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Alienware Aurora ALX review

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Verdict

Relatively slow, loud and over-engineered, the Aurora is twice as expensive as it needs to be

Review Date: 16 Dec 2009

Reviewed By: Mike Jennings

Price when reviewed: £1,964 (£2,259 inc VAT)

Overall Rating

Features & Design
3 stars out of 6

Value for Money
2 stars out of 6

Performance
5 stars out of 6

Details
Part Code	Aurora ALX
Review Date	16 Dec 2009
Price ex VAT	£1,964
Price inc VAT	£2,259
Overall rating
Performance
Features & Design
Value for Money

Warranty
Warranty	1 yr return to base

Basic specifications
Total hard disk capacity	2,000
RAM capacity	6.00GB
Screen size	22.0in

Processor
CPU family	Intel Core i7
CPU nominal frequency	2.66GHz
CPU overclocked frequency	N/A
Processor socket	LGA 1366
HSF (heatsink-fan)	Cool-It water cooling

Motherboard
Motherboard	Alienware MS-7591
Motherboard chipset	Intel X58
Conventional PCI slots free	0
Conventional PCI slots total	0
PCI-E x16 slots free	1
PCI-E x16 slots total	2
PCI-E x8 slots free	0
PCI-E x8 slots total	0
PCI-E x4 slots free	0
PCI-E x4 slots total	0
PCI-E x1 slots free	1
PCI-E x1 slots total	1
Internal SATA connectors	6
Internal SAS connectors	1
Internal PATA connectors	1
Internal floppy connectors	1
Wired adapter speed	1,000Mbits/sec

Memory
Memory type	DDR3
Memory sockets free	3
Memory sockets total	6

Hard disk
Hard disk	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12
Capacity	1.00TB
Hard disk usable capacity	931GB
Internal disk interface	SATA/300
Spindle speed	7,200RPM
Cache size	32MB
Hard disk 2 make and model	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12
Hard disk 2 nominal capacity	1,000GB
Hard disk 2 formatted capacity	931
Hard disk 2 spindle speed	7,200RPM
Hard disk 2 cache size	32MB
Hard disk 3 make and model	N/A
Hard disk 3 nominal capacity	N/A
Hard disk 4 make and model	N/A
Hard disk 4 nominal capacity	N/A

Drives
Optical drive	Samsung TS-H6536
Optical disc technology	DVD writer
Optical disk 2 make and model	N/A
Optical disk 3 make and model	N/A

Rear ports
USB ports (downstream)	8
FireWire ports	1
eSATA ports	1
PS/2 mouse port
Electrical S/PDIF audio ports	1
Optical S/PDIF audio output ports	1
Modem
3.5mm audio jacks	6

Graphics card
Graphics card	ATI Radeon HD 5870
Multiple SLI/CrossFire cards?
3D performance setting	Low
Graphics chipset	ATI Radeon HD 5870
Graphics card RAM	1.00GB
DVI-I outputs	2
HDMI outputs	1
VGA (D-SUB) outputs	0
DisplayPort outputs	1
Number of graphics cards	1

Monitor
Monitor make and model	Alienware
Resolution screen horizontal	1,920
Resolution screen vertical	1,080
Resolution	1920 x 1080
Pixel response time	2ms
Contrast ratio	80,000:1
Screen brightness	300cd/m2
DVI inputs	1
HDMI inputs	2
VGA inputs	0
DisplayPort inputs	0

Additional Peripherals
Speakers	N/A
Speaker type	N/A
Peripherals	N/A

Case
Chassis	Alienware Aurora
Case format	Micro ATX
Dimensions	216 x 615 x 430mm (WDH)

Free drive bays
Free front panel 5.25in bays	2

Front ports
Front panel USB ports	2
Front panel FireWire ports	1
Front panel memory card reader

Mouse & Keyboard
Mouse and keyboard	Alienware wired keyboard and mouse

Operating system and software
OS family	Windows 7
Recovery method	Recovery disc
Software supplied	Alienware ThermalControls, Alienware AlienFusion, Alienware AlienFX

Performance tests
Overall application benchmark score	2.04
Office application benchmark score	1.65
2D graphics application benchmark score	2.28
Encoding application benchmark score	1.73
Multitasking application benchmark score	2.53
3D performance (crysis) low settings	158fps
3D performance setting	Low

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Comments

User comments

Benchmark Results!?

Who exactly spends £2,000 in order to run Crysis at the lowest settings?

No one, I hope, so why not benchmark this PC at settings it was build for - e.g. Crysis at 1920x1080 on High Settings.

By Jayce85 on 11 Feb 2010