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38 Posts
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511347
May 1st, 2014 11:00
Adventures in replacing the stock Alienware Aurora R4 CPU cooling pump. Dreaded CPU fan failure prompts attack my patience!!
Hi all!
So a few weeks ago while running down homeless people in my stolen fire truck while being chased by cops, noose, and the FBI in Liberty City, my Aurora R4’s pump fans began to sound like a turbine engine. I checked the cpu temps, and they nearly reached TJ Max. After a little research I decided to clean the old thermal paste off the CPU and cooler pump head and reapply using Arctic Silver 5 paste & cleaning solutions. That did the ticket, and my temps went back down to their normal low to mid 40’s at idle and mid to high 60’s during game play.
During my research at diagnosing the issue, which included replacing the stock R4 pump all together, I came across the Corsair H80i cooling pump that claimed to be one of the best CPU cooling systems out on the consumer market reducing temps by 10 to 20 degrees. So I went ahead to see if such claims were valid and replaced the stock Alienware R4 cooler with the Corsair H80i. The claims were validated! The Corsair lowered by idle temps down to high 20’s to low 30’s and the maximum temp it has reached during game play so far is 51C!
However I have a new problem, when I boot up, the bios splash screen takes an extra 15 seconds to load and then an error prompt: Attention, CPU fan failure! Press F1 to continue or F12 to set up.
When I hit F1, the system boots as normal and the Corsair works great, but since the way the Corsair H80i hooks up to a USB connector on the motherboard and draws power from directly from the psu, instead of the stock Alienware pump, which has a designated CPU Pump connector slot on the top of the Aurora chassis as well as a power connector labeled CPU fan, I am guessing when I boot up, there is some sort of start self-test which is of course not detecting the old Alienware pump because the Corsair pump is not utilizing the old pump connections, prompts the error message.
Is there a way to set up the system, in the bios (or any anywhere) so the Aurora does not keep giving me this CPU fan failure prompt?
I did out of irritation, partly re-installed the old Alienware pump back into the chassis, but I kept the Corsair installed and running, so the Alienware radiator and fan are just hanging out inside the chassis, safely perched on the slide out panels covering the video card. I no longer get any error messages at boot up, and both pumps are working, albeit the Alienware pump is just blowing air on the inside wall of the chassis and actually with the extra airflow, the temps have dropped a few degrees, but I would still like to remove the old pump and set it up so that I don’t get those CPU fan failure prompts at boot up.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
My system:
Aurora R4
Bios: A11
Windows: 7x64
PSU: 875watts
Video Card: GTX 760
Darkpool
38 Posts
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November 13th, 2014 07:00
Congratulations on getting the corsairs. If I remember, Corsair recommends to have the air flow into the PC, were the stock alienware fan blew out from the back. I have the twin corsair fans blowing inside my chassis.
Remember to install the link software (which can be a pain in the ass). You must have that software running if you are going to be playing any games or taxing the gpu and cpu.
harrison.strass
6 Posts
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November 13th, 2014 15:00
So I want both of my fans facing in the direction your fan is right? the one in front of your radiator?
harrison.strass
6 Posts
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November 13th, 2014 18:00
None of my responses are coming in..?
harrison.strass
6 Posts
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November 13th, 2014 18:00
So should I have both the corsair fans with the black and white stickers facing the inside of the case? Or both of the black stickers pointed to the inside, and the black and white stickered side pointed out the back?
I have both fans with the black and white side facing the inside of the case, and it sucks in air. But it seems like my GPU is hotter than what it was.. Did you have this problem darkpool? Where is the exhaust on this dumb thing if I am using the two corsair fans as intakes?
harrison.strass
6 Posts
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November 13th, 2014 18:00
It really seems like my gpu runs hotter with the fans blowing from the outside in, as opposed to them blowing air out the back. Because I mean really, where is the out take on this damned aurora? The top..? And maybe the back when I had the previous cooler installed? I feel like im trapping in more hot air, then i am actually releasing it.
GGCAN
1 Rookie
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68 Posts
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November 13th, 2014 20:00
If you look at the bottom front of your R4, you'll see an air vent there, where air can output from the inside of the machine.
Make sure there isn't any cat hair or dust in the webbing of the grate so the air can flow freely.
GGCAN
1 Rookie
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68 Posts
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November 13th, 2014 20:00
This post will help...there's a picture in it as well.
en.community.dell.com/.../19580642
Darkpool
38 Posts
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November 13th, 2014 21:00
I have both my twin Corsair fan sucking air inside the chassis. I found that this configuration works best for my set up. I noticed a significant temperature cpu cooling on idle and performance. I have a standard Aurora R4 case, so I don't know how the ALX case is configured for venting.
I would recommend trying to switch the airflow out side the chassis to see if you get a temp drop.
harrison.strass
6 Posts
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November 16th, 2014 15:00
The bottom front is an intake bro. lol
GGCAN
1 Rookie
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68 Posts
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November 16th, 2014 16:00
Intake yes with the original fan that came with the R4 as that fan pushed the air out the back.
But since the Corsair h80i says to make sure the air is flowing into the machine instead of out (like the old), then it pushes the air out of that bottom front.
michael austin
8 Posts
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October 11th, 2015 18:00
UOPayroll
6 Posts
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October 13th, 2015 07:00
Did the fan screw in without hassle? I have read things about screws being too short and some work needing to be done?
UOPayroll
6 Posts
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October 13th, 2015 09:00
When switching to the corsair, it mentions installing the back plate? IS there already one present form the stock cooling unit? I cannot see how to get to the back side of the mother board otherwise (short of pulling the whole thing out...)
michael austin
8 Posts
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October 13th, 2015 13:00
My first attempt didn't post for some reason.
Anyway, the four screws going through the back of the case into the outer fan were a little short, but it worked fine once I discarded the washers. The installation is still plenty solid without them.
michael austin
8 Posts
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October 13th, 2015 13:00
The four screws attaching the outer fan to the case were a little short, but it worked fine once I left out the washers. Everything is pretty solid despite the lack of washers.