I've a question. How does R9 mobo interface with AlienFX? Does it use Master I/O board like older Aurora did? Thinking about getting one if I could pair AlienFX with 3rd party mobo (in the future of course).
Beginning with R5, the LEDs have been moved onboard the mthrbrd, output comes through the LED CONTROLLER header (red box, bottom left sill) which is also merged with the Front Panel wiring (on-off, HDD LED, PwrOn LED, Reset etc)
The mthrbrd doesn't appear to have printed micro-text at or near the header to explain what each wire-color is or does. No one that I've seen has published a pinout chart or guide for it either. You'd need to have a case there with the LED Contr. connector, where u can explore it & the various harnesses & top assembly on-off button PCB to get it figured out. You could then interface to the front panel wiring with a mod; as for LEDs u may probably hard-wire one color LED to stay on, but you'd need some voodoo in order to change colors. In otherwords, the original mthrbrd is the best part for the job, by design
Mthrbrd makers have been merging LED RGB control onto/through the mthrbrd lately (MSI Mystic Light - Asus Aura etc) where output comes through an LED header controlled by the company's own software. I have no way of knowing if AlienFX could be installed in tandem w/ an aftrmrkt board & 'cause' an LED output of the correct color or volts-miliamps etc to the R5-R9 case LEDs (if u did a wiring mod), it seems you'd want to use the included aftrmrkt software & somehow 'mod' a way to get it to the case LEDs, only if the signal is correct (matches OEM LED specs), where again 'original mthrbrd is the best part for the job'
You'd 1st have to hope AlienFX software will install on the aftrmrkt board (& not have a proprietary block due to non-approved mthrbrd Hardware ID), then, find a way to mod into the case lights, then hope your onboard LED header (if your aftrmrkt m-ATX mthrbrd even has one) can obey AlienFX commands (change to green, now change to purple etc) & still be the correct output for the case lights without burning them out. Without the dedicated daughterboard from years past (but still found in A51 R5-R7), difficult to get an aftrmrkt board in let alone regain case lights (more than one)
There is no rear I/O shield plate either, the rear I/O (mouse-keyboard-USB-LAN-audio) etc is permanent, stamped into the rear case (that & the proprietary front panel scheme are presumably to thwart mthrbrd swaps), so to fit a different mthrbrd into the case might require Dremel-rotary-tool, remove a perfectly rectangular area so new shield plate can press in, which seems messy ... some of this was addressed in my post from 3years ago
The opposite - putting R5-R9 mthrbrd into R1-R4 case - you'd need to figure out the front panel wiring needs of the mthrbrd, interface to it with mods, then hand-make a rear I/O shield trim plate (preferably with material that can act as an EMI shield as most plates do). R5-R9 are cases I'd like to avoid swapping into but it isn't impossible, where there's a will there's a way
If I have a $1000 now, I can order one. Somehow the website says Oct 16 delivery but when I clicked on some options and then reverted, it shows delivery by 8/22 . So I'm pretty sure someone would know soon if it's the same board. I wouldn't bet it is different.
And I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but good lord that R9 looks awful.
P.S. what happened to the forum's quote function?
It's gone for a while now, maybe to deter us from forming epic threads (not working). I use the HTML editor to add "blockquote" tags.
My take on the new look is that it's not bad. For additional $, you get the white version which to me looks like Wall-E's girlfriend got caught by an appliance maker and made into an expensive fan. You know, that British company that makes expensive vacuum cleaners...
Reminder to self: left screw on, right screw on, then lift. It hasn't happen yet but with all the mucking around I've been doing with my R8, I might one day forget to put back those screws and have the handle-top panel dislodge and the rest of the PC crash to the ground.
I've had my top off many a time as well, mostly to clear the dust bunnies out of the radiator. A major flaw of the old chassis and case are the lack of dust filters. I don't see them in the new R9 either.
My R7 is in my apartment in Manhattan where no matter what; mechanical dust filter on 24x7 and windows closed, a **bleep** load of it always manages to get in. The cat doesn't help either. I've resorted to tearing up a pair of my wife's old stockings and taping it over the front air intake just to minimize the junk that gets sucked in.
Anyway, back to the grab handle... I always put the screws back just so I don't lose them or the cat eats them.
It's gone for a while now, maybe to deter us from forming epic threads (not working). I use the HTML editor to add "blockquote" tags.
My take on the new look is that it's not bad. For additional $, you get the white version which to me looks like Wall-E's girlfriend got caught by an appliance maker and made into an expensive fan. You know, that British company that makes expensive vacuum cleaners...
Thanks for the tip on the HTML tags! Felt like I was going nuts for a while looking for the quote button thinking my browser was borked.
Like I said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Personally I like the angular lines of the R7 and R8. I do find the grab handle at the top quite useful when moving the machine around. I don't see any such provision with the new case design.
I do find the grab handle at the top quite useful when moving the machine around.
Reminder to self: left screw on, right screw on, then lift. It hasn't happen yet but with all the mucking around I've been doing with my R8, I might one day forget to put back those screws and have the handle-top panel dislodge and the rest of the PC crash to the ground.
The Dell PSUs are all air cooled, no upgrade there. The difference is gold vs bronze, i.e., slightly more efficient in terms of power consumption (wastes less power). Estimated retail value of this upgrade, ~$30 to $40. You're primarily just paying for the new look, even the mother board shares the same Z370 chipset across the R7/R8/R9 - so virtually no possibility of upgrade to the next (10th) gen Comet Lake CPUs.
REPLYING TO:
I just purchased an R8 i9 9900k, rtx 2080ti, 1tb ssd, 16gb ram, matching keyboard and mouse. I purchased all a week ago. And have contacted dell, to see if I could possible return it and exchange for r9. They tried offering me $193 to keep mine.. I can get r9 for an extra $500 roughly with same specs + keyboard and mouse. I paid $2940 for r8 with mouse and keyboard + 2 year support. R9 same specs but PSU cooling, and lunar light keyboard + mouse is $3300.
GTS81
2 Intern
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2.2K Posts
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August 19th, 2019 17:00
R7 owners - Stuck with 8th gen unlocked CPU but overclocking enabled
G5 owners - Gets 9th gen unlocked CPU but stuck with overclocking disabled
You're not at the bottom now?
Rhenium
103 Posts
0
August 20th, 2019 08:00
Hi Cass,
I've a question. How does R9 mobo interface with AlienFX? Does it use Master I/O board like older Aurora did? Thinking about getting one if I could pair AlienFX with 3rd party mobo (in the future of course).
Thanks.
Cass-Ole
6 Professor
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1.9K Posts
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August 20th, 2019 16:00
R8 Gen9 Compatible R3FWM | R7 Gen8 Compatible VDT73
Beginning with R5, the LEDs have been moved onboard the mthrbrd, output comes through the LED CONTROLLER header (red box, bottom left sill) which is also merged with the Front Panel wiring (on-off, HDD LED, PwrOn LED, Reset etc)
The mthrbrd doesn't appear to have printed micro-text at or near the header to explain what each wire-color is or does. No one that I've seen has published a pinout chart or guide for it either. You'd need to have a case there with the LED Contr. connector, where u can explore it & the various harnesses & top assembly on-off button PCB to get it figured out. You could then interface to the front panel wiring with a mod; as for LEDs u may probably hard-wire one color LED to stay on, but you'd need some voodoo in order to change colors. In otherwords, the original mthrbrd is the best part for the job, by design
Mthrbrd makers have been merging LED RGB control onto/through the mthrbrd lately (MSI Mystic Light - Asus Aura etc) where output comes through an LED header controlled by the company's own software. I have no way of knowing if AlienFX could be installed in tandem w/ an aftrmrkt board & 'cause' an LED output of the correct color or volts-miliamps etc to the R5-R9 case LEDs (if u did a wiring mod), it seems you'd want to use the included aftrmrkt software & somehow 'mod' a way to get it to the case LEDs, only if the signal is correct (matches OEM LED specs), where again 'original mthrbrd is the best part for the job'
You'd 1st have to hope AlienFX software will install on the aftrmrkt board (& not have a proprietary block due to non-approved mthrbrd Hardware ID), then, find a way to mod into the case lights, then hope your onboard LED header (if your aftrmrkt m-ATX mthrbrd even has one) can obey AlienFX commands (change to green, now change to purple etc) & still be the correct output for the case lights without burning them out. Without the dedicated daughterboard from years past (but still found in A51 R5-R7), difficult to get an aftrmrkt board in let alone regain case lights (more than one)
There is no rear I/O shield plate either, the rear I/O (mouse-keyboard-USB-LAN-audio) etc is permanent, stamped into the rear case (that & the proprietary front panel scheme are presumably to thwart mthrbrd swaps), so to fit a different mthrbrd into the case might require Dremel-rotary-tool, remove a perfectly rectangular area so new shield plate can press in, which seems messy ... some of this was addressed in my post from 3years ago
Aurora R5 R6 Community Discussion + Upgrades
The opposite - putting R5-R9 mthrbrd into R1-R4 case - you'd need to figure out the front panel wiring needs of the mthrbrd, interface to it with mods, then hand-make a rear I/O shield trim plate (preferably with material that can act as an EMI shield as most plates do). R5-R9 are cases I'd like to avoid swapping into but it isn't impossible, where there's a will there's a way
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
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17.4K Posts
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August 20th, 2019 17:00
< Does it use Master I/O board like older Aurora did?
Should be similar to Aurora R5-R8 (but not the older ones).
< if I could pair AlienFX with 3rd party mobo (in the future of course).
No. Only a new Alienware motherboard supports that. An Aurora-R10 MB might work .
r72019
6 Professor
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5.3K Posts
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August 20th, 2019 19:00
So they just spray painted it blue, or were there any other changes to the motherboard?
Aurora R7/8: Micro ATX motherboard. Intel® Z370 Express Chipset
Aurora R9: "Micro ATX motherboard Intel® Z370 Express Chipset"
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-desktop-computers/new-alienware-aurora-gaming-desktop/spd/alienware-aurora-r9-desktop
REPLYING TO:
The MB code is hidden so no way to figure out if it's a new board
GTS81
2 Intern
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2.2K Posts
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August 20th, 2019 22:00
If I have a $1000 now, I can order one. Somehow the website says Oct 16 delivery but when I clicked on some options and then reverted, it shows delivery by 8/22 . So I'm pretty sure someone would know soon if it's the same board. I wouldn't bet it is different.
850W PSU has been upgraded to gold.
amstel78
2 Intern
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402 Posts
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August 21st, 2019 08:00
"So it is an R7 with the BIOS update that everyone with an R7 is screaming for??"
Yep.
And I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but good lord that R9 looks awful.
P.S. what happened to the forum's quote function?
GTS81
2 Intern
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2.2K Posts
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August 21st, 2019 09:00
It's gone for a while now, maybe to deter us from forming epic threads (not working). I use the HTML editor to add "blockquote" tags.
My take on the new look is that it's not bad. For additional $, you get the white version which to me looks like Wall-E's girlfriend got caught by an appliance maker and made into an expensive fan. You know, that British company that makes expensive vacuum cleaners...
Rhenium
103 Posts
0
August 21st, 2019 09:00
Thanks for the info, Cass. I guess this is beyond my capabilities for now...
I wish there existed a PCI-e card that allows me to do so.
Rhenium
103 Posts
0
August 21st, 2019 09:00
Hmm, that's saddening. Like marrying R4 motherboard with MIO board is a piece of cake provided you have a vacant USB header.
Thanks for the info, btw.
amstel78
2 Intern
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402 Posts
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August 21st, 2019 11:00
I've had my top off many a time as well, mostly to clear the dust bunnies out of the radiator. A major flaw of the old chassis and case are the lack of dust filters. I don't see them in the new R9 either.
My R7 is in my apartment in Manhattan where no matter what; mechanical dust filter on 24x7 and windows closed, a **bleep** load of it always manages to get in. The cat doesn't help either. I've resorted to tearing up a pair of my wife's old stockings and taping it over the front air intake just to minimize the junk that gets sucked in.
Anyway, back to the grab handle... I always put the screws back just so I don't lose them or the cat eats them.
amstel78
2 Intern
•
402 Posts
0
August 21st, 2019 11:00
Thanks for the tip on the HTML tags! Felt like I was going nuts for a while looking for the quote button thinking my browser was borked.
Like I said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Personally I like the angular lines of the R7 and R8. I do find the grab handle at the top quite useful when moving the machine around. I don't see any such provision with the new case design.
GTS81
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
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August 21st, 2019 11:00
Reminder to self: left screw on, right screw on, then lift. It hasn't happen yet but with all the mucking around I've been doing with my R8, I might one day forget to put back those screws and have the handle-top panel dislodge and the rest of the PC crash to the ground.
mp_108
2 Intern
•
175 Posts
0
August 21st, 2019 14:00
Yeah, me too. I like ye olde XPS 720 - big and boxy, loads of room inside to allow easy changing of components.
But in the end, my R7 is for gaming so it does not bother me about how it looks nor do I care about multi coloured LED fans and so on.
r72019
6 Professor
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5.3K Posts
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August 22nd, 2019 09:00
The Dell PSUs are all air cooled, no upgrade there. The difference is gold vs bronze, i.e., slightly more efficient in terms of power consumption (wastes less power). Estimated retail value of this upgrade, ~$30 to $40. You're primarily just paying for the new look, even the mother board shares the same Z370 chipset across the R7/R8/R9 - so virtually no possibility of upgrade to the next (10th) gen Comet Lake CPUs.