Aurora R8, EVGA RTX 3080 XC3 Ultra Gaming, Noctua nf-a12x15-pwm-chromax-black-swap

@markburv 

Great job on the mod! The card look ginormous in that rig. Consider pulling out the unused SSD cages out of the bottom for better air flow and a 1.3C temp improvement.

HDD cages are swappable

AFTER

The R8 doesn't come with spare data cables.  You can use the one for the optical drive,  buy one on amazon, use the one from your R3 that you used for this drive, or get one on amazon.  

The spare power cables are located behind the psu in the swing out metal box. 

Fixing the Fan in the HDD cage space. 

Adding ties to hold it in position, a bit fiddly for the one deep down inside the cage to bend back round and thread back out. Top one was easier.Pushing zip ties through

Plastic Ties trimmed down

Trimmed zip ties

The fan is well wedged in on the scrw at the bottom, just slightly inclined.

Upper front intake fan fits nicely

Close up look to the ties on the fan and a bit of cable tidying.

For the test before 75°, Top fan offset +35%, front fans offset 67%, the Noctuas are so quiet, the Top fan really covers it. Overall the noise levels are acceptable, a headset is a must for gaming.

AWCC max offset setting for front fans cannot exceed +67%, otherwise the front fan will spin down and stop.

I pushed Top and front fans to max, ran Timespy, 72°C, a gain of 3°C, overall up to 27°C less than before the fan existed.

I am keeping the front bezel off for now, while I think about how to drill/cut/sabotage it

Big thanks still to @Anonymous and @r72019 

@markburv    the head can rotate 30° ?

Yes, it appears so . . . I do not have an Aurora, but the photo is a push/pull radiator sandwich configuration in a R8.

@markburv    do you think that hose will go up (red) or cause serious problems in this maybe not so great idea of a cheap man's mod 

I'm confused (again)      Why do you think the hose will go 'up' if the radiator is coming 'down' 25mm? You will have additional slack in your hoses with which you may need to contend. Rotating the water block was the @GTS81  method. Your results may vary . . . just do what is necessary to make the hoses 'kink-free' and 'comfortable'.

@markburv :

It is an OEM fan. Very sharp eyed observation of my tardiness. I was so exhausted after trying to rotate the head that I didn't want to change the fan that time. Actually there's an ML120 Pro sitting on the other side of the radiator doing pull duty.

The Asetek OEM cooler made for Dell features a standard "toothed" design that lets you rotate and grip the pump based on the notches as seen below:

As you have mentioned, rotating the head will cause the rubber tubes to exert rotating force on the pump mounts. You have to hold the pump with one hand to counter the force while tightening/ loosening the screws. I made the mistake of not doing so while unscrewing the pump leading to a stripped screw and taking hammer to rig.

Please tell me it isn't a nail in the coffin for my R8.

@markburv :

I was referring to the thumbscrews securing the AIO pump to the motherboard from the top. You don't need to take the motherboard out of the case to do this.

First off get 2 of these fans, a Y PWM fan cable, 30mm 6-32 screws and washers, I bought a Corsair fan screw kit.

Modding the R8 AOI to sandwich - Parts needed

Remove GPU, side panels, top panel, and the cooler assembly, refer to service manual.

My last paste looked a bit thinCooler assembly outML 120 Pro + 30mm 6-32 screwsML 120 Pro from the insideAdd 2nd ML 120 Pro to radiator and insertScrew case to fan to assemblyNatural position of assembly (25mm)Turn mount on pump to releaseSeparates easilyReposition pump 30+ anti-clockwiseFinal twist to fix togetherForce required to line up to MB holesClean surfaces for pastingPossibly too much this time :)Force pump to line up and screw into MBAdd all things removedStart her up and check fans