The top and rear of the case sport excellent cooling vents alongside a plethora of ports, ensuring there's no dearth of options when it comes to connectivity. The rear includes both optical and coaxial S/PDIF connectors, seven USB ports, a combo USB 2.0/eSATA jack, and a USB 3.0 port nestled beneath a six-pin FireWire jack. A sliding panel atop the case conceals two more USB ports and a USB 3.0 port, as well as a headphone and microphone jack recessed beneath the power button. Punching the glowing Alienware logo on the front drops another sliding panel to reveal a Blu-Ray/DVD combo drive, a spare optical drive bay and a four-in-one media card reader.

Our Aurora review unit also arrived with an Alienware TactX keyboard and mouse, a matching pair of peripherals that will cost you an extra $150. Both keyboard and mouse sport customizable LED lighting that matches the programmable AlienFX case lights adorning the Aurora. After some heavy use it's clear the TactX mouse is accurate and comfortable enough to be worth the price, but typing on the matching keyboard feels mushy and unsatisfying. There's almost no travel to the keys, but there are a lot of them to mash on; the TactX peripherals are designed for PC gaming, so the keyboard includes four sets of swappable, programmable hotkeys while the mouse can switch between different control profiles with the flick of a switch. They're a serviceable pair of devices that look great on your desk, much like the Aurora itself.

After spending some serious time with the Aurora it's difficult to recommend this machine to serious performance enthusiasts, but anyone willing to pay a premium price for serviceable parts in a stylish case will be satisfied. The engineers at Alienware consistently excel when it comes to product design, but you'll have to decide if the extra polish is worth the price.