Alienware 16X Aurora review: the best value gaming laptop Dell has produced to date

Alienware has never been my first thought when recommending a starter gaming laptop, but then it announced the Aurora line. These machines take aim at a lower price tag, with the base model heavily restricting its specs and features to aim for three-figure rates.

I often find the best gaming laptop value in the mid-range, though. You can spend thousands on a rig to play the exact same games as a budget entry, after all - it's all about the sweet spot.

With its RTX 5060 / RTX 5070 configuration options, boosted display, aluminum chassis design, and reliable 1080p performance, the Alienware 16X Aurora is the best value gaming laptop Dell has produced so far. It's not without its sacrifices compared to the rest of the market, but there's plenty to celebrate here.

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Configurations

The Alienware 16X Aurora occupies the very middle of Dell's middle ground. You're moving up from the base model 16 Aurora's Intel Core processors and RTX 5060 cap, into the world of the Ultra CPU and RTX 5070 here. The difference under the hood comes down to a more powerful version of Intel's latest processor, with either an RTX 5060 or RTX 5070 graphics card twinned up.

Is it sketchy that you'll need to move all the way over to the far more expensive Alienware 16 Area-51 for that RTX 5070 Ti? A little, but you can still swing an RTX 5070 GPU in here for less than $1,600 - and that puts these configurations in a slightly cheaper setting than Dell has dared tiptoe around before.

You're pretty free to play around with components here, with fewer hard locks on storage and processors compared to the competition. You will, however, have to stick with an RTX 5060 if you want to downgrade to an Intel Core Ultra 7, and cheaper 512GB storage options are only available in the UK.

Design

There's something a little more refined about the Aurora design compared to the Alienware M16 R2 that came before it. Whereas the previous generation still had one foot stuck in Dell's angular, blocky past, the 16X is almost sleek in the hands.

It's not quite as slim as the significantly lower-powered 16 Aurora model, but it still benefits from a high front lip, tapered fairly severely towards the base for a comfortable floating effect. Those rounded corners make it feel far more premium as well, taking us away from the squared off aesthetics of other budget models.

Both the top and bottom are constructed from anodized aluminum, with a plastic base inside. That's a satisfying amount of heft for a $1,500 gaming laptop, a far cry from the bendy plastic you'd usually be paying for at this position.

The hinge is suitably tensioned, though one-handed opening does lift the lower portion of the machine during motion. There's also a little flex to the main deck area and some warping of the lid under pressure as well. Those are all minor gripes, though, and they sit inline with what I come to expect from similarly priced gaming laptops.

The upgrade in build quality compared to plasticky rigs does mean that, when closed, this feels far more like a luxury unit rather than an everyday machine you wouldn't mind scratching.

Dell has also replicated the shimmer effect found on its more expensive Area-51 models here as well. The 16X Aurora will mostly look dark navy, almost black, but the light can catch it at new angles to reveal more of a purple hue hiding away in there.

Display

This is where I was surprised. I'm normally disappointed by Alienware's displays. They're slowly improving from the old days, but they still lack brightness, depth, and punch side by side with their competitors and Dell is still dragging its feet when it comes to more interesting panel options like Mini LED or OLED.

The Alienware 16X Aurora doesn't fix everything Dell's got wrong about its displays so far, but it is another step in the right direction. There's more energy to this panel than I've typically seen from the best Alienware laptops, and while there's still no HDR on board, colors appear a little stronger and more contrasted against their backgrounds.

It's not as impressive as the IPS screen I tested on the HP Omen Max 16, and with cheaper alternatives like the Lenovo Legion 5 offering up OLED screens these days the numbers might be a little difficult to balance.

As you'd expect from a mid-range 2025 release, the 16X Aurora carries a 2560 x 1600 resolution with the full 240Hz refresh rate. That's a speed boost you might not reap the benefits of in most games with an RTX 5060 or RTX 5070, but lighter 1080p sessions can stretch into that upper limit. That means it's still a worthy upgrade over the 120Hz 16 Aurora base model.

Ports

One thing I know I can rely on Alienware for is rear ports. Dell's gaming laptops are usually large, stocky, and heavy - making them better suited to a desk-based setup. Throw all your cables into the sides of your laptop, though, and things can get messy real fast.

All hail the rear ports, then.

The Alienware 16X Aurora does offer some versatility on the left if you prefer to keep things within easy reach (here, you'll find one of the USB-As, the RJ45, and 3.5mm audio jack), but everything else is tucked neatly away at the back. Another USB-A, one USB-C with power delivery, a Thunderbolt 4 with DisplayPort 2.1 (but no power delivery), an HDMI 2.1, and your power connection are all laid out here.

Yes, you're taking a step back from the Thunderbolt 5 found in the HP Omen Max 16 and Alienware 16 Area-51. Unless you're really gritty about your speeds or you're connecting to multiple high-refresh 4K displays (unlikely with an RTX 5060 or RTX 5070) you'll struggle to notice the downgrade here.

Keyboard and trackpad

One of the aspects of the Alienware 16X Aurora I was most curious about was the keyboard. The Area-51 model surprised me with one of the most satisfying mechanical decks I've used in a gaming laptop so far, so I was keen to check out Alienware's more basic clackers.

I was glad to find plenty of springy resistance underneath each key, giving way to a satisfying pop at actuation. It's a remarkably precise deck, which does take a little away from typing speed but ultimately more than makes up for it in tactile feel and accuracy.

The 1.4mm travel distance feels tight and sharply tuned to both casual typing and repetitive gaming presses, with a swift return to full height and an energetic feel to the bottom plate. No, it's no scissor switch found in the Razer Blade 16 and it's not going to give mechanical options anything to worry about, but it's certainly one of the more comfortable keyboards to come out of 2025. It's a night and day difference compared to the flex of the Omen Max.

The trackpad is a slightly different story. It's a smaller plastic iteration that doesn't quite have that intuitive snap you'd expect from a modern gaming laptop. Swipe action is smooth and there's a nice (if slightly heavy) amount of resistance behind clicks, but it's got a particularly soft landing that may feel mushy to some.

Performance

The Alienware 16X Aurora sits exactly where I'd expect it to with its RTX 5060 GPU fired up into Overdrive mode and that Intel Core Ultra 7 chugging away in the background. Synthetic 3D Mark GPU tests put it above the similarly-specced Lenovo Legion 5 in easier runs like Fire Strike and Time Spy, while dipping just under for more demanding tests like Steel Nomad.

Of course, the RTX 5070 Asus ROG Strix G16 is well out in front - if you're considering the upgrade beyond the entry-level RTX 5060 configuration it could well be worth it for more demanding titles.

There's also a noticeable upshift in native performance compared to RTX 4060 options of yesteryear. Compared to the similarly-sized Asus TUF A15, the RTX 5060 is flying in the Aurora, with an average performance increase of 22% gen-on-gen.

In-game, the story is much the same.

Starting off with Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the Alienware 16X Aurora zips off with average framerates in the high 100s in FHD, only dropping to 124fps in QHD+ Highest settings. That's on par with the Lenovo Legion 5 Gen 10, and only slightly behind the RTX 5070-toting Asus ROG Strix G16.

Total War: Three Kingdoms represents a larger challenge, where the RTX 5060 in the Aurora only just scrapes ahead of the HP Omen 17 and its RTX 4070 GPU, and we start to see that gap between the Asus and Dell emerge. This is also the first game that drops below 60fps in one of my benchmarks, with the Ultra setting proving too much for this relatively entry-level configuration.

Cyberpunk 2077 really puts the heat on. We're still playable at 60fps+ in 1080p here, though the Aurora is a few points behind Lenovo this time around. This is the only game the two trade places, but the results are replicated across 1600p.

Switching the RTX 50-Series' DLSS 4x frame generation on brought my RT Ultra QHD+ benchmark up to an average of 129fps, so there are tricks in the book to combat the RTX 5060's below-par QHD performance.

The Alienware 16X Aurora matches what I'd expect to see from a rig of this spec, mostly stepping out in front of the cheaper Lenovo Legion 5 but never taking a massive lead.

Battery

Dell has planted a larger battery inside the Alienware 16X Aurora, and it's not quite as power hungry as its Area-51 sibling. That means I was able to bleed a little more airtime out of the device (running at 50% brightness without keyboard backlighting) across productivity and streaming, but gaming runtimes are still under an hour.

I managed around five hours of work at a time while using the Aurora, running it casually between a few Chrome tabs and image editing programs.

Should you buy the Alienware 16X Aurora?

With prices starting at just $1,449.99 / £1,349.99, the Alienware 16X Aurora is one of the cheaper gaming laptops I've tested so far this year. Its RTX 5070 / Intel Core Ultra 7 configuration is nearly $1,000 cheaper than the Alienware 16 Area-51. You're sacrificing a luxury chassis build (but still keeping an aluminum top and bottom casing), Thunderbolt 5, and per-key RGB lighting in that like-for-like comparison. However, the Area-51 will open you up to higher TGP graphics cards like the RTX 5070 Ti.

Compared to similarly priced alternatives, the Alienware 16X Aurora struggles a little. The Lenovo Legion 5 upgrades you to an OLED display and a slightly more understated design, and only performs ever so slightly worse in my benchmarks. It does all that for around $200 less in an RTX 5060 configuration.

I'd still recommend the Alienware 16X Aurora to anyone after a solid gaming laptop with the versatility to perform in both work and play. It's the best value Alienware machine on the market right now, and benefits from the cooling and fan control that this brand is well recognized for as well.

How I tested the Alienware 16X Aurora

I used the Alienware 16X Aurora as my main laptop for work and play over the course of two weeks. In that time, I played Doom: The Dark Ages and Apex Legends outside of benchmarking, while running more dedicated tests across Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, and Cyberpunk 2077. I also performed synthetic tests in 3DMark's suite of GPU tools; Fire Strike, Time Spy, and Steel Nomad.

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