Alienware Aurora R16 Review: Better than I expected

Рет қаралды 12,197

Күн бұрын

I had my doubts about the new Alienware Aurora R16 when it was announced but it turns out to be one of the best gaming PC's in 2024. I've tested Aurora's since the R13 and while this new one deviates from the distinctive Alienware look, its definitely the best desktop gaming PC the company has ever built and perfect companion to their new Alienware AW3225QF 32-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor. In this review of the Alienware Aurora R16 gaming desktop PC, I share with you my experience of living with this new machine and point out the good, the bad and the ugly.
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Links:
Alienware Aurora R16 ► www.dell.com/en-au/gaming/ali...
AftershockPC ► www.aftershockpc.com.au/ready...
In my setup:
Headset ► www.logitechg.com/en-au/produ...
Monitor ► www.samsung.com/au/monitors/g...
Keyboard ► www.razer.com/au-en/gaming-ke...
Mouse ► www.razer.com/au-en/gaming-mi...
Microphone ► www.logitechg.com/en-au/produ...
Controller ► rog.asus.com/au/controllers/r...
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Find me online:
My written reviews: linktr.ee/katawonga
My Instagram: / katawonga
My TikTok: / katawonga
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Chapters:
(0:00) Intro
(0:42) Pricing, & Shipping
(1:23) Design
(2:55) Upgradeability
(4:08) Airflow design
(5:06) Ports selection
(5:47) Performance
(6:35) Benchmarks
(8:11) Conclusion
#Alienware #AuroraR16 #GamingPC #alienwareauroraR16 #bestgamingpc #alienwareauroraR16review

Пікірлер: 87

@KICHONCHO 5 ай бұрын

👏🏾🙌🏾🔥❤️

@katawonga 5 ай бұрын

First comment on my first long form video deserves to get pinned 🤩🙌🏾

@KICHONCHO 5 ай бұрын

Amazing work Muki, keep slaying 🌟💃🏾❣️

@SolomonKing 5 ай бұрын

YESSS!! so 3xcited to finally see you doing long form. This is great!!

@katawonga 5 ай бұрын

Thank you bro. Onwards upwards

@techbymidas 4 ай бұрын

Loved watching this! Thanks for sharing 🙏🏾

@katawonga 4 ай бұрын

Appreciate you coming to watch brother. I’m chairing after your quality videos

@Abrawordabra 5 ай бұрын

Awesome review love it!

@katawonga 5 ай бұрын

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it

@heinzwettengl2341 4 ай бұрын

Fantastic review! Well spoken and to the point. Great voice and tone as well , pleasant video

@katawonga 3 ай бұрын

Thank you so much. Really appreciate your feedback and I’m encouraged to do more

@jessicabryson 5 ай бұрын

Great review 😊

@katawonga 5 ай бұрын

Thank you! 🤗

@robjones9404 Ай бұрын

Excellent review. Thank you for answering my questions on the sound level. I used a Aurora R3 for about 13 years. It finally started to lag behind enough and could no longer be upgraded. So, I screwed up and bought an R8. Thinking it would be just as well built. It was easily the worst purchase I have ever made. It is literally so loud that you can't hear the games your are playing. it was, and not kidding, as loud as a vacuum cleaner. The fans and components are cheap garbage. Even after replacing the trashy fans it is still loud. I hate it, but can't afford to replace it, yet. Your review almost makes me wish I had waited another 5 years. By the way my granddaughter is using the R3 and loves it.

@katawonga Ай бұрын

Oh man, I’m so sorry to hear that. It’s always tough buying prebuilt and then getting stuck with it. This is why I love to do reviews and help us all not make very expensive mistakes because we aren’t just rolling in money. I hope an opportunity comes for you to replace the R8 with the R16. Thanks for watching and sharing your experience 🙏🏾

@AionWorld-xu6xh 2 ай бұрын

WoW did this org video since 1997-sat WoW🎉 And now it's reach us ❤😅 thank you so much

@LewisHoward98 4 ай бұрын

I got mine the other day and I’ve had no problems with it 🤙🏼

@katawonga 3 ай бұрын

Good for you guys. Glad you’re happy with your purchases. It’s such a great machine

@Emirviation 3 ай бұрын

@Jedi-knight_survivor2 weeks 😡

@tw350z7 Ай бұрын

Great Video Sir. As I was ordering my R16, i then Went on Newegg and ordered 32GB of RGB ram and another NVME SSD. I plan to place another AIO with Screen in it now that I 've had it a while. Thats about all I can do for the aesthetics. Mine is a I7 model with 4070TI. I removed all drives from a custom built FX8350 which was long overdue for upgrade, which is why I got the Aurora R16.

@katawonga Ай бұрын

That sounds amazing. Can only imagine the performance you are getting out it. Enjoy it

@times7171 2 ай бұрын

Shocked when I saw how little subscribers you have. Thought this was a longstanding, pro channel.

@katawonga 2 ай бұрын

Appreciate you buddy. I'm struggling with the time to really focus on this but your words are certainly great encouragement to me 🥰

@JoeB_BSc 27 күн бұрын

Hi Kizzy, though the RAM is without RGB on it, is yours DDR5 RAM please? I've seen this spec elsewhere. Thank You for your pleasantly delivered and helpful review. Regards JB

@katawonga 21 күн бұрын

Yes mate it's DDR5

@slc9800gtx 4 ай бұрын

In another reviews I saw, they agree that this pc is very quiet and cool. Great job Alienware.

@katawonga 3 ай бұрын

Very good indeed

@germano77rm 20 күн бұрын

Thanks for the video. Is it getting pciexpress v5 or v4 ?

@katawonga 19 күн бұрын

V4 at the moment. Not sure when they will move to v5

@Mackylog 2 ай бұрын

My first Alienware was the Aurora R7 which I've had for the last 6 years with a i7 & GTX 1080. It's never given me any issues but she had started to show her age. Finally decided it's time to upgrade and went straight back to Alienware. Purchased an Aurora R16 with a i9 14900KF, 64GB of Ram & RTX 4090. Figured I will be keeping it for another 4-5 years that I would treat myself and get the best that the market offers! With that being said the departure from the unique aesthetics that made Alienware unique is a little disappointing but I much prefer performance anyway. Love your video! Keep going!

@katawonga Ай бұрын

Thank so much for checking out the video. I'm glad you got a great buy, that should last year years

@XxLGamer5489xX 17 күн бұрын

That’s great but I don’t think you needed 64gb of ram. 32gb is almost always enough!

@Mackylog 17 күн бұрын

@@XxLGamer5489xX You’re absolutely correct but two reasons for it is, 1. I keep these machines for at least a half a decade and would rather not worry about upgrading it down the line and 2. I’m fortunate to be in a financial position where I can do that.

@trevor8601 2 ай бұрын

Does the rear fan make noise when it kicks in?

@kimkaze4868 Ай бұрын

I bought that same PC, mine got really loud and heat up so quickly when I play PUBG, i have switched up all the game mode to the lowest setting, still the same, is there any other suggestions to do, any help would be greatly appreciated

@derrickmcgill90 3 ай бұрын

I just ordered a r16 with 4090 and new gen i9 with 2tb m.2 for 3500 out the door taxes and 2 year premier plus warranty.

@captainaxlerod1297 2 ай бұрын

I got the R16 with i9, 4090, their wireless gaming headset, and a normal 24 inch monitor all for just a tad under 3.5

@nycekix 13 күн бұрын

Hey so I’m trying to record gameplay in 4k do you think this thing can handle that without any lag

@katawonga 13 күн бұрын

Really depends on the processor you have. The i9 should have no issues

@AllThingsNerdChannel Ай бұрын

Thank you for the review! Got a new sub :)

@katawonga Ай бұрын

Thank you friend. Appreciate you watching and subbing 🥰

@danielallen7384 20 күн бұрын

I just ordered this PC. I goy mine with the 14900KF and a 4080 super. I also got the 34" Alienware Quantum Dot OLED monitor. All for $3377.00. I thought it was a good price considering that's including the monitor.

@katawonga 19 күн бұрын

DAYAAMMM! That's a helluva setup. I'm envious 🤩

@danielallen7384 18 күн бұрын

@@katawonga thx man, a few people on reddit said i got ripped off. they said i couldve gotten a better setup with what i spent. idk, im happy with it so far. i played rdr2 with max settings @ 4k and it still ran @ 90-100+ fps. i think some of them were just hating lol. I liked your video, thx for posting. im going to sub.

@katawonga 18 күн бұрын

@danielallen7384 that's right dude. There are so many haters of pre builds. They glorify themselves in endless dates about building their own rigs but not all of us care for that stuff(I certainly don't). Don't let them get to you. You got an epic rig. Enjoy it for years to come 🎉🙌🏾

@JoeB_BSc Ай бұрын

Hi Kizzy, I opine the following: if there are no heat sinks does that mean there is a fire risk please? I see from Del that a 3 year warranty is available with if repair not possible, there is a replacement policy. The one I looked at was a R16 14th generation i9 with 64gb CPU memory plus a 4090 graphics card with 24gb, if I recall correctly of DDR6 RAM, but it seems only to accommodate 2 of the long thin type of SSDs to a max of 4tb each, and only 1tb for a mechanical drive. Pleasant review. Thanks and Regards JB

@katawonga Ай бұрын

I don't think there's a risk of fires at all. The worst that could happen is your drive failing due to heat. I havent had a chance to go long-term with one to test durability but it's Easily solved by replacing with an SSD with built in heatsink.

@JoeB_BSc 29 күн бұрын

Good to know, thanks and regards JB

@QualbertGaming 4 ай бұрын

Man, your knowledge of PCs makes me feel like such a rookie in comparison! I'm an Alienware stan, but I love hearing your thoughts (both good and bad) on these devices. Aesthetic seems like a major drawback for this one - wish they'd have kept the futuristic, out-of-this-world looking cases. This one just looks so standard in comparison.

@katawonga 4 ай бұрын

Aaah. I know nothing compared to most but definitely enough to know what works for me and doesn’t. Appreciate you stopping by brother

@SmokedUpMage 4 ай бұрын

My whole issue with it is the fact it's underclocked out the gate and thermal throttled. What's your thoughts on how it affects performance?

@katawonga 3 ай бұрын

You’re right. In real world performance, I don’t think the under clock is noticeable in applications and games. I only noticed it because I have a vast databank of synthetic benchmarks to refer to

@SmokedUpMage 3 ай бұрын

@katawonga is it able to run Cyberpunk RTX with max 2k settings? Minimum 90 fps is my goal in a system but would like 144 at 2k

@raiderlegendary9602 3 ай бұрын

i played cyberpunk max settings with ray tracing on 3k res ultrawide monitor at 90fps with a 4080 r16. @@SmokedUpMage

@ianabello4427 3 ай бұрын

Right now they have the 4080 super, i9 14900f for $2300. Im thinking this is what I may end up going with for the price. Any thoughts?

@katawonga 3 ай бұрын

That's a beast of a machine. How much memory and storage?

@emilypatrick7415 2 ай бұрын

@@katawonga32 gigs of ram and 2 tv of storage. I just pulled the trigger on the 3080 super model moments ago. I’m excited!

@katawonga 2 ай бұрын

@emilypatrick7415 sounds like a monster dude. Enjoy it 🙌🏾

@Xaero324 3 ай бұрын

But all the parts are proprietary right? If you wanted to swap something you'd have to go through them?

@katawonga 3 ай бұрын

No not all the parts. Just the Motherboard and Powersupply

@johnnyramone3535 3 ай бұрын

And the ram too. These machines are very picky with aftermarket ram. I’m still a fan of my R15 though. It’s basically the same inside as the R16 but with the real Alienware-Design and Cryotech-Cooler. It’s quiet and cool too and looks so much cooler. If i go with proprietary parts i want a special Alienware-Design. But that’s just my opinion.😊

@pilot7749 Ай бұрын

Is it still quite ?

@imusjones5633 2 ай бұрын

Can the ram be upgraded to 128gb?

@richarddonalds4759 5 күн бұрын

I purchased two dell Alienware Aurora R16 just a month ago and my experience with these models was NOT GREAT! Both models break down on me and I have return it. THAT SUCKS!

@katawonga 4 күн бұрын

That's a huge shame friend. So sorry for your experience

@nahidrahman33 4 ай бұрын

Does the ssd need a heatsink in this PC?

@katawonga 4 ай бұрын

It’s preferable especially for high performance SSDs

@Fenyx_TheOutlaw 4 ай бұрын

Can iracing be done on that

@katawonga 4 ай бұрын

What do you mean iracing?

@davidingall1421 2 ай бұрын

hey man good video i was checking out this pc as its free ship to uk and picked this out Intel® Core™ 14th Gen i9 14900KF (24-Core, 68MB Cache, 2.4GHz to 6.0GHz Thermal Velocity Boost) laptop Windows 11 Home, English, Dutch, French, German, Italian (Dell Technologies recommends Windows 11 Pro for business) videocard NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4080 SUPER 16GB GDDR6X memory 32 GB: 2 x 16 GB, DDR5, 5600 MT/s harddrive 2 TB, M.2, PCIe NVMe, SSD fallbackcolor 1000W Platinum Rated PSU, 240mm Liquid-Cooled CPU & Clear Side Panel im looking to do 1440 ultra gaming only don't really do editing or care for 4k that much, trying to do it on games like Horizon zero Dawn helldivers 2 monster hunter world cs2 stuff like that im paring it with a Alienware 27 360Hz QD-OLED Gaming Monitor - AW2725DF so do you think this would be good enough for what im looking for sorry for long comment this stuff is not my forte just want to chill and game thanks

@katawonga 2 ай бұрын

That sounds like a dream set-up but I'd rather go with the 34" qd-oled ultrawide monitor. It's really just a preference thing but you've got yourself an epic system that will handle anything with ease

@davidingall1421 2 ай бұрын

@@katawonga thanks for replying my only problem with a that monitor is a i play alot of cs where flat monitor's around 27inch are preferred so maybe play safe and flat can still look good and i have never used a curved and in my head i might love it or hate it you so maybe might go to a store and look at a curved monitor and see what i think one more question though on the processor there are like 2 different i9 14900 the f and the kf do you know of the difference and which might be better ?

@katawonga 2 ай бұрын

@@davidingall1421 Ah, of course. Yes best to go with a 27-incher or go for the LG 32" which can dual between 4K 240Hz and 1080p 480Hz

@murphy2870 2 ай бұрын

Does this overheat?

@katawonga 21 күн бұрын

Not at all. It's one of the best parts about the new design

@josephguy1456 2 ай бұрын

I could care less about RGP and as for ram you can just buy some rgp ram no big deal

@user-cs2ng1zz5m 4 ай бұрын

I wish I had Money to get a gaming pc

@katawonga 4 ай бұрын

I pray that you will get an awesome gaming PC 🙏🏾

@user-cs2ng1zz5m 4 ай бұрын

@@katawonga can you please buy me one

@michaelwenman2348 4 ай бұрын

So I bought one of these Alienware Aurora R16s and while it was a nice looking pc, it was absolutely HORRIBLE and I have returned it for a refund. Spent well over 9 hours on the telephone with tech support for various issues. PC would NOT keep the correct time / timezone at all, Was unable to recognize and enable USB devices. Bluetooth driver had to be re-installed on an almost daily basis for that to work, was unable to connect to newer WIFI printer and print out anything at all that wasn't sent from notepad. Tech supports recommendation was to go buy a new printer...um no.. this is a brand new printer. don't use bluetooth devices unless absolutely needed and as for the time issue, just turn off automatic setting. For the $$ spent which was $2800 for mine, these solutions are NOT an option.

@CatSucker 4 ай бұрын

Old people with their tech issues lol

@michaelwenman2348 4 ай бұрын

@@CatSucker or just a defective PC. It hapoens

@mr.x3425 4 ай бұрын

I have one myself, it’s great, so I don’t think the Aurora R16 is bad, you just probably got a bad one.

@katawonga 3 ай бұрын

Oh my. Sounds like you got one of the lemons. I’m sorry for your poor experience. Did they refund your money?