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12735
November 17th, 2014 15:00
Window Boot and Upgrade Questions Aurora R1
AlienWare Aurora R1
12Gb RAM 1600Mhz (New)
2TB 7200 6Gbs HDD (New)
AMD Radeon HD5670 Crossfire (Original)
A11 BIOS
I started having issues with the PC not being able to get past the Windows Boot.
- Swapped out the factory RAM with new (still had boot issue)
- Tried Alien Respawn (no luck, could not restore to factory)
- Wiped HD and reinstalled windows from AlienWare CD and Drivers (still boot issues & wont wake from sleep now)
- Bought new HD and reinstalled Windows and drivers. (Seems to boot but wont wake up and locks up during some games)
What should be next? GPU, Motherboard, Processor? Don't know what to do next because I am unsure at this point if I should upgrade the motherboard first.. If so what motherboard can I upgrade to and everything still work and give me room for growth?
Any insight or help would be awesome. I know enough to be dangerous but am by no means and expert.
Thanks in Advance
Rob
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Tesla1856
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November 17th, 2014 21:00
Link to OCCT is on the page I linked to. I suggest you stress-test machine with that good card.
Yes, a single-video-card solution is better.
Even if you only have the 525w PS, you should be able to run any single card around $300. If you have the optional 875w PS, you can run any card you want (even very large, powerful, and expensive ones).
Aurora R1 is x58-chipset based and with a (non-UEFI) Legacy BIOS. You will have to buy a card that has a Dual-BIOS and supports Legacy. I heard current MSI cards have a dip-switch that switches between Legacy/Hybrid or Win7/Win8.
Tesla1856
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November 17th, 2014 16:00
See:
http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19530277
Try both video cards as singles in main slot.
I've seen bad video cards both prevent wake from Sleep (sometimes just video driver though) and also crash machine during max. gaming. For Sleep, be sure you DO NOT have Hybrid Sleep option on. I've had older computers that I just had to turn-off Sleeping, and then they work fine.
OCCT should stress-test machine without running a game.
Run Dell Hardware Diags (outside of Windows).
riotrob
4 Posts
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November 17th, 2014 17:00
OCCT? Over Clock Checking Tool? I don't think I have ever heard of or used this but at this point I am ready to give it a shot.
Going to try and move pull one graphics card tonight and switch them out to see if it will boot with just one of them. If so and this seems to be the problem, what should I get to replace my AMD Radeon HD5670's?
A single faster graphics card? If so how fast can I go and still not over tax the power? I could not find anywhere how much power was being pushed through my machine.
Thanks so much for the help.
riotrob
4 Posts
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November 17th, 2014 18:00
Here is what I have found out so far.
When unlink my graphics cards and place one in at a time in the slot 1. Only one of them will will allow my mouse, keyboard and monitor to engage. One does absolutely nothing other than my pc is running. The other allows it all to power up and run.
So it looks like it is indeed one of the graphics cards. Now how big can I go with my current setup?
Alienware Aurora R1
PROCESSOR, I7-920, 2.66, 8MB, BLM, D0
12Mb 1600MHZ RAM in 3 slots (new)
No idea what power block I have (factory)
2Tb 6Gbs 7200 HDD (new)
This is where I really struggling figuring out what I can get up in my current setup. I figure if I am replacing it, I might as well go bigger.
Thanks Tesla1856
riotrob
4 Posts
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November 19th, 2014 08:00
Installed a new Graphics Card. Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 and the Alien is Alive again...Woohoo!
Thanks for your help.