Dell Optiplex 7090 Tower vs. Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop
Here is a side by side comparison between Dell Optiplex 7090 Tower and Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop specs including price, processors, memory, graphics, storage, ports, and more.
2666 MHz for 10th Gen Intel Core i3/i5 CPU 2933 MHz for 10th Gen Intel Core i7/i9 CPU 3200 MHz for 11th Gen Intel Core CPU
128GB
2666 MHz for 10th Gen Intel Core i3/i5 CPU 2933 MHz for 10th Gen Intel Core i7/i9 CPU 2933 MHz for 11th Gen Intel Core CPU
8GB16GB32GB64GB128GB
Dual-channel DDR4 2933 MHz, 3200 MHz, or 3400 MHz.
4 x UDIMM slots with up to 32GB per slot.
Storage
256GB512GB1TB2TB
M.2 PCIe Gen 3 x4 or Gen 4 x4 NVME SSD
500GB1TB2TB
5400 rpm or 7200 rpm 2.5" SATA Hard Drive
1TB2TB4TB
5400 rpm or 7200 rpm 3.5" SATA Hard Drive
256GB512GB1TB2TB
M.2 PCIe NVME SSD
1TB2TB
7200 rpm 3.5" SATA Hard Drive
Slots
Expansion Slots
1 x PCIe x16 slot
PCIe Gen 4, Full-height
1 x PCIe x16 slot
Wired x4, Full-height
1 x PCIe x1 slot
Full-height
1 x PCIe-32 slot
Full-height
SATA
4 x SATA slots
For 2.5-inch HDD/SSD, and slim Optical Drive.
M.2
1 x M.2 2230 slot
For WiFi and Bluetooth combo card
1 x M.2 2280 slot
For SSD/Intel Optane.
1 x M.2 2230/2280 slot
For SSD/Intel Optane
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
Connectivity
Dell Optiplex 7090 Tower
Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop
Wi-Fi
No Wireless LAN Card
Qualcomm QCA9377 (DW1810)
Up to 433 MbpsDual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHzWiFi-5 (802.11ac)Bluetooth 5.0
Qualcomm QCA61x4a
Up to 867 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
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
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.0Bluetooth 5.1
Optional
Bluetooth 5.0Bluetooth 5.1
Ethernet
Intel i219LM Gigabit Ethernet controller
Speed: 10/100/1000 Mbps.
Killer E3100 PCIe Gigabit Ethernet controller
10/100/1000/2500 Mbps.
Software
Dell Optiplex 7090 Tower
Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop
OS
Windows 10 HomeWindows 10 Pro
Upgradable to Windows 11
Ubuntu Linux 20.04 LTS
NeoKylin 7.0 (China only)
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Pro
Built-in Apps
Microsoft Office 30 Day Trial
Alienware Command CenterDell Digital DeliveryDell Mobile ConnectDell Recovery EnvironmentDropBoxMicrosoft® Office 30 Day Trial
Camera & Audio
Dell Optiplex 7090 Tower
Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop
Audio
One 2W Speaker (optional)
Audio controller
Realtek ALC3241
4 Channel High Definition Audio
24-bit DAC (Digital-to-Analog) and ADC (Analog-to-Digital)
External Ports
1 x Universal Audio Jack
Front
1 x Audio port
Line-out audio port with re-tasking to Line-in (Rear).
No Speakers
Audio controller
Realtek ALC3861
External Ports
7.1 channel output
Microphone-in
Stereo headphones
Headset combo connector
Misc
Dell Optiplex 7090 Tower
Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop
Warranty
3-Year Basic Onsite Service
1 Year Hardware Warranty with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis
Dell Optiplex 7090 Tower vs. Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop
The Dell Optiplex 7090 Tower and the Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop were released in the same year, 2021. The Dell Optiplex 7090 Tower 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. 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.
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 Dell Optiplex 7090 Tower, you have options to configure it with a 65W 10th Generation Intel Comet Lake quad-core Intel Core i3-10105 up to a 125W 8-core Intel Core i9-11900K with a boost speed up to 5.30 GHz.
While Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop has configurations 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.
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 Dell Optiplex 7090 Tower up to 64GB of 3200MHz or 128GB of 2933MHz dual-channel DDR4 memory. For Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop, it supports up to 64GB of 3400MHz dual-channel DDR4 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 10 USB ports available on the Dell Optiplex 7090 Tower, five less than the Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop that has 15 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 Dell Optiplex 7090 Tower has nine USB Type-A ports and one USB Type-C port. It has four ports that support USB 2.0 (480 Mbps), three ports that support USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), two ports that support USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), and one port that supports USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps).
For Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop, it has thirteen USB Type-A ports and two USB Type-C ports. The PC 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).