Aurora R8, please fix fans

No problem with mine, works excellent

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@GamerSam wrote:

 

My two Aurora R7 machines do not have this problem.

 

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Good.

However, aren't they running the older AW-CC with the traditional UI/Look-and-Feel ? Something around v4.8.x ?

https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/Aurora-R7-CPU-pump-failed-thread-1/m-p/7272601/highlight/true#M9483

Thank you Tesla.

You're post gave me the idea of uninstalling AW-CC from my R8. This solved the problem. I don't get that intermittent fan spin ups when I'm simply browsing a website. Fans do spin up a little during video games but nowhere near what it used to be. I did check temps throughout using RealTemp and CoreTemp and they were fine. I'll eventually try and install a different version of AW-CC in the future, but for now, I'll run my R8 without it.

Thanks again!

So you don't have AWCC installed at all?

Got exactly same issue here. Waiting for the specialist to come "DOOR TO DOOR" again and fix this "HARDWARE" issue. Got the "PREMIUM SERVICE" and they just fixed my GPU by replaced it cuz I got that "SPACE INVASION" screen artifact issue weeks ago.

Also here's what I found on youtube, I got same issue with every game I played.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXoCBIvBJmY

So I had the exact same problem with the R8 (i7  8700,  RTX 2070 8gb, 16gb DDR4) and the industrial vacuum cleaner-like noises emanating from the case. 

I called Dell and after a lot of unnecessary diagnostics, they basically told me that it was normal that the fans make that level of noise and that I could "send it in if I wanted to but they probably won't be able to do much". and that switching to liquid cooling to fix the problem wasn't covered by my insurance.  The truth of the matter is, the R8 case is designed with liquid cooling in mind,  the aerodynamics of the case play a big role in the noises that are created.  So I was pretty **bleep** off and not about to be without a computer for a week and a half so i decided to take matters into my own hands. 

After looking at countless message boards I came to understand that I had 2 options, liquid cooling which would do away with the problem fans entirely (I'm aware liquid cooling still uses fans) or to try and find the quietest possible fans.  After a bit more research I found out that installing liquid cooling would require stripping every single component off of the motherboard in addition to putting new thermal compound directly onto the processor.  While I have no problem replacing a graphics card or adding RAM to a computer, once I found myself at a point where i could potentially screw up the BIOS or brick the entire machine, I decided to call an expert.  I left messages with a couple local (San Francisco) computer repair places, out of the 5 different companies I called, I only received one reply by a guy who said he wasn't comfortable with the risk of stripping out my computer so thoroughly. 

I decided my only option was to replace the fans and hope for the best.  Luckily, i found a couple posts about different fans people have used with the R8 case, I decided on Corsair ML120 pro: 120mm Magnetic Levitation Fan.  To be honest, even replacing the fans turned out to be pretty challenging (good luck getting the side panels to lock back onto your chassis) but the results were well worth it.  Even at the maximum amount of load (while overclocking) there is never anything more than a whooshing hum I'd say is equivalent to the sound that comes from a refrigerator and now, thank god, I can game while my wife is asleep.  these fans could very well have saved my marriage!  I hope this post is helpful to anyone who finds themselves in the same boat as i did.

-Perry Brennan

Yeah I'm not sure why Alienware offers air cooling as an option considering the chassis. There doesn't seem to be enough ventilation for heat to escape and I'd imagine the ambient temps are higher because of the design. I'm sure Dell has done testing on this to show otherwise, but still it's best to spend just a bit more for the AIO liquid cooling option.

I'm running an i9-9900K chip, overclocked @ 5ghz, and the only time I hear the fans getting loud is when the CPU is under intense load. That doesn't really surprise me considering the chip can run extremely hot.

But other than that, the fan speeds never go up at all. It's extremely quiet to the point I wondered if the fans were even working (I checked and they are).

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@JiabaoZ wrote:

Got exactly same issue here. Waiting for the specialist to come "DOOR TO DOOR" again and fix this "HARDWARE" issue. Got the "PREMIUM SERVICE" and they just fixed my GPU by replaced it cuz I got that "SPACE INVASION" screen artifact issue weeks ago.

Also here's what I found on youtube, I got same issue with every game I played.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXoCBIvBJmY

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The video actually shows the R8 working in normal operation. Since PhysX is being run on the CPU causing more load thus hotter thermal temps which require more cooling. IOW fan speeds have to go up.

Also it is probably a good idea to make sure there isn't dust/dirt buildup in the fans, ventilation areas, etc. to prevent more occurrences of sudden fan speed increase. If you've cleaned all the dust out and you still hear the fans revving up more often than you normally have heard, you might want to re-paste the CPU cooler. If you still run into problems after doing that, you may want to run stress tests on the CPU and check your thermal temps which might help to identify the problem.

Hey Perry, 

I am having the same exact issue on a brand new R8, I uninstalled AW_CC and the fans no longer ramp up but I also don't want to solely rely on that. I know they do need to ramp up occasionally since the rig is small and intended for liquid cooling, I only have fan support. I just ordered two fans of the same exact model (Corsair ML120 pro: 120mm Magnetic Levitation Fan) as mentioned in your post.  The fans drove my GF mad when I began gaming at night, now they're quiet but only because I disabled the AW_CC software.  I heard MSI Afterburner software works better and I will check that out but I read case fan replacement is something I should do regardless.  I have two questions; the first one is, how are the fans running, still no issues? (I read Dell bios isn't great with compatibility). Second question; I've never replaced case fans, especially not in an Alienware R8... was there any video that guided you through the process? The alienware r8 manual is good but I wanted something more thorough.

Thank you!

What was the solution to this JiabaoZ. My GPU just started doing this today.

In your opinion, is there much difference between the pro and regular version? Also, did you only replace the top and front fans?

I managed to replace both case fans today. What a difference it makes, they no longer sound like airplane turbines when they ramp up. It was my front intake fan that had that sound, now it’s much quieter. To anyone having issues with noise it’s most likely the front intake fan if your CPU is air cooled like mine. I considered installing a water cooler but decided to replace case fans first and it worked like a charm.

I used the same fans on an R8 but the BIOS throws out an error. The fan seems to work just fine -- it's being speed controlled and keeps the temps same as the stock fan. Any insights?

Sorry all -- turns out I had gotten the regular ML120s. I'll order and try the ML120 Pro and hopefully that passes the BIOS check. In case Dell is reading, I really want to try and love this machine, but the fan noise with stock fans is entirely too loud.