The computer weighs about 40 pounds, which is way better than the 70+ pounds for the Alienware Area-51 model. The Alienware logo that sits atop the case could easily be mistaken for a power button, but it actually activates a large sliding front panel to expose the Blu-ray and other bay drives. The top of the case has a couple of USB connections, a 1394 connection, along with headphone and microphone jacks. There are many more USB connections at the back of the case. The Aurora ALX houses the power supply at the bottom of the case, where the cooler air is. This also makes the power cord a bit easier to plug in since the cord doesn't have to waste a couple of feet going up to the top of the case.

The case itself is easy to open, with the last vent on the top as the locking/unlocking mechanism. You pull up on the vent and the left side panel is now able to come out. You will see a very clean system set up inside, even with the included liquid cooling system that's now standard on all Alienware desktops. You will see several fans that are designed to cool components including one that's dedicated just for the video cards. While the PCIe spots are dedicated to the Radeon video cards, there are some free hard drive bays if you really feel that 2 terabytes of hard drive space just isn't enough.

For the people who feel they could build a system just like the Aurora ALX for less money, we now turn our attention to the AlienFX lighting system. Yes, it's not exactly necessary for the PC to run but let's face it; cool lighting effects are neat to just watch. The case has a number of locations where the AlienFX system is used, from the large side panels to the strips of light on top and in front. The AlienFX software, included with the PC, allows total control of how the lighting looks with a possible 25 billion color combinations. You can even change the lighting on the included TacX keyboard and mouse via the AlienFX software. People who know nothing about PCs go "Ahhhh" and "Ohhhh" when they see the lighting effects on the case.

So the big question is, "How does this PC perform with games?" We won't focus frame rate numbers, but considering the very high end configuration in this model (with a price to match), our in-game performance was in-freaking-credible. From playing normal DirectX 9 games like Modern Warfare 2 to DirectX 11 supported games like Dirt 2, playing games on this rig was a treat and a half. Frame rates were solid even with effects and graphics details turned all the way up on Dirt 2, and we were able to crank up the resolution, anti-aliasing and more up to the game's highest setting and the system didn't break a sweat. Again the case noise sometimes goes up a bit when playing PC titles as the system works a bit harder but for the most part we were happy that the noise was not extremely loud like other PC rigs we have seen.

Alienware has a history of making solid PC gaming desktop and this new Aurora ALX is certainly both a powerful system and a rig that's got a lot of extra features (the lighting system, unique case, and others). The only real thing we could say is that all of the high end components and unique hardware features do come with a high price tag. If you don't care about things like a cool case design or lighting effects or a liquid cooling system and want to save some money, the Aurora ALX is not for you. However, if you want to impress your friend and possible significant others with a system that is literally like no other on the market, you might want to save a few bucks to see if you can secure it. At the same time, pre-built system save on the time and energy it would take to build a comparable PC yourself, leaving more time to get right into the gaming.

We want to thank Dell and Alienware for loaning us this system. We will be sorry to ship it back but we might actually see if we can save a few bucks off our cable TV or telephone bill each month to afford to pay for one ourselves. Yes, we liked it that much.