Aurora R10, remove the 3.5' caddy to install second front fan?

Question

Just got this machine, and have to confess that initially I was very skeptical of the design (Coming from a more open space Area 51 R2), but the tool-less GPU replacement is growing on me, I am happy with the space saving.

on cooling, the front intake fan is perfectly located for my blower style 5700XT so no complains (one question, is it possible to link (e.g. fan curve) the speed of the fan to the temperature of the GPU?)

my main question, is it possible to install (even if glued or with two sided tape another) 120mm intakefan where the 3.5in caddy is? has anyone tried it? I think it would be perfect to cool RAM and chipset (I have the AIO for the CPU).

r72019 · Accepted Answer

yes, and if you have a 3.5' HDD, you can drop it to the bottom (the 2.5' and 3.5' caddies are interchangeable).    AFTERBEFORE

jdrodrig · Answer

@Anonymous @r72019  many thanks, you guys are great ! I will top wasting my time in reddit, and will come here for any questions. All these are 120mm and they get connected to HDD fan header?

jdrodrig · Answer

@Anonymous  Great I will order some. If I use a Y split, do you think the computer will complain the original front fan and this Nuctua are not identical?

r72019 · Answer

Your standard retail Y splitter comes with two fan connections, both with 4 PINs.  On one side, three wires come out of the 4 pin connector.  On the other side, four wires come out of the  pin connector.  Plug the OEM fan into the 4 pin connector with 4 wires coming out of it, and the Noctua into the other connector.  And you won't have any issues.

r72019 · Answer

Most of the brown and tan Noctua fans already include a Y splitter with the fan.  So no need to purchase a Y splitter separately if you get a Noctua. The exceptions are the Redux and IPPC lineups, which are barebones.

jdrodrig · Answer

Thanks again @r72019 @Anonymous

Just to report another successful mod, and in case it helps future searches of this topic. Following advice, I got a Nuctua NF-A12x25 PWM 120mm, and a Amazon JBtek PWN Fan Splitter Cable converter.

And everything went smoothly so far (photos here https://imgur.com/a/Y4kAv7t). So far I did not bother with the two sided tape, as the fan fits quite snuggling in the space the 3.5in left behind and I dont notice any rattling or movement.

The Y split is one 4-pin to Dell OEM, one 3-pin to the Nuctua, so I think the Nuctua is running full speed all the time. So far it is barely noticeable noise, and I feel more relieved knowing there is air flow going in the direction of memory and chipset. I need to clean up the cables to block less air.

jdrodrig · Answer

@Anonymous Thanks for the info (which was also informative for when I talk to my marriage therapist, I think my wife is the 4-pin in the relationship and I am the 3-pin).

btw, one question, do you think it would make sense to instead connect this second front fan to the header HDD fan in the motherboard? I see one empty around the bottom edge (below the last PCIE slot).

Tesla1856 · Answer

yes, and if you have a 3.5' HDD, you can drop it to the bottom (the 2.5' and 3.5' caddies are interchangeable). ================ Sorry, but just to verify ... On the Aurora-R6 (for example) ... you can remove the existing top-mounted 3.5inch HDD  ... AND IT'S mount/caddy ... and move it all to the bottom? It will fit and mount with existing holes and extra screws? I'm not planning to install another fan, but I was thinking that in itself will likely increase air-flow.

Barnitzke · Answer

Hello just noticed you've did some changes to your Aurora R10, I'm a R6 user here just wanted to know if there were any noticeable difference when adding in an additional fan.

also if it is safe to relocate my 3.5" HDD along with its caddy where the 2.5" caddy was originally in.

My CPU is water-cooled so my main concern is mostly regarding whether or not it helps in cooling my 1080 blower card.

r72019 · Answer

The R5 to 11 use the same internal chassis. The 9-11 have a different outside plastic covering in the new Legend design (but the inside chassis is the same).

Removing the 2.5" HDD bays, and swapping it with the 3.5" bay is plug and play. Although the 3.5" drive is taller than the 2.5" drive, the addition of a second fan (and removal of the second 2.5" HDD bay) is a net benefit as far as airflow and temps. You can run the second fan using a Y splitter or connected directly to the PSU.

jdrodrig · Answer

@Barnitzke Sorry I was away for a few days. I could not move the 3.5in to the bottom as the caddy is thicker “taller” so part of the metal would touch the bottom of the motherboard. No big issue as I basically moved the 3.5 SHDD to an external enclosure.

I am still testing the temps, with and without the fans. I suspect some effect but not too much.

Barnitzke · Answer

Thanks for the feedback! Looking forward to it.

r72019 · Answer

It's not the motherboard that touches the 3.5" caddy on the bottom rack, it is the black led connector wire. You just have to reroute the wire over the 3.5" hdd caddy (instead of behind it) and you are all set. See below:

BEFORE BEFORE

r72019 · Answer

This thread has a number of good photos from @markburv of the area behind the front bevel:

https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/Aurora-R8-EVGA-RTX-3080-XC3-Ultra-Gaming-Noctua-nf-a12x15-pwm/td-p/7773061/page/2

r72019 · Answer

I had unused spare parts sitting around so it didn't cost me anything.  I'm not sure I'd buy a second fan just to do this unless you're experiencing thermal issues it might have a bigger impact.  I didn't have issues before so it didn't make much impact.  But I already had 4 fans before, this one made it 5.

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Aurora R10, remove the 3.5" caddy to install second front fan?

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