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I Tested Two Alienware Aurora Gaming Laptops, and This Is Not the One to Get

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7.3/ 10
SCORE

Alienware 16 Aurora

Pros

16-inch, 2.5K show appears to be like sharp
Free M.2 slot so as to add second SSD
User replaceable RAM

Cons

Throttled RTX 5050 limits body charges
No RGB keyboard backlighting
Fuzzy 720p webcam
No biometrics for straightforward, safe logins
No Thunderbolt 4

Is the Alienware 16 Aurora price shopping for? The brief reply isn’t any, no it’s not.

I perceive that its low beginning worth of $1,100 is tempting and the refined design in a delightful deep blue hue makes it look higher than most gaming laptops at this worth, however there is a related mannequin in Dell’s budget-to-midrange Alienware Aurora line that prices solely a bit extra and is a a lot better worth. And that is the Alienware 16X Aurora that I additionally simply reviewed. I’d level price range gaming laptop computer buyers towards the 16X Aurora if you happen to can stretch your price range nearer to $1,500. For another nearer in worth to the $1,250 Alienware 16 Aurora laptop computer that I examined, you need to try the Acer Nitro V 16S AI.

Alienware 16 Aurora

Price as reviewed	$1,250
Display measurement/decision	16-inch 2,560×1,600 120Hz
CPU	Intel Core 7 240H
Memory	16GB LPDDR5-5600
Graphics	8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 @ 80W
Storage	512GB SSD
Ports	2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI 2.1, Gigabit Ethernet, combo audio
Networking	Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
Operating system	Windows 11 Home
Weight	5.61 lbs (2.54 kg)

The Alienware 16 Aurora begins at $1,100 (discounted to $900 on the time of this assessment) for a system with previous-gen RTX 4050 graphics. The config Dell despatched me prices $1,250 for an Intel Core 7 240H, 16GB of RAM, RTX 5050 GPU and a 1TB SSD. There’s a Core 9 270H choice and RTX 5060 and 5070 choices, nevertheless it would not make sense to pay for these upgrades when you may as well get them with the 16X Aurora for under the slightest of premiums.

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The Alienware 16 Aurora and 16X Aurora are practically indistinguishable at first look, however I found a stunning variety of variations that put the 16 Aurora at a extreme drawback. Of the 2 configurations that I examined, the 16 Aurora is barely $200 cheaper than the 16X Aurora and forces you to reside with:

Slower efficiency
A slower, dimmer show
A heavier chassis
No RGB backlighting
A grainy 720p webcam
No Thunderbolt 4

Matt Elliott/CNET

It ought to come as no nice shock that the 16 Aurora with a Core 7 240H, 16GB of RAM and an RTX 5050 working at solely 80 watts was slower on every our benchmarks than the 16X Aurora with a Core Ultra 7 255HX, 32GB of RAM and an RTX 5060 working at its full 115 watts. The solely benchmark that went within the 16 Aurora’s favor was our YouTube streaming battery drain check the place the 16 Aurora ran for two.5 hours longer. Scroll all the way down to the top of this web page to see the battery life outcomes and the remainder of CNET’s software and gaming benchmarks.

Both the Alienware 16 Aurora and 16X Aurora function a 16-inch IPS show with a 2,560×1,600-pixel decision, however that is the place the similarities finish. The 16 Aurora’s show is slower with a 120Hz refresh fee and decrease brightness score of 300 nits. On my checks with a Spyder X Elite colorimeter, the show truly proved to be brighter than its score, hitting a peak brightness of 347 nits. That determine could be extra spectacular if the 16X Aurora did not attain a max of 582 nits. Its shade accuracy was inferior to that of the 16X Aurora, and usually colours on the 16 Aurora in video games, films and pictures did not look as brilliant and welcoming as I skilled with the 16X Aurora.

Color accuracy show checks

	Alienware 16 Aurora	Alienware 16X Aurora
sRGB	100%	100%
AdobeRGB	76%	87%
P3	77%	99%

As I do with each laptop computer I check and assessment, I positioned each laptops on a scale to get a weight and was stunned to see that they weren’t the identical. The 16 Aurora weighed 5.61 kilos, and the 16X Aurora weighed a bit much less at 5.49 kilos. That’s not a terrific distinction however is one more benefit within the 16X Aurora’s favor.

I’m not a fan of both keyboard — you’ll be able to learn extra particulars concerning the total Aurora design in my 16X Aurora assessment — however I just like the 16 Aurora’s even lower than the 16X Aurora’s for the easy incontrovertible fact that it lacks RGB backlighting. That ought to come customary on any gaming laptop computer, even when it is solely single-zone RGB lighting. With the 16 Aurora, you get solely essentially the most primary and boring backlighting: white.

Matt Elliott/CNET

Many price range gaming laptops nonetheless function grainy, poorly balanced 720p webcam, and the 16 Aurora sadly falls into this class whereas its 16X Aurora sibling comes outfitted with a 1080p cam that not solely produces a a lot cleaner picture, but in addition contains an IR sensor for Windows Hello facial recognition logins. And with no fingerprint reader, the 16 Aurora affords no biometrics.

Lastly, the 16 Aurora lacks Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, which you get with the 16X Aurora. Instead of speedy 40Gbps knowledge transfers, the 16 Aurora’s two USB-C ports high out at 10Gbps.

Matt Elliott/CNET

Let’s finish on a optimistic be aware: once I opened each Aurora laptops, I discovered that they every supply the identical inside growth. There’s a free M.2 slot so as to add a second SSD, and the RAM shouldn’t be soldered to the motherboard however consumer replaceable, a rarity with at this time’s laptops.

Matt Elliott/CNET

Is the Alienware 16 Aurora price shopping for?

If you missed the reply above to this query, I’ll repeat it right here: No, no it’s not.

My recommendation is to spend the additional $200 or so for the Alienware 16X Aurora. And in case your price range would not stretch that far, then the Acer Nitro V 16S AI is a better option for $1,300. The greatest drawback with the Nitro V 16S AI is its 1,920×1,200-pixel show, which is a step down from the 16 Aurora’s 2.5K show. But with a throttled RTX 5050 within the case of the 16 Aurora or a throttled RTX 5060 within the case of the Nitro V 16S AI, you might be probably gaming at 1080p/1200p, so you do not essentially want the 16 Aurora’s higher-res show.

The assessment course of for laptops, desktops, tablets and different computerlike units consists of two elements: efficiency testing below managed situations within the CNET Labs and intensive hands-on use by our skilled reviewers. This contains evaluating a tool’s aesthetics, ergonomics and options. A closing assessment verdict is a mix of each goal and subjective judgments.

The listing of benchmarking software program we use modifications over time because the units we check evolve. The most necessary core checks we’re presently working on each appropriate pc embrace Primate Labs Geekbench 6, Cinebench R23, PCMark 10 and 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra.

A extra detailed description of every benchmark and the way we use it may be discovered on our How We Test Computers web page.

Geekbench 6 CPU (multi-core)

Alienware 16X Aurora 18587Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 17711MSI Katana 15 HX B14W 14587HP Victus Gaming Laptop 16 13501Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71 13312Alienware 16 Aurora 13294Acer Nitro V 16S AI 12787Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R3ZV 10642