The Alienware Aurora R15 is a great gaming PC and I’ll provide my review of it here. That being said, I will make a recommendation to buy a different gaming PC where I think you will get more value for your dollar. Many people buy Dell Alienware because they know that when they buy it, they will receive a product that just works and does its job well. However, you pay a premium for that trust in my opinion and you could find a better deal out there if you are willing to extend your confidence in another brand.
Alienware Aurora R15 Review
The Alienware Aurora R15 build I am reviewing has the following specs:
- 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 13700F (16-Core, 54MB Cache, 2.1GHz to 5.2GHz P-Core Turbo Max 3.0)
- Windows 11 Home, English
- Intel Arc A770 16GB GDDR6
- 16 GB: 2 x 8 GB, DDR5, 4800 MT/s
- 1 TB, M.2, PCIe NVMe, SSD
You can find it here: Alienware Aurora R15 Gaming Desktop With Intel 13th Gen | Dell USA
Sticker price: $1,499.99 (February 2024)
Now, what’s great about this PC is that you can customize it, add higher memory, switch the processor, graphics card, storage, wireless, and add premium levels of support. They all come with the almost-latest generation of Intel i7 13700 processors. I will warn you though that if you plan on overclocking, make sure you get a processor that has the letter “K” in it. The “F” processors won’t let you do that.
The graphics cards to choose from (in this case the Arc A770 16GB) are high mid-range graphics cards. That means you will be able to play the latest games on 1440P resolution and potentially 4K depending on the game. You also have a good amount of storage.
This is a well designed PC and the options for upgrades make sense. The Alienware case is aesthetically pleasing and Dell is a trusted brand that delivers on its promises.
Buy This Instead – Save up to $500
Although the Dell Alienware Aurora R15 is a great gaming PC, I think you can save a lot of money by choosing another brand and slightly similar design that will get you nearly the same results. If your goal is to play the latest gaming titles at 1440P resolution, then you should look at the Skytech Nebula. All Skytech PCs come with a one year warranty that covers parts, labor and shipping. You also get lifetime technical support, something Dell doesn’t offer on Alienware R15s.
Skytech Nebula
Sticker price: $1,069.99 (as of February 2024)
System Specs:
- Intel i5 13400F
- 16GB DDR4 3200MHZ RAM
- Intel Arc A770 16GB
- 500GB NVMe SSD
I would argue that the Skytech Nebula is more aligned with the mid-range gaming experience and delivers more value for the dollar spent. It also has an aesthetic appeal, will play the latest modern games at 1440P resolution, and will be a highly relevant gaming machine for the next five years. Is it as powerful as the Dell Alienware Aurora R15? No, but it is absolutely going to give you similar gaming results at a much more affordable price range. For more Skytech PCs, check out the my top 4 Intel Arc A770 builds.