Aurora R10, 3rd party fan support problems

In the meantime I found a workaround, at least for fan speed management.

The software SpeedFan will be able to control the fans if you tick the "enable Dell support (for notebooks)" checkbox in the advanced options. That's funny, because SpeedFan can use the Dell controller to control to control the corsair fans, while Dell cant use the Dell controller to control the fans.

They design these systems like a gaming console. You just plug it in and away you go.

They do not care to much on catering to the more advanced users, who might be interested in some extra options.

The cases are designed for looks, not so much for cooling or other performance.

Therefore the upgrade options are limited.

I think what they are lacking is a good pre-production test by users of all sorts, and actually taking feedback and if needed go back to the drawing board.

I think most if not all users would tell you that the standard fans are really loud at full speed, unacceptable high, and the control with AWCC leaves a lot to be desired.

Dell give full 3rd party fan support for Alienware Aurora R10 mainboards!

Dell is not going to purchase 3rd party fans and test/validate them. But, for clarity sake, your request for support of these non-tested/non-validated 3rd party fans would require the following =

* Purchase the 3rd party fans from Amazon or seller
* Send the fans to the Alienware lab
* Assign an Alienware platform team Aurora engineer to pull the Aurora R10 off of the shelf
* Install the 3rd party fans
* Test the 3rd party fans
* Create a case to ask for an updated BIOS
- Get Manager, Area Manager, Director, Legal, Marketing approvals
* Assign an Alienware platform team BIOS engineer to write the BIOS
* Send the BIOS back to the Aurora engineer to do further testing and validation
* Contact the Dell Drivers team and submit a ticket to get the BIOS uploaded

Maybe a good solution to all of this would be if DELL would work together with for example Noctua, a designer of some of the best cooling solutions in the PC business, on a line of Noctua fans?

I am thinking that Noctua might be interested in this, as they could provide an Alienware Noctua series of fans customized for the Alienware Aurora cases.

Just a suggestion.

Even within brands issues would be fan specific.  For example the Noctua IPPC lineup is known to have issues stalling out at low RPMs /idle auto settings even on aftermarket boards.  

That's why I suggested a brand new line. Could be beneficial to both companies, both brand names are well known and respected in the PC community.

That would be cool, like a lunar white or dark side of the moon version fan.  They did that on a limited basis with LTT using their the classic orange color for the bumpers.  They sell for over $100 each now.

what?

Its not about validating individual 3rd party fans, its about supporting 4 pin PWN fans wich is an industry standard. The alienware mainboard simply isnt able to control them because its using Dells own weird standard.

Buy a sata to usb header adapter cable

I just changed the front fan on my R10 with a Noctua  NF-A12-25 PWM (4pin) fan.

It is replacing a Delta 120 mm fan, Dell part #7M0F5-A00, Delta part # AFB1212EJ-01.

Zero issues with it, no bios errors, and it controls with AWCC. I plugged it in directly to the motherboard header.

It is a 2000 RPM fan, so the maximum you can get is about 50% on AWCC. That is normal, since AWCC is "calibrated" for the original fan, which is roughly 4000 RPM. I am not sure why they insist on hard coding the % in AWCC instead of having it actually read the RPM and calculate the %, but that is what they did.

I verified the actual RPM with Open Hardware Monitor Alienware Edition.

Basically, 53% in AWCC equals 2000 RPM, which is the maximum fan speed.

Can you get it to run past 50% speed on awcc?

Today I installed an additional Noctua NF-R8 Redux (80 mm fan) in the metal drive caddy for the 3.5 inch HDD tray. I removed the blue plastic tray, fan screws directly onto the metal caddy holder as there are pre- drilled holes for an 80 mm fan.

I used the Y-splitter from the Noctua  NF-A12-25 PWM to attach both front fans to the single motherboard header. No errors on boot-up, controls fine with AWCC.

As a next upgrade I am thinking of adding 2 x NF-R8 Redux to the side panel bottom intake vent and use a Noctua NA-FC1 4 pin PWM controller to SATA power connector to control the fans and supply them with power. This will be a custom job to mount this all and make it fit, but I think it would increase the fresh air intake by another 60 CFM, and more importantly blow fresh air directly onto the GPU cooler and create positive air pressure inside the case.

did you solve this problem?

i can