Aurora R8, Experience of Buying

@GTS81    You're welcome (for the lost productivity.)

Thank You so much.

What is the status of the i9-10980XE CPU? I thought that was coming out end of November?

Consistently out of stock. No chance to own one unless if your name is Linus or Jay.

@Anonymous :

I searched online forums and seems like it isn't even for sale yet. Better put yourself on notification waitlist on a few usual sites so that you can nab one as soon as it is available. January is drawing near. 

BTW friends, I'm off to virtual dream build now that I've purchased "PC Building Simulator" from Steam's Winter Sale. 

@HanoverB :

You would need either a short self tapping machine screw or a 7/64 tap drill to create threads on the upper frame of the chassis for the 6-32 screws used in the computer.    

You would need to put a slightly larger hole 9/64 in the PSU bracket flange to run the screw through to fasten to the upper chassis frame where you created the threaded hole.  It needs to be short like the 6-32 screw on the 1 2 3 bracket because the square black pull on the upper back that releases the side of the computer is a piece of plastic that runs and slides along the upper frame of the chassis

Thank you so much for this. I was wondering if driving screws through to the main chassis would interfere with the panel release mechanism.

Going to 240mm radiator for my CPU would mean I need to revisit the stripped screw on the AIO cooler. Maybe it's time to get one of those stripped-screw-destroyer bit and say good riddance to the Alienhead. However, there's a risk I'm going to take my motherboard and/or CPU out with it too. 

@Anonymous I watched a bunch of youtube vids and I am getting a better feel for the C700M and 1000D,

Can you picture what it would look like under a Christmas tree?

On a related note, the thermaltake open air case looks really tacky and flimsy in person.

@r72019   Can you picture what it would look like under a Christmas tree?

I can't see your photo yet, and it will be sometime after Christmas when Santa comes (2020), but in my imagination I am picturing something like this

Bringing all of our imaginations one step closer to reality:

This PC Building Simulator is really a conspiracy to trap us all into becoming full time rig modders/ builders.

Here's my Dream Build (sort of settled with the Dark Base Pro Rev. 2 Orange).

Although MSI motherboards are available, the Creation X299 is not. So I picked a similarly large board. With the DBP R2 case, it takes up a good amount of space, and the rest is well used by custom loop. The simulator is a watered down version of reality because many things like case modularity which this one is particularly strong in, isn't available. Limit is 1 pump+reservoir per rig. So can't do any parallel loops here. No distro plate either.

Then I spent the rest of the evening "building" @Anonymous 's Dream Build. Look at the difference in empty space left!  Too bad there isn't a 480mm radiator choice. And somehow a 3rd radiator on top isn't allowed so I just stuck 3x LL140s there.

Even spent some time with the "RGB Color" software to suit your favorite color my friend.

Snips

Cut done, back in chassis no support arms

Lift PSU bracket from case and flip to front to do any work on the machine.  Protect front bezel if in place.

Upper part of bracket not stable, and can be lifted.  Little too much play even if side panel is on.  Potential for noise, vibration.  

Location of hole I drilled, went through both bracket and chassis together.   Used a punch first.  The most important thing is to make sure you tape the bracket in place as it will move while you are drilling.  I used a drill bit that just barely fits through the screw hole in the 123 cross bar.

Taped and using drill.

6-32 Screw in place as a safety precaution..  What I found was that one of the 6-32 screws in the machine will create its own threads as the chassis metal is so soft.   Screw it first time is tight, then once you back it out, it becomes much easier..  Nice to see this happen.  (Zip tie safety option here)

End result is that it is stable with the safety screw in place.  A little wiggle present, but not bad at all.

The side panel is still able to open and close.  With the side panel in place the PSU bracket is fairly stable.  At least on the XPS 8930, the inside of the side panel rests very close to the 123 support bracket and the PSU.  Also the back edge of the side panel wraps over the PSU.  To prevent any vibration, I would put a rubber bumper or piece of felt with adhesive, on either the side panel at the location of the 123 bracket or on that 123 bracket itself.  The side panel would lock that PSU bracket even more snugly in position.

You can see on this pic there are two foam squares already on the side panel as it came from Dell to dampen vibration of the side panel and bracket.  I added a piece of adhesive backed felt where the 123 cross bracket is for more stability.

Front of chassis is now wide open.    Thinking bottom section of 240mm radiator and fan would be in line with lower chassis grill work and that the upper 2/3 of the top section of the radiator would get decent airflow.  Could do some additional cutting to get airflow to the null area in between. I will get the empty case out with front lower grill work removed and see how easy it would be to remove a bit more of the sheet metal in the middle between the two grill areas.

Blue tape on ruler represents 275mm dimension of typical 240mm AIO.  Can see the grillwork relative to approximate radiator and fan positions.  Upper 20 mm will be hoses and upper radiator fittings, lower 15mm is bottom of radiator.

Corsair H100i Pro RGB,  same rotating barbs on pump as H60, same fans, pump installs same way. set up for LGA 1151 socket from factory, pump power from SATA., tach cable optional.  Would need USB port if you want to monitor pump speed, fan speeds, lighting of head changes.  So bring in a USB to micro-USB cable (to pump head) from one of the rear ports. Or connect both fans to motherboard fan header and bypass since you have AWCC,

H100i RGB Platinum version comes with ML120 Pro RGB fans

Only issue I see is these two areas are slightly raised inside the case.  Even with them there they should still allow you to use a 25mm fan in pull position inside the radiator at the upper intake. It was fine on the XPS 8930 CPU AIO install at that location.  Would need to check before cutting anything away.  @rwgordon cut those sections away here..  Ray kept the grillwork at that upper position because the bezel locks into the large hole there.  But cutting away just that lower raised area on the right would get more air to the upper radiator position..

@GTS81   Then I spent the rest of the evening "building" @Dell630i 's Dream Build. Look at the difference in empty space left!

That is a pretty awesome toy. We can save a lot of money just creating virtual 'Dream Builds'.

Not sure how you got your photos to post, when many are still in the eternity hold?

I would like to do a single 420mm radiator up top, but when my photo is mod approved, you will see that, with my very rough scaling, I could only fit a 360mm with push/pull fans. However, I know that aznsniper911 did his build with four 480mm radiators and push/pull fans, so still working that out. Also, at this juncture, I am planning to do 3 separate loops, so measuring for pumps, pump tops, and reservoirs                    (click to embiggen)

@Anonymous :

Seems that your pics are taking a little longer to get approved. I was wondering if it’s due to the PSU cage in dustbin pic that put you on a watch list but @r72019 @has something similar too yet his pic from Micro Center got approved.

@r72019 :

If you took that pic and love near a micro center, all I have to say is LUCKY YOU! You will end up buying too many “fans”.

@r72019   Can you picture . . .

OK . . . your photo is visible . . . so the case is tall, w  i  d  e, and fat 

We do not have Micro Center in TN. Thanks for sharing

. . . wishing a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season to all!

I don't live by microcenter, but this one's next to an airport I fly to often and I had some time to burn.  They had a lot of cases on display.  Instead of the P series, the Thermaltake View 71 rgb looks pretty cool with lots of viewing angles.  Their actual fan selection wasn't very good, they only had a couple 120mm noctuas and a lot of brands that I've never heard of. This is the open air P series I didn't like so much.

@GTS81 

Added comment of raised area inside front chassis in previous post.  Also @rwgordon cuts shown, if necessary, of null area which would help with airflow..

At least you have the option of the 240mm radiator going forward as you continue with your mods.

Carry on!