Update: I purchased the NOCTUA NF-A12x24 for the Top Fan and it gave me the error as someone predicted. I might move it to the Front Fan spot and just get the ML120 Pros for the Top. I also replaced the stock CPU fan with a NOCTUA NF-A8 for the CPU Fan.

I believe the 120mm fan is A12x25 as it's a 25mm thick fan, and not 24mm thick?

Please also let us know which fans are PWM (pulse width modulated speed) or FLX (fixed speed).

The rig is now noticeably quieter but the Stock Front Fan still revs up seriously when under load. Will need to replace that as mentioned above.

See comment below on the ML120 Pro.

I looked into liquid cooling and decided I didn't want to take the risks and invest myself in the maintenance of an AIO. I guess I'm just sticking with air cooling, time will tell if I decide to upgrade the CPU heat sink.

Sorry the thread is a few pages long so I didn't find out about your CPU. Is it the i9-9900K? The higher end unlocked processors are more susceptible to generating tons of heat that air cooling in this casing doesn't cut it.

What concerns me the most now is that the NOCTUA NF-A8, my chosen CPU fan replacement, brings up a BIOS error at startup. I don't think anyone else on this discussion has experienced BIOS errors with the CPU fan.

I thought I read about this in one of the posts but as you mentioned, tried searching the "CRAZY LOUD FANS" and @HanoverB 8930 mod posts but couldn't find any information about it. It's one of those errors you can just choose to bypass on every boot I think but it'll drive any one crazy to do this every time.

First, I've come to have big distrust of AWCC both reporting and controlling my fans. As you said, you'll never see the max speed go beyond 50% even when fixed speed setting is 100%. What's crazier is that for the same fan, if you plug them into the different headers set to the same speed, you will see a difference in speed reported. That's for the reporting. In my R8, if the case temperature approaches 50C, going beyond 60% actually trips up my fan and 65% makes my fan run at around 10%. I can actually see the individual blades turning while my GPU roasts. I'm able to successfully reproduce this behavior with Noctua A12x25 PWM, A8 PWM, and A9 PWM. Only my Corsair ML120 Pro did not have this problem. Therefore I have moved all critical cooling functions to either the ML120 Pro or non-PWM Noctua fan or Noctua PWM fan controlled by GPU fan header.

Following the AWCC debacle and from my memory of others complaining of AWCC's ruination of fan speed, I uninstalled AWCC and downloaded SpeedFan. Unfortunately, SpeedFan isn't recognizing any of my fans (none show up in the configuration menu), so likely Aurora BIOS is preventing proper recognition or control of the fans through SpeedFan.

Correct. There's no way to software fix for this as far as I know. My plan in the future is to generate an RPM pulse to satisfy both top and front header to prevent boot error, and then install a Corsair Fan Commander to be rid of AWCC once and for all.

I'm honestly afraid to game at all on the PC right now. I started up Rainbow Six Siege for 3 minutes, shut it down after hearing the Front Fan roar at me, then furrowed my brow at the screen while I heard the Front Fan slowly die down, only for a final shriek to be emitted from it as I opened Chrome. 

Would you be able to bring up a monitor OSD like Rivatuner while gaming? That way you can monitor your CPU and GPU temps as you game. I have the same concern as you are because there is one last fan I cannot move away from AWCC control and that is my GPU VRM fan that I've chosen to be the victim fan for the front header. And there is no way for me to monitor the VRM temps so the GPU may be ok when the VRMs are frying. I think I might swap that out for an FLX Noctua soon.

Correction: Top Fan at this point doesn't spin AT ALL. Hopefully will work with ML120 Pro, coming on 08/28.

A top fan that doesn't spin at all will never pass boot. So I presume you're referring to the few seconds of turning on the R8 and getting the error. Or are you saying you plugged in the Nidec fan, booted Windows, and then swapped out the connection to the A12x25 and it doesn't spin at all?

Use Noctua A12x25 as front fan and ML120 Pro as top fan. One thing to note is that the AVC and Nidec fans are server grade fans with more CFM so you may need to tune the Noctua and Corsair fans to get acceptable cooling performance but you should end up with less noise as most of us have experienced here except for a handful.

@GTS81 Updated Info: Yes, it was a NF-A12x25 PWM. The NF-A8 is also PWM. My CPU is i5-9400F: it shouldn't require extreme cooling even in Dell's claustrophobic, poorly-ventilated chassis.

I can understand that the Noctua fans may not be as powerful as the Stock Fans, but AWCC has them running at such low speeds that they are definitely not being used to their full potential. The TOP fan does spin when the CPU is under load, but at Idle (when the CPU is ~50C), the TOP fan isn't spinning at all. No problem with the fan itself, just fan control.

Since I plan to move the A12x25 PWM to the front fan (which doesn't have issues with speed control), I plan to keep it. However, should I opt for the A8 FLX instead of PWM to just bypass any AWCC meddling with my fan speed? (As we noted, CPU fans could be relaxing at low speeds while the CPU cooks since AWCC isn't doing anything about it.) Alternatively, should I just get a Corsair 80mm fan for the CPU so I can use Corsair Command Center to control both TOP and CPU fan?  

I'm just letting my PC chill for today. My ML120 Pro comes tomorrow, and after I install that to TOP, I'll see how my temps look. I'll also try gaming with a temp overlay tomorrow.

You mentioned you have a VRM fan for your graphics card? What graphics card do you have? From a quick look in my system, I have TOP, FRONT, CPU, GPU, and Power Supply fans. I want to keep my parts running as smoothly and for as long as possible (while keeping my PC as quiet as possible), so I will replace whatever fans necessary to do this. As I said, I'm already replacing the TOP, FRONT, and CPU fans.  I don't think my GPU fan is replaceable (for a RTX 2060), but my GPU stays pretty cool even when running AAA games. I have no idea if I should replace my power supply fan. 

Thanks for sharing your experience. Has made this process much quicker and easier than if I were to guess and check multiple fans, or if I were to trust Dell customer service. 

I'm just letting my PC chill for today. My ML120 Pro comes tomorrow, and after I install that to TOP, I'll see how my temps look. I'll also try gaming with a temp overlay tomorrow.

I'm using an ML120 Pro as the radiator fan in my R7. It's plugged into the TOP fan header on the motherboard. Works fine; doesn't trigger an ePSA boot error.

I have a curve set in AWCC. So far, even with my 8700k on OC2, it runs around 33-36C on idle, and tops out at 66C when playing games. The ML120 Pro doesn't push as much as air as the OEM Nidec fan, but it's much quieter. I can live with the trade off.

Also, there's diminishing returns on how much faster to push air through the radiator before it just levels off. Once that happens, you've reached the thermal limit of the radiator itself and going to a faster, louder fan won't do much.

The TOP fan does spin when the CPU is under load, but at Idle (when the CPU is ~50C), the TOP fan isn't spinning at all. No problem with the fan itself, just fan control.

Like @Anonymous mentioned, it is a problem if the TOP fan doesn't spin. Moreover, I want to make sure we are on the same page here because you are putting CPU load and TOP fan in the same sentence. When CPU is under load, it should be primarily affecting the CPU FAN. The TOP FAN is affected as a secondary effect when the case temps rise. Just want to make sure you did connect the AF8 to the CPU_FAN header and the A12x25 to the TOP_FAN header on the motherboard.

If you did, then something is strange because the most basic fan behavior for the R7/R8 is to have TOP FAN spinning right from boot. In fact, there are at least 2 fan-related ways to get boot failure. First is to have a non-moving TOP FAN. Second is to have an unconnected FRONT_FAN header. In the second case, your TOP FAN will spin at maximum speed while you see a black screen at boot. So when you mentioned that the TOP FAN isn't spinning, did it spin during boot and then stopped once Windows + AWCC is loaded? Or it never spun from power on?

Alternatively, should I just get a Corsair 80mm fan for the CPU so I can use Corsair Command Center to control both TOP and CPU fan?  

As per the hardware you plan to have (Corsair fans only), you cannot use the Corsair control software to tune the fans. You'll need to splurge on the $80 Commander to get that functionality by hooking up the fans to it. In fact that's my ultimate goal but I will need to figure out how to trick the R8 to boot without any fans hooked up to the motherboard.

You mentioned you have a VRM fan for your graphics card? What graphics card do you have? From a quick look in my system, I have TOP, FRONT, CPU, GPU, and Power Supply fans. I want to keep my parts running as smoothly and for as long as possible (while keeping my PC as quiet as possible), so I will replace whatever fans necessary to do this. As I said, I'm already replacing the TOP, FRONT, and CPU fans.  I don't think my GPU fan is replaceable (for a RTX 2060), but my GPU stays pretty cool even when running AAA games. I have no idea if I should replace my power supply fan. 

I have a cheap MSI RX580 8GB Armor OC. It comes with MSI's air cooler design that has a double fan blowing onto a wide radiator wicking heat off the GPU die, VRM, and GDDR chips. The VRM fan I mentioned is part of this mod I did to my graphics card where the GPU die ends up getting liquid cooling while the VRM remains air cooled.

https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/Experience-of-Buying-an-Aurora-R8/m-p/7352232/highlight/true#M11643

If your 2060 stays cool when running AAA games and you're happy with it, then all is good.  It wasn't the case for me and I concluded I needed liquid cooling for my GPU after a series of experiments:

https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/Experience-of-Buying-an-Aurora-R8/m-p/7351136/highlight/true#M11595

And to emphasize @Anonymous's answer on the PSU fan: DON'T!!!

@amstel78 :

I have a curve set in AWCC. So far, even with my 8700k on OC2, it runs around 33-36C on idle, and tops out at 66C when playing games. The ML120 Pro doesn't push as much as air as the OEM Nidec fan, but it's much quieter. I can live with the trade off.

You reported on real world usage where 66C is tops. How about torture tests or benchmarks that are CPU intensive? Does it go beyond 66c?

You reported on real world usage where 66C is tops. How about torture tests or benchmarks that are CPU intensive? Does it go beyond 66c?

Interesting question. I just fired up Prime95 on OC2. At startup, the 8700k spiked to 87c but only for a moment. I think it was due to the slight delay in the radiator fan ramping up. After running for several minutes now, CPU temps have stabilized to 84c with the ML120 Pro running at 100% or roughly 2,500 RPM. Bear in mind however that the room the PC is located in is currently 78F.

Anyway, the max temps I'm seeing could be better but given that the 8700k's T-junction is 100c, I'm not too concerned. Real life applications rarely drive all 12 cores to 100%.

I can run the test again with the 8700k at stock speeds and voltages if you're interested.  I'm sure the temps will be much lower... probably in the 70c range.

P.S. I'm using AS5 for the thermal compound. 

Bear in mind however that the room the PC is located in is currently 78F.

Thank you for testing. Sorry for heating up your room. 

Anyway, the max temps I'm seeing could be better but given that the 8700k's T-junction is 100c, I'm not too concerned. Real life applications rarely drive all 12 cores to 100%.

80s in benchmarks are ok. As you mentioned, real world usage seldom hits all 12 cores even on high core level parallelism software. The L3 cache wouldn't keep up and if you hit more than 1 access to memory, there it goes.

I can run the test again with the 8700k at stock speeds and voltages if you're interested.  I'm sure the temps will be much lower... probably in the 70c range.

No, thank you. These benchmarks don't help with the summer heat and also lifespan of silicon. 

P.S. I'm using AS5 for the thermal compound. 

Steady hands too huh. I'm still on non-conductive compound (Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut... it likes high mounting pressure).

I recently bought a tube of MX4 since the AS5 is getting long in the tooth.  From what I understand, MX4 in terms of performance is pretty close to AS5 without having to worry about electrical conductivity.

And yes, slow and steady wins the race when applying AS5.  And when you think it's not enough, it's probably still too much... lol.  I always dread that feeling right before hitting the power button after a re-paste with AS5.

So I got the ML120 PRO, installed it to TOP fan, moved the NF-A12x24 PWM to FRONT fan, and kept the NF-A8 PWM on the CPU heatsink. Hooray! No BIOS error! (...which is weird since earlier, when I had connected A12 to the TOP header, the NF-A8 PWM gave me a CPU fan error, and now it doesn't...)

At IDLE, GPU temps are downright chilly at 32C, while CPU temps are acceptable at ~40C. Under load, both GPU and CPU can get up to 72C. "Under load" = running Rainbow Six Siege at highest settings. Rainbow Six Siege is a CPU-heavy game per some forums.

While I hear these temps are acceptable, I'd rather keep my temps lower to preserve the integrity of both elements over a longer period of time. A final upgrade I can think of to make this dream a reality is to replace the heatsink/CPU fan hardware. I've heard on other forums that Dell can do a poor job applying the thermal paste and an upgraded heatsink should also help temperatures at least slightly. 

Anyone have any good experiences with heat sinks? Also, I am aware some may say that this case just won't work with CPU air cooling, which I can agree with to a large extent. @Anonymous, are you really sure liquid cooling is safe? I don't know if I want to fall down that rabbit hole.

As further notes, I have a steep fan curve for the CPU fan but as I discussed earlier, the actual max RPM seems to be at 50% theoretical max through AWCC. The ML120 Pro is disappointingly loud but an improvement from stock fans. Also, I might return the NFx25 and get a lower RPM, cheaper, fan since I don't need the NFx25 RPM capabilities for an intake function.

Thanks for the help y'all!

@Agreen4511 you could always try a re-paste with the stock heatsink/fan combo. MX4 is a good choice; inexpensive and electrically non-conductive.  Might shave a couple or more degrees off especially if Dell didn't do a good job.

And yes, liquid cooling is fine.  There's always the off chance you might get a defective AIO, or spring a leak somewhere but that's the price of admission if you want to play with water. The upside is that you'll have much cooler idle and peak CPU temps.  The downside apart from what I've already mentioned is yes, you'll most certainly be going down a rabbit hole thinking of what to liquid cool next (GPU being the obvious choice).

@GTS81 I heard the h60 comes with the paste pre-apply and was very tempted.

I was thinking about going for it. Then I'd install the pump power cord to the pump fan header. I'd replace the Corsair fan which comes with the h60 with the NF-A12x25. Per the installation procedure, I'd emplace the A12 in the TOP fan bracket, but to avoid the boot error (and in my case, the error where any fan except the ML120 Pro literally DOESN'T RUN on boot), I'd connect the A12 into the CPU fan header. I'd then probably just get a new cheap Noctua fan for the front intake.

Do you think the NF-A12x25 can dissipate the heat from the pump sufficiently? Also, this setup would leave the TOP fan header unconnected: does this result in any critical boot errors? 

If the NF-A12x25 was sufficient as a top radiator for the pump, and no critical errors prevented use of the PC, then I'd have a system which has a relatively quiet pump (Corsair H60), good quiet fan intake (some cheap Noctua), good quiet radiator fan (Noctua A12x25), and NO noisy fans (Corsair ML120 Pro). 

Does this plan have any promise y'all?

@Agreen4511 , sorry but you'll run into boot error with that plan. With a liquid cooler, you must have the following headers set:

PUMP_FAN - Connected to AIO pump.

TOP_FAN - Connected to Corsair ML120 Pro or Nidec fan (noisy or noisier, your pick).

CPU_FAN - Disconnected.

FRONT_FAN - Anything. I suggest keeping the A12x25.

For an i5-9400, any fan works with the liquid cooling radiator. I have the same CPU with Dell's liquid cooler and ML120 Pro set at 40% during 3DMark CPU stress test and CPU temp struggles to go past 50C.

Alternately you can try out @r72019's configuration where the Nidec fan and Noctua PPC fan is in a push-pull config for the radiator.

As you go about reducing the noise level by swapping out parts, your next noisiest component is going to stick out like a sore thumb. On day 1, my Dell AIO pump didn't bother me at all. After doing all the fans, PSU and other mods, now I can hear the AIO pumps buzzing and they drive me nuts. So my advice would be to find that noise level you're comfortable with and just call it a day. Don't go for a 100% silent PC. Last night I thought a pump was broken because of louder buzzing until I realized it was a distant helicopter.

Yes you can either use ML120 Pro or Dell's Nidec as long as they are the master fan, i.e. connected to the 4-pin header of the y-split cable. The other header only has 3 pins to control speed with PWM but not send tach signal back to TOP_FAN.

As I understand it, the Corsair SP 120L, Corsair ML 120 Pro, OEM Nidec, and OEM AVC fans all work without errors in the top fan header of an R7/8, which share the same motherboard.   This is the pickiest header to clear BIOS boot diagnostics.  The SP120L is the radiator fan that comes with the older version of the Corsair H60 (pre 2018, I think it is second generation, and 2018 is third generation). The current version Corsair H60 is the 2018 version (third gen), and the radiator fan included in the third gen H60 triggers a BIOs startup error.  One difference between the two fans, is the second generation SP 120L goes up to 2000 RPM, but the third gen fan only goes up to 1700 RPM. 

The holes for the CPU cooler/air cooler in the R7/8 motherboard are not threaded.  There is a backplate with threaded holes, and it is the same for both air cooled and liquid cooled Aurora R7/8 systems.  You do not need to remove this backplate to install the Corsair H60.  If you purchase the second generation H60, the instructions in the box may not indicate compatibility with LGA 1151.  There are standoff screws for two different type motherboards.  The set to use is the one that starts 115_.  You may be tempted to use the one starting with a 20__, and if you do, you may be further tempted to bend the CPU cooler bracket to get it to fit (I think I recall reading something about that in another thread on this forum).  DON'T!  From my own experience, and per the updated instructions on Corsair's website, the second generation Corsair H60 is compatible with 1151, and with the Aurora R7/8.  You can use the OEM Dell backplate in lieu of the Corsair supplied backplate, and if you do so, you will not need to remove the R7/8 motherboard's backplate.  Everything else on the Corsair H60 will install as expected, no modifications required. 

REPLYING TO:
One other risk factor is that you may or may not have to remove your entire motherboard to install the backplate to withstand the mounting pressure of the AIO pump. @r72019 or @HanoverB might be able to shed some light on this as there's been reports that even air cooled R8 already has the backplate installed.