Alienware Aurora R5 review

Design

The Aurora R5 is looks the part of a tower of power, but it's surprisingly tiny despite its dominating silhouette. Measuring about 1.5 feet tall and just over a foot in depth, it's a far smaller system than your traditional mid-tower case and almost veers into Mini ITX territory.

The second thing you'll notice about the Aurora R5 is how sleek it is. There are no flat edges on any side of the case. Instead, they all slide off at odd angles, and even the desktop's two feet are pitched at different inclines. That all might seem random, but it adds up to a gorgeously modern design.

Alienware's designs have classically exuded an exotically extraterrestrial quality to them. However, the Aurora is more industrial and seems more like something from our own future rather than an alien pod, like the Area 51. Ultimately, though, there haven't been many gaming PCs with a uniquely asymmetrical design like this before.Some elements of Alienware's older designs also bleed through here, including the side panels that bend at the corners, like the company's gaming laptops. You'll also find that signature glowing alien head and tri-beam accent lights on the sides, all of which are customizable through the Alienware FX software.

Curiously, one element that's missing here is the center spine, which has been a part of almost every Alienware design since the Area 51 Predator 1. Instead of a wedge shape at the front end, the R5's façade is flat and almost completely plain, save for the glowing logo, an extremely thin disc tray and ventilated front intake. One welcome new design element is a rear handle that makes lugging around the system a lot easier.

Clever girl

Of course, the Aurora R5 has way more going for it than just a new look. Alienware has re-engineered its entire internal layout, having found a way to fold components into each other to save space without sacrificing accessibility or easy upgradability.

Most gaming PCs come with a top- or bottom-mounted power supply. However, the R5 comes with one that's turned on its side and attached to an articulating arm that swings out of the case and closes over the motherboard.

Final verdict

The Alienware Aurora R5 is a revolution in gaming desktop design. Putting the power supply on an articulating arm and having it float over the motherboard is a completely unorthodox approach, but it makes a lot of sense when you put it to practice.

This helps reduce the overall height of the case while minimizing the amount of unused space in the case. As a result, the Aurora is dramatically smaller than most pre-built PCs.

While Alienware's systems have a reputation of being exorbitantly expensive, the Aurora R5 is approachable at $1,099 (about £825, AU$1,473) for a decent configuration – more affordable than some of its competitors. From there, you could upgrade the components yourself through a painless and tool-less DIY process.

The Alienware Aurora R5 is a gorgeous and well-planned system light on in space and price, but heavy on power and potential.

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