the 2024 revision of the Aurora R16, which came with 32GB of DDR5 RAM, an Intel Core i9 14900KF, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super with 16GB of VRAM. This totals a $3,200 MSRP. It’s all housed on a custom Alienware-branded proprietary motherboard that supports the Intel Z690 chipset. Keep in mind, the graphics card takes up the entire length and width of the case.</p>
<p class="sc-77igqf-0 fnnahv">It has about 35.9 liters of space inside <span><a class="sc-1out364-0 dPMosf sc-145m8ut-0 jCErAQ js_link" data-ga="[["Embedded Url","External link","https://howl.me/clHd27mPwK8",{"metric25":1}]]" href="https://howl.me/clHd27mPwK8" target="_blank" rel="sponsored noopener noreferrer nofollow noskim" data-vtas-click="self:InlineUrl:inline-url-postbody">Aurora R16</a></span>, which is identical to the R15 despite the overall reduction in size. In addition to the proprietary motherboard there was also a proprietary PSU, in my case, a 1000W platinum-rated power supply. It also had a 240 mm liquid cooling setup attached to the CPU housing. Although I can’t say whether all the pipes are necessary to reduce excess heat, it certainly worked toward reducing the total heat coming out of each vent, even under load.</p>
<p class="sc-77igqf-0 fnnahv">That front-facing LED strip doubles as the PC’s air intake, making the entire front panel one big wind tunnel. When the internal fans run, there is a subtle whirring sound which I was surprised to find not too unpleasant. With the GPU taking up most of the room, air flows out the back or top, while some of the air blown by the graphics card fan exits through the side hexagonal vents. </p>
<p class="sc-77igqf-0 fnnahv">Even under heavy load, the PC never overheated. The side air vents do not register much heat even under tension. I registered the rear fan at a maximum of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The top vent is where most of the PC’s heat goes, which makes sense since the CPU cooling system is directly tied to those fans. After playing with the action continuously for about 30 minutes, I found the maximum temperature to be around 111 degrees Fahrenheit. <em>cyberpunk 2077</em>, This is within acceptable limits, although it does mean that you shouldn’t put anything you care about on top of your Aurora R16, both for the PC and your valuables.</p>
<p class="sc-77igqf-0 fnnahv">Older Alienware PC models were tool-less designs, but the newer version requires you to undo a Phillips head and pull a tab to release the side panel. This isn’t a big issue, but it does mean that you’ll need a screwdriver nearby if you want to access the inside of your PC. There’s essentially no room for additional components, thanks in part to the mounting bracket that supports the massive GPU. Suffice it to say, this is a good looking machine that is well built. Just because the Alienware looks more standard doesn’t mean the company has compromised on quality.</p>
<h2 class="sc-1bwb26k-1 dezcon" id="h13803"><strong>Alienware Aurora R16 quality of life and upgradeability</strong></h2>
<h3 class="sc-1bwb26k-1 dezcon" id="h13804">Proprietary parts mean there are limited avenues for upgrades </h3>
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