Dell Technologies has Dell Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop (ACT1250) on sale for $2499.99. Shipping is free.
Thanks to Community Member Dr.Wajahat for sharing this deal.
Note: New customers may receive an additional 10% off via email sign up; this email sign up offer is only good for new Dell customers. Select American Express Cardholders may be eligible for Cashback offer via statement credit (e.g. $50 back on $250+ spend; offer will vary by account).
Specs:
Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 285 (24-Core, 76MB Total Cache, 1.9Ghz to 5.6GHz)
Your total will be $2249.99 (excluding tax) + shipping is free
Additional Savings:
American Express via Amex Offers[americanexpress.com] is offering Select American Express Cardholders: $40 Statement Credit back on $200+ or $120 Statement Credit back $599+ Dell purchasesw/ your enrolled Amex Card and make a purchaseat Dell.com
$2499.99 without the above discounts.
SPECS:
Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 processor 285 (24-Core, 76MB Total Cache, 1.9Ghz to 5.6GHz)
Windows 11 Home
(Dell Technologies recommends Windows 11 Pro for business)
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For gaming specifically I don't think anyone wants this particular processor. Think of this build as a $1500 GPU with a computer thrown in. Is the computer worth $750? Yup. Therein lies the deal.
You can't just drop that without explaining, haha.
My ex girlfriend was not a sane person.
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Be sure to upgrade the firmware. Aurora desktops have a "disappearing hard drive" problem. The Dell SupportAssist application will take care of it for you.
Can you elaborate or link to the info? A friend with the last gen Aurora R16 gets BSOD and then the system can't find the SSD to boot from. Takes a complete power down and back on.
Personally, the R16 is as unstable as Charles Manson, if you ask me. I'm wondering if this newer model is any better?
I've been on the fence on a bunch of deals over the past couple months and finally bit on this one. 13% cash back from a certain site pushed me over the edge.
I read all the fine print - didn't see any limit to the cash back and I read all the exclusions, and I definitely should qualify. That said, it's almost midnight on the east coast and it says that rate is only good for 3 more hours. Who knows...
If my math is correct, I paid:
$2250 after 10% coupon
I also had big cash back offers from both Chase and AMEX - sadly both capped at $50, but I split the payment so got $100 combined from those.
I should get about $310 from the 13% cash back
So, net total should be about $1840 + tax - in my case $1973ish for this desktop and $117.50 in Dell rewards, which I'm sure aren't going to be worth all that much, but whatever. Not sure much better than this is coming anytime soon since it looks like the GPUs are still basically $1500 by themselves on eBay and this CPU is nearly $600. Clearly, I couldn't build a similar PC anywhere close to this price, even if I somehow managed to score a 5080 at retail, which isn't happening.. I'm happy enough.
Edit: actually, I have $292.49 pending in cash back, not $310, so my total is $17.50 higher than estimated above. Still smoking imo. Sadly, it looks like cash back is back down to 1% or 2% this morning depending on the site, so a pretty significantly less great deal now.
I currently have an older aurora prebuilt i7 8700k/rtx 2070. That's been chugging along just fine, even after being thrown from a second story window 4 years ago. Is this a good upgrade from it? I do a decent amount of VMs and only have 1080p monitors, but have been toying with purchasing some 2k monitors for more screen area. Most gaming is just newer RE games, emulators, and new Vegas. My current rig can't max re4 without sounding like a jet plane.
Honestly with the new efficiency cores and actual cores on the I-9 I would go a different route if you need to run multiple virtual machines. Go with something with alot of normal cores
Can you elaborate or link to the info? A friend with the last gen Aurora R16 gets BSOD and then the system can't find the SSD to boot from. Takes a complete power down and back on.
I don't have a link directly to it because it was a mass email. Go to support.dell.com, click "Get Support" tab and search for LKB000289905.
The email also gives these instructions for installation:
Browse to the Dell Drivers & Downloads Page (https://www.dell.com/support)
Enter Service Tag or System/Platform type
Click on Drivers & Downloads Tab
Under Category, Select Storage
Locate the latest Storage driver, version 77320409 or later
Click Download and Save the File to Your Computer
Open File Explorer and Browse to the Location where You Saved the File
Double-Click the Storage Setup File and Follow the On-Screen Instructions to Complete the Installation Process
I don't have a link directly to it because it was a mass email. Go to support.dell.com, click "Get Support" tab and search for LKB000289905.
The email also gives these instructions for installation:
Browse to the Dell Drivers & Downloads Page (https://www.dell.com/support)
Enter Service Tag or System/Platform type
Click on Drivers & Downloads Tab
Under Category, Select Storage
Locate the latest Storage driver, version 77320409 or later
Click Download and Save the File to Your Computer
Open File Explorer and Browse to the Location where You Saved the File
Double-Click the Storage Setup File and Follow the On-Screen Instructions to Complete the Installation Process
Hmmm...that KB article is for a firmware update to the OEM Samsung PM9F1 SSD. We put Samsung 990 PRO SSD's in the R16. I can't find the storage driver you reference. When I look at the Storage downloads for the R16, they are all firmware updates except for an old 2023 Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver whose version doesn't reflect anything like you referenced. What is the name of the storage driver that you reference?
I was able to link this to Dell online chat to get $200 credit back for the Aurora I placed last week on the other deal, noting that I felt like I missed out on $500 worth of upgrades for an additional $100 (I already added liquid cooling)
3 cards max ( I had two chase ($50 each ) and one Amex $100. I would have totally gotten this over the i7 but it already shipped and charged my cards. Receiving today. Dell did give me $100 refund when I chatted with them.
Not bad if you need a complete PC on a budget, but it's not slick to buy a complete system just for the GPU anymore. These are coming back in stock and scalper prices are disappearing.
I personally snagged a FE 5090 for $1999 MSRP today.
In another month or two, the AIB partner models will be back to or below their original MSRPs. By fall/winter we may see them discounted like the 4090s eventually were.
Don't overpay guys.
Could you provide anything to support your claim? Besides your opinion, I doubt it. Picking the cheapest parts to match the specs on this build in pcpartpicker[pcpartpicker.com](matching prices at MC) you're not building this for less than $2600 right now, assuming you wait for the lowest end 5080 to reach the MSRP of 1000 ($400 cheaper than the lowest end 5080 at MC now) you are still paying $2200 for this build yourself, with an ebay $10 Win key, buying parts from all over and building it yourself. So this is pretty good deal if you want it now and slick if you stack the other deals mentioned throughout the thread (cb, AMEX, whatever else). Also, if orangeman stacks tariffs on parts, prices will not go down.
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Ok, then not too bad.
I'm looking at this PC for a Golf Simulator. Primary projector will be at 4K and the GPU will be powering atleast 2-3 more displays simultaneously.
Would upgrading the memory from 32 to 64 worth the extra $200?
Also, perhaps a stupid question - Is it worth upgrading the processor to the 3.7Ghz as well?
I'm looking at this PC for a Golf Simulator. Primary projector will be at 4K and the GPU will be powering atleast 2-3 more displays simultaneously.
Would upgrading the memory from 32 to 64 worth the extra $200?
Also, perhaps a stupid question - Is it worth upgrading the processor to the 3.7Ghz as well?
Personally, the R16 is as unstable as Charles Manson, if you ask me. I'm wondering if this newer model is any better?
I read all the fine print - didn't see any limit to the cash back and I read all the exclusions, and I definitely should qualify. That said, it's almost midnight on the east coast and it says that rate is only good for 3 more hours. Who knows...
If my math is correct, I paid:
$2250 after 10% coupon
I also had big cash back offers from both Chase and AMEX - sadly both capped at $50, but I split the payment so got $100 combined from those.
I should get about $310 from the 13% cash back
So, net total should be about $1840 + tax - in my case $1973ish for this desktop and $117.50 in Dell rewards, which I'm sure aren't going to be worth all that much, but whatever. Not sure much better than this is coming anytime soon since it looks like the GPUs are still basically $1500 by themselves on eBay and this CPU is nearly $600. Clearly, I couldn't build a similar PC anywhere close to this price, even if I somehow managed to score a 5080 at retail, which isn't happening.. I'm happy enough.
Edit: actually, I have $292.49 pending in cash back, not $310, so my total is $17.50 higher than estimated above. Still smoking imo. Sadly, it looks like cash back is back down to 1% or 2% this morning depending on the site, so a pretty significantly less great deal now.
Honestly with the new efficiency cores and actual cores on the I-9 I would go a different route if you need to run multiple virtual machines. Go with something with alot of normal cores
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The email also gives these instructions for installation:
Browse to the Dell Drivers & Downloads Page (https://www.dell.com/support)
Enter Service Tag or System/Platform type
Click on Drivers & Downloads Tab
Under Category, Select Storage
Locate the latest Storage driver, version 77320409 or later
Click Download and Save the File to Your Computer
Open File Explorer and Browse to the Location where You Saved the File
Double-Click the Storage Setup File and Follow the On-Screen Instructions to Complete the Installation Process
The email also gives these instructions for installation:
Browse to the Dell Drivers & Downloads Page (https://www.dell.com/support)
Enter Service Tag or System/Platform type
Click on Drivers & Downloads Tab
Under Category, Select Storage
Locate the latest Storage driver, version 77320409 or later
Click Download and Save the File to Your Computer
Open File Explorer and Browse to the Location where You Saved the File
Double-Click the Storage Setup File and Follow the On-Screen Instructions to Complete the Installation Process
Thanks.
U can only split on 3 cards, right?
I personally snagged a FE 5090 for $1999 MSRP today.
In another month or two, the AIB partner models will be back to or below their original MSRPs. By fall/winter we may see them discounted like the 4090s eventually were.
Don't overpay guys.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
New customer 10% off
Amex 13%
Cb site 12%
$50 of 250 spend Amex x2
Dell rewards $137.xx
This deal was slicker than slick got that rig down to $2025 inc tax