Dell Precision 3240 Compact Workstation vs. Alienware Aurora R11 Desktop
Here is a side by side comparison between Dell Precision 3240 Compact Workstation and Alienware Aurora R11 Desktop specs including price, processors, memory, graphics, storage, ports, and more.
Dual NVIDIA® GeForce® with NVIDIA NVLink SLI® Enabled
RTX 2070 SUPER™ - 8GB GDDR6 (OC Ready)
RTX 2080 SUPER™ - 8GB GDDR6 (OC Ready)
RTX™ 2080 Ti - 11GB GDDR6 (OC Ready)
AMD® Radeon™
RX 5300 - 3GB GDDR6
RX 5600 - 6GB GDDR6
RX 5700 - 8GB GDDR6
RX 5700 XT - 8GB GDDR6
RX 6800 XT - 16GB GDDR6
Memory
8GB16GB32GB64GB
Memory Slots: 2 x SO-DIMM slots
Memory Type: ECC and Non-ECC Dual-Channel DDR4 Memory.
Memory Speed:
2666 MHz
For 10th Generation Intel Core i3/i5/Xeon W-1250 processors.
2933 MHz
For 10th Generation Intel Core i7/i9/Xeon W-1270/W1290 processors.
Memory Size per Slot:
8GB16GB32GB
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
256GB512GB1TB2TB
M.2 PCIe NVME SSD
1TB2TB
7200 rpm 3.5" SATA Hard Drive
Slots
Expansion Slots
1 x PCIe x8 slot
PCIe Gen 3 x8, Half-height
SATA
1 x SATA slot
for 3.5-inch/2.5-inch hard 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.
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 Precision 3240 Compact Workstation
Alienware Aurora R11 Desktop
Wi-Fi
Qualcomm QCA61x4a (DW1820)
Up to 867 MbpsDual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHzWiFi-5 (802.11ac)Bluetooth 5.1
Intel AX201
Up to 2400 MbpsDual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHzWiFi-6 (802.11ax)Bluetooth 5.1
No Wireless LAN Card
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 5.1
Optional
Bluetooth 5.0Bluetooth 5.1
Ethernet
Intel i219-LM Gigabit Ethernet controller
Speed: 10/100/1000 Mbps.
Killer E3000 PCIe Gigabit Ethernet controller
10/100/1000/2500 Mbps.
Software
Dell Precision 3240 Compact Workstation
Alienware Aurora R11 Desktop
OS
Windows 11 Home, 64-bit
Windows 11 Pro, 64-bit
Windows 11 Pro National Academic, 64-bit
Windows 11 Pro for Workstations, 64-bit
Windows 10 Home, 64-bit
Windows 10 Pro, 64-bit
Windows 10 Pro National Academic, 64-bit
Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2019 LTSC (OEM only)
Windows 10 Pro for Workstation, 64-bit
RHEL 8.4
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, 64-bit
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, 64-bit
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Pro
Built-in Apps
Dell Optimizer for Precision
Microsoft Office 30 Day Trial
Alienware Command CenterDell Digital DeliveryDell Mobile ConnectDell Recovery EnvironmentDropBoxMicrosoft® Office 30 Day Trial
Camera & Audio
Dell Precision 3240 Compact Workstation
Alienware Aurora R11 Desktop
Audio
One 2W Speaker (optional)
Audio controller
Realtek ALC3246
4 Channel High Definition Audio
External Ports
1 x Universal Audio Jack
Front
1 x Audio port
Line-out audio port with re-tasking to Line-in (Front).
No Speakers
Audio controller
Realtek ALC3861
External Ports
7.1 channel output
Microphone-in
Stereo headphones
Headset combo connector
Misc
Dell Precision 3240 Compact Workstation
Alienware Aurora R11 Desktop
Warranty
1-Year Basic Onsite Service
1 Year Hardware Warranty with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis
Dell Precision 3240 Compact Workstation vs. Alienware Aurora R11 Desktop
The Dell Precision 3240 Compact Workstation and the Alienware Aurora R11 Desktop were released in the same year, 2020. The Dell Precision 3240 Compact Workstation has a micro form factor that can only fit a custom-designed motherboard with none or one expansion slot and supports only a specific OEM graphics card. The Alienware Aurora R11 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 Precision 3240 Compact Workstation, you have options to configure it with a 65W 10th Generation Intel Comet Lake quad-core Intel Core i3-10100 up to a 80W 10-core Intel Xeon W-1290 with a boost speed up to 5.20 GHz.
While Alienware Aurora R11 Desktop has configurations with a 65W 10th Generation Intel Comet Lake quad-core Intel Core i3-10100 up to a 125W 10-core Intel Core i9-10900KF 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.
Fortunately, both PC allows you to upgrade later if you are unsatisfied with the amount of memory on your PC. The Dell Precision 3240 Compact Workstation has two RAM slots that support up to 64GB of 2933MHz ECC & Non-ECC dual-channel DDR4 memory. On the other hand, the Alienware Aurora R11 Desktop has four RAM slots that you can upgrade up to 128GB 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 6 USB ports available on the Dell Precision 3240 Compact Workstation, nine less than the Alienware Aurora R11 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 Precision 3240 Compact Workstation has five USB Type-A ports and one USB Type-C port. It has two ports that support USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) and four ports that support USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps).
For Alienware Aurora R11 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).
