Acer Veriton M6690g vs. Alienware Aurora R3

Comparison and Differences

Acer_Veriton_M6690g.jpg case front and back pannelAlienware_Aurora_R3.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorMini TowerMid Tower
CPU optionsIntel Gen12 i3/i5/i7/i9Intel Gen2 i3/i5/i7;
ChipsetQ670P67
Dedicated GPU *RTX 3070GeForce GTX 1650 Super
RAMUDIMM DDR4-3200DIMM DDR3-1333/1866
RAM slots44
RAM speed3200 MT/s1866 MT/s
RAM max128 GB32 GB
USB ports(3x) USB-A 3.0; (6x) USB-A 2.0; USB-A 3.1; USB-C 3.1; USB-C 3.2(5x) USB 3.0 Type A; (8x) USB-A 2.0;
Video ports(2x) DisplayPort 1.4a; HDMI 2.0b; VGAN/A
Other portsRJ45; (2x) Mic, Speaker; Line in; Line out; PS/2 portsRJ45; Headset; Line-Out; Line-In; S/PDFI optical/analog;
Optional portsCard reader; Parallel; SerialN.A.
SATA ports54
PCI slotsPCIe 4.0 x16; PCIe 3.0 x1; PCI; PCIe 3.0 x16 (wired x4)(x2) PCIe 3.0 x16; (x2) PCIe 3.0 x1;
M.2 slots(2x) M.2 2280/2230 M-key (PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)N.A.
Drive bays(2x) 2.5/3.5in; 5.25 inch(4x) 3.25in; (3x) 5.25in;
PSU300/500 W525/875 W
Weight10.40 kg (22.90 lb)22.09 kg (48.7 lb)
Released20222011
Manuallinklink
Price**Check PriceCheck Price

** As an Amazon associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
* Dedicated GPU warning: Check if your particular power supply model has enough power. Additionally some PSUs don't come with an auxiliary PCIe power connector and you may need to buy a SATA to PCIe power adapter.

Differences between Acer Veriton M6690g and Alienware Aurora R3

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Acer Veriton M6690g which was released in 2022. The Alienware Aurora R3 is older and entered production in 2011.

If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Alienware Aurora R3 is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Acer Veriton M6690g and will fit more easily under your desk.

Processor

Usually the newer the generation of the CPU, the better the performance and efficiency is. If your budget allows it, you should go with the Acer Veriton M6690g as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Alienware Aurora R3 is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.

Memory

Both models have have equal amount of ram slots (4 RAM). Usually two RAM slots are more than enough for most cases. However, the count should be taken into account when planning how much and what combination of RAM you are going to need for your system.

The Acer Veriton M6690g is using the faster 3200 MT/s RAM. The Alienware Aurora R3 is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 1866 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Acer Veriton M6690g as it has the ability to run 128 GB of RAM. The Alienware Aurora R3 can do a bit less at max 32 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.

Ports

In total the Alienware Aurora R3 has 13 USB ports. The Acer Veriton M6690g is inferior in this regard and packs 8 USB ports. In any case, if you miss USB ports, you can always purchase a USB hub. What is nice about the Acer Veriton M6690g, is that it has 2 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the Alienware Aurora R3 has no such port, thus restricting your transfer speeds significantly. For people who want to use external drives on regular basis, this might be an issue.

Unfortunately, only the Acer Veriton M6690g has a DisplayPort. The Alienware Aurora R3 does not have one? Don't worry though, nowadays video adapters are cheap and you can get almost any combination of conversion types.

The Acer Veriton M6690g comes with an HDMI port, while the Alienware Aurora R3 does not support the interface. Of course missing HDMI port is something that can be easily fixed with a good adapter (e.g. DisplayPort to HDMI).

SATA ports are placed on the system board and it is where you connect your HDD, SSD and Optical Disk Drives. More SATA slots will allow you to have more drives running at the same time. In this regard the Acer Veriton M6690g is better equipped as it comes with 5 SATA slot(s), while the Alienware Aurora R3 has 4 slot(s).

If you want the fastest transfer speeds for your SSD, an M.2 interface is crucial. Thus, if the M.2 SSD slot is a mandatory requirement for you, go with the Acer Veriton M6690g. Sadly, the Alienware Aurora R3 has no such slot, and you will be forced to use the SATA interface instead.

Make sure that the available M.2 slot supports the PCIe (also called NVMe) interface. This is important as there are M.2 slots which support only the inferior SATA III interface. For comparison, the SATA III interface has max speeds of 6Gb/s, while the PCIe 3.0 x4 will support speeds up to 32Gb/s!

Power Supply

Having a Power Supply Unit with high power rating is important, if you are going to use components which require extra power. The Acer Veriton M6690g comes with a decent 500 Watt PSU, but the Alienware Aurora R3 has a more powerful one rated at 875 Watts. Choosing either one depends on your specific requirements and use case. Also don't forget that some models might have more than one PSU option - try to always get the most powerful one, especially if you plan to upgrade to a powerful GPU.

Motherboard

Acer_Veriton_M6690g_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutAlienware_Aurora_R3_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout