New Alienware Aurora R4 gaming PC makes puny Earthlings tremble

By Andy Boxall December 14, 2011

Once upon a time, desktop PCs were dull, non-threatening beige boxes hidden away under desks. But thanks to Alienware, specifically its new newly updated Aurora R4 desktop computer, they bear closer resemblance to nightmarish mechanical beings come to enslave us all.

Alienware says the Aurora is its most advanced desktop PC yet, and judging by the incredible specs, it’s hard not to agree. As with all Dell machines, it’s expected that owners will want to spec their machine up at the time of purchase, and the possibilities are enormous.

For the princely sum of $2,199 (or £1,999 in the UK) you’ll get as standard an Intel Core i7, factory-overclocked 3.9Ghz six-core processor with 4GB of RAM, 1TB of hard drive space and the 1GB AMD Radeon HD6870 CrossfireX graphics card.

However, if you’re feeling flush this spec can be tweaked to include either the 4.0Ghz or 4.2Ghz Core i7 Six Core Extreme processor, up to 16GB of RAM and a choice of AMD Radeon or Nvidia GeForce graphics cards.

It doesn’t stop there either, as there are several different Blu-ray drives available, a 1GB SSD option and whichever version of Windows 7 you’d like too. Improvements over the previous Aurora desktop include Intel’s X79 chipset and tool-less component upgrades.

Then there’s the customizable ALX chassis, with has everything from user-definable lighting effects, to liquid cooling and “active” vents that raise and lower according to the systems needs. Yes, it’s going to look like it’s breathing.

The new Alienware Aurora R4 PC is available to order from Dell right now, just don’t blame us if it assimilates your cat.

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Deals

Gaming laptops and gaming desktops get crazy discounts at Dell

The front view of the Alienware Aurora R12 gaming desktop.

The age-old debate between PC gamers is, do you go full power for the true battlestation in a desktop, or do you take it on the go with a more portable laptop and sacrifice some of that power? Honestly, with the right gaming PC deals, or gaming laptop deals, you can find a good balance between both.

We recommend holding off the big debate because Dell is offering some crazy deals on Alienware desktops and laptops right now. You can grab the Alienware Aurora R12 Gaming Desktop ( which totally looks like a big air purifier and we're not saying that's a bad thing) for $1,730 or $200 off. Or, you can opt for the Alienware m15 R3 Gaming Laptop, which looks nothing like an air purifier, for $1,700 or a whopping $580 off. Your choice, but either way, you get free shipping and express delivery as part of the package. Hurry though, availability is limited for both deals.

Computing

Alienware’s m17 R4 gaming laptop includes 360Hz display and HDMI 2.1

dell announces alienware m17 and m 15 ces 2019

Alienware is refreshing two of its most popular gaming laptops for the new year, the m15 and m17. Both the Alienware m15 and m17 now come with options for Nvidia's next-generation 30-series graphics cards, and the m17 R4 even has a new 360Hz refresh rate display, too. More importantly, it's one of the only laptops to include support for HDMI 2.1, the same standard that new consoles and televisions have adapted.

In addition, Alienware also is introducing a special Ryzen Edition of its Aurora gaming desktop, complete with AMD's 5000 series CPUs and up to a 16-core processor.
Alienware m15 R4 and m17 R4

Deals

Save $200 on the Alienware Aurora R8 in Dell’s Cyber Savings Event

alienware aurora r8 deal cyber savings event 2020 review 7766 768x768

Like Christmas, Dell’s Cyber Savings Event comes once a year. Lucky for you, just like Christmas, it also means gifts. Take, for example, the Alienware Aurora R8, which is now on sale at Dell for $700 -- down $220 from the usual $920. The Alienware Aurora R8 is one of the most powerful and affordable gaming PCs out there, especially at this price. They’re not quite giving it away, but with all the power and speed, plus the R8’s nifty new design, if it’s a gaming desktop you’re in the market for, this is the best time of year.

No laptop can really compete with a desktop when it comes to the dollar-for-dollar overall gaming experience. When you’re looking at playing the best version of the latest games, especially at higher levels, you really need a desktop. And with the Alienware Aurora R8’s ninth-generation Intel Core i5 9400 processor (it has six cores, a 9MB cache, and up to 4.1GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology) they don’t come much more powerful, especially for under $1,000. This is one of the reasons that pro gamers, like Team Liquid, use Alienware as the team’s official gaming PC. There’s also a 512GB solid-state drive, which dwarfs many of the other SSDs you’ll find in the same price range (and puts the old platter-based hard drives to shame).