- Stylish Star Wars Case Designs
- Lots of Upgrade Potential
- Expensive for Base Components
- SLI 6600GT Doesn't Always Match Comparable Single 6800GT
- Lacks Speakers or Monitor
- AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Processor
- 1GB PC3200 Extra Low Latency DDR Memory
- 74GB Western Digital Raptor II Serial ATA Hard Drive
- 16x DVD+/-RW DVD Burner
- Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Sound Card
- Dual GeForce 6600GT PCI-Express Graphics Card in SLI
- Two Gigabit Ethernet Interfaces
- Eight USB 2.0, One FireWire and 10-in-1 Media Reader
- Windows XP Home Operating System
6/20/05 - With the latest Star Wars prequel released, Alienware is cashing in on the craze by releasing a special edition Light Side and Dark Side version of their Aurora desktop PC. These special editions feature case graphic designs that try to capture the feel of Star Wars.
Powering the special edition is the AMD Athlon 64 3800+ processor. This is one of the faster AMD processors available and provides plenty of power for most productivity applications and especially for gaming. This is matched up with 1GB of PC3200 extra low latency memory to provide the fastest memory access possible.
Storage on the base system is good but could use some improvements. It comes with the very fast Western Digital Raptor II hard drive, but the 74GB of storage space may be quite cramped for some users. The 16x DVD+/-RW burner is standard issue for even the most basic of desktop systems now as is a media card reader. All of these items can be upgraded for a price.
Graphics are a key component in performance desktop computers. These are systems being sold primarily to those individuals looking to do 3D gaming. Alienware has included a GeForce 6600GT SLI configuration. While this does provide performance close to that of a 6800GT for most applications, it would still be better to have a single 6800GT.
In the end, the Aurora Star Wars edition is going to appeal to a certain segment of people, but the extra costs won't cut it for those looking for a general performance PC.
