The Alienware Aurora with an RTX 5080 is now available but I wouldn't buy it personally, for these reasons

(Image credit: Future)

Dell's new Alienware Aurora desktop with an RTX 5080 is now available to buy and it's reasonably priced at $2,899.99 at the official Dell Store.

For the price, you get that coveted RTX 5080 graphics card alongside a powerful Intel Core Ultra 9-285 chipset, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. These specs are right on par with other machines right now and more than enough to get you superb performance right out of the box.

As deals editor, I'm hesitating to recommend this one to our readers. Dell has a really, reall great track record with sales throughout the year, and its Alienware stock is nearly always included in these big retail events. While it will be a few months yet before any price cuts appear, we should generally see some really great deals.

Secondly, I think there are better value RTX 5080 gaming PCs on the market right now. Over at Newegg, for example, you can get this Yeyian Pheonix with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D chipset for just $2,699 (was $2,999). The Ryzen 7-9800X3D inside this machine is a much, much better gaming chipset than the Ultra 9 in the Aurora and you also get proprietary components - meaning they're much easier to upgrade.

Speaking of which, I'm also partial to the high-end Alienware Area-51 that the brand has just announced. While the cheapest RTX 5080 model comes in at an eye-watering $4,499, this new model features completely proprietary parts and an absolutely gorgeous new case design. It's pricey, yes, but it could be worth springing the extra if you're dead-set on getting an Alienware gaming PC.

Alienware Aurora with RTX 5080 now available

Graphics card: RTX 5080
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9-285
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 1TB

Got your eye on an Alienware gaming PC but have been waiting for the next generation of RTX 50 series cards? The brand has just listed its new configurations for 2025, including this RTX 5080 model with an Ultra 9, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. At $2,899, this one is reasonably priced compared to the competition but it's always worth holding out for a price cut on these machines if you can.

What I'd go for instead right now...

Graphics card: GeForce RTX 5080
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7-9800X3D
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 2TB

Newegg has some superb high-end RTX 5080 gaming PCs on sale right now - including this Yeyian Pheonix. Personally, I think the combination of an RTX 5080 and Ryzen 7-9800X3D is a very compelling option at this price point if you're not looking to build yourself. Also, you get a decent 2TB storage drive right out of the box and the fact this machine doesn't use proprietary parts can't be overlooked. It'll be an extremely easy machine to upgrade down the line when the time comes.

Graphics card: GeForce RTX 5080
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7-265
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 1TB

The brand new Alienware Area 51 flagship gaming PC is also available to buy now - if you can wait until April for delivery, that is. With a powerful RTX 5080 GPU, Ultra 7 chipset, and new full-size ATX case, this is easily the most high-end and upgrade-friendly flagship machine from Alienware yet. The upgradability of this model makes it a much better long-term buy than other Alienware machines, although you do pay a very steep price for it.

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Alex is TechRadar's deals editor, specializing in getting our readers the best bang for the buck on the tech that we know and love. He's a dab hand at covering retailer events like Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day having over seven years of e-commerce experience at Future PLC; including bylines at our sister sites T3 and GamesRadar. Alex's expertise touches on most areas of TechRadar but he has a particular love for phones, laptops, and cameras, being an avid photographer. Outside of work, you'll find him indulging his love for street and travel photography, at home working on music, or down at the local climbing gym.

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