With AMD’s Ryzen 7000 CPUs, Intel’s thirteenth Gen Raptor Lake, plus new high-end GPUs from each Nvidia and AMD seemingly proper across the nook, proper now might not be the most effective time to purchase a brand new gaming desktop. Then once more, in the event you’ve been ready years to purchase a gaming rig due to GPU availability points surrounding crypto mining and the pandemic, you is likely to be fairly sick of ready. And it appears extremely doubtless that we’ll solely see recent graphics playing cards on the very high-end ($900 plus) this yr anyway.
For individuals who care extra about getting a gaming rig now than ready for moderately inexpensive next-gen elements to turn into out there, Alienware’s Aurora R13 is a lovely, highly effective possibility. Its major downsides are a 120 mm all-in-one cooler that, whereas adequate for gaming, does not deal with heavy CPU workloads nicely on higher-end Alder Lake CPUs. Additionally, as we’ll element later, inventory of our $3,450 MSRP overview mannequin (with a Core i7-12700KF, 64GB of RAM, 4TB of storage and an RTX 3080) was not out there once we wrapped up this overview. However an RTX 3080 Ti mannequin with in any other case the identical specs was promoting for $90 much less ($3,359).
Alienware Aurora R13 Specs
| Processor | Intel Core i7-12700KF |
| Motherboard | Customized Alienware Z690 (0C92D0) |
| Reminiscence | 32GB DDR5 (4400 MHz) |
| Graphics | OEM RTX 3080 (10GB GDDR6X,1710 MHz Increase Clock) |
| Storage | 2TB Samsung PM9A1 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD; 2TB Laborious Drive |
| Networking | Killer E3100 Gigabit Ethernet, Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1675x, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Entrance Ports | 3x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Kind-A (5Gbps) ports, 3.2 Gen 2 Kind-C (10Gbps) USB Kind-C port, 3.5 mm headphone/mic combo audio jack |
| Rear Ports (Motherboard) | 4x USB 2.0 ports, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Kind-A (5 Gbps), USB 3.2 Gen 2 Kind-C (10 Gbps), USB 3.2 Gen 2 Kind-C (20 Gbps), Gigabit Ethernet, 6x analog audio jacks, 2x SPDIF digital audio (TOSLINK, coax) |
| Video Output (GPU) | 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, HDMI 2.1 |
| Energy Provide | 750W 80 Plus Platinum |
| Cooling | 120 mm AIO CPU cooler/exhaust, 3x 140 mm followers (2x entrance consumption, 1x high exhaust) |
| Case | Alienware Aurora R13 |
| Working System | Home windows 11 House |
| Dimensions | 20.1 x 23.2 x 8.86 inches / 510 x 589 x 225 mm |
| Worth as Configured | $3,450 (as configured) |
Design of the Alienware Aurora R13
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When it comes to aesthetics, both you want Alienware’s “Legend 2.0” design language, or you do not. Personally, I feel it is an enchancment over the boxier Aurora R11 we checked out a pair years in the past. There may be undoubtedly a number of plastic wrapped across the chassis’ inner metal. However the plastic at the very least feels inflexible and of top of the range. If you happen to don’t love white (the corporate calls it “lunar mild”) there may be additionally a black/darkish grey “darkish aspect of the moon” possibility that in most configurations appears to price $50 much less.
The Aurora’s case, as soon as once more, has the motherboard and different parts angled upward. And Alienware actually anchors down their GPU, with each a plastic bracket on the aspect and a steel assist arm holding up the tip of the cardboard. If you happen to’re the kind who takes your desktop with you to LAN events (or maybe simply faculty), this can make injury because of the weight of the graphics card a lot much less doubtless.
The first draw back of the Aurora’s design is dad or mum firm Dell’s continued use of proprietary elements. The motherboard right here has an L-shaped protrusion that stands out of the entrance, presenting the plethora of USB ports there. And whereas it is unlikely that greater than a small proportion of Aurora consumers are more likely to, in some unspecified time in the future, wish to swap out their motherboards, the ability provide that sits under the motherboard and GPU can be non-standard (at the very least for client PCs. Dell is utilizing a server PSU). So if throughout the lifetime of the system it fails otherwise you want extra energy than the 750W out there in our overview unit (which you very nicely may with future high-end graphics playing cards and CPUs), meaning on the very least you will must get a brand new energy provide from Dell moderately than shopping for a typical ATX provide off the shelf of an internet or brick-and-mortar retailer. At a time when competitor HP and its Omen lineup (seen most not too long ago within the Omen 45L) has moved steadily towards standardized, name-brand elements for a pair years now, it is previous time for Dell/Alienware to do one thing comparable.
One other space that is in sore want of a design improve is CPU cooling. Intel’s Alder Lake CPUs, significantly on the excessive finish, are notoriously robust on coolers. It’s doubtless their Raptor Lake replacements can be kindred in that regard,. Aand AMD’s Ryzen 7000 CPUs look to be equally thermally taxing. However the present Aurora’s cooler tops out with the 120 mm AIO that shipped with our overview unit. And that will not change and not using a case redesign as a result of there isn’t any place for a bigger radiator within the present chassis.
Ports and Upgradability of the Alienware Aurora R13
Alienware’s Aurora R13 options extra handy front-mounted ports than most desktops. You get three 5 Gbps USB Kind-A ports and a ten Gbps USB Kind-C port, alongside a single headphone/mic combo jack.
Round again, there are six analog jacks, together with optical in each TOSLINK and coax kinds (for almost any conceivable audio connection possibility). Additionally there are 4 USB 2.0 Kind-A ports (two with what Dell calls “sensible energy” for charging your devices) and two blue USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports. Additionally round again are two – twice as many as we generally see – USB Kind-C ports, one of many 20 Gbps selection and one which runs at 10 Gbps. Final up is a gigabit Ethernet jack, powered by Killer (E3100). Wi-Fi 6E comes from a card on the motherboard.
The customized motherboard lacks any video ports, however the RTX 3080 GPU brings the same old three DisplayPort 1.4a ports and a single HDMI 2.1. And apart from the occupied M.2 slot in our overview unit (sporting a 2TB Samsung PCIe Gen 4 SSD), the board has a second empty NVMe M.2 slot subsequent to the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card, close to the entrance of the motherboard/case. And apart from the 2TB 3.5-inch onerous drive that got here with our system, there may be an empty 2.5-inch onerous drive/SSD sled within the backside entrance, together with two unoccupied SATA ports on the motherboard.
Taking a look at different points of inner expandability, you’ll be able to double up the DDR5 RAM (32GB in our overview unit), or swap out the 2 sticks right here for a most 128GB whole within the 4 slots. There’s additionally a closed-end PCIe x4 slot above the graphics card, however no matter card you take into account placing in there must be single- slot, and should not get too heat as it will likely be sitting proper above the GPU. All in all, for a compact mid-tower from a big-box PC maker, the expandability right here is fairly good.
Gaming Efficiency on the Alienware Aurora R13
Whereas Nvidia’s next-gen, high-end Ada GPUs are arriving shortly within the type of the costly RTX 4090 and a pair of 4080s (with an AMD RDNA 3 announcement additionally coming in early November), the RTX 3080 in our Aurora R13 configuration is actually no gaming slouch. I performed Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands at extremely settings on my 4K monitor and averaged slightly below 60 fps (59.83, to be exact). Whereas that was sufficient for the sport to really feel {smooth} and many playable for me, you might in fact dial down or flip off one or two settings, or decrease the decision to enhance body charges. That being mentioned, the opposite desktops we have examined these days have much more gaming muscle than our configuration of the Aurora. Falcon Northwest’s compact Tiki tower paired an AMD Ryzen 5800X3D with an RTX 3080 Ti, whereas HP’s larger (and higher cooled) Omen 45L packed a Core i9-12900K and an RTX 3090. Lastly, Corsair’s One i300, one other compact energy tower, combines an i9-12900K with a 3080 Ti (and liquid cools each the CPU and GPU). All of those programs as examined promote for $1,000 or greater than our Aurora overview unit. The MSRP of our unit is technically $3,450, however the RTX 3080 possibility is at present not in inventory (and it is unclear whether or not it can come again in inventory once more). However once we wrote this, the identical configuration as our unit, however with a extra highly effective RTX 3080 Ti, was promoting for $3,359.
It is also price mentioning that the Aurora R13 was very quiet when gaming, which I wasn’t essentially anticipating given the 120 mm AIO that the corporate makes use of to chill the CPU. That mentioned, as we’ll contact on later, the cooler will get fairly loud if you closely stress the CPU for any sustained size of time.
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On the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark (highest settings), the Aurora R13 delivered a butter-smooth 155 frames per second (fps) at 1080p, and landed simply two frames shy of 60 fps at 4K. That is 16 fps behind the Falcon Northwest and Corsair programs at 1080p, however simply 5-8fps shy of all of the pricier competitors on the larger 4K decision.
In Grand Theft Auto V (very excessive settings), the Aurora R13 carried out equally, delivering 171 fps at 1080p and 56 fps at 4K. It was additional behind the competitors at 4K right here, with the compact Tiki delivering 11 extra fps at that decision.
In Crimson Useless Redemption 2 (medium settings), the Alienware as soon as once more dipped 8-12 fps behind the competitors at 1080p, whereas nonetheless managing a decent 113 fps. Its 44 fps at 4K put it 6-10 fps behind its pricier friends.
On the Far Cry 6check, the Alienware arguably regarded its worst, lagging 14-53 fps behind at 1080p and 32-34 fps behind its rivals at 4K. Nonetheless, at 128 fps at 1080p and 74 fps at 4K, this recreation nonetheless runs extraordinarily easily on our configuration of the R13.
Final up in Borderlands 3 (badass settings) the Alienware Aurora R13 managed 141fps at 1080p and 59fps at 4K. That places it 22 fps behind the Tiki at 1080p and 10 fps behind that system on the larger decision.
We ran our typical Metro Exodus stress check on the Alienware Aurora R13, simulating a half-hour of gaming by looping the benchmark 15 instances. We have been inquisitive about how sizzling the Core i7 CPU would get with only a 120mm AIO cooling it, however we noticed a mean CPU bundle temperature of simply 64.84 levels Celsius, with one temporary peak at 82 levels C. That is removed from the 100 levels C you’d must hit for the CPU to throttle. And body charges have been additionally extraordinarily constant on this check, with a excessive common of 60.29 frames per second (fps) on the second run and a low of 60.21 fps.
That being mentioned, in the event you’re hoping to do severe CPU-hammering duties together with your Core i7 CPU, the cooling right here is not enough. When operating our Cinebench R23 stress check, temperatures approached 100 levels Celsius inside a matter of seconds, and the CPU throttled all the way down to preserve temperatures below management. This each limits your efficiency and means the cooler will get very loud. Once more, this is not a difficulty when gaming, and most Alienware consumers are going to primarily excited about gaming. However contemplating Alienware does not supply a bigger cooling possibility, it’s best to go for one other system if you wish to do a number of video enhancing or different time-consuming CPU duties. And if gaming is your major concern, you are higher off choosing a Core i5 mannequin and spending extra on the graphics card and/or quick storage for video games, anyway.
Productiveness Efficiency on the Alienware Aurora R13
With a Core i7-12700KF CPU, 32GB of RAM and a 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, this R13 is a succesful work and media crunching machine as nicely. However as we simply mentioned, the 120mm AIO cooler is not an ideal selection right here for longer CPU-heavy workloads. Let’s examine how the system did in our productiveness checks. As soon as once more, observe that the competing programs under in our charts have higher-end Core i9 CPUs, save for the Tiki with its gaming-focused 3D V-cache-carrying Ryzen 7 5800X.
On Geekbench 5, the Aurora’s single-core rating of 1,835 impressed, simply beating the Tiki’s 1,640 and never lagging too far behind the 2 Core i9 programs. However on the multi-core aspect, the R13’s 10,557 wasn’t sufficient to beat any system right here, with the liquid-cooled Corsair One delivering 17,965, or a few 70% enchancment over the Aurora.
The Aurora’s PCIe 4.0 Samsung SSD was quick in our testing, shifting our 25GB of recordsdata at a fee of 1,873 MBps. However all the opposite programs right here have been even swifter, with each the Tiki and One i300 programs hovering across the 3,000 MBps mark. I do like that this configuration of the Aurora ships with each a 2TB SSD and a 2TB onerous drive, letting you retailer a number of video games and recordsdata. Final up on our Handbrake check, which transcodes a 4K video to 1080p, the Alienware R13 completed the duty in 3 minutes and 50 seconds. That was greater than quick sufficient to go away the Tiki within the mud (4:55). However as anticipated, the Corsair (3:28) and HP (3:39) have been quicker with their liquid-cooled Core i9 CPUs.
Software program and Guarantee of the Alienware Aurora R13
Alienware pleasingly delivers little in the best way of software program cruft with the Aurora R13. There is a little bit of the everyday Home windows 11 bloat, like Spotify and Xbox, however even that’s pretty mild. Aside from that, there’s the Alienware Command Heart for lighting, cooling controls and monitoring, in addition to functioning as a recreation launcher. And the Killer app helps you to tweak wired/wi-fi community controls and settings. That is, pleasingly, all you get aside from the Home windows 11 House OS.
Alienware sells the Aurora R13 with a 1-year guarantee. You possibly can add longer protection for $149 for an additional yr and $100 per yr after that at buy (as much as 4 years).
Configurations of the Alienware Aurora R13
Dell sells the Alienware R13 beginning at $1,199 with an RTX 3050, a Core i5-12400F, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. After we wrote this, there was additionally a model with a GTX 1650 Tremendous, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for about the identical value, indicating the 3050 mannequin with twice the RAM and storage is probably going on sale. A top-end possibility with a Core i9-12900KF, an RTX 3090, 64GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD sells for $3,749.
Frustratingly, once we wrote this, our overview configuration with a Core i7-12700KF, 32GB of RAM, 2TB of SSD storage, a 2TB onerous drive and an RTX 3080 was not in inventory. In actual fact, there have been no fashions with an RTX 3080 out there on Dell’s website–although there have been configurations with RTX 3070 Tis and RTX 3060 Tis. It is unclear if the 3080 mannequin will come again in inventory, however with the 4080 beginning at a excessive $899, it is clearly not a direct substitute for the previous-gen RTX 3080. Nvidia, at the very least, says the 3080 will stay in its lineup for now.
Backside Line
The Alienware Aurora R13’s RTX 3080 and Core i7-12900KF in our overview configuration aren’t the freshes slices of silicon on the gaming PC block, however this gaming PCstill performs very nicely with them – significantly relating to gaming. These searching for a rig that does double responsibility as a video enhancing machine will wish to search for a system with an possibility for a bigger 240 or 360 mm AIO cooler for at the moment’s (and tomorrow’s) thermally demanding CPUs.
However in the event you primarily care about gaming and your different duties do not depart your processor churning for a number of minutes or hours at a time, the Aurora R13 is a robust, quiet-running and enticing rig that ought to preserve most avid gamers fortunately fragging and streaming for years to come back.
