Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop vs. Dell XPS 8950 Desktop
Here is a side by side comparison between Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop and Dell XPS 8950 Desktop specs including price, processors, memory, graphics, storage, ports, and more.
Dual-channel DDR4 2933 MHz, 3200 MHz, or 3400 MHz.
4 x UDIMM slots with up to 32GB per slot.
Memory Slots: 4 DIMM slots
Memory Type: Single or Dual Channel DDR5 Memory
Memory Speed:
3600 MHz4400 MHz
Memory Per Slot:
8GB16GB32GB
Memory Configurations
8GB16GB32GB64GB
4400 MHz Dual-Channel DDR5 memory.
128GB
3600 MHz Dual-Channel DDR5 memory.
Storage
256GB512GB1TB2TB
M.2 PCIe NVME SSD
1TB2TB
7200 rpm 3.5" SATA Hard Drive
256GB512GB1TB2TB
M.2 PCIe NVME SSD
1TB2TB
7200 RPM SATA HDD
Slots
2 x PCIe x16 slots
2 x PCIe x4 slots
4 x SATA slots
1 x M.2 2242/2260/2280 slot
For solid-state drive/Intel Optane memory
1 x M.2 2230 slot
For WiFi and Bluetooth combo card
Expansion Slots
1 x PCIe x16 slot
PCIe Gen 5, Full-height
2 x PCIe x4 slot
Full-height
SATA
4 x SATA slots
ForHDD/SSD, and slim Optical Drive.
M.2
1 x M.2 2230 slot
For WiFi and Bluetooth combo card
2 x M.2 2230/2280 slot
For SSD/Intel Optane
Connectivity
Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop
Dell XPS 8950 Desktop
Wi-Fi
Qualcomm QCA9377 (DW1810)
Up to 433 MbpsDual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHzWiFi-5 (802.11ac)Bluetooth 5.0
Intel AX201
Up to 2400 MbpsDual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHzWiFi-6 (802.11ax)Bluetooth 5.1
Killer AX1650i
Up to 2400 MbpsDual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHzWiFi-6 (802.11ax)Bluetooth 5.1
Intel® Killer™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1675
Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHzWiFi-6 (802.11ax)Bluetooth 5.2
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.0Bluetooth 5.1
Bluetooth 5.2
Ethernet
Killer E3100 PCIe Gigabit Ethernet controller
10/100/1000/2500 Mbps.
Killer E3100G Ethernet controller
10/100/1000 Mbps.
Software
Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop
Dell XPS 8950 Desktop
OS
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Pro
Windows 11 Home
Windows 11 Pro
Built-in Apps
Alienware Command CenterDell Digital DeliveryDell Mobile ConnectDell Recovery EnvironmentDropBoxMicrosoft® Office 30 Day Trial
Microsoft Office 30-day trial
McAfee LiveSafe 12 Month Subscription
Camera & Audio
Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop
Dell XPS 8950 Desktop
Audio
No Speakers
Audio controller
Realtek ALC3861
External Ports
7.1 channel output
Microphone-in
Stereo headphones
Headset combo connector
Audio controller
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio with Waves MaxxAudio® Pro
External Ports
One Headset Port
Front
Six Audio port
Rear, 7.1 channel audio 6-connector stack of restackable audio ports.
Misc
Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop
Dell XPS 8950 Desktop
Warranty
1 Year Hardware Warranty with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis
1 Year Hardware Service with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis
Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop vs. Dell XPS 8950 Desktop
The Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop and the Dell XPS 8950 Desktop were released in the same year, 2021. The Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop has a full-tower form factor that can accommodate a large motherboard, multiple graphics cards, extra storage, and better cooling solution. The Dell XPS 8950 Desktop has a mini tower form factor that can fit a micro ATX and Mini ITX motherboard, a few hard disk drives, and a single full-height graphics card.
Processor
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is like the brains of your desktop computer. Its performance determines how fast and responsive your PC is. Generally, a processor with newer architecture, more CPU cores, higher TDP (measured in W), and faster clock speed (measured in GHz) tends to be more expensive and run faster than others with older architecture, fewer CPU cores, lower TDP, and lower clock speed.
For Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop, you have options to configure it with a 65W 11th Generation Intel Rocket Lake 6-core Intel Core i5-11400 up to a 125W 8-core Intel Core i9-11900KF with a boost speed up to 5.30 GHz.
While Dell XPS 8950 Desktop has configurations with a 125W 12th Generation Intel Alder Lake 10-core Intel Core i5-12600K up to a 125W 16-core Intel Core i9-12900K with a boost speed up to 5.20 GHz.
Memory
The Random Access Memory or RAM is the super-fast and temporary storage used to handle all active tasks, apps, and games that will go away when your PC turns off. The more memory your PC has, the better multitasking your PC can handle without having to reload data from slower permanent storage that includes the hard disk drive or solid-state drive.
Both PCs have the same amount of four RAM slots meaning that you upgrade later if you are unsatisfied with the amount of memory on your PC. You can upgrade memory on Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop up to 64GB of 3400MHz dual-channel DDR4 memory. For Dell XPS 8950 Desktop, it supports up to 64GB of 4400MHz or 128GB of 3600MHz dual-channel DDR5 memory.
Ports
Computer ports are the interface for connecting your PC to its peripheral devices or other PCs. The most common peripherals are keyboard, mouse, monitor, flash drive, speaker, and printer. Most of them use Universal Serial Bus (USB) as their connection to your computer. So the PC with more USB ports can connect to more peripherals at the same time.
There is a total number of 15 USB ports available on the Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop, six more than the Dell XPS 8950 Desktop that has only 9 USB ports. On top of the number of USB ports, the type and version of each USB port are also necessary for determining how fast it is.
The Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop has thirteen USB Type-A ports and two USB Type-C ports. It has six ports that support USB 2.0 (480 Mbps), seven ports that support USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), and two ports that support USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps).
For Dell XPS 8950 Desktop, it has seven USB Type-A ports and two USB Type-C ports. The PC has two ports that support USB 2.0 (480 Mbps), five ports that support USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), one port that supports USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), and one port that supports USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps).
