I Tested 2 Budget Alienware Gaming Laptops, and the 16X Aurora Is the One to Get

When sitting aspect by aspect, Dell’s two midrange gaming laptops, the Alienware 16 Aurora and 16X Aurora, are practically indistinguishable. Every includes a roomy, 16-inch, 2.5K IPS show wrapped in a buttoned-up navy enclosure. Except for their ample dimension, they do not scream “gaming laptop computer!” They appear — and are priced — extra just like the religious successors to Dell’s shuttered G sequence than a step-down from Dell’s flagship Alienware 16 Area-51. However within the case of the Alienware 16X Aurora, you may discover loads of gaming-centric options hidden beneath its bizarre exterior.

The Alienware 16X Aurora gives a alternative of a Core Extremely 7 or 9 processor from Intel’s Arrow Lake sequence and both an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 or 5070 GPU. Our take a look at system featured the baseline model of every and delivers glorious 3D bang in your buck. It simply outpaced the 16 Aurora whereas additionally supplying the higher show, keyboard backlighting and webcam. It is also somewhat lighter. 

The efficiency edge alone makes paying the additional $200 to improve from the Alienware 16 Aurora to the 16X Aurora a wise transfer. While you issue within the different benefits, the Alienware 16X Aurora is the clear choose of the 2. However as a lot as I just like the Alienware 16X Aurora, the Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 remains to be my go-to suggestion for avid gamers on a price range.

The Alienware 16X Aurora begins at $1,550 for a Core Extremely 7 255HX, 16GB of RAM, RTX 5060 graphics and a 1TB SSD. Our take a look at system doubles the RAM to 32GB for $100, however it is among the few configurations that had been discounted on the time of this overview. It is $200 off, bringing its price down beneath the baseline mannequin to $1,450. 

You’ll be able to improve the CPU to a Core Extremely 9 255HX and bump the GPU as much as an RTX 5070. You can even enhance the RAM to 64GB and the storage to 4TB in a RAID 0 array. The one fixed is the show, however it’s an excellent one: a 16-inch IPS panel with a 2,560×1,600-pixel decision, 240Hz refresh charge and a 500-nit score.

Compared, the step-down Alienware 16 Aurora I examined prices $1,250 for an Intel Core 7 240H, 16GB of RAM, RTX 5050 graphics, a 1TB SSD and the identical 16-inch, 2.5K show however with a decrease 120Hz refresh charge and 300-nit score.

The Alienware 16X Aurora begins at a reduced value of £1,454 in the UK and AU$3,350 in Australia.

Alienware 16X Aurora efficiency

The Alienware 16X Aurora and 16 Aurora bookend the efficiency outcomes on most of our graphics and gaming benchmarks amongst a gaggle of RTX 5050- and RTX 5060-based price range gaming laptops that features the Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10, Acer Nitro V 16S AI and MSI Katana 15 HX. The Alienware 16X Aurora completed on the head of the pack, and the Alienware 16 Aurora introduced up the rear, which is not stunning given the 16X Aurora has the higher CPU and GPU and double the RAM of the 16 Aurora.

Just like the Legion 5i Gen 10, the Alienware 16X Aurora includes a RTX 5060 working at its full 115 watts. Compared, the Alienware 16 Aurora makes use of a RTX 5050 throttled at 80 watts. As you possibly can see within the charts beneath, the 16X Aurora and Legion 5i Gen 10 led the way in which on every of our 3D gaming assessments. Additionally they traded off touchdown within the high spot on our utility benchmarks, however the true benefit for avid gamers is the elevated body charges you may get from utilizing a 115-watt RTX 5060.

The flipside to this added energy is a discount in battery life. The Alienware 16X Aurora lasted a good 7.5 hours on our YouTube streaming battery drain take a look at, however you may get 10 hours of battery life with the 16 Aurora. Nonetheless, for a big, 16-inch gaming laptop computer that you just’re unlikely to make use of a lot away from a wall outlet, most avid gamers will fortunately commerce some battery life for higher body charges.

A deep, blueish hue

One other similarity between the Alienware 16X Aurora and Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 is their understated appears to be like. The 16X Aurora’s deep blue chassis — Dell labels it as Interstellar Indigo — makes the laptop computer look extra like an outsized company machine than a gaming laptop computer. And the 16X Aurora does not actually have a thermal shelf on the again edge widespread to gaming laptops. As a substitute, it has what Dell calls a Cryo-Chamber, a vented bump-out on the again half of the underside panel that aids airflow. This bump-out additionally helps preserve the remainder of the laptop computer’s venting to a minimal; there are simply two modest vents on both sides of the laptop computer.

The underside panel and keyboard deck are fabricated from plastic, however the lid is aluminum so as to add a splash of sophistication and rigidity. On the entire, the Alienware 16X Aurora feels properly put collectively. I felt hardly any flex within the keyboard deck and solely a small quantity within the skinny aluminum lid. Maybe the magnesium alloy inside body is the rationale for the laptop computer’s agency really feel. The plastic bezels across the show are somewhat on the thick aspect however are unlikely to offend most tastes, and the show hinges provide the correct mix of feeling clean but agency.

Even with a reasonably compact design for a 16-inch laptop computer, the Alienware 16X Aurora is hefty. It weighs 5.49 kilos, which is barely lower than the 5.61-pound Alienware 16 Aurora however greater than a pound heavier than the 4.3-pound Legion 5i Gen 10, which does have a smaller 15.1-inch show.

You’ll be able to open the laptop computer by eradicating 10 screws and prying off the underside panel. Inside, you may discover a free M.2 slot so as to add a second SSD, which is very helpful in a gaming laptop computer that may probably come to accommodate a big sport library eventually. And in contrast to most laptops as of late which have RAM soldered to the motherboard, the Alienware 16X Aurora has two DIMM slots so you possibly can develop the reminiscence your self. You may want to switch the reminiscence and never merely add to what’s already there as a result of irrespective of the reminiscence allotment you select, from 16GB to 64GB, the 16X Aurora ships with two sticks of RAM. Nonetheless, it is an important possibility to increase the helpful lifetime of the laptop computer.

The place the Alienware 16X Aurora and Legion 5i Gen 10 differ essentially the most is with the show, and never simply with the scale. Each provide a crisp, 2.5K decision, however the Legion 5i Gen 10’s is an OLED with extra vibrant colours and deeper blacks. The Alienware 16X Aurora is a standard IPS show, however it has the pace benefit, offering a 240Hz refresh charge to the Legion 5i’s 165Hz charge. The 16X Aurora’s panel can also be brighter. It hit a peak brightness of 582 nits in contrast with the Legion 5i’s max of 518 nits. However that is not an apples-to-apples comparability as a result of absolutely the black ranges you get with an OLED imply it does not have to get as brilliant as an IPS to supply a dynamic picture with nice distinction.

For coloration efficiency, the Alienware 16X Aurora supplied a lot better coloration protection of the sRGB, AdobeRGB and P3 gamuts than the 16 Aurora however could not fairly match that of the Legion 5i Gen 10.

That stated, each the Alienware 16X Aurora and Legion 5i Gen 10 ship a show above the extent of most price range and even midrange gaming laptops. And as good because the OLED is with the Legion 5i Gen 10, I can see an argument for opting as a substitute for the 16X Aurora’s larger, sooner IPS show for gaming.

It is more durable to make the case for the Alienware 16X Aurora’s keyboard. I a lot most well-liked the snappy suggestions of the Legion 5i Gen 10’s keys than the shallow journey and smooth really feel I obtained from this keyboard. And also you get solely 4 half-height keys as a substitute of the full-size remedy from the Legion 5i Gen 10. 

The Alienware 16X Aurora’s RGB keyboard backlighting can also be mildly disappointing. As a substitute of the 4 zones with the Legion 5i Gen 10, you get solely a single zone. However at the very least it is higher than the entire lack of RGB lighting on the Alienware 16 Aurora, which has solely the usual and really boring white backlighting.

Given the laptop computer’s ample dimensions, the touchpad is undersized, and I felt its click on response was a bit too agency. Equally, the audio system are additionally underpowered. Dell outfitted the laptop computer with solely a pair of 2-watt audio system, and the sound they produce is predictably underwhelming.

The laptop computer’s 1080p webcam is not fairly as sharp because the Legion 5i Gen 10’s 1440p cam, however it has an IR sensor for utilizing facial recognition with Home windows Good day logins. It is a nice comfort — and safety characteristic — and doubly so when you think about that with no fingerprint reader, it is the one safe biometric characteristic on the 16X Aurora. (The Legion 5i Gen 10 lacks biometrics altogether.)

One final benefit the Alienware 16X Aurora has over each the Legion 5i Gen 10 and Alienware 16 Aurora is quick USB connectivity. It is the one one of many three to produce Thunderbolt 4 help.

Is the Alienware 16X Aurora an excellent gaming laptop computer?

The Alienware 16X Aurora won’t be what you image whenever you consider an Alienware gaming laptop computer, however what it lacks in aggressively styling it greater than makes up for with its deal with the show and efficiency. And its value is definitely lower than what you have come to count on from an Alienware machine. It is merely onerous to seek out this good a show and this stage of efficiency for the value, though I do want Dell outfitted it with a keyboard higher suited to gaming.