Aurora R3 upgrades

Hello Burkeca,

The maximum memory supported by Aurora R3 is 16GB. For more details, see Crucial Memory Selector. 

The system was tested and shipped with the following graphic options: 

• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 545
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590
• AMD Radeon HD 6870
• AMD Radeon HD 6990
• AMD Radeon HD 6950

Hope this helps!

Yes that helps Allan. Though can i get memory other than what the selector is giving me for options. I can  get cheaper and better ram at other places. Is there a limitation on ram clock speed. Know it shipped with 1333 mhz ram. Can i get faster, newer ram or am i limited to the 1333. I had to get the baseline system. So only had 4gb ram. My system is preforming well still for the games i play, but still looking to get a little better preformance. 

Yes that helps Allan. Though can i get memory other than what the selector is giving me for options. I can  get cheaper and better ram at other places. Is there a limitation on ram clock speed. Know it shipped with 1333 mhz ram. Can i get faster, newer ram or am i limited to the 1333. I had to get the baseline system. So only had 4gb ram. My system is preforming well still for the games i play, but still looking to get a little better preformance. 

The memory speed that this system will handle will be

DDR3 1333 MHz

DDR3 1600 MHz XMP

DDR3 1866 MHz XMP

And it will handle up to 16GB, system has 4 slots, just make sure not to mix the memory speed.

GTS 450 is the graphics card that came with my system. thinking of replacing with http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4501133&CatId=7387

Also thinking of the EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2gb DDR5. Would it run fine

I have the nvidia GTX 670 superclocked installed in my R-3.  Works just fine without any bios updates...just plug and play!

btw, my R-3 has been problem free since I purchased...this machine is the best I ever owned and it performs as advertised.  Thanks, Dell.

Cool, thanks Warhawk. Def no complaints from me on my system. Has worked great since i got it. Finally have money to start getting upgrades. So figured what hell

I have upgraded my RAM to 16gb of GSkill 1600mhz and just recently upgraded my video card the GTX 770. Both fired up with no problems. I am running BIOS A05 just for info. On the video card, just make sure your PSU is high enough. If you have the 875W you will have no problems. Good luck!

yes the system will run fine with a GTX 660

I have a aurora R3 and a R4 both running a evga titan's and no problems along with 32gb ram and 4 ssd's In each. The card you are looking at will not be a problem. The R4 came with gtx 680's in sli and no different then the R3 besides the chips. R3 is i7 2600k and the R4 is the i7 3960x both oc'd to 4.5. Just watch the temps. 

Yes, you can upgrade the video card. I suggest you buy it somewhere that accepts returns if it doesn't work. Aurora R3 can be finicky about newer video cards sometimes (due to UEFI and VideoBios issues).

If you don't have the Dell-OEM 875watt PowerSupply, you can order it from Dell Spare Parts. It's the same one that goes into current R4's. The existing wiring harness should work with it also.

I would only do the above if you are planning to keep it a while longer (and keep everything else the same) because the above two items will run you around $850.

If you also want a new MB and CPU, I would hold off on all upgrades. Just put all that money towards a new machine. Leave your Aurora R-3 as is ... sell, gift, or demote to lesser role.

Hi,

I want to upgrade my Alienware Aurora R3. I want to upgrade the GPU to a GTX 780 but I know that my PSU can not handle it. Can I upgrade both or will I have to buy a new computer?

Also can I upgrade the motherboard and CPU.

Thanks 

Sam

i want to upgrade my R3 with a HD 7870. Is it comatible with this system?

(bought a r9 270x and is incompatible )

It isn't with the stock power supply.

Agreed.

While the stock 875w PS is 12v multi-rail ... it should be able to handle (at least) any single card. Just make sure you don't have optional 525w PS.

Also, use some common sense when connecting the video-card power cables to make sure you make use of as many different rails as possible ...

Meaning, with a single card ...

use either P14 OR P15
and also
either P16 OR P17