Dell 16 Plus DB16250 (2025) 16" VS Dell Alienware 16 Aurora (2025) 16"

The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 (2025) 16″ and the Dell Alienware 16 Aurora (2025) 16″ differ in several design aspects, though both share some similarities. Both laptops feature a backlit keyboard, making them suitable for low-light environments. However, the Dell Alienware 16 Aurora is significantly heavier at 2490 g compared to the Dell 16 Plus DB16250's 1870 g, which could make the latter a better choice for portability. Additionally, the Alienware 16 has a larger overall volume (2075.48 cm³) compared to the Dell 16 Plus DB16250’s 1424 cm³, reflecting its bulkier build.

In terms of dimensions, both products have the same width of 356 mm, but the Alienware 16 is taller (265 mm vs. 250 mm) and thicker (22 mm vs. 16 mm). These size differences contribute to the larger volume of the Alienware model. Neither product is weather-sealed (splashproof), and neither has a rugged build, meaning they both lack extra durability features for harsher environments.

Neither laptop uses a fanless design, so both will rely on active cooling. The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 and the Dell Alienware 16 Aurora differ in their target use cases, with the former being geared towards productivity and the latter designed for gaming.

Both the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 (2025) 16″ and the Dell Alienware 16 Aurora (2025) 16″ feature a 16″ display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 px, ensuring similar sharpness and clarity for both devices. Neither laptop includes a touch screen, as both are listed with no touch screen capability. Additionally, both displays offer a typical brightness of 300 nits, providing a comparable level of brightness in standard lighting conditions.

Both laptops also come with an anti-reflection coating, which reduces glare and enhances visibility in bright environments. The key difference between the two models is in their display support: the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 supports up to 3 external displays, while the Dell Alienware 16 Aurora supports up to 4 external displays. This gives the Alienware model slightly more flexibility for multi-display setups.

The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 (2025) 16″ and the Dell Alienware 16 Aurora (2025) 16″ offer different configurations in terms of performance, with noticeable differences in their specifications. The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 is equipped with 32GB of RAM running at 8533 MHz, while the Dell Alienware 16 Aurora has only 16GB of RAM running at 5600 MHz. This gives the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 an advantage in terms of memory size and speed. Additionally, the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 has a higher RAM capacity limit of 32GB, matching its installed RAM, whereas the Alienware 16 supports a maximum of 16GB.

In terms of processing power, the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 features an 8-thread CPU with 4 cores running at 3.3 GHz and 4 additional cores at 3.3 GHz, while the Alienware 16 has a 16-thread CPU with 6 cores at 2.5 GHz and 4 cores at 1.8 GHz. The Dell 16 Plus DB16250's CPU benefits from a higher turbo clock speed of 5.1 GHz compared to the Alienware 16’s turbo clock of 5.2 GHz. Both laptops use multithreading, supporting smoother performance during demanding tasks. The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 also has a higher GPU turbo frequency of 2050 MHz, compared to the Alienware 16's 1455 MHz.

Storage-wise, the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 offers a larger internal storage of 2048GB, while the Dell Alienware 16 provides 1024GB of storage. Both use NVMe SSDs for faster data access. The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 is built on a more advanced 3 nm semiconductor size, while the Alienware 16 uses a 5 nm process. Both models support DirectX 12 Ultimate and 64-bit systems. Neither system includes XeSS (XMX) support.

In terms of benchmark results, the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 (2025) 16″ and the Dell Alienware 16 Aurora (2025) 16″ show some differences in overall performance. The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 achieves a PassMark result of 20093, while the Dell Alienware 16 Aurora achieves a higher PassMark result of 24546. This indicates that the Alienware 16 offers stronger overall performance in multi-threaded tasks.

However, when looking at the single-threaded PassMark results, the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 performs better, with a result of 4333 compared to the Alienware 16’s 3821. This suggests that the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 might have an edge in tasks that rely more on single-threaded processing.

Overall, the two laptops differ in their performance across both multi-threaded and single-threaded tests, with the Alienware 16 leading in the multi-threaded benchmark and the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 pulling ahead in the single-threaded performance.

The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 (2025) 16″ and the Dell Alienware 16 Aurora (2025) 16″ offer several similarities and differences in their connectivity options. Both laptops support Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), and Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n), ensuring strong wireless connectivity across multiple generations of Wi-Fi standards. They both also include HDMI 2.1 ports for high-quality video output and support AirPlay for streaming to compatible devices. However, the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 offers a Thunderbolt 4 port and one USB 4 40Gbps port, while the Alienware 16 lacks these but has two USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-C ports and two USB 3.2 Gen 1 USB-A ports.

Both models are equipped with a single HDMI output, and neither has a VGA connector. The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 also includes one USB 3.2 Gen 1 USB-A port, while the Alienware 16 has two such ports, offering slightly more flexibility for USB-A devices. The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 lacks RJ45 Ethernet ports, whereas the Alienware 16 includes one RJ45 port, which could be beneficial for wired networking.

Neither laptop features an external memory slot or DisplayPort outputs, so users looking for additional display options or card readers will find no support for those on either device.

Both the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 (2025) 16″ and the Dell Alienware 16 Aurora (2025) 16″ offer the same battery-related features. Both models come equipped with sleep-and-charge USB ports, allowing users to charge their devices even when the laptop is in sleep mode. Neither of the two laptops includes a MagSafe power adapter, meaning they both rely on standard power connections rather than the magnetic MagSafe style commonly seen in some other devices.

In summary, when it comes to battery-related features, both laptops offer the same functionality with sleep-and-charge USB ports and lack a MagSafe power adapter.

Both the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 (2025) 16″ and the Dell Alienware 16 Aurora (2025) 16″ come with stereo speakers and a 3.5 mm audio jack, offering a standard audio setup. Both models also feature a front camera for video calls and other uses. However, the two laptops differ in some key features related to gaming and security. The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 includes Dolby Atmos support for enhanced sound, while the Alienware 16 lacks this feature but supports ray tracing and DLSS, which are important for high-end gaming graphics.

On the security front, the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 has a fingerprint scanner, while the Alienware 16 does not. Neither laptop includes a stylus, and both have only one microphone. Additionally, neither model supports 3D facial recognition, voice commands, or includes a gyroscope, GPS, accelerometer, compass, or an optical disc drive. The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 has a fingerprint scanner, but the Alienware 16 does not.

In summary, the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 focuses more on audio enhancements and security features, while the Alienware 16 is tailored more for gaming with support for ray tracing and DLSS.

The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 (2025) 16″ and the Dell Alienware 16 Aurora (2025) 16″ differ in several miscellaneous technical features. The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 has a clock multiplier of 33, while the Alienware 16 has a lower multiplier of 25. Both laptops support a wide range of instruction sets, including MMX, F16C, FMA3, AES, AVX, AVX2, SSE 4.1, and SSE 4.2. Neither device has an unlocked multiplier, and both support big.LITTLE technology, which optimizes performance and power consumption.

The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 has a smaller L3 cache of 12 MB, while the Alienware 16 offers a larger 24 MB L3 cache. Both laptops support two memory channels, but the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 has a higher maximum RAM speed of 8533 MHz, compared to the Alienware 16's 6400 MHz. In terms of GPU execution units, the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 has 8, while the Alienware 16 features a significantly higher 64 GPU execution units, making it more suited for graphical tasks.

Both laptops feature integrated graphics and have a CPU temperature of 100 °C, but the Alienware 16 supports ECC memory, while the Dell 16 Plus DB16250 does not. The Dell 16 Plus DB16250 has a lower Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 30W, compared to the Alienware 16's higher 45W TDP, suggesting that the Alienware model may require more power for its higher performance components.