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Alienware's Aurora desktop and gaming monitors get a huge redesign

And we've finally got more details on that 55-inch OLED gaming monitor.

It's been a pretty busy year for Alienware, but Dell's boutique gaming brand isn't showing any signs of slowing down soon. At Gamescom this year, the company is unveiling a slew of new gaming hardware, both in a bid to throw in new specs and bring its revamped "Legend" industrial design to more products.

Alienware Gamescom 2019

First up is Alienware's next-generation Aurora R9 desktop, which benefits the most from the company's new aesthetic. Compared to the last model, the updated Aurora has a rounder front and an overall less busy look. You've also got a choice between the two-tone black and white case, or just a matte black. It's unabashedly a mid-tower computer, but it's one that looks more modern than any Alienware desktop we've seen before. It looks like something that would be right at home as a prop in Valve's Portal games.

Once you crack it open, you've got full access to all of the hardware inside. You can equip it with any of Intel's 9th generation desktop CPUs, and your choice of AMD or NVIDIA's latest GPUs. Given just how much more powerful and functional gaming laptops have become over the years, a full-fledged desktop seems like overkill for most gamers. But the beauty of any desktop is that you can build it any way you'd like, and easily upgrade components down the line. Sure, even notebooks are getting decently upgradable, like the Alienware Area 51m, but it's still far easier to yank off the side of a desktop and plug in whatever you'd like.

You'll be able to snag the new Alienware Aurora in black on August 20th starting at $970. The two-tone version will cost you extra, but Dell hasn't confirmed how much that'll be yet.

Now, a powerful desktop deserves a capable monitor -- so how does a 55-inch OLED gaming screen sound? We saw a prototype of Alienware's giant display back at CES, but now Dell has finalized its design and it's almost ready to ship. As you'd expect, it basically looks like a TV from the front, but around the back there's a large LED strip, which serves as an ambient backlight while you're playing.

So why would you get this over a typical TV? It's all about the specs: the Alienware gaming monitor supports 4K up to 120Hz, it sports a fast 0.5ms response time, and it has AMD's Freesync technology. And since it's OLED, it'll have inky dark black levels and some of the best contrast you'll find on any TV.

Alienware Gamescom 2019

I played a bit of Elder Scrolls Online, and I was struck by how responsive everything was on the gaming monitor. It was as if the game was instantly detecting my mouse and keyboard movements, even when I was panning the camera around quickly. I'll admit, I don't have much of an issue gaming on my normal OLED TV, but the Alienware Gaming Monitor was still noticeably faster. I didn't get to see anything beyond Elder Scrolls Online, but the game at least looked sharp, with bold colors and plenty of brightness.

As with every OLED display, though, be prepared to spend a lot of money. It'll be available on September 30th for $4,000. That's insane, I know, but I'd imagine quite a few gamers wouldn't mind spending that much to get the best screen possible. It's a hard sell for most other consumers when you can get LG's latest 65" C9 set for $2,800.

Alienware gaming monitors

As for other new gear, Alienware also has a new 34-inch Ultrawide monitor coming (above) on August 28th for $1,500. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see it in action. And if that's too rich for you, there's also a standard 27-inch 1080p 240Hz monitor coming on September 17th for $600.

Even though most of Alienware's announcements are the standard upgrades we've been expecting, it's still nice to see the company finally adopt a new design across all of its hardware. And maybe swinging for the fences with that gorgeous OLED monitor will actually pay off.