Alienware Aurora R11 review: A GeForce RTX 30-series beast

Our Verdict

The Alienware Aurora R11 packs powerful computer hardware in a distinctive chassis, although it's tatty, heavy and pricey.

For

Powerful hardware
Distinctive design
Ample customization options
Favourable for both gaming and productivity

Against

Runs hot and harsh-voiced
Software needs work

Tom's Guide Verdict

The Alienware Aurora R11 packs powerful ironware in a distinctive chassis, although it's loud, heavy and expensive.

Pros

+ Effectual hardware
+ Distinctive design
+ Plentiful customization options
+ Good for both gaming and productivity

Cons

- Runs hot and loud
- Software package needs lic

Alienware Aurora R11 Survey: Specs

Processor: Up to Intel Core i9-10900F
RAM: Skyward to 128 GB
Graphics Card: Upwards to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090
Computer storage: Capable 2 T.B. SSD + 2 TB HDD
Accessories: Dell Multimedia Keyboard, Dell Optical Mouse MS116AW
Ports: USB-A, USB-C, 3.5 mm audio, optical audio, DisplayPort, HDMI
Size: 19.0 x 17.0 x 8.8 inches
Weight: 39 pounds

The Alienware Aurora R11 is unrivalled of the all but powerful pre-built gaming PCs you lav buy. By nature, that also makes it one of the most high-priced. Ever since the stigma's inception, Alienware's time value proposition has been clear: Get a stylish, functional gaming Microcomputer properly out of the box seat, but be ready to dispense a few chiliad dollars for IT.

The Cockcro R11 is the latest evolution of that philosophy, and it's a pretty good machine. Just be aware that it requires a lot of money and distance, besides as some patience to deal with lackluster software.

While you can theoretically perplex the Aurora R11 for A little as $1,110, you'll be saddled with an outdated GPU, relatively little Random memory and an old-school hard disk drive. More future-proof models of the R11 start at $2,440 and go up from at that place. Whether it's worth the superior depends on how much the Alienware stigma name means to you — and how often you need the Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-serial publication right now.

In our tests, the Aurora R11 performed beautifully for both games and productivity, in spite of a few usability hiccups. If you like how the system looks and get into't mind springing for the best hardware, the Alienware Aurora R11 may be one of the best gambling PCs — so, one of the best computers geological period — you can buy.

However, as of September 2021 Alienware discontinued the Cockcro R11, and so you may have a hard prison term finding one for a reasonable price. You keister check our best gaming PCs leaning for some alternative, and there's a new Alienware Aurora 2021 model in the whole shebang with a bigger, cooler (literally) type and the latest components — sol keep an eye peeled for our review of that model formerly it becomes available.

Alienware Aurora R11 review: Price and availability

The Alienware Aurora R11 is available right now, although your preferred model may not cost available for delivery right away. That's because these machines employ Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-series GPUs, which are in pretty short supply lately. At the time of penning, shipping clock is 2-3 weeks — which, admittedly, might constitute better than nerve-racking to find the GPUs à la bill of fare.

Pricewise, the Aurora R11 runs the gamut from $1,110 all the way adequate to $5,000 — or more. I was able to configure a $5,120 system with an Intel Meat i9-10900KF CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 GPU, 128 GB 3200 MHz Jam, 2 TB SSD + 2 TB HDD storage and a 1000W office supply.

At the absolute opposite death of the spectrum, for $1,110, you dismiss get an Intel Core i5 10400F CPU, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Super GPU, 8 GB 2933 Megacycle Ram down, 1 TB HDD storage and a 550W baron supply. Personally, I'm not secure these specs are worthy even the modest asking price, but you ass also mix and match desired components to encounte some sympathetic of affordable via media.

Tom's Guide reviewed a high-end Dayspring R11 model with an Intel Core i9 10900K CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 GPU, 64 GB RAM and 2 TB SSD + 2 TB HDD storage. This configuration would cost most $4,100, depending on your software and case options.

Alienware Aurora R11 review: Design

I of the all but striking aspects of the Alienware Sunup R11 is its physical designing. Instead of a boxy rectangle, the Dayspring R11 has an oval face and a rounded chassis, somewhat ilk a planar egg.

It's artistic movement and distinctive, and makes a much better conversation art object than "here's a black boxful broad of parts."

Granted, this creative thinking comes at a monetary value (in improver to the monetary system one). The Aurora R11 is a hefty machine, at 18.9 x 17.0 x 8.7 inches, and walloping 41 pounds.

This machine grub desk blank space for breakfast — presumptuous your desk won't fantastic and splinter under its weight. On the other hand, if it lives along the level, then you South Korean won't really get to appreciate its design.

Alienware Aurora R11 review: Ports and upgradability

Considering its computer hardware, it should come as nary storm that the Alienware Aurora R11 comes with a plethora of ports. Happening the front alone, you've got three USB-A ports, a USB-C port, and 3.5 mm ports for discrete mic and audio.

On the back, you'll observe 10 more USB-A ports, another USB-C port, an Ethernet port, an optical audio port, Captain Hicks different 3.5 mm audio inputs, and a handful of DisplayPorts and HDMI ports (dependant on your GPU).

Generally speech production, it's a generous amount of ports, although I feel like-minded having only deuce USB-C ports is not American Samoa forward-thinking as it could be for a machine that could selfsame well last between five and 10 years.

What's odd well-nig the Aurora R11, though, is that for complete of its girth and weight, thither's non often room to maneuver when you open it risen. If you deprivation to upgrade the machine, you fundament slide off the side of meat and back plates easily enough by manipulating a few switches.

Just the interior is very incommodious, and unless you want to add a disk drive, or some more RAM, the parts may non play nicely with the PC's curved chassis. Bargain the Aurora R11 with a Processor and GPU you like, because odds are, you'll cost stuck with both for a spell.

Alienware Cockcro R11 critique: Gaming operation

The Alienware Cockcro R11 represents my primary clock time exploitation an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 menu, and the GPU was arsenic striking as I'd hoped. Joined with the Alienware 25 Gambling Monitor (with a 360 Hz refresh range — Thomas More on it shortly), the Aurora R11 played some of my favourite PC games more beautifully and fluidly than I'd ever seen them before. Whether you want to fire ultra-high-framerate 1080p gaming, medium 4K play or something in-'tween, the Aurora R11 can support your setup.

I put the Aurora R11 to the run with Doom Eternal, Age of Empires Deuce-ac: Definitive Version, Baldur's Gate III and Final Fantasy XIV — all of which tin can commit demanding machines through its paces, if you turn the settings sprouted high enough. With 1080p resolution, frame charge per unit capped at 360 fps and the rest of the settings turned ascending as high up as they would go, I still got fabulous results. Doom Eternal ran at more 300 frames per second, even during intense firefights; Final Fantasy XIV ne'er dipped infra about 150 Federal Protective Service, even when I was in a crowded metropolis center, replete with other players.

We also benchmarked the Aurora R11 with a variety of games at 4K and Ultra settings. Assassin's Creed Valhalla reached 53 fps; Grand Theft Auto V, 61 fps; and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, 59 fps.

Contrast with the similarly powerful MSI MEG Trident X, which employed the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, and IT's non even a fair comparison. That machine attained 52 fps on Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Walhalla was not yet available), 45 fps for GTA V and 44 FPS for Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The RTX 3090 represents a substantial upgrade with noticeable gameplay benefits — although for the price, we suppose it had better provide top-notch visuals.

The Aurora R11 also fared wellspring in terms of 1080p performance, reaching scores like 152 Federal Protective Service on GTA V, and 136 fps along Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The Trident X, for comparability, achieved 134 fps and 120 fps on those games, severally.

Overall, the Aurora R11 is one of the most powerful gaming machines we've ever tested — but that's non truly unexpected, given the hardware that's past into it. Whether it's worth $4,000 is a little harder to quantify.

Alienware Dawn R11 review: Overall performance

Every bit you might imagine, the Alienware Aurora R11 is a productivity powerhouse. Betwixt the PC's powerful ironware and a 360 Hz monitor, I constitute that straight-grained Windows appeared to run quicker and smoother than familiar. I couldn't faze the machine with my quotidian programs. Even with Microsoft Phrase, Slack, Disaccord, Steam, Spotify and a multimedia-tab-filled Chrome astir and running simultaneously, I was adamantine-pressed to use more than about 15% of the organization's computer memory; the CPU was yet less bothered. Movies and Idiot box stream without a tour of duty; music sounds great, provided you can supply high-quality headphones Beaver State speakers.

In terms of staged benchmarks, the Aurora R11 also excelled, copying 5GB of files from a thumb drive in 4.1 seconds, achieving a transfer rate of 1,243 MBps. Oddly, that's not quite busy the Trident X's standards, which achieved a change rate of 1,275 MBps, but it's close enough that you'd ne'er be able to tell without a stopwatch.

On an elder Geekbench 4.3 general performance test, the Aurora R11 earned an impressive 41,822 score, compared to the Trident X's 40,378. A newer Geekbench 5.3 test pegged the Aurora R11's carrying into action at 11,143, just we assume't yet have other systems against which to liken this. In a void, at least, it's a very high score.

Still, there are many qualitative issues with the Dawning R11's performance. During everyday productivity tasks, the Aurora R11 runs a little warm and emits a quiet fan hum. But during gaming, the machine essentially becomes a very loud space smoke, blasting strong and heat across anything in its immediate vicinity.

After approximately 30 minutes gaming happening the Aurora R11, I took off my sweatshirt and checked my thermostat to see if I'd accidentally soured it high. Imagine my surprise when I came support to my seat and ascertained where the heat was really coming from the PC. The GPU can hit temperatures of 80 degrees Celsius aft long use — within tolerable field limits, but enough to warm your immediate surroundings.

Alienware Aurora R11 review: Software

If I have single big criticism of the Alienware Aurora R11, IT's the potentially prohibitory price. But if I have a second criticism, IT's the broken, unintuitive software. Patc the Aurora R11 doesn't occur with much "bloatware," per se, it does come with a suite of Alienware tools: Command Substance, Digital Bringing, Updates and then forth.

When I kickoff set up the Sunup R11, the computer recommended that I run the shapely-in Dell SupportAssist software. The organization ran a serial publication of long, deadening tests — and the second it was done, pinged me with an urgent alaru that it had been zero days since my last test; did I want to run it again? I intellection that perhaps updating the package would straighten out the kinks, but no more: After taking a whole afternoon to download all but 400 Bachelor of Medicine worth of files, the system restarted and wise to me that information technology had been zero days since my last scan, and I had to run one again ASAP.

I one of these days turned off all the Alienware software and went through Windows Update instead. While Alienware's affection is in the right place, it's disappointing that its bespoke software provides a clunkier experience than the default Oculus sinister. (You derriere use Alienware software to control some LED lights on the front of the PC, though, which can admittedly be very pretty.)

Alienware Aurora R11 review: Verdict

If nothing else, the Alienware Aurora R11 is consistent. When we reviewed its predecessor, the Alienware Aurora R10, we pointed out that the system provided excellent performance in a stylish and possibly very expensive package. The same is reliable here. I have a rough sledding recommending a $4,000 organisation to PC gamers — particularly when, with a little know-how, they could build something suchlike for thousands of dollars less — but there's no more reason why you'd have to steal the demand model we reviewed. You could customize a perfectly practiced Aurora R11 for $2,000 or so, and cause a stylish, usable centerpiece for your gaming apparatus.

The scheme's physical design has more or less charms and much drawbacks, and the execution depends a great deal along how overmuch you'rhenium glad to spend on parts. But generally speaking, Alienware's reputation for agiotage PC products is well-earned. The Aurora R11 could make a sizable dent in your bank account, but you do, at the least, get what you pay for.

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's reporting of play ironware and software package. He comes from a skill writing downpla, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. Later hours, you can find him practicing taekwondo surgery doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.