Alienware’s new monitors and gaming peripherals complement new Aurora R9 design

Dell is launching a slew of gaming peripherals and accessories to match the newly designed gaming laptops it debuted at CES earlier this year, and the Aurora R9 gaming desktop it revealed at Gamescom this week. Like the Aurora R9, many of these accessories come in Alienware’s now iconic and bold black-and-white color scheme, which the company labels as “Lunar Light,” though monochromatic gamers can also choose a black “Darker Side of the Moon shade” as well if they don’t like the contrast.

New accessories that complement Alienware laptops and the Aurora desktop include new monitors — one of which span a whopping 55 inches — along with low-profile mechanical keyboards, gaming mice, and desktop displays.

Displays

The star of the show and the highlight of your gaming room — provided you have space for such a large screen — is Alienware’s 55-inch OLED gaming panel. Though Dell calls this a gaming monitor, in reality, the 4K canvas of this size can serve as a TV replacement, especially if you’re in a modern household that relies on streaming boxes rather than coaxial cables for your video source. Gamers will appreciate the 120Hz native refresh rate and 0.5ms gray-to-gray response time. The panel has a brightness of 400 nits, a contrast ratio of 130,000:1, and can support 1.07 billion colors, according to Dell. It also comes with two 14W built-in speakers tubed by Waves MaxxAudio. There’s also a remote control for controlling brightness and the LED lighting.

Like other products that utilize Alienware’s Legend design language, the monitor comes with a modern sculpted stand with soft curves, though you can remove it for a VESA wall mounting option. A white back panel hides all the messy inputs — you’ll find three HDMI 2.0 ports, DisplayPort, USB 3.1 upstream port, USB 3.1 downstream, and your audio ports — that’s attached magnetically for easy tool-less removal.

The design overall is very modern, and despite its gaming heritage, the panel itself is devoid of the garish details. A glowing alien head logo sits in the rear, and though it’d be largely hidden out of view, there is an LED ring light — which Alienware calls its stadium light after the shape that inspired it — that provides a nice background glow in a dark room, so you don’t have to rely on Philips Hue lighting strips for some ambient mood lighting when playing your favorite games or enjoying your favorite flicks.

The Alienware 55 was originally unveiled earlier this year, but at that time it lacked Dell’s new Legend design language that this new version we previewed came with. Dell announced that it will start shipping on September 30 for a whopping $4,499.

If the Alienware 55 is too large for your tastes, Dell also announced an updated Alienware 34 Curved and a smaller Alienware 27. The ultra-wide WQHD resolution curved panel now supports 120Hz refresh rate, rather than the overclocked rate of its predecessor, and comes with G-Sync support for Nvidia gamers. Boasting a 2ms response time, sRGB color spectrum support as well as covering 98% of the wide DCI-P3 color space, this gaming monitor can double as a productive screen for creatives.

Unlike last year’s model, which we reviewed, the controls have been moved from the hard-to-reach bottom edge of the screen to the rear, making it more accessible. Like the larger 55-inch panel, you won’t find too many flourishes, making this an understated panel despite its bold black-and-white color scheme. The LED stadium ring light is built into the rear of the stand, and on the bottom of the screen surrounding the USB ports, you’ll also small LED lighting strips for ambient mood lighting. A small alien head logo also glows in a discrete, non-prominent corner on the rear of the panel.

The smaller Alienware 27 is a flat, non-curved panel optimized for AMD gamers with FreeSync support. Though you’re getting double the refresh rate of the larger Alienware 55 and 34 Curved panels here with 240Hz, the resolution on the Alienware 27 is only FHD. This panel supports 99% of the sRGB color space and offers 1,000:1 contrast. Response time is slightly faster than its curved sibling at 1.9ms gray-to-gray.

Both the Alienware 27 and Alienware 34 Curved come with an adjustable stand that’s height adjustable and allows the panel to swivel. Like the Alienware 55, the stand is sculpted and looks modern with its curves, and the rear of the stand comes with LED stadium ring lighting that can be controlled with AlienFX software.

The Alienware 27 starts shipping on September 17 for $599, while the Alienware 34 Curved will be available on August 28 for $1,499.

Mechanical keyboards

To complement the Legend design’s sleek looks, Alienware’s new mechanical keyboards come with low-profile keys that are based on the Cherry MX Red key switches. Given the low profile, key travel feels a bit more shallow than traditional mechanical keyboards, and the Cherry switches seemed more quiet, at least in the hotel suite where Alienware was showcasing its wares.

There are two versions of the keyboard available — the AW310K and AW510K. Both share a similar design, though the lower-end AW310K is only available in the black Darker Side of the Moon color. Both keyboards come with Alienware’s bold Legend design, with sculpted edges and soft curves, and neither model comes in a wireless configuration. Thankfully, there’s a braided nylon USB cable. There’s a 1,000Hz polling rate and aluminum construction.

Aside from being available in a secondary Lunar Light color, the AW510K also comes with adjustable LED backlighting, while the AW310K is only available with white per-key backlighting.

Nylon braided data cable, Cherry MX Red Keys, 1,000HZ polling rate, 5000-series aluminum construction, dedicated volume control, integrated USB passthrough, 50 million click durability, white per-key backlighting. Surprisingly, the AW310K comes backed with a longer two-year warranty, while the AW510K only comes with a one-year warranty. Both keyboards will be available August 20. The AW310K is priced at $99, while the AW510K commands a $60 premium at $159.

Responsive mice

In addition to keyboards, Alienware is also adding three new gaming mice, providing a cohesive look. The premium AW610M is a wireless mouse that can be recharged and used when a USB cable is plugged in, while the AW510M and AW310M are both wired options, providing a similar look and feel like the premium mouse but at a more affordable price point. All three products will be available starting August 20.

The $62 wireless AW310M gaming mouse provides 300 hours of game time on a single AA battery. There is preloaded tension on the main mouse buttons for tactile controls, and the AW310M also uses OMRON switches. The mouse itself has six programmable buttons, and there is a 12,000-DPI PixArt sensor for tracking precision. Gamers can also choose from three different on-the-fly DPI settings.

The midrange $74 AW310M is a wired mouse that Alienware describes as a versatile cross-genre peripheral that features 10 fully programmable buttons and a 16,000 DPI Alienware sensor for accurate tracking. A custom adjustable scroll wheel allows gamers to choose either 12 or 24 steps per scroll revolution for added control, and like the AW310M, this mouse also features preloaded tension on the main mouse buttons. There is a 2m USB cable that connects the mouse to your Aurora R9 or Alienware gaming notebook. And LEDs on the front and rear of the mouse can be controlled via AlienFX software.

For lovers of Alienware’s new Legend design language, the premium $99 AW610M features the same Lunar Light color scheme. This mouse can either be used wired or wirelessly, and it has a built-in battery that recharges via the included braided USB cable. It features many of the same features as the AW510M, including the same 16,000 DPI sensor and scroll wheel adjustments. Like the AW310M, this premium mouse also has a 1,000Hz polling rate for responsive performance.

When used wirelessly, the mouse can last for up to 350 hours on a single charge, Dell said. There are five on-the-fly DPI settings, and like the two previous mice, the AW610M also features automatic surface calibration. All Alienware mice are backed by a two-year warranty and have been tested for 50 million clicks of durability.

The AW610M features seven fully programmable buttons and has a sculpted ergonomic design that is similar to the monitor stands of the Alienware 55 or Alienware 34 Curved panels. The LED lighting can be controlled by the AlienFX software, though users looking for a more understated design can also choose the AW610M in the Dark Side of the Moon hue.