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Generally speaking, I'd put any PC purchases or rig upgrades on pause right now ahead of the RTX 5090 launch. However, Dell has discounted its Alienware Aurora R16 in such a way that it's impossible to ignore, especially since it's rocking an RTX 4090, Core i9 14900KF CPU, 32GB RAM, and might end up costing the same as custom Blackwell GPUs.
Here's the skinny - you can grab the Alienware Aurora R16 at Dell right now for $2,899.99. It'll normally set you back $3,699.99, which makes sense given the caliber of components dwelling within its ominous black case. But, the $800 discount means that you're getting a monstrous rig for under $3,000, which is still a lot, but perhaps pretty reasonable since those of you looking to pre-order the RTX 5090 will pay at least $2,000.
I say at least, as it's easy to forget that custom graphics cards come with their own MSRP. If you don't end up with Nvidia's Founders Edition model, you could be looking at a much higher price tag. I don't have exact figures yet, but there's a strong possibility you'll be looking at closer to the three grand mark. Simply put, potential pricing puts this Alienware Aurora R16 deal into perspective seeing as it's an entire premium machine.
Should you buy the Alienware Aurora R16?
It's certainly a strange time to recommend the Alienware Aurora R16, but I stand by it being one of the best Alienware gaming PCs yet. Dell seems to think so too, as its upcoming Aurora 2025 model and new Area-51 models are going to effectively use the same blueprint, with the latter only standing out due to its more standard innards.
It's probably a good time to note that even though you'll soon be able to buy an RTX 5070 GPU that can supposedly keep up with the current flagship, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 is still a beastly GPU. Even those of you picking up an RTX 5080 likely won't be steamrolling the current frontrunner in terms of native FPS, and the Alienware Aurora R16 makes great use of the powerhouse card. We're talking over 111fps in Cyberpunk 2077 with 4K Ultra settings enabled, and DLSS 3.5 tricks help give frame rates an extra kick where compatible.
Now, here's the tricky part - the RTX 4090 won't be compatible with Nvidia's new Multi-Frame Generation tech included with DLSS 4. You'll need a shiny new Blackwell GPU for that, and depending on how widely adopted the AI tech becomes, you might feel a performance difference down the road. Will splashing out closer to $4,000 on an Alienware Aurora with that card inside be worth it? Only if you're an enthusiast that likes fussing over reaching new performance heights. And besides, if that's you, the last thing you'd probably do is pick up Dell's not-so-upgrade-friendly machine.
What I'm getting at is that the Alienware Aurora R16 is for players who are willing to pay top dollar for incredible 4K performance, but would rather avoid used car pricing. I can see this specific RTX 4090 rig lasting players a pretty long time before system requirements remotely become an issue, not to mention you're getting a rig with water cooling, a top-end Intel CPU, and a chonky 2TB SSD.
If you've got the cash, you could do much worse than the Aurora R16. I won't remotely judge those of you who are willing to pay more for an RTX 5090 build or even a single graphics card, but I think it's worth doing some system soul searching first.
Looking to upgrade your rig? Check out the best gaming CPU and best RAM for gaming. Alternatively, swing by the best gaming handheld for portable PCs you can take on the go.
