Aurora R10, upgrade possibilities?

If you upgrade to 32GB (2 x 16GB) of RAM then you will be able to run dual channel, which will be a big improvement. The two 16GB RAM modules must be exactly the same, so if you can't get a perfect match to your current RAM you will need to buy two perfectly matched RAM modules.

If your operating system (boot drive) is a SATA SSD, you could see some improvement going to an M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD . . . much faster.

Regarding you CPU and graphics card . . . it really depends on your particular usage regime. If the games you play are running to your satisfaction, at frame rates you are happy with, then there is no sense in upgrading those components. If you use your rig for other tasks, are you satisfied with the performance?  If you were to upgrade your processor to R9 5900X then you would probably need an new PSU, and liquid cooling would be a must. Your Ryzen PSU is standard ATX format, so an upgrade would not necessarily have to be Dell OEM, leaving you more optionality.

The graphics card again depends on what you are using it for, and how satisfied you are with the performance.

What's the reason for wanting to upgrade, as in what is the goal?

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@ProfessorW00d wrote:

The two 16GB RAM modules must be exactly the same, so if you can't get a perfect match to your current RAM you will need to buy two perfectly matched RAM modules.

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I ordered a brand new pair - Crucial 32GB Kit (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200. Too anxious matching up the exact same factory stick with a new one. Would rather not risk it, plus I read the HyperX they sell to consumers isn't the same. 

Saw another thread that said these Crucial sticks are compatible. The price was right and the Crucial website said it's appropriate for R10. If it crashes I can always plug the old one back in, return them and get a new model. Maybe the ones on Dell website even though they are more than double the price. 

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@ProfessorW00d wrote:

If your operating system (boot drive) is a SATA SSD, you could see some improvement going to an M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD . . . much faster.

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In the product description it says PCIe NVMe M.2.. so I suppose I already have it? I will confirm when I open the case tonight.

Is it fairly easy to replace the fans? I'm seeing people install Corsair ML120 Pros instead of the factory one. Seems like another fairly inexpensive upgrade. What about replacing the thermal tape on the CPU? Also read the Dell one is very bad so does that hurt performance? 

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@Vanadiel wrote:

What's the reason for wanting to upgrade, as in what is the goal?

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I had an R10 with a 3080, worked fine. The issue is that it's OEM, so 267 mm is the maximum card length. 

The other issue is that purchasing a 3000 series card right now new, will cost more than a better 4000 card because 3000 is obsolete.

And a 4000 card will likely not fit inside the case, unless you can find one that is 267 mm or less long.

Upgrading will pose a problem for you. Even a second hand 3080 is going to be more than a 4000 that has equal or better performance new.

Good move on the RAM upgrade to dual channel. If you have the M.2 SSD you are set there, unless you need more storage space.

Corsair has discontinued the ML 120 PRO series. Which fans throw the startup error and which do not is always a moving target, but historically for the Aurora R10, Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM fans have worked. They are a little bit fugly, but very quiet and top quality. Consider 3 new fans . . . lower front intake, upper front intake, and one for your radiator.

New thermal paste on your CPU might keep it cooler . . . if that it the processor you are going to keep. If you are going to upgrade, might as well wait.

The nVidia RTX 4070 Founders Edition is currently $600 at Best Buy  and at 244mm long should fit in your case easily. You would have to upgrade your power supply for this graphics card.

While you are getting your graphics card at Best Buy you could order this EVGA SuperNOVA 850 GT 850 watt fully modular PSU that is 150mm long (good fit).

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@Vanadiel wrote:

I had an R10 with a 3080, worked fine. The issue is that it's OEM, so 267 mm is the maximum card length. 

The other issue is that purchasing a 3000 series card right now new, will cost more than a better 4000 card because 3000 is obsolete.

And a 4000 card will likely not fit inside the case, unless you can find one that is 267 mm or less long.

Upgrading will pose a problem for you. Even a second hand 3080 is going to be more than a 4000 that has equal or better performance new.

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Yeap, it's less than ideal situation with this case, models available and their prices.

For now, I ordered 2 x 16 GB Crucial DDR4-3200 RAM sticks. R10 is compatible per their website and I've seen this model mentioned here with good reviews for this PC. 

I'm considering getting EVGA SuperNOVA 850W for power upgrade from 550W. And replace both existing fans with the Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM 120mm fans. Maybe try to get a third one in. And replace the thermal paste on CPU. Cheap, seemingly easy upgrades.

That should help for a bit and set me up for future bigger upgrades right? Satisfy my need to start tinkering/learning. And keep monitoring the prices for GPU/CPU. Apparently RTX 4070 Founders edition is 244m long so it should fit but outside my budget right now. 

The RAM will add a small performance gain. The remainder will not.

It all depends on the budget you have for upgrades. A 3060Ti is not a bad card, just might to have to play a bit with the quality settings of the games you play. And if I am not mistaken it supports DLSS for those games that have support for DLSS.

PSU and cooling fans will not directly provide a performance gain, but will facilitate performance gains when the processor and/or graphics card are upgraded. If OP is not moving down the upgrade path, then there is no reason for the 850 watt PSU. Quiet fans can always be appreciated.

I am thinking by the next upgrade cycle, it might have been surpassed by other options that offer more performance or the same, for less.

Always ask if spending money now on a PSU and fans, is worth it in the long run?

Right now, OP has a low end R10. With the RAM and PSU upgrade discussed, plus the R9 5900X and an RTX 4070 FE graphics card; that would be high end for a Ryzen R10 and could last a couple more years. I am also attributing some value to the learning experience attained in modding your own rig . . . even if it doesn't pass your "logical test". Live Long and Prosper!

Thanks a lot for baring with my rants and talking through these topics with me. Hopefully final 2 questions before all parts are ordered, arrive and swapping begins.

1. If something doesn't work (i.e. computer doesn't boot, throws errors I can't resolve etc) I can always put back to the original part right? I'm planning to take photos/videos of all the components inside before I start tinkering around. What is the likelihood that I mess something up and break the entire PC? It seems that if something goes badly wrong it's just part messed up and need to get a new one?
2. For CPU - should I be looking at an AIO upgrade as well? The new CPUs I'm considering (R9 5900X and R7 5800X) both have more wattage (105W) than my existing R5 5600X (65W) and show higher temps in Benchmark Comparison. The R10 has a liquid cooler already (product desc says "Included 120mm Closed Loop Liquid Cooler") but a lot of people here have been getting the Corsair H60? Am I OK with the existing one or do I need an upgrade? Or am I set if I just install a third fan? 

To recap and share action plan as of now (more ranting, sorry). If something is wrong you can yell at me. 

• New RAM is ordered + arriving next week. It's x2 16GB Crucials. They should work and should be a very easy install - pop out the existing one and place the 2 new sticks in slots 1 and 2 per the documentation and screenshot below. Although the factory one is in slot 2, idk why. I'll review the BIOS and Command Center to make sure they are recognized. 

• After those hopefully settle in, I evaluate the performance. I'm not expecting a lot for FPS games but I'm hoping for better experience multitasking (i.e. streaming / editing). 
• CPU and PSU are my next targets and PSU install first.The PSU you recommended at 850W is solid, I like the wattage and price. Don't want to push 1000W in my old building with electricity problems and seems  It looks complex but I'll do more research when I order it. Once it's successful go onto one of the eligible CPUs - R9 5900X and R7 5800X. They are $300 and $200 on Amazon which is a good price for me. It looks like the benchmark difference is minimal, I'm almost leaning on the R7 because of how minimal the comparisons is. 
• GPU I'll wait on. I want to see how the GPU and RAM will play. Also hoping for the 4070 to go on sale. It's not listed as a supported GPU on R10 but I assume it's because it's relatively new? The dimensions say it'll fit so should be fine right. I also see a bunch of 3080/3070 on ebay for $450 but I don't think it makes sense. For $50 more get something way better. Or in a few months get the 4070 at the same price even. 

No need to apologize for asking questions and talking through your project . . . this is the reason I come here.

Taking lots of photos is a great plan. I do the same for my projects. There is always a chance you could damage something while working on your computer. That is why you need to think it through first, take you time, be very careful, and enjoy learning about computer hardware. Obviously, you should disconnect your power cord before working inside you computer. Even with the power disconnected, there is still the potential for damage from electrostatic charge. This comes from you. So before you touch anything inside your computer be sure to ground yourself by grabbing and holding on to some large metal object . . . do this on a regular basis to keep yourself static free. Some people where anti-static wrist bands, but I find those to be a nuisance when working in a small area. Make yourself a clean, clear work area and a place for tools and parts.

The RAM install should be pretty straight forward, however the motherboard diagram in the Service Manual you linked is mislabeled. RAM slots, starting closest to the CPU, are numbered 3-1-4-2 and your 2 RAM modules should go in the slots with the white locking tabs. Do a search on "single vs. dual channel RAM" to get a brief understanding about the advantage you are gaining.

PSU swap is another simple project if you take your time, take some photos of the cable routing, think it through first. Have some zip ties handy for cable management, as the modular cables will be designed so they can fit in larger rigs than the Aurora. Below is a photo of some cable management in the PSU swing-out contraption.

(click photo to embiggen)

Also note the Noctua upper front intake fan in that photo.

For your CPU . . . only you can decide and stick to your budget. I am not as familiar with AMD processors, as I have always used Intel CPU's. That said, regardless of the benchmark scores, I can't imagine that there is not a material performance upgrade going from 8 cores to 12 cores (a 50% increase!). I am not a gamer . . . and maybe for gaming core count is not that significant??

For you graphics card I think it is a good idea to get the other parts of the project done first and see if you can find a deal on the RTX 4070 Founders Edition, because it fits in your rig nicely, with some room to breath.

Update! tl;dr big success! Thank you SO much and Vanadiel for holding my hand in a way through the planning, purchasing and executing process...

Detailed Notes for people who might find this topic who are also interested in upgrading R10 or similar (with limited hardware experience) -

RAM update - straight forward. Open case, unclick the single 16 GB RAM. Place both new sticks in the slots with the white edges. Push them until they click into place. Powering up I don't think there were any issues. It immediately recognized the 32 GB in Task Manager and CPU-Z. At worst there might've been a message booting up saying the memory changed. 

PSU update - All in all - very straightforward. The recommended one is what I went with. Easier than expected. Just trace back the cables coming out of the stock PSU and unplug them. If you have an old building like me I recommend testing the PSU (they give you a kit that mimics a CPU) with your power. There were 2-3 cables tucked in that weren't used at all. In total I think I unplugged (and later on - plugged) three cables. All cables they give you in that EVGA Super Nova have labels (noob proof!). There was one for motherboard - that was the biggest cable (24 pins). One for CPU - the cable for this was tucked at the top behind some clips. I strongly recommend running the new cable through them too. I didn't initially and heard the top fan make some noises so they were interfering a bit (noob move). Last one is for the GPU and that was straight forward. A little twist here - based on the instructions I was expecting to plug in cables in the peripherals (fans, HDD). After taking a closer look it seemed those are hooked to the motherboard itself. The EVGA also gave a whole bunch of extra cabels (if you have 2 GPUs, more peripherals etc) so you have that. If you potentially wanna build your own and reuse the PSU i'm sure it won't be a problem. 

CPU update - the thing I thought would be easiest was the most uneasy on me! The cooler was hard to move around (short cable to fan right above it). Wiping off the thermal paste was alright - get both the cooler and the old CPU. I used forced air can to clear dust and any small paste that might've dropped around. Took a couple mins removing it - there's a lever that locks it in place - once you push it once to unlock you gotta keep pushing it to eject it. Took the new CPU (watch for the small triangle) and apply the same way the text was on the old one. Thermal paste I applied was the size of a peanut or one of the nuts on the motherboard. Now - putting the cooler back was horrible. I was stressed out if I messed up the paste / didn't apply pressure on it evenly. It took a little more effort than I thought to line up the cooler (probably cause of the limited space in the case and cable to the fan). Power up and was greeted with a scary for me message. Black screen saying new CPU installed fTPM NV corrupted. Then asked if I should boot up normal or re-configured. My heart sunk. I read some articles online about it - basically it was important if you had Bitlock on or not. In the message I elected to boot up without updating since the article recommended to do it to check if you have bitlocker. By default our R10s (the newer gen) do not. Rebooted, got the same message but this time I told it the other option (to reset fTPM). It made me log into Microsoft and recover/unlock the PC it seems? But in the end it worked out fine. I will say this CPU runs HOT. On the old Ryzen 5 5600 I got max 70C but with this R9 5900x i get up to 80C.

If anyone still reading - this gave a lot of confidence and for my next projects I'm looking at adding another fan to help with temperatures and more storage! Cheers again and thanks

Final thoughts - all in all I'm glad I did it. Learned a lot and I saw almost +10 FPS in W2 consistent improvement. Everything else feels nicer, faster and snappier. If you run anything on Bluestacks that feels noticeably faster and smoother too.

Great work! Congratulations on your successful upgrade project!