Alienware Aurora R4 vs. Fujitsu Esprimo Q920
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Alienware Aurora R4 and Fujitsu Esprimo Q920
If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Fujitsu Esprimo Q920 which was released in 2014. The Alienware Aurora R4 is older and entered production in 2012.
If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Fujitsu Esprimo Q920 is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Alienware Aurora R4 and will fit more easily under your desk.
Processor
The two models have the same generation of Intel processors. We think that the 4 generation of Intel Processors have enough power to execute all of the home and office tasks that most people will care to do.
Memory
The Alienware Aurora R4 has 4 RAM slots while the Fujitsu Esprimo Q920 has only 2 slot(s). This is not something to worry about. Just make sure you take it into consideration when planning how much RAM you are going to use.
The Alienware Aurora R4 is using the faster 1866 MT/s RAM. The Fujitsu Esprimo Q920 is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 1600 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Alienware Aurora R4 as it has the ability to run 32 GB of RAM. The Fujitsu Esprimo Q920 can do a bit less at max 16 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.
Ports
In total the Fujitsu Esprimo Q920 has 6 USB ports. The Alienware Aurora R4 is inferior in this regard and packs 5 USB ports. In any case, if you miss USB ports, you can always purchase a USB hub. None of the desktop models has a USB 3.1 port (10Gb/s), so if you need a fast connection to your peripherals, like external Solid State Drive, you will need to look elsewhere.
Unfortunately, only the Fujitsu Esprimo Q920 has a DisplayPort. The Alienware Aurora R4 does not have one? Don't worry though, nowadays video adapters are cheap and you can get almost any combination of conversion types.
None of the models has an HDMI port. If your monitor supports only the HDMI interface, you will need to buy an adapter. Such adapters are cheap so nothing to worry about.
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 Alienware Aurora R4 is better equipped as it comes with 3 SATA slot(s), while the Fujitsu Esprimo Q920 has 2 slot(s).
M.2 SSD interface allows you to transfer data with higher speeds compared to the old SATA interface. Unfortunately, neither the Alienware Aurora R4, nor the Fujitsu Esprimo Q920 has one. However, you can still use a SATA SSD drive which should give you satisfactory performance.
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 Fujitsu Esprimo Q920 comes with a decent 65 Watt PSU, but the Alienware Aurora R4 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
