Alienware Aurora ALX

Alienware Aurora ALX, the weapon designed for players of 2010

New frame, new configuration and still the same claim: in an eyeful for experienced players.

The Aurora ALX gives a major boost for young players to PCs to Alienware. The concept remains the same : to provide power in a case very well designed and hallucinating in the extreme.

The expectations before test

Intel Core i7 920, 6 GB of RAM (DDR3 dual channel ) , 2 TB of storage space and , among other things , an ATI Radeon HD 5870, Alienware sells a machine for players to live up to its reputation. Part of the line Aurora ALX , the machine calls here rather by its chassis . If the former was older, we would book the new asset – for some or fantasies – which would surely make your mouth players. Reason enough to make us want to test this new PC from elsewhere advertised as ” affordable ” : 2428 EUR ( shipping included)! Indeed …

The reality

It was time ! Alienware has finally renewed its aging chassis gaming machines . This new case we have presented in December 2009 and we invite you to discover behind the scenes of writing. Note in passing that if the build quality is outstanding, it will be quite possible to change this machine over time by adding hard drives or RAM , for example , with three locations are still available .

Alienware takes a life

At the time, freshly unwrapped , this frame we had not yet revealed all its specificities . Thus , we later found out the ventilation system on top of the machine. It consists of small parts that come alive , more or less , as the gills , the activity of the fans. A machine that lives and must be protected , especially when Curious , intrigued , is tempted to reach these small components of a wandering hand . This is really not advisable , the latter being powered … Fortunately, this device proves ultimately strong enough to withstand occasional manipulation .
As always with this manufacturer , this type of luxury gadgets is managed by software control. In this case , Alienware Thermal Controls , which gives the temperature measured by sensors inside the machine , the rotational speed of various fans and the pump responsible for cooling the processor through the system water.

Aurora ALX : an aurora at home

This new chassis is sleek but also smarter than the old model . The fantasy aspect of the beast is materialized by a festival of colors . The front , sides and top of the box illuminated from all sides , including from within! Little more convenient for Geeks tempted to reach into the components , the tower is lit by small white LEDs, even if it is not connected to the mains.
Interface customization PC AlienFX , then offers the possibility to define the colors for eight lighting zones , with or without gradient . In short, the possibilities are simply amazing .

Intel Core i7 and ATI Radeon HD 5870 is stronger than you

This monstrously powerful configurations , we have already presented, like the Fujitsu Celsius Ultra submitted video. Here , the base configuration is very convincing : Intel Core i7 920, 6GB RAM, 2000 GB of storage space and an ATI Radeon HD 5870 with 1GB of GDDR3 video memory .
Combined with a 30-inch LCD screen , even in a definition of 2560 x 1600 pixels , the thing has no trouble turning the game ‘s most delicious moment.
Tested with the game Colin McRae Dirt 2The stamped card supports DirectX 11 ATI has managed to dazzle us with his eyes became so very neat and realistic . When the meteor through a large puddle on the track, this is not a mere splash of pixels on the screen but rather a wave that forms in the body . very neat renderings , a fluidity high level, including with details pushed to the maximum . Again, with Dirt 2 as with BatmanIt is possible to adjust theantialising ( anti-aliasing) to 8x without playing comfort is not altered.

A benchmark of Alienware ‘s always nice

For purists who will decode the numbers , the Aurora ALX displays the scores of beautiful panoply of 3DMark tests . If 3DMark06 test , which this little monster still gets 18,355 points, was passed in the various modes of 3DMark Vantage, ie Entry , Performance , High and Extreme, that PC from elsewhere shows respective scores 35399 , 17037 , 12225 and 8742 points .
Equally flattering testing tools integrated Resident evil 5 show that the map is very comfortable even with the maximum settings since 2560 x 1600 pixels with theantialising 8x, the card holds the load with a display of 54.7 frames per second . At this stage, the display is more than flowing ! Needless to say, when in Full HD mode ( 1920 x 1080 pixels ) , the card supports speeds of the order of 96.6 frames per second, which is more than necessary! Same side of the test tool installed in Batman Arkham Asylum, which displays a nice score of 61 frames per second on average in 2560 x 1600 pixels with 2x antialiasing processing .

When hit Crysis , Alienware passes away

However , it is clear that with a single graphics card , some games , in extreme conditions , will undermine this machine. Case in point: the benchmark of Crysis Warhead with its graphics engine CryEngine 3 , which pushes the Aurora ALX in its very limits. If all goes reasonably well in 2560 x 1600 pixels with basic adjustments , with the same resolution with theantialising 8x, a blow to both, the machine is not able to overcome the test. In the best case , we succeeded in obtaining a result of 8.35 frames per second, which is just not good enough to play .

Watts, the besetting sin of this type of machine

In good war machine that respect, the Aurora ALX madden knows your electric meter . Out of 642 watts measured at testing of Fujitsu ‘s Ultra CThis PC uses all the same 150 watt average in normal conditions and without difficulty reached the 310 – or 350 watts – the complexity of the display peak.
Also note that the Aurora singing and toasting , or rather blowing from 37.8 dB to 50.8 dB , when the processor is fully loaded with the graphics card knees , fans at the bottom and cooling system liquid under pressure. Regarding temperature , fifteen minutes is enough , when the system is stretched to the maximum , to transform our dull room (designed to meet the noise of different aircraft) into a real small sauna. Indeed, the maximum temperature recorded is 45.5 degrees to the rear of the case, then the blower or the graphics card will serve as supplemental heating in the office .

The quality peripheral

The festival of colors is also found on the keyboard . Note also that it monopolizes two of the six USB ports on the machine. Its keys are slightly lit. Not enough , however ! For in the shadows, the lighting is not enough to see them. But the players , true , those who know their keyboard at your fingertips , will move quickly on this detail and just take the time to choose the colors of the keyboard and mouse .
Anyway , both devices are of very good quality. The keyboard as the mouse are reminiscent of models for players from Logitech , in simplified version . The mouse is similar in effect to Logitech Laser Mouse G9XWithout the shell or the system of interchangeable weights . The keyboard , meanwhile , recalls the Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard, with – in place of the screen – an alien head and customizable function keys .

Finally, let’s quickly on the connector , which includes six USB ports , but also and especially a digital optical audio output , and HDMI and DisplayPort connectors . It is rather quiet …

Test and review conclusions

Prior to hope to dazzle your friends with this frame as original as strong , only to discover extreme sensations with devices of high quality, before ” jumping off the helmet “or ” burn out of gum “in smashing the record on the circuit , we must begin to burn the card. For if the Aurora ALX is convincing , we simply value for money. And if the quality is a whole appointment, including the side assembly , one wonders if still nearly 2500 euros a pair of graphics cards, but also a Blu – ray , n Would not have been justified .