Customer Ratings & Reviews

Amazing!!! Was between a few different computers and am very happy with my purchase! Waited 2-3 months to make review and would purchase again, no question!!!

Besides a few issues I’m loving the R13. It’s a great high-end gaming PC and performs exactly as I’d expect something with its specifications. The design won’t be to everyone’s liking and Dell made some weird decisions with the power supply and motherboard, but overall I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a prebuilt gaming PC with a little extra flair. The first thing to get out of the way straight off the bat is this thing has a look to it. I did not think I would be into it, but I think it looks a lot better in person than it does in pictures and videos. Still, it’s a bold look and if the minimalist look is what you are going for this is not it. The case is hilariously large due to the fact that the whole thing has this upward tilt going on and it’s probably 30% bigger than it actually needs to be. The pictures even show it with an additional rear cover for the I/O to make it even bigger, but mine did not come with that. The case has a ton of RGB 6 customizable zones. At full brightness, this thing lights up my basement no problem. I’m personally not big on RGB myself, but I do like the arrangement Dell has gone for here and you can come up with some pretty cool looks. The specs in general are excellent. For gaming I think I’d get by with an i7 no problem, but the i9 is nice to have. I’ve heard it can have cooling issues, though I did not notice it in my usage and admittedly for gaming it’s probably not pushing the i9 to its limits anway. The RTX 3080 is still one of the best GPUs you can get today, though the 4000 series is probably just around the corner. The 1TB is a fast WD SN810 and I added another 1TB SN770 that I had to the second M.2 slot. The motherboard, which uses the Z690 chipset, is not a standard design. The I/O on the front of the case is actually part of the motherboard itself like rear I/O. I have no idea why Dell would use a design like this. Realistically I couldn’t see myself upgrading the motherboard even if it was a standard design, but this seems very odd. The motherboard also does not use standard power connectors, which means the PSU is not standard as well. This bothers me a bit more because if I ever want to upgrade to a more power hungry GPU down the line I have to hope that Dell is going to offer a larger power supply that is compatible with the board. The 32GB of RAM is DDR5, but it’s limited to 4400 MHz by the motherboard. The RAM sticks themselves are 4800 MHz though. The modules are also green against the black PCB of the motherboard and it stands out in a bad way. I almost want to buy new RAM just so the color matches. For the size of this case these components are actually packed into a relatively small area within it, owing again to the fact that it has this upward tilting design. The I/O selection is pretty solid. You get 4 USB 2.0, 5 USB-A 3.2 ports, and 3 USB-C 3.2 ports (2 support 10 Gbps and 1 supports 20 Gbps; none are Thunderbolt).The Ethernet port is 2.5 Gbps capable. Getting logged in and booted up the first time, besides the normal driver and Windows updates, I was shocked at the lack of bloatware. Windows comes with its assortment of junk apps (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) and those are easy to remove with a single click, but Dell didn’t bundle anything unnecessary; not even antivirus! All of the preinstalled apps I found like Alienware Command Center and Dell SupportAssist were actually useful, though Command Center is constantly popping up notifications about warranty, which is annoying. I liked the Command Center application for customizing the lighting and it offers a few preset ‘overclock’ profiles, though the overclocking options are pretty limited. Gaming performance is about what I expected for the RTX 3080, in that it is great. The monitor I use right now is 4K and most every game I played had no issues running at 60+ FPS at high or max settings. I can run Cyberpunk with all the ray-tracing settings turned on (aided by DLSS). I ran through a bunch of other games like Control, RDR2, Halo Infinite, and Alan Wake Remastered. For the most part, even at 4K, most every game I ran I could just push all the sliders to max and everything runs just fine, though I did use DLSS where it was available. I had the ‘Overclock 1’ profile turned on most of the time, and that seemed to do fine. The fans occasionally spun up to a level that would be bothersome, but with my headset it barely registered for me. Overall, besides a few minor gripes and some upgradeability concerns, I’m very happy with this PC. It’s got the specs to handle all of today’s games and I think it’s going to last me a long time. It’s certainly not a budget PC and you can do these specs for less money, but it’s still a pretty good prebuilt option if you can appreciate the aesthetic.

Great fast working and beautiful machine runs every game I play amazingly

Great gaming pc. Was able to run most on my games on high settings

About The Alienware Aurora 13 desktop is a high-end Alienware gaming machine that’s absolutely spec-loaded and seems to handle anything I can throw at it. Lots of attention to detail from the packaging, to the casing, to the loaded system components. It performed very well for me. Packaging & Appearance The box is huge and opens like a medium sized appliance. Alienware took that large box and designed it to be like a spaceship that has landed, the door opens, and you receive your spaced-aged technology from within. Once you get the desktop and the components out, you realize that the casing isn’t typical either. The case is a lunar white color (not quite bright white, but more white than gray). It’s wrapped in plastic stickers to protect the entire outer case. It has a unique shape with rounded corners. There are honeycomb air intakes, the internal component display area, and Alienware branding components all over the outside. The internal component area has RGB lighting illuminating the fan and the Alienware brand name. The graphics card illuminates to show the GEFORCE RTX branding Contents It doesn’t come with much other than the desktop. There are very plain keyboard and mouse accessories and a power cord. Specs I won’t cover every single spec here, but here are the highlights: Windows 11 Home 64-bit 12th Gen Intel i9 Processor 32 GB DDR5 RAM (2 sticks of 16GB, 4 slots available, expandable up to 128 GB) 1 TB SSD Hard Drive (2 expansion slots available) 10GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Graphics Card Wireless – AX 2.5 GB Ethernet 750 Watt Power Supply Liquid Cooled System 12 USB Ports (various types) Performance Generally speaking, this computer seemed to do every task well and I was pleased with the performance. Here are some of the things that I noticed: Restore Drive – The first thing that I did after downloading updates was make a restore drive. It took about an hour to back the information up to a USB 3.0 drive. I was a little surprised that it took that long. If you do this it will ask for a drive that holds at least 32 GB. Speed – Everything was fast. Booting, internet browsing, games, all of it. Noise – There are 3 fans so I tried to pay attention to the level of noise that the desktop generated. This was placed at ear level 2-3 feet away. While I could hear it, it was not noticeable. My other custom gaming machine is much louder. Heat – It does have some heat being released, but I did not feel that it was excessive. If fact, my other two desktops produce more than the Aurora. Wireless Connection – I have not upgraded my router to Wi-Fi 6 / AX yet, but my wireless connection was strong enough for me to play a game on Steam for 3 hours and not notice any lag. Gaming – Games displayed well. There was no lag or pixilation at any point. Was very happy with the sharp, smooth image. Disappointments While this machine was great overall, here are some things that I was disappointed in: Windows 11 Home – IMO, I feel that a machine at this price point should have a higher version of Windows such as Windows Pro. 1 TB SSD – For a gaming machine the use of the SSD was correct but the size seems small. Games take up a lot of room, and gamers tend to have several games in their library. A larger hard drive would have been preferred. A second storage drive would have also been nice. I will note that it comes prepared to add the second drive if you want to do that. Keyboard and Mouse – For a machine at this price point, the generic keyboard and mouse were a letdown. It should have come with at least a RGB version that ties into the Alienware Command Center. RGB Lighting – Would be nice if you could change the graphics card light to coordinate with the rest of the RGB. The white GEFORCE RTX letters are brighter than anything else on the machine. The memory sticks were plain and could have included lighting. There are 3 fans, but only one has a light. Should have had lights on the other two with options to control if desired. Proprietary Parts – Several components appear to be proprietary. For a gaming PC, this is a headache because you know that customization is a key component to gamers. Memory items such as the RAM, Hard Drive, and Graphics Card can all be changed/ added to/ or upgraded with the Aurora. (But why would you want to touch this graphics card?) The liquid cooling, motherboard, and power supply all appear to be proprietary. Warranty – This very expensive machine has a 1 year warranty. That’s a standard timeframe. This, IMO, should come with an exceptional warranty, not a standard. Quirks Video Connection – I am using a 40” 4K TV for my “monitor”, and it kept losing connection with the PC. This is not the first computer that I have had this happen with, but my last one did not do this. I ended up turning the screen saver / power saver functions off on the PC to cut down on these instances, but I still have problems with no signal being shown on the screen at times. RGB Lighting – I used the Alienware Command Center to set my RGB lighting. When I went to Steam to play a game, the RGB lighting set itself to a different color and pulsed for the entire game. It didn’t do that on a previous game from the night before. I tried to change it in the Command Center, but it would not stick to the settings. Not sure what is going on there. Rear Fan Light – The fan has a tiny wobble which is more noticeable with the light on. I am concerned that this fan will not last as long as it should if the fan isn’t balanced. This is a problem since it’s the main fan attached to the cooling system. Summary I am giving the Alienware Aurora 4 stars. It was exciting to unbox and see the detail put into the design. The specs are crazy and the PC should feel “current” for the next several years. While it had some disappointments and quirks, the performance was really good and it seems to be a solid PC.

It was a bit like Christmas when the Aurora R13 arrived, the teens and I were beyond excited to try out this desktop and determine if it lived up to the hype of the Alienware brand.  First impression is that the physical design, with the transparent side and controllable RGB lighting on the front and inside, gives this desktop a futuristic appearance.   The layout improves airflow and heat management, while providing smoother lines over previous generations, with an obvious focus on aesthetics.   Taking a step back to walk through the unboxing, in the large black box is the desktop, basic keyboard and mouse, power cord, and instructions.  Setup is simply plug and play, going through the pre-installed Win11 home edition workflow. I am a fan of the minimalistic approach for this desktop, with only basic applications and the Alienware software being pre-installed.  I paired the desktop with a Samsung 32" 4K UHD monitor for initial testing. As far as peripherals, I have no concerns with lack of availability.   I especially appreciate the front accessibility for a headphone jack, 3 x USB - A and a USB-C. The back of the desktop allows for additional connections: mic and audio ports for various configurations, a S/PDIF digital audio port, 4 x USB-A (two of which are USB 3.2), 2 x USB-C, ethernet, HDMI and 3x DisplayPorts for video out.  There are also expansion slots for PCI-E x4 and PCI-E x 16 for future upgradability.  Internally this machine boasts the 12th gen Intel Core i9, 1TB SSD, 32gb DDR5 RAM, 4 fans, liquid cooling, and the impressive NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 supporting DLSS graphics. This build comes at a price of a large footprint and 35 lbs of desktop to move around.  Going back to the overall aesthetics, the clear side panel adds a very sleek look and allows for viewing of the internal layout as well as internally lit RBG accents.  This lighting, along with the front panel light and power button, are all controlled through the Alienware control console application, providing both color customization as well as color profiles and movement.  The app also allows for custom color settings tied directly to each game profile.  As far as settings, the Alienware control app allows for multiple profile settings to include sound, power profile, individual fan profiles, and overclocking.  You can tie profiles directly to games, or manually adjust as needed.  There is also the ability to monitor real time performance of the profile and tweak as needed. I benchmarked using both the standard performance profiles, as well as overclocking options. For testing, I started off with the 3DMark benchmark testing using Time Spy Extreme with both default settings as well as the performance settings, photos attached of results.  While the results are strong, I appreciate the upgradability of this machine for future performance improvements.  After running a few other benchmarks with similar results, I swapped over to test DLSS, which yielded 113 FPS at 1440, results attached.  The testing for DLSS showed the same scene with and without DLSS and the improvement is substantial.  It's one of those features you don't know that you need until you see how immersive the graphics are with it.  As far as actuals during gaming, Doom ran 200 FPS easily, Fortnight was 145+, there wasn't anything I tried on Steam that landed below the my expected limit of 120 FPS. During stress testing, game play, and benchmark testing, I'm impressed with the volume of airflow through the desktop.  While I did see the temp over 70C during heavy loading, typically temps stayed mid 30s. The 4 fan combination can get slightly loud at full load, but not nearly as much so as many of the gaming laptops.  I compare it to one of the 90's oscillating table top fans, it's noticeable, but nothing that can't be fixed with a set of gaming headphones.  Overall there aren't words for how much fun is to be had on this machine, very similar to upgrading to a sports car from your daily driver.  You knew it'd be fun, but you didn't know it would be that much fun!  This is a great, out of the box, machine that can drive your high demand games with ease.

Powering up for the first time I could not help but notice the fan is extremely quiet, the Liquid cooling is a perfect match with this system for hammering on it while gaming. It does get louder the more CPU/GPU is used during gameplay. Aesthetically the box is very nice, Large like a tower so you may not want to leave this on your desk as it has a bigger foot print. The side has a clear panel to view the components and the LED glow. The wire management is spot on, everything is tight or hidden from view making for a great look inside. Speaking of inside, this system Rocks a 1TB SSD for fast access to your files, 32gb ram, an RTX3080 Graphics card (10gb 8960 cores), Intel I9 (16 cores) with speed up to 5.2 gigahertz. Two multi speed fans. Customizable Led lights in the case that ships with a protective covering that can be peeled away. The system is quite large as I stated. Coming in at 23 X 20 X 9 and weighing around 35 lbs. Once system is booted you can customize the light to your liking, such as 1 color for all, Ambient, fan, power button, the Alienware word mark, the ring on the front, and the internal ambient color. The same app as above (Alienware command center) can be used to set up power profiles, fan speed, overclocking your processor, adjusting sound, and view temps of the GPU and Processor. The box has 1 ethernet port (10g), One HDMI out, One HDMI 2.0 out, Twelve USB of which four are 2.0, Five are 3.2, Three are 3.2 C ports, and Three 1.4 Display ports. Expansion slots are Two PCI-E x4, and One PCI-E x16. I was impressed that the amount of bloatware pre-installed is kept to a minimum, I just uninstalled a few items and was good to go. The system was not that far out of date on update, I made sure I had the latest and greatest before I tested the performance. Boot time is an average of 10 seconds to login screen!! I downloaded and ran tests on the system to get a better idea on how the system stacks up against others and to see the results: Cinebench: The 3d test of the card scored a very respectable 24573. Second top score. Superposition: when I ran it on a 1080 Medium, it scored 29907. With a max FPS of 304 and a minimum of 167, the GPU was stressed at 97% and the temp was a solid 72 degrees C. CrystalDiskMark: The Read write speed for the SSD came in at 6640.63mb/5096.29mb (Options were, Sequential 1Mib, 8 Ques,1 Thread.) PCMark 10: This test is a complete test. It did Apps, Video, editing photo and video etc. The final score was better than 98% of others tested!! 8296! Granted most who purchase this PC will not use this for office type duties, this was a nice test to compare. The next test will hammer the GPU made by the same company. (See pics) 3DMark: Ran tests stressing the GPU, the default test had a score of 16850 or 93% better than others tested with a max FPS of 110. The cpu had a temp of 65-70 degrees Celsius (150 F) under load. (See pics) To test Gaming, I loaded the newer versions of Dirt, Forza, Call of duty, T.A.B.S. I had all settings at high and was amazed at how much I was missing on my last detuned PC. The textures and shading were spot on and game play was very fluid. I didn’t notice any stuttering issue where scenes took a second to load. I am thoroughly impressed by Dell’s Alienware. I laughed at the FPS when compared to my older PC which I now consider to be a boat anker. I would wholeheartedly recommend this to family and friends.

Amazing works nice and fast and support’s 360 hz also 4k if your into that.

I have built many a gaming rig over the past decades. When building a high-performance computer, I, the builder, has sought to incorporate the latest, highest-rated, compatible components available, within the allowable budget, into a unit that has been designed and tweaked to bring out those components’ maximum potential. Over the years, aesthetics entered into the design mix, but power and performance has always been paramount. Back in 1997, Alienware, as a commercial gaming rig builder, became known by gamers as one of the premier companies for designing cutting edge, powerful gaming computers. Dell bought them in 2006. I was curious as to what a high-end, off-the-shelf, gaming rig was like today and when I saw the Alienware Aurora R13 Model D30M002 Gaming Desktop, I jumped for it. This model has all the right components to create a fantastic, monster gaming machine at this point in time. It boasts an Alder Lake, overclock-able 12th Generation Intel Core i9-12900KF with 16 cores and 24 threads with 14 MB of L2 cache running at 3.2GHz and, with Turbo-Boost is capable of 5.2 GHz, and which is the only consumer chip right now to support up to 128 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM (the fastest available). It has 32 GB of this DDR5-4800 RAM and in my box they used (2) SK Hynix HMCG78MEBUA084N modules (2 open slots). (SK Hynix is an extremely well-respected maker of high-end, server grade RAM and storage.) For storage, it has a speedy Western Digital Gen 4, 1024 GB (1 TB) M.2 NVMe PC SN810 SSD drive with room for one more 1 TB M.2 SSD module and a HDD. Graphics are deftly handled by an incredible NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 card with 10 GB for GDDR6X graphics memory. It supports WiFi 6 / IEEE 802.11 AX through “2.5Gbps Killer E3100 integrated Wired Networking delivers 2.5x the total theoretical bandwidth with a uninterrupted zero-lag connection.” Ethernet is superfast 10/100/1000/2500. It has 1 HDMI 2.1 port, 3 v1.4 Display Ports, 4 USB 2.0 Type A ports, 5 USB 3.2 Type A ports, and 3 USB 3.2 Type C ports. It has a 750w Power Supply. Realtek Audio. Liquid Cooling. And runs Win 11 Home 64 bit. Yes, this rig is loaded with most of the latest and greatest components out there. I ran multiple Benchmark tests on it and found incredible frame rates and great performance. Yet, when I ran a CPU-Z Stress Test on this rig, I found an anomaly. Starting the test on the newly fired-up, as-configured, rig, the numbers ran right past the benchmark into awesome territory as the rig’s fans fired up for a moment. Then, even as the rig’s components would be heating up to their highest temperatures under stress, the fans died down, and so did the numbers, to much below the benchmark. After running the test multiple times with the same results, I can only conclude that the rig configuration was designed to throttle the CPU to keep from overheating and burning out these components, which run very hot. In my opinion, this throttling of CPU performance would not be necessary, if the unit were designed more for heat mitigation and high performance than for the cool aesthetics of the Alienware case. I would forget trying to over-clock this CPU, without further modification of the cooling system, even though it has most of what you need to do it. But, remember, any modification will void your warranty. Don’t get me wrong. Even with this issue, this Alienware - Aurora R13 Gaming Desktop is blazing fast and performs incredibly well. Gamers, video editors, 3D creators will have a wonderful machine that does the job. It is just that it does not meet its full potential.

Look no further if you want to run the most frames per second with the current hottest first person shooters. See below for some benchmarks. Pros: *Looks built but without the headaches *Bespoke internals *No bloatware Cons: *Can be pricey *Built in overclocking is unstable *Ram has no heatsinks As an avid MW Warzone and Halo Infinite player, having high FPS is critical and the latest R13 is amazing. The specs of this computer should easily last you for at least 5+ years of future proof gaming. The RTX 3080 is a beast of a video card. I constantly get over 200fps on ultra settings in both Warzone and Halo Infinite multiplayer. The system is well packaged and is ready to run straight out of the box. It does include a cheapo keyboard and mouse but those are easily replaced with your preferred gaming peripherals. I have my R13 paired with a 240hz gaming monitor and it’s a match made in heaven. Besides a few operating system updates, this new rig will be full force in a matter of hours. There are an abundance of ports on the front and the case is on par with Alienware styling. This latest flagship model includes a clear window to show the internals bathed in customizable RGB. The star of the show is a clean looking liquid cooled processor. I do recommend this gaming right if you’re looking for a turn-key high performance gaming PC without the headaches of building your own. Yes, you can get it cheaper if you build it yourself but what’s the cost of guarantee and turn-key worth to you? Just plug it in and start fragging. Benchmarks: *Halo Infinity on Ultra settings: 200fps *MW Warzone on Ultra: 200+fps *Shadow of the Tomb Raider on Ultra: 186fps *Cyberpunk 2077 on Ultra: 125fps

Unboxing and Setup While I was unboxing the Alienware Aurora R13 Gaming Desktop tower, I felt like I was removing the alien egg from its mothership. The heavy duty box and packing kept this 32 pound tower safe during shipping. And it's always fun to peel away the protective plastic sheeting. The unconventional white case, with its curves and angled base is a beauty. It does eat up some desk space with a 9" x 28" footprint. The Alienware logo is at top center of the sleek front panel along with headphone and USB ports to the right. The back is well ventilated and has a wealth of access ports. I plugged in a 27" Element gaming monitor via a DisplayPort connection to the Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics card, attached some external speakers to the audio port, plugged in the power cord, a mechanical gaming keyboard, and a trackball. The keyboard and mouse that comes with the computer should just stay in the box. I'm sure they're included as a last resort option. Powering on the computer via the front Alienware logo is a joy. Almost no noise came from the internal fans. A look through the transparent side panel reveals the motherboard, fans, water cooled heat sink on the CPU, power supply, and the massive Geforce RTX video card. On power up, it was nice to see a little lighting inside the computer. I stepped through the Windows 11 Home setup and Windows updates. I used Windows Authenticator to confirm my account and activated the included Microsoft Office apps. The next fun configuration was the front panel and internal lighting configuration with the Alienware Command Center app. This was followed by registration and downloading of the support manuals with Dell using the included My Alienware app. Gaming Configuration I'm a hard core Microsoft Flight Simulator gamer, web developer, and I also spend too much time in No Mans Sky. The install of Steam, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 with all options and updates, then No Mans Sky, took most of the day. It was well worth the wait. Configuring MSFS for the "Ultra Graphics Mode", I made sure to select the highest level of detail for the weather, ground textures, buildings, and moving objects (ground & air traffic, people and equipment at airports). My favorite flying area is around Seattle. The flying experience with this configuration is amazing! The graphics are smooth and the details are photo-realistic. There was no tearing or sheering of distant terrain details, no lag, or freezing. All my simulated flights are incredibly smooth, even with snow and rain weather. No Mans Sky also did not disappoint. Again, I configured the graphics for the highest resolution and quality. Moving around on planet terrain with flora, fauna, and alien skies, is smooth and free of any glitches in the graphics. There is an increase in fan noise in these games, due to the huge graphics processing load on the GPU and CPU. The temperatures stayed within normal ranges. However it was not excessively loud. The fan did have a very faint click and a detectable visual wabble. I'm sure I'll be speaking to Dell if it increases. Currently, I'm not too concerned. Summary The rich wealth of features and configurations for this amazing computer are beyond the length of available space for this review. I included some bullet points below and some test results. Without overclocking, out of the box, this Alienware Aurora R13 desktop computer has all the necessary power to deliver the smoothest and highest quality gaming experience I can possibly throw at it. The graphics in MSFS 2020 are so amazing that I can honestly say I got weak in the knees when stalling my airplane in rough weather. The choice of obtaining this computer versus the time, cost, and effort of DIY is an excellent decision. I have no doubt this system will continue to provide quality gaming for years to come. Alienware Command Center This included software provides a wealth of configuration features, such as: • Scanning for and creating Launch Tiles for installed games • Creating and saving multiple lighting themes • Creating and saving Profiles of themes, overclocking, thermal, and power settings • Setting of overclocking settings for CPU, GPU, and Memory Clock, by temp and power usage • Quick selection of High Performance, Balanced, or Power Saver • Quick selection of High Performance, Balanced, or Quiet thermal setting • Quick selection of Alienware, Coms, Movie, Music, or Racing audio setting Features • OS: Windows 11 Home • CPU: 12 Gen Intel® Core™ i9-12900KF 4.54 GHz • GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 3080 ○ 1 DisplayPort, 3 HDMI • RAM: 32GB, SK Hynix DDR5 (16x2) • Drive: Western Digital NVMe SSD 1TB • Motherboard: Intel® Z690 Chipset • Front Ports: ○ 1 mic/headphone combo ○ 2 USB 3.2 ports ○ 1 USB 3.2 port with PowerShare ○ 1 USB 3.2 Type-C with PowerShare • Rear Ports: ○ 1 optical S/PDIF port ○ 1 coaxial S/PDIIF port ○ 2 USB 2.0 ports ○ 2 USB 2.0 ports with Smart Power ○ 1 USB 3.2 Type-C port ○ 2 USB 3.2 ports ○ 1 USB 3.2 2x2 Type-C ○ 1 RJ45 Ethernet port ○ 1 mic/audio combo port ○ 1 line-in port ○ 1 line-out port ○ 1 subwoofer LFE surround port ○ 1 rear L/R surround port ○ 1 side L/R surround port • KillerTM Wii-Fi 6 1675 802.11 ax Wireless • Bluetooth 5.2 • Audio: Realtek 7.1 channel Novabench Test Results: • Score: 5431 • CPU: 2824 • GPU: 1882, 368 FPS • RAM: 331, 32012 MB/s • Disk Score: 394 • Disk Write: 5427 MB/s • Disk Read: 2618 MB/s Valley Benchmark • Score: 5560 • FPS: 132.9 • Max FPS: 250.1 Wi-Fi Performance to/from fiber network Wi-Fi hub • Download: 192.82 Mbps • Upload: 203.73 Mbps • Ping: 6ms

I had an incredibly long and detailed review for this computer but it got taken down for some reason. I know this won't be as detailed as the previous review but let me see if I can remember what I wrote. It went something like this: This machine is an absolute beast. It does everything you think it should, and more. But let me start from the beginning. The box is HUGE. However that is because it is so well packaged. The machine itself is hefty and needs secure packaging and thank goodness they realized that. My box arrived damaged but the machine itself was in perfect condition. The Windows 11 setup is relatively easy, and while I'm not the biggest fan...probably because I'm not used to it yet, but its a relatively smooth and painless to set up. However, be prepared to set aside a few hours to download and install all the Windows updates as well as updates to the proprietary software that comes with the machine. And lest not forget about registration etc. which is something I like to do for all my electronics. But once all that is said and done... I literally don't know what to compare the graphic capabilities of the R13 to. I haven't had an Xbox since the Xbox 1 but this easily blew it out of the water. I have it connected to a 4K monitor with a DP cable and you can clearly see the difference between that and an HDMI cable. As far as gaming goes I'll stick to the most graphically intense game I own and that is Flight Simulator. While it has changed since its release, originally only the Xbox Series X could show you Flight Sim in all its 4k or 8k glory. However, the Alienware Aurora R13 blew me away with its sheer beauty and brilliance. When setting up the game the software suggested I run this game on the Ultra graphics mode...which if you know anything about this game, you know that you need a special gaming machine to pull that off...and boy does it do the job. I can't say enough about the graphics capabilities of this computer and I haven't even begun to touch the surface of how fast it can render 4k video. Yeah...its that good.

----- SUMMARY ----- Verdict: The Alienware Aurora R13 isn’t just a good-looking PC. It's powerful, and games play beautifully. It has all the performance I could dream of but knowing that technology and the gaming landscape evolve, I find comfort in the fact that the Aurora R13 will be easy to upgrade. I think it’ll be a top contender in the market for years to come. If an excellent gaming experience is what you're after, the Aurora R13 won’t disappoint. Pros: - Eye-catching design - Numerous ports - Excellent performance - Easy to upgrade - Efficient cooling Cons: - None ----- DETAILS ----- Unboxing & Setup: The Aurora R13 is nested safely inside a large box. It was nice to see the dense foam surrounding it, which kept it safe during transit. Much of the white casing has a plastic film on it for protection from scratches during the boxing and shipping process. It arrived in excellent condition and was a joy to unbox. There’s a wired keyboard and mouse included, but they’re basic and appear to be of low quality. You’ll want to use better gaming peripherals to match the high-end excellence of the Aurora R13. Setup simply requires plugging it in, powering it on, and walking through the Windows 11 guided steps. You’ll be using this beast in no time. Design & Features: The Aurora R13 has a sleek, ovular design that looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. Love it or hate it, the design is bold and unique. It might not be for everybody, but I personally love it. I care more about performance (and that doesn’t disappoint), but the eye-catching design is the best I’ve seen in the pre-built PC space. Housed in the new Legend 2.0 chassis, the design of the Aurora R13 is focused on thermal performance and quieter acoustics. It weighs about 34 pounds, and its dimensions are 20.1” high, 8.86” wide, and 20.8” long. RGB lighting on the inside includes a light on the rear fan and a lightbar that illuminates most of the internals. Since there’s a clear side panel on one side, you can get a nice view of this powerful machine. The front has RGB lighting around the center panel which is attractive as well. When it comes to ports, you get lots of them. The front has a headphone jack, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a USB 3.1 Gen 1 port with PowerShare, and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with PowerShare. The rear has plenty more USB ports (four USB 2.0 Type A, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 with 10Gbps speed, and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 with 20 Gbps speed). There are also surround sound outputs (rear, side, center/subwoofer), line in, line out, microphone in, two SPDIF digital outputs (one TOSLINK and one Coax), and finally an RJ-45 Killer E3100 Gigabit Ethernet jack for a wired internet connection (but the R13 is also equipped with Killer Wi-Fi 6). Although I don’t have a component to upgrade this early in my ownership of the R13, its upgradability seems great. Getting inside just requires unscrewing a screw on the rear and removing the side panel. Since the inside is roomy and organized, I could access the components pretty easily, even with large hands. Performance: I had a blast putting a lot of different games to the test on the Aurora R13. Every single one played beautifully with the settings maxed out. I primarily use a 4K monitor, but I also tested 1440p and 1080p monitors. All worked just as well. From slow-paced games like Microsoft Flight Simulator to fast-paced action like Doom Eternal and anything in between, it’s awesome not having to compromise between a smooth frame rate and the highest quality visuals available. This Aurora R13 has proven its processing and graphical abilities. The heat produced by the R13 has never felt alarmingly hot, even during longer gaming sessions, so the fans and liquid cooling seem to be efficient. Fan noise has never been distracting to me, but I almost always wear headphones, and they block out quite a bit of noise. I purposely did a few gaming sessions without headphones and noticed that the fans do get loud at the highest workloads, but it’s not usually for very long. It comes in waves where the fans can get progressively louder but then it dials back, presumably when it determines that the components are sufficiently cooled. There’s more than enough power if the Aurora R13 will be your primary computer for everyday use. It starts up quickly, numerous browser tabs or media playing at once is no problem, and file transfers are speedy. I’m not a photo/video editor, but I see no reason why it wouldn't be able to perform well for that. During this type of basic use, the fans are very quiet. Software: I applaud Alienware for not pre-installing a bunch of unnecessary apps (bloatware). What they did include, primarily Alienware Command Center, is actually useful. It’s the hub for performance and lighting options, and it can act as a game launcher once it scans for compatible games. The app has an easy-to-use interface with many customizable options that you can save to unique profiles. It could be as simple as having several RGB lighting patterns available to choose from, or as detailed as having set audio, fan performance and GPU overclock settings. Another neat feature is that the profiles can be tied to specific games. For example, I have a profile tied to Doom Eternal that switches the RGB lighting to red. With Alienware Command Center, it’s nice to have everything available in one centralized location. ----- WHAT’S IN THE BOX ----- 1 x Alienware Aurora R13 1 x Power Cable 1 x Wired Keyboard 1 x Wired Mouse 1 x User Documents

Having forged their reputation as the ultimate no-compromise, maximum-flair gaming desktop manufacturer in the late 90s and early 2000s, Alienware is one of the longest running and most recognizable names in PC gaming. Going through high school with what little power I could muster from a hand-me-down desktop, Alienware computers were lauded within my social circle, and getting to experience one at a friend’s house was akin to playing the future of videogames. Pixels were churned out at resolutions and refresh rates I didn’t think were possible, and the machine’s eerie presence and mechanically-actuating cooling vents were unlike anything on the shelf of computer stores at the time. If you were serious about gaming, you had an Alienware. Today the brand exists as a subsidiary of Dell, having been sold to the PC giant in 2006 at the peak of their game and granting the company a long lease of life. Unfortunately, much like an aging celebrity past their prime, Alienware machines have since become bloated, uninspired, and rely on cosmetics to gloss over nearly two decades of stagnation. There’s still some magic to be seen, but these machines don’t excite a moderately experienced PC builder like they used to. With some of the latest high-end hardware aboard, the Alienware Aurora R13 delivers expected gaming performance but falls far behind the benchmark set years ago with poor thermal management, uninspired flair, and many proprietary parts that limit future repair and upgrade potential. - Unboxing & Setup Alienware’s packaging is a thing of simplicity and beauty, feeling more like unpacking an appropriately otherworldly crate with panels that fold away to reveal the well-secured machine within. Sadly, that’s about the extent of the magic as included accessories are absolutely minimal, with the keyboard and mouse being so laughably cheap to the point I couldn’t believe Dell bothered to include them - not a great first impression for a PC of this price and caliber. The R13’s size and presence would make you think this is a full-ATX size desktop, but the rotated mainboard hides the fact this is closer to micro-ATX all around and the additional size is from the chassis design to maintain the bulbous, smooth aesthetic iconic to Alienware’s earlier desktop offerings. You’ll need to be careful moving and positioning the desktop - there are no obvious handles to grab onto and multiple surfaces with warnings not to lift from, lest risk snapping plastics. Setup is otherwise relatively simple (despite the lack of instructions or port labels as seen on other Dell desktops), and within moments I was powered on and running initial setup. Dell loaded Windows 11 Home for this machine, which performs well enough as the natural evolution to Windows 10 and users coming from the older OS should find a lot of familiarity. Sadly there’s no option to create a local account like there is on Windows 11 Pro - you will need to create a Microsoft account to complete system setup without using workarounds. - Performance, The spec sheet says it all. With a top-end Intel Core i9-12900KF offering 8 high-performance, hyperthreaded CPU cores for 16 threads of computing speed, backed up by 8 efficiency cores providing 8 threads for background tasks, the 24-core CPU sails through any gaming and multitasking you throw at it simultaneously, with the system’s 32GB of RAM allowing it all to run at once. Updates to Intel chipset drivers and Windows 11 utilize all cores correctly for a buttery-smooth gaming experience devoid of stutter and framerate dips, provided both the applications are decently optimized and the processor’s cooling is up to spec. More on thermals later. Paired with NVidia’s GeForce RTX 3080 - one of the most powerful graphics cards on the market today - there’s not a game yet released that this machine can’t run at maximum detail and high framerates. Gaming at 4K Ultra at 60 FPS and above is doable, though triple digit framerates are more easily attained at 1440p. In my testing, well-optimized titles like Forza Horizon 5 saw 4K running above 70 FPS on average (bouncing around 100 at 1440p), graphical showpieces like Red Dead Redemption 2 held in the 40s at 4K and easily cleared 60 at 1440p, and classic stalwarts like GTAV and Doom 2016 were running at the limits of their engines, hovering around 150 and 200 FPS respectively regardless of resolution. Whatever you can throw at this card, it’ll handle it. The hallmark of the RTX series, of course, is its ray-tracing and AI acceleration capabilities, providing a much more realistic visual representation of lighting and clever image enhancements to push visual fidelity and performance to the next level. RTX-enhanced games look stunning on this machine, with games like Control and Shadow of the Tomb Raider utilizing both ray tracing for visual effects and Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) to dynamically adjust render resolution with a minimal hit visual fidelity to maintain high framerates. In supported titles this really does add a layer of visual fidelity that feels very next-generation. - Thermal Management For all the high-end hardware Dell stuffed into this machine, it’s clear the Alienware division was forced to work with an outdated chassis to save on cost. The Aurora R13 has some of the worst airflow of any PC case I’ve seen in years, with the two front intake fans almost completely choked off from fresh air intake on the front panel, and the rear top exhaust fan similarly obstructed by plastic panels installed for aesthetics. The Intel Core i9 CPU is a very powerful and hot processor, of which Alienware utilizes a 120mm size all-in-one (AIO) liquid cooler to help exhaust heat. Unfortunately this combination doesn’t do well to keep the CPU’s heat in check - even the simple task of running Windows Update spikes the processor to 90C, and saturating the CPU with multitasking pushes it to 100C where the CPU will throttle itself to prevent overheating. As a result, CPU performance is significantly degraded when asking a lot of the chip. A 120mm AIO is not enough for this CPU, doubly so when getting cool air into and out of the case is severely restricted. When strictly gaming, this problem is less pronounced as most titles won’t ask for all the CPU power on tap, but the added heat of the RTX 3080 running at full song accelerates the heat buildup inside the case and makes CPU thermal throttling much more likely. Quite disappointed. The only way to overcome the heat buildup, in this case, is to increase fan speeds. However, even at full bore the Aurora R13 can’t get a good grip on the heat despite the noise produced from its intake, exhaust, and radiator fans. It’s not particularly bothersome - a set of headphones will cover it decently - but the fans will stick at full speed for quite a while even after closing the demanding application as it struggles to ventilate all the heat from the system. Airflow & cooling need serious attention for the next revision of the Aurora. - Part List, Upgradeability My Alienware Aurora R13 has the following components: - Intel Core i9-12900KF CPU - Proprietary 120mm AIO cooler (OEM: Asetek) - Proprietary motherboard (OEM: Dell. Unidentifiable chipset, either B660 or Z690) - 2x16GB DDR5-4800 (Hynix HMCG78MEBUA084N) - Dell Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 10GB - Western Digital SN810 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD - Proprietary 750W 80+ Platinum PSU (OEM: Dell) - Proprietary Alienware Aurora R13 chassis My biggest issue here is that the system has a lot of proprietary hardware that severely limits future upgradeability and serviceability. In the event of a motherboard, power supply, or AIO cooler failure, these items all use non-standard form factors and connectors, and as such will require replacement with identical parts from Dell. In other words, the computer will need to be repaired to the exact same specifications or upgraded only with currently-compatible products, so upgrading to a next-generation Intel CPU (beyond 13th gen) will almost assuredly need an entirely new motherboard, and since the Aurora uses a proprietary form factor and power supply, a full new machine will need to be purchased to accommodate. With most other desktops, a swap of the mainboard and CPU can be done in as little as 30 minutes using off-the-shelf components, but the Alienware Aurora R13 will thus become e-waste much faster. It’s extremely disappointing to see a high-end desktop whose visual flair is limited to a unique chassis design and some RGB lighting, yet still commands a hefty premium from the name recognition, be constructed as if it were disposable. - Bottom Line I was hopeful that Dell would afford the Aurora R13 the same treatment they gave to the Aurora R12 - a machine built from all standard components that would serve users well for years to come. Sadly, while the performance on tap here is acceptable, the poor thermal management and overuse of proprietary parts makes this one difficult to recommend unless you absolutely want the look or a major brand backing up the machine. Though I knew Alienware wasn’t what it used to be going into this, it’s disappointing to see just how far the once-legendary brand has fallen. That said, your heroes should still inspire you, and in the case of Alienware that starry-eyed amazement I experienced nearly 20 years ago was the catalyst for exploring the DIY PC sector in the years following. Today, you can build a machine with equal or better specifications, and much improved thermal management, for significantly less than the asking price of the Aurora R13. While Dell’s preassembly, support, and warranty are certainly worth something intangible, I don’t feel it’s worth the ~$1,000 premium over a DIY system here, especially when proprietary parts severely restrict your path forward after the warranty runs out. Not recommended.

There is not much more you can say about this. I am upgrading from an Aurora R9 to the 13. At the very first, Alienware is taking much more care in the packaging. You can take out the computer from the side now, you do not have to pick it up out of the box, there are even handles on the top to assist you. Since this weighs 44 pounds, its a help. I just swapped out all my old connections for this device. I did upgrade to a new stand. Make sure you look for one that can carry the weight. I hate to admit, when I first turned mine on i pressed the power button several times until I realized I was turning it on and off. It was so quiet I had not even noticed I had turned it on. My R9 you heard spin up from another room. I have 2 4k monitors I can already tell I need to upgrade to keep up with this graphics card. The NVIDIA RTX 3080 is massive, and surprisingly quiet add that with the i9 processor with 16 cores and 32 GB of RAM and you have some serious game play. If you work in the tech field, this would be great for videos.

Let me get this out of the way first. I haven't owned a desktop since Windows XP... yes, it's been a while. Once I started getting laptops, I never looked back. The Alienware Aurora R13 piqued my interest. First off, out of the box you get the desktop, the power cable, manuals, a basic wired keyboard and wired mouse. The box is massive, and I feel for the delivery guy who had to carry it to my front door. The desktop itself is quite large. It has RBG lights on the front, and on the inside. You can see all of the inner lights thanks to a nice window that allows you to see just about everything that's in the pc. You can change the color layout in the My Alienware app. The Aurora R13 has this interesting aesthetic. Gone are the days of rectangles. From the side you see that style that they were going for, a spaceship, or airplane chassis aesthetic. From the front you have this oblong shape. You have ports upon ports. It had enough ports to plug three monitors (2 display port, and 1 HDMI), my mechanical keyboard, mouse, dongle for my wireless headset, USB-C to charge my wireless headset and phone, my external HDD, and charge my tablet, and all this with ports on the front to spare. The two biggest strengths in the R13 are the Intel i9, and the RTX 3080. That combined with 32 gigs of ram, it was able to handle every game I launched. Let me rephrase, it handled every game I had in ultra settings, ray tracing on, 4k. As usual I tried it out a FPS, a racing game, and a certain horror survival game. I don't think I ever saw a real bad dip in performance. Granted the games run better on 1080p or 1440p, but if you have a 4k monitor, then running it at max settings is the way to go. One of the nicest features is that this gaming rig has a liquid cooling system along with one of the quietest fans that I have experienced. I have researched liquid cooling but never thought too much of it since I was into laptops, but it is a really nice feature. The only minor gripe is the small 1 TB SSD that it comes packed with. I know I may sound like a spoiled gamer, but games these days take up about 500 GB, so about 1 major game, and a few minor games, and it's full. You can always add another NVME, which I did, but manufacturers should understand the growing size of files sizes for games. All in all it's a beast of a machine. It handles every game on the market currently, and it looks like it'll be future proof for at least 4-5 years. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a top of the line computer to run everything.

My R13 system came well packaged in a large black box. The PC itself was backed in dense foam at the top and bottom with the keyboard, mouse and power cable in a separate cardboard box at the top. Upon unboxing, my first step is always to open the system and make sure all of the components are correctly seated, that nothing worked loose during the shipping process. The first thing I noticed was the extra supports for the RTX3080 GPU. There was a support mounted on the long side at the window edge about center and another at the front end of the system that slides into a plastic mount that is part of the shroud around the lower intake fan. Well thought out design for a heavy GPU card. All of the lunar white plastic, the front panel and side glass were protected from shipping scratches by the usual plastic film. The components in the tower are top of the line. The keyboard and mouse are both entry level and you'll most likely upgrade them quickly if you don't already have higher end on hand. Got everything connected using a 24" FHD display and powered up. First up was to check for updated drivers and BIOS. The system ships with an app called Alienware Update that checks the system against the newest BIOS, drivers and firmware updates and then starts the download and installation process. There were a bunch of new drivers and a BIOS file. Most installed automatically, but I did have to go back and do two of the Intel drivers manually after the installation failed the first time. From there I checked out the Alienware Command Center app, which lets you set up the RGB lighting the way you want it, gives you some additional control over the sound settings, power profile, a nice display for the various monitored temperatures and the Fusion Tab which shows you information about your CPU, GPU and Memory including current frequency settings, temperature and usage. Great screen to leave up on one monitor while playing your favorite game to see how everything is running. I'm currently playing Call of Duty: Warzone so started the install process and then time to see how well this all works together. I set all of the graphics settings to the highest levels at 1920x1080 FHD resolution and jumped in for a quick round of Fortunes Keep Resurgence. Framerate display in the game showed I was getting between 160-200 FPS which was good for my 144Hz monitor. The 3080 GPU temps were running right around 70C with the power in the upper 90% range and the I9-12900 KF CPU hitting the upper 80C range with usage in the 30-40% range and even saw the temps peak near 100C on one of the quick glances. Everything was very smooth, with some blurring on distant fence lines. No complaints. Switched from the smaller Fortunes Keep map to a round of Plunder Quads on the larger Caldera map and saw pretty much the same performance. I wasn't sure what to expect about the noise levels with all of the heat this generates. I've seen some reviews mention how loud it is. I can say that wasn't my experience. You can hear it in the middle of intense game play, if you don't have headphones on your sound through the speakers, but I didn't think it was overly loud at all. For normal web browsing and watching some youtube videos both the CPU and GPU were running around 35C with low usage. The case is well built and thought out, especially the extra supports tor the large GPU. Overall I think this is a great system that will handle whatever you throw at it. Dell/Alienware gives you some nice software to help keep everything updated and monitor how its all running. I look forward to upgrading my monitor next and seeing how this handles either QHD or 4K gaming.

I've had my Alienware Aurora R13 gaming desktop for a week as I write this review. I won't write how many and of what type of inputs and outputs it has as I'm sure you'll read all of that in the specifications area. But what I will say is that this is the best gaming pc that I've ever owned. It's a bit pricey, and I'm sure that you could build something very similar for a bit less money. But for people like myself, who don't know how to, or really don't want to build my own gaming pc as I might mess something up and ruin a part or two, then this is why there is Alienware. I wanted to get a very nice desktop gaming pc sooner, rather than later, as I plan to retire in 6 months or so. Currently, I'm playing FPS which is my favorite platform when playing games. They are Call of Duty Modern Warfare, COD Warzone, COD Black Ops and Battlefield 4, yes Battlefield 4. I know it's an older game, but there are still many, many people playing it, and I enjoy playing it, so why not. The games are all maxed out with the settings done through the GeForce Experience website. Having 32 GB of memory sure really helps too. I've always had 16GB of memory in my other gaming pc's .My 32 inch monitor looks terrific, and my gaming experience has never looked better. Images are sharp, no pixelation and the colors seem to "pop" just a bit more. And while the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 supports ray tracing, and the graphics look great, it's a bit hard to really take the time to notice and appreciate them on a fast pace FPS game without constantly getting killed. I'll be looking for a game that's a slower pace which supports ray tracing to fully view and appreciate this feature. The build of the Alienware Aurora R13 is outstanding. I also have an older Alienware Aurora R8. For the R8, it's almost like some puzzle to open it up, and figure out how to swap out a part as well as very cramped. On the other hand the new R13 is very easy to open, and there is plenty of room to add or swap out parts. The wires are hidden fairly well with the main exception of the wiring that goes to the video card. No way to really hide those wires as that's where the Nvidia put the power connections. At least the wiring that's seen is black, so they blend in pretty well. It's also nice to have a pc with a huge window so you can see inside jsut for the heck of it. And the customizable lighting really is a great feature. You can customize the lighting of any color you want for the power button, the long ring that surrounds the power button, the lighting behind the power buttopn area, the "Alienware" sign, lighting that will illuminate the whole inside of your pc (I did not turn that on as you can see in my pictures, and lastly, the fan on the radiator can be any color as well. The only item that lights up that you can't customize is the GeForce RTX on the video card. It's white only. I don't believe that it's mentioned in the specification area, but the Alienware Aurora R13 has four fans, not counting the fans on the Nvidia RTX 3080. You can see them in one of my pictures I posted. Two right in front, with the lower fan having a box like shroud that has 6 chambers that directly blow the air onto the video card. One fan in the top which actually blows the heated air out the rear. The other fan is for the radiator that's attached to the Intel i9 chip to help keep it cool with liquid cooling. Under intense gaming the fans do kick in and you'll definitely hear them, but it's not too loud. Also, this rig can produce a decent amount of hot air, so make sure it's not in a confined area. Now, for a few nit picky things to mention. The first being that for a high end gaming pc, 1 TB of storage is not enough. It should be 2TB minimum. I'm already planning to add another 1TB as soon as I do a bit of research on what to get. Read the questions for this pc as someone else already asked, and Dell responded. I'd also would have like to see a larger radiator with two fans, not just one as it would make things run a bit cooler perhaps as the Intel i9 processor can get hot, and that's without any over clocking. Overall, I'd highly recommend the Alienware Aurora R13 desktop gaming pc. I'm very confident that it can handle anything that's out now, as well as games that will come out in the future. Honestly, I'd give it 4 1/2 stars out of 5 due to the small amount of storage on the SSD, and the smaller size radiator. 1/2 stars don't exist here at Best Buy, so I'll bump it up to 5 stars which is pretty easy to do as this gaming pc really is a beast.

I needed a fast computer for my new business and also a machine for gaming. I chose this particular model because of the fast CPU & GPU RTX 3080. I've been using it for a week now and it just blazing fast. no hiccups no screen tearing. Using it for work (photography) is just a breeze, super smooth running Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere Pro. I've played Forza Horizon 5. MS FLIGHT simulator and graphics are amazing. the setup was super easy. a few updates and I was up and running in no time. I didn't want to spend time building a PC that's why I picked this nice looking and fast machine.

Very good pc, havent had any problems, runs all games very well, lowest frames ive gotten is around 35 in the big city in rdr2