Aurora R9, GPU Cooling Upgrades?

Goodbye Kraken!

Told ya it's gonna be mostly recycled parts.

What are you going to use for storage?  Toshiba 3.5" spinner would look really big in there!

Ah, I saw that Intel skeleton box when you posted it last week but couldn't figure out what it was lol

This Intel somethingsomething MLC 480GB SSD. Bought with an exorbitant price in 2015. Shucked from wife's dead laptop. She was critical of that laptop in 2015 when I bought it new. It has Broadwell CPU in there which was then the last big Core CPU I worked on the design team. Went out there and bought this super fast SSD. System served her well for 4 years.

Yeah, definitely not some Skull Canyon NUC.

i have toshiba x300 2tb.....It works cool 

I'm going to install two additional 2TB SSD's, 2.5", ultimately. I do recommend a massive (5TB+) 3.5" enterprise HHD with an RPM of 7200, for anything non-gaming or non-operating system (and for all those Steam and Xbox Game Pass games that are low res or old. No reason to put Hotline Miami, for example, on your SSD, as load times will be instant with a solid HHD). Enterprise drives are the only way to go for HHD in my opinion, as they run cooler, are more stable and generally quieter. Realistically, they should last a decade no problem, as they were meant to handle millions more writes and removals than an end user would ever perform. This is what I use for an HHD: https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-256MB-Cache-3-5-Inch-Enterprise/dp/B07D9625PB/ref=pd_lpo_147_t_0/143-9046628-1164921?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07D9625PB&pd_rd_r=174672f5-3247-4c40-8e85-43659d0545d9&pd_rd_w=C6v5I&pd_rd_wg=cQ6mz&pf_rd_p=7b36d496-f366-4631-94d3-61b87b52511b&pf_rd_r=CDY9K2DP0DX1JT4VXX6V&psc=1&refRID=CDY9K2DP0DX1JT4VXX6V

I don't mind an external radiator. Because I put my PC on a low platform, as I have a 75" monitor (Dell makes them) and play using couch set up, putting a radiator near the ground with my toddler around might not be optimal, but as they say, YOLO. That said, it might be overkill for now. Maybe when I upgrade my processor it will be worth moving to an external radiator for both the CPU and GPU. 

I'm interested in using an internal NZXT brand solution though, the "Kraken." How is the install and what's the general process for it? Any overall case temp issues by having a radiator at the intake in addition to the radiator for the CPU cooler on the outtake? Do you have a link to the parts? Most of what I found searching were 2 and 3 fan AIO's, which won't fit. 

@Rokwing :

My NZXT Kraken G12 mod:

https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/Aurora-R8-Experience-of-Buying/m-p/7352232/highlight/true#M11643

@mako64 :

Depending on your graphics card, it may void the warranty. My RX580 warranty is void because 1 of the 4 screws securing the heatsink to the GPU die has an anti-tamper sticker on it. It breaks the moment a screwdriver is used on it.

For RTX level of Kraken G12 mod, please refer to @coldfish_91 notes here:

https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/Aurora-R9-DIY-project/m-p/7425916/highlight/true#M20190

Also go back a few pages on his thread to see how mini heatsinks are put on the VRMs which is important for high powered RTX card.

Alternately, you can sell off your 2080 Super and buy a hybrid card:

https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/Aurora-R8-Experience-of-Buying/m-p/7434078/highlight/true#M20731

Eventually you can buy more of the same card as you descend the rabbit hole.

Wow that’s awesome !!! I would love to upgrade my R9’s 2080 super to liquid cooled, my cpu is already done. Would an upgrade like that void my warranty? I’m not to good at doing this kinda work but if I were to take it to a computer shop how much would it cost to upgrade my gpu to liquid cooled with the same parts you used. Thx for sharing this GTS81.