Alienware celebrates 25 years with the new flagship gaming desktop

In the early days of PC gaming, even the best gaming PCs were boring beige boxes. One of the companies that began to change that and offer gamers something that looked as good as it performed was Alienware. Originally Alienware was a standalone gaming computer manufacturer, but Dell eventually purchased it. Alienware is now celebrating its 25th anniversary, and as part of that celebration, it has revealed a new flagship gaming desktop.The redesigned Alienware Aurora is most notable for its attractive chassis that focuses on style and cooling performance. High-end gaming hardware generates lots of heat, making cooling very important to keep games running smooth. The new Aurora has an open-air design that reorganizes interior components to provide the owner with accessibility for upgrading down the road, improved airflow, improved acoustics, and better cable management.

Glancing through the side window, nary a cable can be seen. Not only does the lack of visible cables make the machine look better, but it also improves cooling. Alienware says the new open-air design increased the chassis volume by 50 percent without expanding the overall footprint. Improved cooling also claims a five percent increase in graphics performance.

Aurora has four 120mm fans and optional liquid cooling. In addition, the chassis has improved airflow with honeycomb-shaped airways on the front that allow cool air to move across the motherboard and other components before exiting out the back of the chassis. Despite the improved cooling performance, compared to the past generation Aurora, the new machine is 16 percent quieter at idle, nine percent quieter during CPU-intensive tasks, and 15 percent quieter when overclocked.

Anyone who's had a high-end gaming rig by their desk knows they can get very loud, quiet operation is always welcome. The new Aurora is available in two exterior colors called Lunar Light and Dark Side of the Moon. Buyers can also choose an optional transparent left side panel giving a look at the dark motherboard inside illuminated with up to eight zones of customizable lighting. There's also an optional magnetic cover that hides cables and conceals the ports on the rear. The chassis requires no tools to open and access components. Pricing and availability on the new Aurora are unannounced at this time.