Unsolved
This post is more than 5 years old
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
0
107570
August 2nd, 2019 09:00
Aurora R8, Experience of Buying
My Alienware Aurora R8 experience
It has been 95 days since I hit the "order" button and at this point, I am glad to say that I am happy with my purchase of the R8. My decision to buy an Alienware desktop started a month before that when I bought another Dell system, an Optiplex 27" AIO with i7 8700 and GTX 1050. At that time, my plan was to use the PC mainly as a surfing/ email machine with some additional juice to run games like Forza Horizon 4. Long story short, that plan fell apart and I decided I needed something that I can have a little bit more control over. Enter the desktop PC.
I've been over to several BYO websites like wepc and pcgamer to look at building my own rig but like many of us here observed, Dell's solution are usually cheaper... provided you're willing to live with what it means to deal with the many colorful issues we see in this forum.
Configured my system as below (trimmed to show the main parts):
1 210-ARGS Alienware Aurora R8
1 801-1540 Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis, 1 Year
1 490-BEUO AMD Radeon RX 560X with 4GB GDDR5
1 321-BDXH 850W EPA Bronze PSU Liquid Cooled Chassis
1 801-1493 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Initial Year
1 570-AACN Alienware Mouse Is Not Included
1 580-ABUI Keyboard Not Included
1 555-BDBY 802.11ac 1x1 WiFi and Bluetooth
1 400-AMXY 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s (64MB Cache)
1 370-ADUC 8GB, DDR4 2666MHz
1 619-AHCQ Windows 10 Home (64bit) English
1 338-BSDW 9th Gen Intel Core i5-9400 (6-Core/6-Thread 9M Cache,4.1GHz Processor with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology)
The order was placed about a week before a US holiday so I was wary of a price drop. However, there was a good 15% discount and that takes a big chunk out of the 850W PSU + liquid cooling upgrade. Total damage is $875 + $76 in tax. I also have DFS account with 12 month interest-free payment and 6% reward.
Like many of you AW owners, waiting for the PC to arrive was a practice of patience. Initially the system showed that it will take ~10 days for it to arrive. I reached out to order support via chat and the rep was very helpful in explaining that other than ready-to-ship AW (like the tons of outlet R7s), most AW systems are built after order received. He did mention he will put a note that we chatted about my wait time concern. I didn't expect that to change anything until 2 days later, I was notified the system was shipped! And 2 days after that, a huge brown box with an alien head sat on my front porch. Without any signature required. Thanks UPS!
Unboxing the system brought me back to my first Dell which was a 17" laptop bought as a college graduation gift in 2003. As I plugged the cables and powered on the system, everything was flawless. Including Cortana's 90dB "HELLO". Ran Heaven benchmark just to get some numbers on the RX560 before shutting down the system and adding/ replacing the following:
WD Blue 1 TB HDD --> Crucial P1 500GB SSD [$61]
RX560X --> MSI RX580 Armor OC 8GB [$160 after $20 rebate]
Reinstalled Win10 with the image from Dell's recovery tool on the SSD. Everything worked great after that until the day I decided to upgrade my RAM...
GTS81
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
0
August 8th, 2019 11:00
Just found out I’m missing a SATA to 3-pin power connector for the h55 pump and scrambled to order 1 online.
r72019
6 Professor
•
5.3K Posts
0
August 8th, 2019 20:00
I'd be interested to see where the H55's radiator ends up going since you already have the Alienware AIO's radiator on the top exhaust. Just thought I'd mention for future consideration, since you indicated you may upgrade again later, that blower style GPUs offer the convenience of exhausting the hot air out of the case, and are designed for cases with limited airflow. I assume that's why the OEM Aurora GPUs are all blower style. Open air GPU's have fans that suck the air over the exposed heatsink and it usually comes out the side of the GPU into the case. In other words the air is recirculated. That's probably why you feel the hot air movement blowing up and out from side of the GPU when you run the computer with the case open. While this is more efficient if you have high airflow, in limited airflow cases this may work as a detriment because it heats up the case if there is insufficient internal air movement to exhaust all that hot air. With blower style GPUs, there's a plastic case covering the heatsink, the fan **bleep** the air from the case into the GPU, the air then runs over the heatsink, and is expelled out the rear of the GPU and outside the case.
GTS81
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
0
August 9th, 2019 00:00
@r72019 thanks for the pointers on the card types and how they are better suited for different casings. Yes, I also think that was why Dell went with so many blower cards and it was unwise of me to write them off as inferior to open fan type cards.
@Anonymous the name of the game here is tradeoff. For now I'll try out using an intake to cool the radiator and then have the hot air circulate somewhat in the case. I could try and use that nifty 80mm noctua to bleep it out the rear.
I spent a good part of the evening doing test fittings with radiator and fan placements. All I have to show for is a bloody thumb after nicking it on a rear slot opening. The original plan is to place the radiator on the inside-front-bottom while the fan sits on the outside. However, the R8 front bezel isn't thick enough to accommodate the 25mm thick 120mm fan. I tried both the h55 fan and my ML120 which are essentially cousins. From the outside, it seems like the bezel thickness would be ok. The inside of the bezel shows otherwise. The air vents are made up of strips that aren't in a parallel plane. Instead, there are groups of 5 pieces that sit more inward, closer to the casing. This creates pinch spots for the fan.
Fan + radiator inside also didn't fit as the GPU is long enough that the power connector portion will hit the radiator.
Placed an order for the Noctua NF-AF12x15 PWM. Will test fit it tomorrow. However, I am skeptical that I could get by this exercise without investing in a dremel set to cut the casing. For those who have cut their case with a dremel, how loud would it be? Actually I think the way the AIO radiator is designed to truly be efficient with the fan sticking to it which means I need to make a gaping hole in front to push the radiator + fan as a single piece through the casing.
GTS81
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
0
August 10th, 2019 01:00
Summary - SUCCESS
GPU Idle Temp - 39C
GPU stock clock (1366MHz) Heaven Benchmark, front Noctua AF12-15 @ 40% in AWCC - 50C
GPU overclocked to 1400MHz same test and fan speed - 60C
GPU overclocked to 1450MHz (never hit this before) - 60C because my frame rate limiter was turned on!
Too tired to run additional tests and tweak settings.
;TLDR version follows
Received the slim fan today and got down to work. Due to family commitment, front fan installation, plastic stub cutting was done after dinner while the heavy lifting happened after everyone went to sleep.
I spent 70% of the time on this mini-project doing test fits and what-ifs before any actual disassembly/ assembly happened. This is to gather as much information as possible before crossing the point of no return once the first screw gets turned or a hole gets punched in the casing. This also delayed the completion by a day as I scrambled to get a slim fan. If you stay in the US and want to get the AF12-15 through the famous online retailer, you need to click on the Noctua page and then select the fan you want. Otherwise you will see choices only from 3rd party seller selling them for $50 a piece.
Couple of notes regarding the removal of shroud and attachment of the Kraken.
1. Memorize all the steps before starting. Have the pieces you need sorted out and within reach.
2. Thermal pads can be tacky and some dirty fingers will transfer dirt onto them.
3. Prepare as many alcohol wipes beforehand. You won't believe how much overflowed TIM I had to deal with.
4. Most people end up losing access to their card's fan port. In my case, there's the added mini 4-pin that reaffirms my decision to buy that SATA-to-3pin splitter.
The pictures below shows the end results. I took it using flash because my hands were still shaking. Despite all the fit tests done, I failed in assuming that the Kraken would be less restrictive than the Armor shroud. I was wrong. The card could not even be placed in the casing in a normal way. I had to pull the rear of the casing and angle the card in some really scary manner, some metal against metal sliding before it went in. And then I realized the side plate with the glorious NZXT word is slightly pressing on the radiator hose! So I had to once again, scratch PCB against something and get the card out, use a pair of pliers to bend the plate in to get the results below. But not before once more doing the scary thing of stuffing this card back into the case.
Throughout the relatively physical activity, I did see the card flex slightly. Just kept thinking that this thing won't even boot up anymore. Even if it does, which it did, I will forever live with the fear of BSOD due to this. It may be tomorrow or 5 years down the road but it is a decision I made and I will own it. If you were to ask me if someone else who has the same GPU and casing do it? I would say no. Just save up for a card that is shorter before trying this. Notice how NZXT expects the Kraken to reach the front of the card. MSI's design parked the GPU and VRMs to the center and rear of the card, with copious amount of space near the front. Probably because of their fan designs all the way from Ventus up to Gaming X.
Once again, my thanks to the community members here who have boosted my confidence with their upgrades and mods to the point that I'm willing to try something out. This purchase was supposed to be a turnkey solution with a GPU upgrade planned 9-12 months down the road. However, discovering this community and doing these upgrades have been a more enjoyable and educational experience.
GTS81
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
0
August 10th, 2019 13:00
If you have any advice on how to get that push pull configuration working with 2x M120 Pro and a 25mm-27mm radiator (Alienware/ Corsair h55/ NZXT m22; they are all around this thickness @ 150mm x 120mm). I tried stacking my ML120 Pro on top of the radiator mount of the R8 casing like below but am unable to close the top cover due to the height.
Should I be sandwiching the radiator and then mount them all below the bracket? That might stick out into the top of the casing internally. Any ideas? Thanks.
r72019
6 Professor
•
5.3K Posts
1
August 10th, 2019 16:00
I installed two 25mm fans, and a 27mm radiator (Corsair H60) inside the metal box you have pictured. Nothing on top except 4 screws. I know the OEM Nidec fan included with the Alienware AIO is much wider than 25 mm and I've heard that you cannot get a second 25mm fan on a push/pull with the stock AIO/fan combo.
Anyway, I used 6-32 x 1.25" machine screws (8 of them) to do the push pull configuration. The installed height was 77mm (2 x 25mm + 27mm). There's good clearance for opening and closing the case. I bolted the contraption down from the top of the metal box you have pictured, and from the bottom too. So 4 screws on top, 4 on bottom. I don't know if the stock alienware radiator uses the same size screws as the corsair radiator.
Awesome setup, BTW. Thanks for posting all those great photos of the install! The thermal paste on my H60 cpu cooler looked like that too, and there was a plastic wrapper and hard plastic covering to protect it during shipping.
REPLYING TO:
If you have any advice on how to get that push pull configuration working with 2x M120 Pro and a 25mm-27mm radiator (Alienware/ Corsair h55/ NZXT m22; they are all around this thickness @ 150mm x 120mm). I tried stacking my ML120 Pro on top of the radiator mount of the R8 casing like below but am unable to close the top cover due to the height.
r72019
6 Professor
•
5.3K Posts
0
August 10th, 2019 16:00
Here is a photo. One advantage of using 25mm fans, instead of the stock Nidec fan, is that it allows you to swap out the fans fairly easily without detaching the cooler from the CPU. I made several swaps after the setup pictured below.
GTS81
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
0
August 10th, 2019 19:00
@r72019 , thanks so much for the answer. I was almost headed out the door to the nearest UPS to drop off 1 of the ML120 for return to online retailer because I thought I no longer have a good use for it. Now I will keep it but will not be doing the push-pull until I move on to an unlocked CPU. With just the Alienware AIO + ML120, the stock i5-9400 struggles to push past 50C under 3DMark's CPU load test.
@Anonymous :
Been reading up on rotary cutters like Dremel in the situation where the 15mm fan doesn't work. Luckily I dodged that bullet. However, the front grill has to go before I can upgrade to a 2080 Ti with a similar setup (most likely just go for Seahawk X). The reason is that my current setup is much less thermal efficient compared to @HanoverB as he is able to hit same temps on a higher TDP card. Currently my setup averages 60C when card is drawing ~150W so to go to a higher powered card, I definitely need to:
1. Remove any obstacle between fan and radiator.
2. Revert to 25mm fan with higher static pressure + airflow.
The only way I can see that happening is by getting a rotary cutter to cut off the lower front and let the fan slide a little bit inside. If I can master cutting a case with a rotary cutter, I'll see if the top can be further enlarged to fit a 240mm radiator for the CPU.
GTS81
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
1
August 10th, 2019 20:00
Added back the Noctua AF8 in the rear and used a Y-splitter with the front fan. Added the LNA to the front fan and kept it spinning as the same setting in AWCC which means some percentage slower hence more quiet. The rear fan helped in pushing out hot air despite the lowered airflow through the radiator. Able to hit 1450MHz now in 3DMark @ 62C max GPU temperature.
r72019
6 Professor
•
5.3K Posts
0
August 11th, 2019 10:00
For the top exhaust, I ultimately settled on reinserting the AVC case fan in on a pull configuration (not pictured), and a Noctua NF-F12 IPPC 3000 PWM fan in a push configuration (top left in photo). I connected them to the Top Fan header using a Y splittler. I tracked PWM to the AVC fan, as you don't have to worry about startup errors as long as you have the OEM fan on PWM.
For the front, I have the Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM fan (top right in photo). This fan works without any startup errors in the front.
On the VRM heatsink, I have a Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM fan (bottom right in photo).
I set up custom fan curves to auto load with windows.
I didn't have any startup errors with the Corsair fan either, but it seemed a little inefficient for me to have a slower fan in the pull setting, as that would be limiting the capabilities of the push fan. On the flip side, it didn't seem efficient to have a higher static pressure fan in a pull setting. Ideally, I'd have 2 identical fans, but Dell's BIOS settings threw a wrench in that plan, and I don't want to spend any more money on fans at this point (I still have a spare Noctua NF F12 IPPC 3000, and spare dell AVC fan, sitting around unused as backups).
On the topic of the OEM Dell fans (Nidec, AVC), they are server grade fans, so they are LOUD and they are not made from high quality parts. You can order them direct from China for approximately $15 per fan (less if you order more than 1), shipping included. On the plus side, they are designed to move a LOT of air - approximately 147 - 149 CFM, with a max rotational speed over 4000 RPM. I can't find any data on static pressure for them, but considering the rated airflow and gaps between the fan blades I'd assume the OEM Dell fans are NOT high static pressure fans.
One final caveat on the Corsair H60 fans. I purchased the older version Corsair H60 from Best Buy when it was on sale for $45 a few months back (I think they were clearing old stock). I don't have the most recent 2018 version of the Corsair H60. The fan included with the older H60 is rated for up to 2000 RPM, and I didn't have any errors with that fan. The current version of the H60 only includes a fan rated for 1700 RPM.
Here is a photo from the bottom side, showing clearance for the swing out PSU contraption, with 2 x 25mm fans, and a 27 mm radiator, sandwiched in a push/pull configuration. I also have the OEM GPU in the top slot, but it was removed for the photo.
GTS81
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
0
August 11th, 2019 12:00
Is this using AWCC or some other software? Speedfan won't even detect my fans connected to the motherboard. Ok, that was before all the funky fan work. Now it just craps out with an access violation.
That is so true. I think some of us here have might have spent more money on the mods than the original PC bought from Dell.
Just earlier today:
Wife - Are you running some illegal operation using that new computer? You're spending so much time in the garage tinkering with it.
Me - No I'm not. Just that Dell isn't building PCs very well. Gotta take things into my own hands.
Wife - Then why did you buy it?
Me - Well, they have great marketing and some reviews seemed to praise this model...
r72019
6 Professor
•
5.3K Posts
1
August 11th, 2019 16:00
You all are lucky. During the four weeks I spent upgrading/testing/setting up my PC, my wife showed no interest at all, aside from the occasional comment that it was such as waste to have a brand new PC that I wasn't even using, or to ask how much money I intended to spend on this project.
Then, once I told her everything was all set up and ready to go, and that I was done spending money on it, she promptly thanked me for setting up her new computer system. According to her, the latest version of her work's proprietary software runs really slow on her laptop, so the timing of the new PC was excellent and apparently there are no issues when she uses my PC. Now, on days when we both work from home, I get to use my old laptop while sitting at what used to be her desk. Meanwhile, she sits at my desk with my new PC, using my mouse/keyboard, while eating potato chips or other crumbly food products, and listening to pandora on my new Bose desktop speaker system, on stations that she added to my pandora account (my pandora is connected to Alexa, which outputs to my desktop speakers).
I don't know, I haven't installed speedfan. I tried to keep things simple and only used/installed AWCC to set the fan curves. I realize the AWCC program has much room for improvement. One thought, maybe there's a conflict between the two different programs being granted access to fan adjust settings and perhaps it might help if you uninstalled AWCC. Or, if not, another program to consider is HWinfo.
On a related note, thanks @Anonymous , the refresh trick really helps.
REPLYING TO:
My wife only comes upstairs to my home office occasionally. I think you have seen a photo of that ginormous, blue LED glowing external radiator tower sitting on my desk. When she walks by she takes a quick eye-glance at it, but she has never said a word, or even acknowledged its existence.
Wife - Are you running some illegal operation using that new computer? You're spending so much time in the garage tinkering with it.
Is this using AWCC or some other software? Speedfan won't even detect my fans connected to the motherboard. Ok, that was before all the funky fan work. Now it just craps out with an access violation.
GTS81
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
0
August 11th, 2019 16:00
GTS81
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
0
August 11th, 2019 23:00
@Anonymous maybe it's also time to consider routing some of the tubing outside of the casing? I see a "handle" formed by a notch in the back panel as a grip point to pull out the GPU. Would it fit a tubing if you drilled through it and placed a guiding seal on it? Then you could do the same using one of the PCIe slot opening for the GPU. I think you mentioned considering that before in your earlier post.
@r72019 , this sounds perfect because now you have a reason to get another PC, which hopefully doesn't have the limitation of the R7 such as the BIOS lockdown on supported CPU. Of course, that's all dependent on the state of your home's technology fund.
Here's the pic du jour
As you can see, I had my glass of hefeweizen
Did some stress test today on 3DMark Time Spy with various clock speeds and fan curves. Every time I hit the 4th or 5th iteration, GPU temp will shoot from 60C to 80C in less than a minute. The FANS JUST STOP. I even see it in AWCC that it's showing 0%. It is followed by the fans turning on and off in increasing frequency until temps came down. And no matter what I do in AWCC, fixed speed or curve, the issue persisted.
So I removed the LNA as that's my first suspect; that the AW board cannot understand the adjustment resistor. Plugged in the system and there's grinding of fan blades against something. Great...
Turns out the sound came from the G12 fan. Initially I couldn't figure out why. There's no wire blocking it. But yet another problem presented itself. The GDDR5 heat sink has fallen out of place! So I had no choice but to remove the card. Felt much easier today as I'm more confident in angling the card a certain way and only let the card plate slide against the case.
The heatsink was sandwiched between the Armor shroud and secured in place with the screws that held the shroud to the card. When I removed the shroud, the heatsink remained because of the tacky thermal pad. And I also found the root to the fan's problem: a piece of thermal pad covering the VRMs. Which is totally useless now because the fan should just blow on it directly.
Without the LNA, passed stress test. Card overclocked to 1450MHz @ 2150MHz GDDR5.
r72019
6 Professor
•
5.3K Posts
0
August 12th, 2019 08:00
Nice problem solving! I think it's too soon for me to get away with a new computer purchase at this point. I'll probably build my own next time around, but I did notice, for anyone who may be looking, that Dell was having a pretty good deal on new R8s over the weekend and seems to still be on today (R8, RTX 2070 Super, 9700 CPU [$90 more for K], 1TB M2 NVME PCIE boot, liquid cooled, 850W PSU, and 16 GB RAM for $1,411.49 - $200 Dell Visa Card promo = $1,211.49, with coupon code LCS10OFF. More discounts available, if you have the Amex offer (10%) or create a Dell account (3%).