New Aurora R9 1st Look

It launches for sale on dell's website tomorrow!?! No wonder why there have been so many really good R8 sales in the last 2 weeks.

Looks like they just spray painted the old Z370 board blue.  Wouldn't be surprised if they also added another digit like a "3" to the part number.  

Actually, on further consideration, that looks like a mini ITX motherboard and GPU.  Or maybe it's just the angle of the picture.  Hard to tell for the motherboard, but the GPU really does look to be a nonstandard size. 

REPLYING TO: 

The MB code is hidden so no way to figure out if it's a new board

Oh yeah, and that seems to go well with the GPU no longer jutting out to like 1cm away from the front intake fan. 

What exactly does "exclusive 100% hyper x fury xmp memory" mean, anyway? (your second screen shot) ... That Dell blocked upgrade compatibility for other types of RAM through BIOs and now you need to buy RAM upgrades through Dell?

OMG don't tell me Dell recycled their same old Z370 board, for another iteration of the aurora R7. At least it actually looks different this time.

"The Alienware Aurora R9 has options for 9th Gen Intel Core i3, i5, i7, and i9 processors, all aimed at connecting with the Intel Z370 chipset"

https://www.slashgear.com/alienware-aurora-r9-desktop-takes-a-bold-gaming-gamble-19587686/

Just finished watching the video and took a bunch of screenshots. Enjoy!

Video going great until... typo:

https://imgur.com/wGn2QG7

PSU swing-arm architecture. Hmm... But at least it says mid-tower right? Maybe a bigger swing-arm that works for @Anonymous ? What is "Exclusive 100% HyperX Fury XMP Memory"???

https://imgur.com/8Slntvx

Same bleep different day

https://imgur.com/mYs3q0E

Swing-arm benefit... 

https://imgur.com/YW2nYu1

The MB code is hidden so no way to figure out if it's a new board

https://imgur.com/HjDk7qI

We will know soon by looking at BIOS revision number when it is released. Might start from 1 again due to the DRAM locking?

Actually, on further consideration, that looks like a mini ITX motherboard and GPU.  Or maybe it's just the angle of the picture.  But the GPU really does look to be a nonstandard size. 

I believe it's the angle. Other pics online show the location of the remaining SATA and m2 ports which are identical to our boards. Some 2060 and 2070 cards can be that short (https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?N=100007709%20601321572%20601292087%20601292089%20601292091). My budget-beater R8 config came with an RX560X that is even smaller as it occupies only 1 slot. 

Looking at that same pic again, I see that the blue IO board connector on the MB side is now angled to that it frees up airflow at the top-left part of the fan.

I suppose Dell should get some credit for the plastic face-lift.  This is how I've been seeing it: 

 R7 + bios update = R8. 

R7 + bios update - 5 lbs of plastic = R9. 

In any event, if correct, the nature of the changes over the last few iterations (especially the "exclusive RAM" and possibly non-standard ITX size GPUs in the R9) appears to be a strong signal for the direction Dell is heading, and that people like us who enjoy upgrading their PCs are not Dell's target or even intended consumer.

The R9 has a better air intake, similar to XPS where it includes the entire height of the chassis. I would drop in another ML120 fan at the top front in a heartbeat if I have an R9.

RAM lockdown and GPU size is still an unknown until we get the first reports from real world users. It's a sample RTX we're seeing and there's also graphic from other sites showing full sized cards:

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2019/8/19/20811706/alienware-aurora-r9-dell-g5-5090-desktop-gaming-pc-mouse-keyboard-monitors-price-release-date-specs

I would expect to start seeing posts from R9 owners soon. Don't expect prospective buyers to come read our bleeps first before hitting the "order" button. I know I didn't when I purchased my R8. 

On a related note, it seems like the Inspiron lineup is getting replaced by the G5... so @Anonymous  will be joining us there. 

Replying to:
Make space under the bus. Us R8 users joining you soon.

I didn't even care about that G5 until you drew my attention to it. Make even more space under the bus because a good portion of future G5 buyers are already under it from the get go by pairing an unlocked CPU with H370 chipset.

https://images.anandtech.com/doci/14761/dell-g5-specs.png

And honestly, @Anonymous is already on a spaceship with his mod anyway. Forget about him being under the bus.

LMAO, why would you stick an unlocked CPU on a board that doesn't support overclocking.  Or am I missing something here. 

I guess it makes me feel somewhat less like roadkill under a bus when I see stuff like this:  G5, with an RTX 2080, 9900K, no liquid cooling option, and powered by the maximum offering of  (wait for it)  .... a 460W PSU!  Now at least I understand why OC is disabled.  What I don't understand is why even bother offering a K class processor, when every K class processor has a non-K counter part (9900K has 9900, 9700K has 9700, and so forth and so forth), unless you're doing it with the sole purpose of trying to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers who don't know the difference between CPU from a GPU (or perhaps a more typical example: the consumer who reads their service tag info and thinks either their PSU or chassis are liquid cooled) and are thus willing to pay a K premium for something they will never be able to use as purchased.  Oh wait, did I just answer my own question?