What upgrades are possible with the Aurora R1? (R5 mobo?)

Hi,

If I understand correctly, you want to upgrade the video card and in order to do this, you don't need a motherboard upgrade. If you upgrade the motherboard, you will need to upgrade some other components as well (CPU, liquid cooling).

To upgrade the video card you just need to have the proper PSU. You can upgrade even to a GTX 1070/1080 with a 875W PSU, or to a GTX1060 with a 525W PSU.

whoops

if placing R4 board in R1 R2 R3, make sure you have the Rear I/O plate shield (top right)

the R4 premium cooler is part #01YGW, it's 38mm wide with a copper base (cold-plate), whereas all others are 25mm with an inferior aluminum base, usually eBay used ($50 - $80)

Skylake is a 95watt CPU whereas Ivy-E is 130watts & Hotwell/Broadwell X99 is 140watts: an improved cooler is best on Intel-Extremes, due to their higher thermal output

a similar post from lastweek is here: CPU and or Motherboard upgrade

Would the new R5 motherboard fit in the Aurora R1 case for example?

well, the R5 mthrbrd is a micro-ATX form factor, so it probably will fit; ummmm, our pre-built Aliens come with mainstream hardware, while true enthusiast-grade hardware can only come from the aftermarket; the R5 mthrbrd - though probably adequate - has been gimped, as they say, given its pre-built nature

the Asus Maximus Gene above? It'll run circles around the R5 board & for way less, ~$200. However, there are those purists who might like to place an updated R5 board in their R1-R4, but since R5 is so new & all owners will be under a 1year basic warranty, the board will not be available for sale (if you have a board issue it will be replaced under warranty, you do not 'buy a new one'). Let me predict it might be 4-6months, 2017 til the board is for sale, & even when, I've predicted it will cost $350 - $400 for one --> the exorbitant pricetag, whatever it is sure to be, will be there to ensnare those who are out-of-warranty & had a mthrbrd failure, known as 'AlienTax' (the new R5 mthrbrd also has built-in LEDs & onlt it can run the case lights, thus the case lights will depend on only it being in the case, where the high price tag for a replacement is purposed --> the need for LED lights steer all buyers back to Dell Sales for the proprietary mthrbrd at a whopping cost, it is all a fine plan on their end of it) 

When KabyLake launches, requiring a Bios update, Asus will give it out right away, while the Aliens may delay that update a few months to R5 owners as they just did with Area-51 R2 buyers. Last, if you waited on a used R5 board, from a system being parted out - or - from an owner who yanked it in favor of better hardware, that might take months or just next week, you have to play the waiting game, whereas a nicer system can be yours tomorrow, with new parts or used parts or a mix of both. I certainly would applaud anyone who placed the R5 board in their R1-R4, it just may take a while til we see or hear of one & of course time is needed til we learn their cost new from Dell

At any rate, it should be possible to place an R4 Ivy-E mthrbrd / cpu + DDR3 in your R1 case, but to have USB3.0 paired to whichever newer mthrbrd, you may wish to update your R1's top I/O to the R4 type, which should be part# 5W6MX, new or used

My time in this forum can't be devoted to Aurora mthrbrd swaps, I can't stay attached to your post with numerous back & forths, since I've yet to do a swap in my own R4; I know a little about it & gave a link & chatted a bit to help point you in a better direction than you were which is about all I can do; please research your options since there are several while knowing others have moved into better stuff to improve upon their pre-built system, easily done from the aftermarket. Best of luck with your Alien!