Aurora-R7, PSU and GPU upgrade question

Question

I bought an Alienware Aurora R7 with 16gigs of ddr4, liquid cooled i7 8700, GTX 1080, 16 gigs intel optane, and a 2tb hdd. This PC came with a 460 watt PSU.

Question 1: I bought an EVGA 750 P2 fully modular PSU. This PSU should work, correct? It has 2 cpu socket which will allow me to power GFX PWR. It is standard ATX.

Question 2: I preordered an EVGA RTX 2080 XC ultra gaming GPU. The dimensions are 10.6x4.5x2.4. Will this card fit? Also, it is an open air gpu opposed to blower style. Is the R7 case equipped to deal with an open air, dual fan card?

Much thanks.

Tesla1856 · Accepted Answer

@mcflizzle wrote:

1. I read through the thread you posted regarding the size of the GPU. So the card I preordered is 10.6 (depth) x 4.5 (width) x 2.4 (height). At least I'm assuming that's what those numbers represent. This was the smallest rtx 2080 that I could find.

2. Are you considering this card to be one of those larger cards that you refer to in those posts? I'm curious as to what would be considered a normal height card. It seems like even if height is an issue with the card there are work arounds such as manipulating the psu bracket.

3. I would hate to open up this $900 card just to find out that it won't fit. Can you elaborate more as to what the optimal height for this case is?

Much appreciated.

1. OK, so you understand I don't have this exact video-card right? This is extrapolated data to help you make a buying decision ... it's all conjecture at this point. Someone will have to actually try it and post here before we can get these definitive answers you are looking for. That's what the forum is for.

2. Personally, I consider anything taller than a reference design Founders Edition GTX-1070 to be "taller" (see pics in other thread).

3. If you are willing to rip the lower power-supply bracket out if you have to ... I don't see what the problem is.

Tesla1856 · Answer

@mcflizzle wrote:

A. I bought an Alienware Aurora R7 with 16gigs of ddr4, liquid cooled i7 8700, GTX 1080, 16 gigs intel optane, and a 2tb hdd.

B. This PC came with a 460 watt PSU.

Question 1: I bought an EVGA 750 P2 fully modular PSU. This PSU should work, correct? It has 2 cpu socket which will allow me to power GFX PWR. It is standard ATX.

Question 2: I preordered an EVGA RTX 2080 XC ultra gaming GPU. The dimensions are 10.6x4.5x2.4. Will this card fit?

3. Also, it is an open air gpu opposed to blower style. Is the R7 case equipped to deal with an open air, dual fan card?

Much thanks.

A. Nice. However, I would have done a SSD as bootable C: for Windows and Apps (still would).

B. Yeah, that's pretty lame. I say sales configurator should have thrown a "config error".

1. If it fits, it should work. Right, you need both "cpu" power plugs. Replace all the wiring with new/supplied cables.

2. The thickness is fine. However, the height is gonna be close:

https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/Aurora-R7-GPU/td-p/5757231

3. Yes

mcflizzle · Answer

Thanks for the quick response. I read through the thread you posted regarding the size of the GPU. So the card I preordered is 10.6 (depth) x 4.5 (width) x 2.4 (height). At least I'm assuming that's what those numbers represent. This was the smallest rtx 2080 that I could find. Are you considering this card to be one of those larger cards that you refer to in those posts? I'm curious as to what would be considered a normal height card. It seems like even if height is an issue with the card there are work arounds such as manipulating the psu bracket. I would hate to open up this $900 card just to find out that it won't fit. Can you elaborate more as to what the optimal height for this case is?

Much appreciated.

r72019 · Answer

I put a EVGA G3 Gold 850W in my R7.   It comes with everything you need except, if you have an internal OEM DVD drive, you will need to get a 15 pin to 6 pin slimline adapter cable to power the DVD drive.  Been working fine, no problems for a while now.  I also added a right (down) angle SATA power extension for easier access to the 3.5' spinner.

Chris_870 · Answer

did you swap out the psu for a new one? if so did it work? I am trying to upgrade my psu from a 460 so I can upgrade my gpu but I have no idea which ones are compatible for the R7.

Chris_870 · Answer

thank you so much, also I heard one issue was that one of the cables that connected to the hard drive was too big to close the case. was that an issue for you?

r72019 · Answer

Yes, the right (down) angle SATA power extension was what I used to make it easier to close the case.

When I was considering PSU options, I had also taken measurements for the 1000W EVGA PQ Platinum, and determined it should probably fit in the case with proper cable management. I didn't end up buying it though, so I can't confirm.

GTS81 · Answer

If you guys are going from 460W PSU upwards, here's a reference of how long a PSU Dell designed the swing-arm to fit:

Top PSU is Seasonic Focus Plus 850W Gold @ 140mm which is the same length as Dell's 460W.

Bottom PSU is Dell's Delta 850W PSU @ 180mm.

As you both have noticed, cable lengths, shapes and stiffness affects the feasibility of dropping in a PSU replacement too.

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Aurora-R7, PSU and GPU upgrade question

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