Alienware's new Aurora R16 desktop PC is a deeply disappointing square box
Remember when a new Alienware PC was something exciting? Yes, yes, you almost certainly weren't going to buy one. Even if you could afford them, Alienwares of old usually weren't actually the fastest PCs you could buy. But a bit like a Lamborghini that isn't actually as quick as a cheaper Porsche 911 Turbo, Alienware rigs didn't need to actually be the fastest. They always had that critical air of the exotic.
In short, the mere existence of Alienware PCs made the world a more interesting place. Well, not any more. Alienware's assimilation by the Dell corporate collective is now complete. The latest Alienware Aurora R16 has arrived and it's a generic mid-sized box.
In other words, it's absolutely nothing like Alienwares of yore, such as the slightly bonkers triangle-shaped Area-51. And it even lacks the somewhat bespoke aesthetic of the outgoing Aurora R15 and the similar R14 before that.
To be sure, the Aurora R15 was ultimately the same sort of machine as the new R16 inside. Indeed, the R16 offers exactly the same 25.2 liter internal volume as its predecessor and we believe the actual metal frame is the same with both systems. It's just the external plastic cladding that's changed.
Alienware says it's refined, streamlined and more space efficient. Certainly, the R16 is smaller and lighter. But it's also just another box. Bummer.
More to the point, what you now have is a generic looking box with Dell-Alienware style proprietary components that make future upgrades tricky. Kinda the worst of both worlds. At least when the chassis design was weird and wonderful you could slightly forgive elements like motherboards that didn't conform to the standard ATX definitions.
Anywho, apart from the now plain-vanilla proportions,
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