Aurora R11, liquid cooled top fan replacement

Update to top fan upgrade:

All is working great! It is so much quieter. The noise at idle with stock fan was just too much.

I basically use 2 different profiles:
1) Balanced most the time- Top fan runs @ 17% / front fan @ 12%. Temps idle/web browsing - CPU 32-35 / GPU 32-35 / GPU fan 18% (all of these are the set minimums)
2) Performance when gaming - Top fan 40% / front fan 30%. In Assasins Creed Origins 1440p/max settings: CPU 62 / GPU 77 / GPU fan 45% - FPS ~87.
When gaming in Balanced mode - CPU 72 / GPU 80 / GPU fan 55%, so I would rather use Performance to keep things cooler.
Also, setting custom values in AWCC is a little funky as less than 20% offset on front fan has no effect. So its 12% at 0 offset or 30% at 20% offset, no in-between.
I've been thinking of upgrading the front fan with a Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM, but a recent post here has had errors problems (not critical) with that fan, so not sure yet if going to use that or just another Corsair ML120 Pro.

An additional note, when pressing F12 at boot and then running diagnostics, the top fan gives an error. It seems to be because the top RPM of the Corsair ML120 Pro is less than the stock so it shows error. Doesn't affect anything, just the warning when running that boot diagnostics.

@C H 

WOW . . . sounds like you have your rig working great! At least, all the important stuff. Those are really good temps. One thing to consider in the future as you contemplate your front fan upgrade; any 3-pin fan will not throw a start-up error, but of course, will not be modulated. If you were to choose the Noctua NF-S12A FLX, the fan will run at a constant 1200 rpm @ 17.8 dBA (super quiet).

I lament to report that I have been unable to take out my Aurora R11 (liquid cooled CPU)'s top case fan. The 4 fan screws (but not the 4 radiator screws) are way too tight for my comfort, I don't want to damage anything on this new computer. I might hire a licensed PC technician in the future, if I decide to replace the top fan at all.

Therefore, I replaced the front case fan only, with a Corsair ML120 Pro maglev fan (no LED). Even though that's only one AVC fan replaced, the result has been pleasantly surprising. With AWCC thermal in "balanced" mode, the overall fan noise is a lot quieter and more pleasant. I guess it's because the front fan is much closer to my ears than the top fan.

With AWCC thermal in "performance" mode, the top AVC fan is still too annoyingly loud.

R11 (LC CPU) top cover removedR11 (LC CPU) front fan replacement 

@AuroraHasManyFans - "The 4 fan screws (but not the 4 radiator screws) are way too tight for my comfort"

Yes, it's hard to get to those screws and they are very tight from Dell. Removing the pump will give better access and make it easier, but then will have to repaste.

That's why I used a small jeweler-type screwdriver to get in there without removing the pump.  It fits through the holes with enough still sticking out to clamp a pair of small vice-grips to the end to get better leverage (see earlier picture posted), while also pushing with my thumb on the bottom of the screwdriver to keep it up tight.

The top fan is 'extra' loud due to the BIOS set minimum RPM's of the stock fan being high.  Replacing it got mine down from a minimum of 27% to 17%.  Much better.

Thanks for the tips.

I have the precision screwdrivers. It's the angle of the 2 mobo-side fan screws. They force me to vice-grip the screwdriver right on the CPU liquid cooler. I'm not comfortable doing that. Too much risk of damaging the cooler, CPU, and/or motherboard itself.

I'm going to give up tinkering with my new rig for now and enjoy some good times with her. 

@AuroraHasManyFans    I lament to report that I have been unable to take out my Aurora R11 (liquid cooled CPU)'s top case fan. The 4 fan screws (but not the 4 radiator screws) are way too tight for my comfort, I don't want to damage anything on this new computer.

I understand you do not want to do too much tweaking on your brand new rig. However, when you do feel comfortable, if you disconnect the water block, and then take out the four screws in the top of the radiator, the entire assembly should drop out of that box. It may be much easier to take out the fan screws if the rad/fan assembly is sitting on a table. And when I say "drop out of that box" . . . I mean you can gently work it out, slowly, as it is a pretty tight fit.

I really liked the first two photos with the detail on the new vrm heatsink.

Nice!  That's also interesting to see the two VRM heatsinks are joined with a copper base. That's the first photo I've seen showing they are connected.  I had thought they were two separate pieces.  

I was unable to procure the Corsair 120 pro, they seem to be out of stock everywhere. I did pick up a noctua 120 premium - which by all specs looks like it should be quite comparable. I've installed it and the top fan speed is now a bit slower and quieter - but the noise from the front fan and power supply are very noticeable; so not a huge difference. oh well. I think i'm just going to switch over to my mac mini for everyday work and only use the Alienware for gaming; it's a shame; Dell should provide more control of these fans; no reason they need to be running as fast as they are. 

"Praise the Omnissiah! I have my fan replaced. The results are great!"

So is it a good bit quieter?

And the drilling out was to be able to get a full size screwdriver in there?

Thanks for the pics!

You can adjust the fans performance in AWCC. I have a game profile set up and have a thermal fan offset set to about 52-55 on the top and 42-45 on the front with the stock fans so when I start my game the case fans kick in to in those settings and they do not throttle. I also have my Default thermals set to thermal balance and power balanced so when I exit the game the machine goes to a nice idle speed. I should add that I always run my game on High performance mode and have a good blend with the NVidia Control panel.

This is my humble push and push setup for now.