Alienware Aurora 16X Review

Design and Features

Just due to the fact that it’s smaller than the Area-51 doesn't marque the Aurora 16X sleek — it’s inactive a chunky beast, but I’m not huffy astir it. The indigo colorway spreads similar a silk expanse implicit the Aurora’s anodized aluminum lid. I emotion this colour mode much than what the Area-51 is wearing (teal), which is ironic due to the fact that that’s the much costly one.

The curved edges astir the lid, hinge, and sides springiness a brushed approach, which is simply a refreshing interruption from the accustomed edgy gamer look. With little-to-no flex implicit its iridescent Alienware logo, this gaming laptop is hella sturdy. It stacks up to 14.05 x 10.45 x 0.76~0.92 inches and 5.7 pounds.

Popping unfastened the hood revealed much of the aforesaid sleek colorway, this clip connected a magnesium alloy framework with a bully satin finish. There’s a curved thenar remainder for comfortableness and easiness of lifting the lid. Meanwhile, the keyboard is neatly packed successful the center, but supports lone one-zone RGB lighting, which looks cheap. The touchpad sits conscionable underneath, somewhat smaller than I expected, and the bezels connected the show look a spot heavy owed to the angled lip.

A neat diagnostic astir the underside is there’s a heavy slab that props the laptop up, with vents each astir it to guarantee bully airflow. More laptops request amended cooling designs similar this — there’s thing much annoying than an underside that gets scorching blistery due to the fact that you positioned it connected the incorrect surface.

Configurations

The Alienware Aurora 16X is simply a classical mid-range gaming laptop, but it comes successful pricey compared with different rigs successful its category. But that’s what you get erstwhile you’re looking to bargain from a premium marque similar Alienware. Here’s what’s packed successful the portion Dell sent maine for review:

This reappraisal portion costs $1,999 (seen for $1,649), which is up determination for an RTX 5070 gaming laptop. It besides comes successful an RTX 5060 mentation for $1,549. But if you’re looking for thing cheaper than that, you request to suffer the “X” successful the Aurora 16X (yes, really).

The Aurora 16 comes successful 2 GPU variants, including the RTX 5060 and RTX 5050, and some opting for an Intel Core 7-240H processor. They outgo astir oregon nether $1,000. But wait, what does the “X” truly suffer you? Well, you driblet to a 120Hz show with little brightness, a 720p webcam, and you suffer the Thunderbolt 4 port. The second 2 are beauteous insignificant, but losing the show is tough.

Display

While I volition proceed to rant astir Alienware needing to connection OLED oregon Mini-LED options for their gaming laptops, the Aurora 16X’s IPS show is rather stunning.

This show is plentifulness bright, rated astatine 500 nits, and offers a crisp 2560 x 1600 resolution, truthful I could respect the crisp strands of hairsbreadth connected Naoe Fujibayashi’s caput successful Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Making my mode done Hijacked successful Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, the brownish wood planks contrasted good against the milky achromatic ship, which was dreamy capable to get maine killed by immoderate jabroni moving retired of the cabin.

With Nvidia G-Sync to trim surface tearing and the 240Hz refresh rate, getting successful car chases crossed Night City successful Cyberpunk 2077 felt satisfyingly creaseless arsenic I drifted backmost onto the highway. However, support successful caput that if you privation to usage the afloat breadth of the 240Hz refresh rate, you’ll request to crook down the graphics rather a bit. An RTX 5070 can’t get you rather that acold connected the highest settings – particularly astatine 1600p.

Everything In-Between

There’s a decent fig of ports to get your indispensable peripherals each connected to the Alienware Aurora 16X, adjacent if you don’t person Bluetooth accessories. There’s a Thunderbolt 4 slot for accelerated connectivity (great for outer storage) arsenic good arsenic an further USB Type-C port. You besides get 2 USB Type-A ports and a headphone jack to link bequest devices. Then there’s an HDMI 2.1 slot to link to an outer display, and an Ethernet larboard to velocity up your net speed. But with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, you shouldn’t person to interest overmuch astir connectivity.

The keyboard is comfy acknowledgment to the cushy thenar rests, but the cardinal question is simply a spot short. It’s good to benignant on, but it’s not satisfying to usage erstwhile gaming. I privation the keyboard was a spot higher connected the deck. The angled thenar remainder makes it consciousness similar my manus is sliding disconnected erstwhile successful the WASD position. And the touchpad is successful a akin vessel wherever it’s unpleasant to usage – it’s excessively resistant, stiff, and small.

Laptop webcams are astir ne'er good, and the Alienware Aurora 16X’s 1080p shooter is nary exception. It’ll get you done video chatting with friends, but betwixt the atom imposed implicit the representation and the washed retired colors, I wouldn’t effort to watercourse with this thing.

Dolby Atmos isn’t capable to elevate the speakers beyond middling. The dialog successful Cyberpunk 2077 sounded crisp, but combined with the gunfire and techno music, it felt much similar a muddled mess. It gave maine a headache listening to it for a abbreviated while. I highly urge gaming with headphones.

Performance

The Alienware Aurora 16X delivers each the show you expect from an RTX 5070, hitting coagulated numbers adjacent successful the highest settings connected intensive AAA games. However, you whitethorn conflict successful definite areas, particularly if you’re averse to supersampling technology.

Before I got to the crunchy numbers, the Alienware Aurora 16X suffered from immoderate superior stuttering portion gaming. I updated my graphics drivers and Windows 11, and yes, turned it disconnected and connected again. I took a highest astatine the Alienware Command Center (Settings > Performance) and saw that Hybrid Graphics was enabled, which allows the laptop to power betwixt integrated and discrete graphics to prevention connected artillery life. I disabled that with the MUX Switch and games ran good aft that.

I reached retired to Dell for immoderate insight, and a typical tried to replicate the contented connected a antithetic machine, but didn’t spot the stuttering. I person experienced issues with hybrid graphics connected different gaming laptops, truthful it mightiness not beryllium a occupation connected Aurora 16X, but if you tally into it, you present cognize what to do.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 ran creaseless arsenic I started rinsing fools done a Japanese feudal castle and a war-torn Alaskan town. The benchmarks reflected that large performance, too, proving that the Alienware Aurora 16X tin grip competitory games astatine the highest settings. However, arsenic I mentioned earlier, the Aurora isn’t taking afloat vantage of its 240Hz screen. If you privation higher frames, you request to crook the graphics down.

On a much intensive test, the Alienware Aurora 16X cleared 30 fps successful Cyberpunk 2077 astatine its autochthonal solution acceptable to Ray Tracing Ultra. However, Ray Tracing Overdrive proved to beryllium excessively overmuch for it, and that tracks with astir mid-range gaming laptops. But if you tally it astatine 1200p, you’ll get playable frames astatine the highest settings.

With nary upscaling technology, the Aurora 16X’s RTX 5070 did decently good connected the Metro Exodus benchmark, scoring adjacent to 60 fps astatine 1200p connected the highest settings. But it failed to get past the 30 fps threshold astatine its autochthonal resolution.

In games similar Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you tin spot the payment of framework procreation technology. At Ultra High settings connected its autochthonal resolution, the Alienware Aurora 16X jumped from unplayable to an mean of implicit 50 fps.

Battery Life

Gaming laptops typically don’t past precise agelong successful the artillery beingness department, though they’ve improved implicit the years, with laptops similar the Razer Blade 14 hitting implicit 7 hours. But the Alienware Aurora 16X isn’t a 14-inch gaming laptop with reduced powerfulness output. Its chunky 16 inches lasted lone 3 hours and 20 minutes connected Procyon's Office Productivity Battery Life Test. (This is with hybrid graphics enabled.)

The Alienware Aurora 16X isn’t going to get you precise acold erstwhile gaming connected artillery alone, not to notation the information that the show volition vessel arsenic well. I highly urge keeping the Aurora 16X plugged successful astatine each times.

Verdict

The Alienware Aurora 16X is successful a unusual spot due to the fact that it offers each the gives and takes a accustomed midrange gaming laptop might, but it besides costs rather a spot of coin. Ultimately, you’re paying a higher sum for its premium design, and it whitethorn beryllium worthy it if you’re turned disconnected by the mean inexpensive integrative chassis. Let’s not forget, you get immoderate beardown show retired of its RTX 5070, and this is surely 1 of the amended IPS displays I’ve seen connected a gaming laptop. I’m not a instrumentality of the keyboard oregon the speakers, but you could lick that by getting immoderate peripherals, which would beryllium amended than astir respective components that gaming laptops tin offer.