The Aurora's svelte stealth black case showcases Alienware's penchant for flashy product design. Smooth corners, shiny exhaust ports and a suite of customizable LED panels are clearly meant to make the Aurora look cool, and for better or worse it works: despite the comparatively weak components loaded into our review unit I couldn't help feeling like I was booting up a every time I punched the power button. (Be sure to )
Our Aurora review unit includes components that seem somewhat anemic compared to the top performers in our performance PC category, but that's to be expected when competing against expensive full-size performance desktops like the . Yet with a score of 170 in our Worldbench 6 suite of performance benchmarks the Aurora still falters when competing against similarly-priced performance PCs like the , which earned a score of 204 in the same test.
The problem is parts -- and it's a problem that Alienware is happy to address if you're willing to pay the price. Aurora desktops are fully customizable, and can range from $1,200 to as much as $5,000 depending on the components you choose. In this case, $2,600 gets you a 3.4 GHz Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge CPU, which can automatically overclock up to 3.8GHz thanks to Intel's Turbo Boost technology. It's possible to purchase an Aurora with an unlocked Intel "K" Series processor, if you'd like to perform your own overclock (the V3 Convoy packs the same processor overclocked to 5 GHz). Our review unit packs a paltry 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, though there's room on the MicroATX motherboard for up to 16 GB if you're willing to pay for the upgrade. The 2 TB hard drive is perfectly serviceable for storage purposes, but we've grown accustomed to seeing speedy solid state drives at this price point.
Of course the real stars of the show are the dual graphics cards running in Crossfire that are sandwiched into the case next to an 875W power supply. Alienware has gone the extra mile to fit two full-size graphics cards into a compact mid-size tower, and despite the paucity of available RAM our review unit was capable of consistently delivering 183 frames per second in Unreal Tournament 3 at 2560 by 1600 with maxed-out settings. That's respectable performance, but once again it pales in comparison to category competitors like the V3 Convoy, which cranked out 224.8 frames per second in the same tests. The difference in is due chiefly to the Convoy's excellent overclock, so performance junkies should seriously consider upgrading to an unlocked Sandy Bridge CPU.
Of course to lay hands on any of the components in this machine you'll need to do some digging, as the Aurora's compact interior is compartmentalized with plastic enclosures that snap into place to keep everything secure. It's a nice touch that keeps the case organized and prevents components from rattling about during transport, but the added plastic clutters up the Aurora's cramped interior and makes it difficult to swap out components. Thankfully, Alienware's liquid cooling system ensures CPU cooling isn't an issue.
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.