Alienware Aurora R3 + GTX 680

It will work in your system. As far as the cables go you would want to use one 6-pin from each cable. Don't power both 6-pins off a single cable.

I am sure you could SLI them too since you have the 875w PSU.

One PCI power cable can power two 6-pins or one 8-pin. It can not power a 6-pin and a 8-pin at the same time. While you could power the 680 off one cable it is better to spread it out and use two cables.

It will work in your system. As far as the cables go you would want to use one 6-pin from each cable. Don't power both 6-pins off a single cable.   I am sure you could SLI them too since you have the 875w PSU.

Yeah that was what I was wondering that would the the cables marked P14 and P15 right?  Right now the two GTX 460's the top card is using P14 and the bottom card P15 so those would be two separate lines correct?

Also thank you for the reply.

Ok.  Found a diagram on the R3 wiring.  Took a while but finally found a second cluster of cables like the P14 and P15 cable bundle. They are labeled P16 and P17 so I'm guessing these are the other set with a little tag on them saying these cables aren't plugged in on the 525w psu. So I see what you're saying now about 1 from each like use P14 and P16 on the GTX 680 for the power.  Thing is now I wonder if my P16 and P17 are good they were really buried under the cards and pretty mashed up so I'm unsure now if they might have a break inside the cables.  Guess I'll call Dell in the morning and see if I need a tech to come out here and look at em/replace them.

Alright well thanks for you both putting up with me this is why I buy a premade system to begin with as not the best person when it comes to the insides of the machine. See as how the psu is large enough and now understand Morblore about the two different lines, I guess I take the dive and try it out!

Again thank you both!

*One last thing about the two sets of cables though before I go does it matter which two of the pairs I use?  Like 14 + 16 or 15 + 17 ect..

I doubt very much that the cables are damaged. They are designed to be folded and tucked away.

Alright well thanks for you both putting up with me this is why I buy a premade system to begin with as not the best person when it comes to the insides of the machine. See as how the psu is large enough and now understand Morblore about the two different lines, I guess I take the dive and try it out!   Again thank you both!   *One last thing about the two sets of cables though before I go does it matter which two of the pairs I use?  Like 14 + 16 or 15 + 17 ect..

Try this. When you install the cards pretend they don't have any numbers on them.

Ha. Alright thanks much.

Kind of tacking on to this discussion...I know the minimum power amount for the GTX 680 is listed at 550W but my R3 is running a GTX 580 off of a 525W power supply.  The 580 is rated for 600W minimum and I've had no troubles with my current system do you all think that I could swap out for a 680?  My reasoning for the upgrade is the 3D surround off of 1 card instead of trying to upgrade my power supply and getting a matching card and dealing with the heat issues, etc etc...

On my Area 51 I hit 412w max total system power usage once. Most of the time I'm around 380w. I would assume my system uses more power then yours so you should have no trouble using it. Even if you use 412w you still have a nice bit of headroom on your PSU. 

Kind of tacking on to this discussion...I know the minimum power amount for the GTX 680 is listed at 550W but my R3 is running a GTX 580 off of a 525W power supply.  The 580 is rated for 600W minimum and I've had no troubles with my current system do you all think that I could swap out for a 680?  My reasoning for the upgrade is the 3D surround off of 1 card instead of trying to upgrade my power supply and getting a matching card and dealing with the heat issues, etc etc...

yea but dont forget the psu usually only runs 80-85% continuously  so in reality a 525w it only really around 425 max continous draw watts :O  which is close to the 412 you speak of :O  i know my 550 watt says right on it 475watts continous  and its on my desk , my psu i run is 800 watts and its  685 continous draw , and i run 3 460's and a heavy oc'ed core 2 quad xtreme but i got soldi states 2 ram sticks no dvd drives 1 storage drive cordless keyboard/mouse and cordless headset lol

yea but dont forget the psu usually only runs 80-85% continuously  so in reality a 525w it only really around 425 max continous draw watts :O  which is close to the 412 you speak of :O  i know my 550 watt says right on it 475watts continous  and its on my desk , my psu i run is 800 watts and its  685 continous draw , and i run 3 460's and a heavy oc'ed core 2 quad xtreme but i got soldi states 2 ram sticks no dvd drives 1 storage drive cordless keyboard/mouse and cordless headset lol

Yeah but he said he has been running a 580 just fine. That card will pull about 100w more unless he is talking about a different system.

Sotry to hijack this thread but last night I got my EVGA GTX 680 SC+ and powered it using the 14 and 15 connectors.  When I plugged the power back in I heard a slight buzzing. I figured this was normal and couldn't hear it over my dual HD 5870s. When I powered up the PC and it was done roaring to life the buzzing got quite a bit louder. I didn't notice for a while in all the excited of testing my new card. I noticed the buzzing and removed the side door to take a look at what I might have messed up and the buzzing went back to the very quiet level when the system was off. I put the door back on enough for the light to turn back on and the buzzing got louder again. Did I create a short somewhere? I left the door off and played BF3 for half an hour. I was running on empty so I wasn't thinking strait. When I get home from work I'm going to try the 14 and 16 connectors. Hopefully that fixes the problem. If its not that what do you think could have caused this PSU buzzing? Thanks in advance and the card is amazing :-P

ive never heard of buzzing from a psu unless fan issue or vibration issue overloading usually

the psu you get coil whinning  high pitch/frequency that usually changes  and louder based on power draw ....

Sotry to hijack this thread but last night I got my EVGA GTX 680 SC+ and powered it using the 14 and 15 connectors.  When I plugged the power back in I heard a slight buzzing. I figured this was normal and couldn't hear it over my dual HD 5870s. When I powered up the PC and it was done roaring to life the buzzing got quite a bit louder. I didn't notice for a while in all the excited of testing my new card. I noticed the buzzing and removed the side door to take a look at what I might have messed up and the buzzing went back to the very quiet level when the system was off. I put the door back on enough for the light to turn back on and the buzzing got louder again. Did I create a short somewhere? I left the door off and played BF3 for half an hour. I was running on empty so I wasn't thinking strait. When I get home from work I'm going to try the 14 and 16 connectors. Hopefully that fixes the problem. If its not that what do you think could have caused this PSU buzzing? Thanks in advance and the card is amazing :-P

Could it be the door vibrating? Did you try putting your hand on it to see if it goes away or changes in pitch? I don't guess it could be the PSU because it goes away with the door off, right?

When I got my Area 51 I had a loud buzzing. It drove me nuts. I took the system apart and traced it to the PSU fan. BTW that was the last fan I had checked..figures lol. Anyway, If you take your hand and cover the vent on the back of the PSU the buzzing will change if it's the PSU fan. I fixed it by taking apart the PSU and replacing the fan.

I don't suggest you doing this if you don't know what you are doing. You could kill yourself. If it is the PSU fan you could have it replaced if under warranty or take it to a PC shop to have the fan replaced.