Alienware Aurora R11 review
The Alienware Aurora R11 is a component revamp of the Aurora R10 that we reviewed last year, a customizable gaming desktop built on the same chassis. The $4,369.99 unit we received for review is a deliberately go-for-broke configuration with an Intel Core i9 processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 GPU, 64GB of memory, and 4TB of storage. You can get a far more affordable configuration, however, given the desktop's $872.19 starting price. Our loaded test unit predictably tore up the gaming charts, and you can't argue with its over-100fps 4K gaming numbers. The case remains unique and head-turning, though the plastic build and hidden, unattractive bare-metal interior are a harder sell at this price point. Attractive boutique desktops like the origin PC Neuronmay be more appealing at this price, but if you like the exterior design and the idea of a plug-and-play purchase, the Aurora R11 delivers.
The expression of the Alienware's case is strike, though it is not fresh to us—the AMD Ryzen-based Aurora R10 I review in 2019 use the same chassis. The manner is sci-fi prompt, a definitively bold spirit with its turbine-like battlefront, radiance part, and singular shape. This is the White "Lunar light" chassis color scheme; a black grey "darkness side of the daydream" blueprint is optional.
It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I appreciate the design. It signals that it's a gaming desktop, but it has a cohesive aesthetic in mind rather than slapping aggressive geometry and gaudy lights onto a box. The Aurora wouldn't look out of place in a sci-fi TV show or movie—or next to the recently reveal PlayStation 5
. Clearly, Alienware and Sony both think this is the look of the future. The case looks a bit bigger than it actually is at first glance, but you see that it's pretty compact when you take a step back. It's an MicroATX build that tapers toward the front, both in width and height. Technically a mid-tower, it's not too far off from a full-size case, on the taller side at 18.9 by 8.8 by 17 inches (HWD). The Origin PC Neuron is a shorter mid-tower at 15.6 by 7.1 by 6.3 inches, while the super-slim MSI MEG Trident X
measures 15.6 by 5.1 by 15.1 inches.
The case is also burst with larboard. The movement gore, in the kernel of the lead band, hold three USB 3.1 Type-A larboard, a USB-C interface, and headphone and microphone mariner. At the back, the motherboard offer six-spot USB 2.0 port, four USB 3.1 port, another USB-C port, an Ethernet jackfruit, and audio jack. The video-out port total courtesy of the graphics card, which arrive with three DisplayPort connection and one HDMI port.
It become much clear that this is a MicroATX build when you loose the case. Accessing the inside is very comfortable, though not toolless. there are two slide lock switch on the rise, and one fuck to remove, situate on a Black treat. make so, and then attract on the manage, release the left-side panel so you can wrench it off. The actual overt space for component is much minor than it would appear from the external; about three inches on the battlemovement and bottom, and as much as six inches on the peak, are just function of the plastic outside.
That leaves a relatively small compartment for the components. The power supply is located on a swinging door, a space-saving method we've seen before that's mostly clever and only a little obtrusive for working inside the case. Pulling it away reveals the rest of the parts, which in our $4,369.99 configuration include an
processor, 64GB of DDR4, the GeForce RTX 3090 graphics card, a 2TB M.2 solid-state drive, and a 2TB hard drive. There are scores of other possible combinations since Dell allows you to customize almost every aspect when ordering.
If you're up to date on your PC-component acknowledgeledge, you'll know that these part defend the belated and capital from Intel and Nvidia. This is an extremely high-end configuration, if that wasn't obvious from the price, and it is one of our beginning opportunities to test the mighty RTX 3090. It's also overkill flush for hardcore gamers. (core i9 chip have diminish restitution for gaming, and early feedback show the RTX 3090 isn't all that much fast than the RTX 3080 on inning rate.) so I'd recommend this pricey setup only for those who will also be doing master medium and 3D exerciseplace that brand manipulation of the RTX 3090's huge serve of graphics memory.
yield the Price of our test unit, it must be underscore that visually, the inside of this system is far more utilitarian and less attractive than the external. This is a mass-produced desktop that's entail to be plug-and-play, so many owners may rarely if ever gap outdoors the column at all. there are other option if you'd choose a system with an inside make to be understand, but this PC is all about facilitate of consumption, performance, and the outside blueprint. The massive, 12.3-inch GeForce RTX 3090 also barely equip across the back-to-front astuteness of this column, run nearly from goal to end—but it does match!
To bore the performance of the Aurora R11's high-powered part, one collect a batch of competing high-end gaming desktops from our benchmark datafoundation. Before we bring to the solution, you can understand the contenders' name and basis specs in the table below.
Productivity &
Tests
PCMark 10 and 8 are holistic performance suite develop by the PC benchmark specialists at UL (formerly Futuremark). The PCMark 10 test we run model different real-world productivity and content-creation exerciseplaceflows. We function it to ass overall system performance for office-centric task such as Son action, spreadsheet bring, web shop, and videoconferencing. PCMark 8, meanwhile, has a storehofunction subtest that we manipulation to buttocks the amphetamine of the system's bang tug. Both trial generate a proprietary numeric score; high Numbers are bettor.
Not for the first time with a high-end desktop, especially with newer or rarer parts, I couldn't get PCMark 10 to run on this system. It happens occasionally and isn't a sign that anything is wrong with the the machine, it's just a conflict with this particular software. It's safe to say the Aurora and its 10th Generation Core i9 CPU, with 10 cores and 20 threads, would have crushed the test, however; in fact it's massive overkill for everyday multitasking. Peeking at the previous-gen version of this chip in the Velocity Micro Raptor Z55 should give you an idea. On the storage front, PCMark 8 demonstrates that these are all snappy SSDs, which should serve you well for swift load times with media and games.
medium process & creation trial
adjacent is Maxon's CPU-crunching Cinebench R15 test, which is fully thread to shuffle consumption of all available processor core and thread. Cinebench stress the CPU rather than the GPU to interpret a complex picture. The leave is a proprietary score indicate a PC's suitability for processor-intensive workloads.
Cinebench is often a good predictor of our Handbrake video-editing trial, another tough, threaded workout that's highly CPU-dependent and scales well with cores and threads. In it, we put a stopwatch on test systems as they transcode a standard 12-minute clip of 4K video (the open-source Blender demo movie crying of steel
) to a 1080p MP4 file. It's a timed test, and lower results are better.
We also run a custom Adobe Photoshop double-editing benchmark. use an early 2018 handout of the Creative cloud translation of Photoshop, we give a series of 10 complex filter and effect to a standard JPEG test image. We meter each operation and lend up the total execution time; low multiplication are good. The Photoshop test stress the CPU, storage subsystem, and ram, but it can also lead advantage of most GPUs to amphetamine up the procedure of apply filter, so system with knock-down graphics bit or card may understand a boost.
Against a less potent set of competitors, the R11's results would look stellar. When the competition is just as powerful, these middle-of-the-pack results seem less impressive at a glance, but all of these systems are performing at an incredibly high level. As a quick aside, I saw a small gain over the previous-gen Intel CPU (the Raptor's Core i9-9900K) in Cinebench, but the other scores are tied. AMD's 16-core/32-thread Ryzen 9 3950X remains superior in these tasks; Cinebench and Handbrake are too well-threaded for the Ryzen not to dominate utterly. If you're a media editor, animator, or any other profession with work that really leans on hardware, this machine can do it effectively. If you're a shopper prioritizing gaming but also need a professional-grade desktop for other purposes, the Aurora R11 is a good fit. If you're the inverse (a professional who may do some gaming as well), I'd probably recommend a workstation or less gaming-centric desktop first.
synthetic graphics trial
UL's 3DMark test cortege measure relative graphic brawn by rendition sequence of highly detail, gaming-style 3D graphics that emphasize particle and light. We run deuce different 3DMark subtests, Sky loon and fire rap, which are suit to different type of system. Both are DirectX 11 benchmarks, but Sky loon is more befit to laptops and midrange PCs, while ardor strike is more demand and make for high-end PCs to strut their stuff. The consequence are proprietary mark.
following up is another synthetic graphics test, this clock from Unigine Corp. wish 3DMark, the superposition test render and Pan through a detail 3D fit and measure how the system header. indium this case, it's supply in the party's eponymous Unigine locomotive, offer a different 3D workload scenario than 3DMark, for a moment opinion on the machine's graphical prowess.
The same general story from the CPU tests applies here: Still mainly for gamers, but definitely capable for professionals. The GeForce RTX 3090 isn't a professional-focused Nvidia Quadro card, but its benefits extend beyond what you need for gaming compared to the RTX 3080. We have yet to test the RTX 3080 in a retail system, but our review of the GPU itself tells you what it can do. The raw power of the RTX 3090, meanwhile, outpaces the rest here (particularly on the demanding 1080p Superposition test). As for actual gaming...
Real-World Gaming trial
The synthetic examination above are helpful for quantify general 3D aptitude, but it's difficult to rhythm broad retail video game for judge gaming performance. far cry 5 and rise of the Tomb Raider are both mod, high-fidelity title with built-in benchmarks that illustrate how a system manage real-world video game at diverse setting.
The RTX 3090 blows away all of the competition except for the Titan X in the Origin PC Neuron, which it betters by a smaller margin. That's the GPU it's meant to replace and the one at the top of Nvidia's last-gen hierarchy, so everything is as it should be. (Really, the RTX 3090 is a traditional Titan card in GeForce clothing.) Compared to the RTX 2080 Ti seen in each of the other three systems, the RTX 3090 is a massive improvement.
con
idering that the RTX 2080 Ti has been the cream of the crop for gamers for more than a year, it's remarkable to see it so heavily outmatched.
The inning rate the Aurora R11 post in these game are what you'd promise for from these part at this Price, but they're calm impressive to watch. This is especially genuine at 4K settlement, where this system deliver over 100fps while the other GPUs barely scope 80fps. High-refresh-rate 4K gaming is disilentery the kingdom of the most elite enthusiasts, but the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 shuffle it much more feasible, for about the same cost as GPUs from the RTX 2000 series that couldn't cab it at 4K.
organism able to play big-budget single-player game at 4K resoluteness at so far above 60fps is definitely a fresh prototype. meanwhile, the radiate-trace improvement are a huge boon in addition to the natural fps increase. one didn't test title with ray-trace (RTX) on for this review, but learn our broad review of the GeForce RTX 3080 for how much good it is at run ray tracing smoothly than the RTX 2000 serial GPUs.
competitive multiplayer game, of class, benefit from the extra juice, as well. running the benchmark test build into Rainbow six-spot: Siege, the Aurora R11 average 116fps at 4K, 183fps at 1440p, and 213fps at 1080p.
This leads me to my overall point about the Alienware Aurora R11. Performance-wise, this configuration is incredibly impressive. Alienware knows that it sent a benchmark-busting rig that represents maximum power rather than a configuration that goes for value, so it should be obvious that this desktop does not need to be this expensive. Choosing extras like 64GB of RAM and a ton of storage only maximizes the price tag here, and is not necessary for outstanding gaming performance. As a showcase for what the parts can do when money is not an obstacle, it succeeds. As a desktop PC, disregarding the specific elite components in our unit, this is still a likable system. The novelty of the design has worn off a little, and I wish the interior was nicer to handle and look at. If you're going to spend over $4,000 for a desktop PC, I think I'd be hard-pressed to find a shopper who wouldn't rather have a cleaner, more attractive interior, likely one visible through a glass panel. The Aurora design is cool and unique, but it's still a plastic build without a way to show off your fancy components. If you opt for a more palatably priced configuration, the system becomes a better fit. The Origin PC Neuron is one of our favorite mixes of performance and visual appeal, maintaining its Editors' option
award in this price range. And other boutique manufacturers, such as Maingear and Falcon Northwest, offer attractive systems whose interiors, even on their more basic rigs, blow away the humdrum bare-metal utility of the Aurora's insides. Alienware Aurora R11 3.5 See It $1,087.79 at Dell
Pros
con
Our high-flying configuration is very expensive
The bottom line
The Alienware Aurora R11 is a highly configurable gaming desktop with a singular purpose, and our super-powerful configuration is capable of top-charting Numbers. bad spender may prefer a chassis that showcases their part, however.