Cooling in the "New" Aurora

2 case fans (*i.e. one in the front, set for intake, and one @ the top set for exhaust).  The Dell webpage list there being 3 case fans, 2 intake, and 1 exhaust.  I believe they are counting the PSU fan as a case fan, unless I'm unaware of another fan.  Adequate - pretty good is how I would describe it.  I recently purchased a Samsung 960 Evo, and GTX 1080ti (awaiting release of EVGA Hybrid kit), and both those components are well known for generating A LOT of heat.  Therefore, on the CPU I'm staying air cooled, although have no need for cpu liquid cooling being an i7 6700, nonK.  My hopes are that the extra air from the CPU fan in the system might assist (pipe dream) in cooling the memory, and m.2.  The non-K cpu's are not liquid cooled, and the K-unlocked cpu's are.

Case fans are relatively inexpensive however, and yesterday I purchased 2 Arctic case fans w/ 74CFM rating.  I also purchased an Arctic CPU cooler, as it was inexpensive, and likely more efficient than the stock CPU fan.  The stock fans, as w/ most components INSIDE Alienware machines, are unfortunately value brand (*i.e. trash). 

I haven't changed the speeds of the case fans since purchase, and Ambient temps stay cool.  However, since adding the 960 Evo, and the 1080ti, Ambient temps have been seen @ 60.  Hoping the better case fans, and the eventual addition of the EVGA Hybrid kit improves said temps. 

Bottom line, if you want quality, or become fixated, you'll likely change a few things out.  That said, I don't regret purchase, but won't be purchasing Alienware again.  I'll be building my own.  The case, and it's no tools entry is masterclass.  Everything else... use Alienware worthy components for God's sake DELL, and bring some dignity back to the name!

Your reply really helps but although owning and using computers for over 35 years , and three Dells, I am not hardware icompetent. The Aurora main page mentions "engineered with liquid cooling" but for at least the basic $800 model that is appears untrue unless you upgrade the basic 460w PS one step to a 460w PS with hight performance Liquid Cooling  so if that is the liquid cooling referenced an "engineered" just where is that applied?

What I want is a fast computer (probably be my last at 84 years) with some entry level gaming capability (I doubt if I will ever be a big gamer).  I will accept the basic Radeon RX460.  However I will upgrade to a 256GB SSD (which I want for the programming loading speed) which comes along with a 1TB HD - more than I need but will find use at least for images (I am a backup freak).  So sounds as if I will get the two fans plus a PS fan and how does that sound you you to adequate cooling for processor, memory and SSD?

Appreciate, Ed

Never mind that first one was better as the 2nd one is HDMI only, and is therefore only capable of 60hz refresh rate.  The 1st one has a displayport input.  https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1224159-REG/lg_34um68_p_34_21_9_ultra_wide.html

Sorry cut myself off.  The liquid cooling will be on the CPU.  I think that sounds pretty good brother.  The last thing I'll mention (*Not trying to get you to buy stuff lol) is the PSU.  It's loud, and low quality.  I found an EVGA 600W Bronze 80+ PSU for $35 on sale @ BestBuy.  It's not necessary to immediately change out, nor are the fans, however considering cooling is one of your priorities I believe both better case fans, and a better PSU (*Which also has a fan) will result in much better temperatures, and less noise.

No doubt I wasn't suggesting you were. 

Do you mean the RX480?  Good card.  Are you familiar w/ Free-sync?  It's AMD's adaptive sync technology which syncs the refresh rate of the monitor w/ the number of frames the gpu is outputting @ any given moment thereby eliminating screen tearing, and stuttering.  (*eliminating in theory)  It's incredible.  If shopping for a display as well I HIGHLY recommend find one w/ Free-sync technology.  Here is a suggestion:  https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1224159-REG/lg_34um68_p_34_21_9_ultra_wide.html

Here is a better deal on essentially the same ; https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1279021-REG/lg_34um59_p_34_21_9_curved.html/prm/alsVwDtl                                                                                                                                                

Yes, LG is good.

I guess 1080p still works fine on these double-wides (because they are not that "tall").

But with all the available monitors, sizes and technology ... for Gaming and other high-end uses ... we really should start a new thread.

I suggest this. This is pretty-much what I bought/have but with a few down-grades to save you some bucks:

Alienware Aurora (R6)
Intel i7-7700 - Intel z270 Chipset
16gb DDR4 
850w Power Supply & Liquid Cooling
Nvidia GTX-1060 OEM
SSD 512gb (M.2 PCIe NVMe)

Toshiba 1tb 7200rpm HDD (if you have a lot of music, video files, etc)

DVD Burner (or Blu-Ray if you want to play those discs)

Killer Networks e2400 Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45
Intel 3165 802.11ac Wi-Fi & Bluetooth v4.2 (it's included ... DO NOT get Killer-WiFi)
Alienware Keyboard and Mouse (free)

Windows-10 Pro (64-bit)

Dell 27" u2717D UltraSharp Infinity-Edge IPS 16:9 QHD Monitor (pretty awesome for gaming and everything else)

Dell AE415 2.1 Speakers (no speakers on u2717D)

External USB-3.0 Hard Disk Drive (for Backup Images)

APC Back-UPS 1000-LCD

Edit: Sign-up for Dell Advantage Rewards first.

You will get free/faster shipping, maybe an extra discount, and after about 45 days ... use your Rewards to buy the Speakers, USB-HDD, or APC-1000-LCD, etc.

You guys are awesome.  Mind you I did mean I am hardware incompetent, so much so that I did not even spit it out clearly.  My computers are a major hobby.  Have programmed in most every language over the years (again not my trade but just enjoyed) and am not a bad repair man for all my neighbors in this "old age home" (of course they call is independent living and my wife of 60 years and I have a nice large appartment).  Just finished a course (vitual) from HACC (Harrisburg, PA on Microsoft SQL Server. I did enjoy a few years back playing Sniper Ghost Warrior and Minecraft (built elaborate worlds but could never handle the monsters or what ever they were called - had to play in safe mode or just kept dying - and that was with a Dell546 after adding a Galaxy GeForce GT 440 512MB DDR5 PCle     display card near the end of the computers life.  It died last year and I am stuck with a Dell 660S.  Now you know were I am coming from.

So again what I am looking for is a very fast computer (I am very impatient) and started looking at the XPS but you cannot even get an SSD as an option, in fact options are few.  So that is why I turned to the Aurora.

and Drewsky's comment about noise discourages because I like quite machinery. Are any of the upgrade options listed  better than the base 460w or do I have to replace as he did?

Tesla1856 makes a point the entry level $699.99 is  below the water line and maybe sinking.  At 84 I really hate spending more than $!000 although I do remember spending over $3000 for my first IBM PC in 1982, and then the next one two and maybe the third - way back when.  You guys would have loved what was the beginning of forums - BBS's and the snail pace of transmission - I did have patience then.  Which raises one more question and that is what are the letters such as Aurora R2? - I do not see those on the Dell site.  Just upgraded components on the same motherboard and case.

Appreciate,

Ed

andDrewskY wrote:

 is the PSU.  It's loud, and low quality. 

Maybe the 460w one is, or you got a poor one. Also, are you sure it's not your CPU fan-cooler behind it that is noisy (or adding to the noise)?

The upgraded 850w PS that came in my Aurora-R6 is not loud. And when machine is running full-out at 400w total ... my PS is only running at 50% utilization (perfect).

Bitz106 wrote:

1. Just finished a course (vitual) from HACC (Harrisburg, PA on Microsoft SQL Server.

2. I did enjoy a few years back playing Sniper Ghost Warrior and Minecraft (built elaborate worlds

3. Galaxy GeForce GT 440 512MB DDR5 PCle     display card

4. So again what I am looking for is a very fast computer (I am very impatient) and

5. started looking at the XPS but you cannot even get an SSD as an option, in fact options are few. 

6. So that is why I turned to the Aurora.

7. and Drewsky's comment about noise discourages because I like quite machinery. Are any of the upgrade options listed  better than the base 460w or do I have to replace as he did?

8. Tesla1856 makes a point the entry level $699.99 is  below the water line and maybe sinking. 

9. At 84 I really hate spending more than $!000 although I do remember spending over $3000 for my first IBM PC in 1982, and then the next one two and maybe the third - way back when. 

10. You guys would have loved what was the beginning of forums - BBS's and the snail pace of transmission - I did have patience then. 

11. Which raises one more question and that is what are the letters such as Aurora R2? - I do not see those on the Dell site.  Just upgraded components on the same motherboard and case.

Appreciate,

Ed

1. Nice. You gotta keep those skills up-to-date. Click my name to read my Profile and see some Photos.

2. I'm really liking Fallout-4 these days. You explore, collect, modify, build, fight ... it's old-school retro and modern all at the same time ... I think you might like it. While the language is PG-13, there is a also a Language Filter Mod to tone it down a bit.

http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/54/?

But yeah, there are all sorts of engaging games out there.

3. I was running AMD video cards in those days, but I'm back in Nvidia-camp these days.

4. Fast means Intel-i7 and PCI-NVMe SSD. I've bench-marked mine 5 times faster than a normal SATA-based SSD.

5. They are ok I guess. I think you have to look at Special Edition if you want a SSD pre-installed (or just do it yourself).

6. Good. I have an Aurora-R1 (2010) and now an Aurora-R6 (2017). It's a good mid-range or mainstream-class machine. You can easily spend much more

7. There is an optional 850w. See above posts (some are in-between the others). It's not so obvious, but there are currently EIGHT Aurora-R6 base configs to start with (with varying base discounts). The higher discounts are real.

8. You get what you pay for. It's about the parts inside. Cheapest Aurora is like a cheap XPS or Dimension with lights.

9. I got mine fairly loaded for $2000. The monitor was around $500 (trust me, you want a nice IPS-Panel monitor). That's about what a nice one costs. Some people spend much more. All my computers (about every 5 years) cost about that much, even the old ones. Even Amiga system was $1500 back in the 80's. You said this was your last computer?

10. I first had a 300-baud modem calling BBS. Had 4 phone lines into house at one point. US-Robotics-14.4 was good, then 28.8. You know the rest. Finally AOL and then Internet and WWW became popular. I was in first 10% of TimeWarnerCable customers in USA to get Road-Runner (first cable-modems) ... called us "Early Birds".

11. It mostly denotes the yearly models ... they change each year with technology. Aurora R1-R4 looked the same, but very different insides (motherboards, chips, video-cards etc.). More recently, Aurora-R5 was last years model (still a very nice machine if properly configured). IIRC, Aurora-R6 just came out this year.

Tesla's suggested build is a good template

Intel i7-7700 - Intel z270 Chipset
16gb DDR4 
850w Power Supply & Liquid Cooling
Nvidia GTX-1060 OEM
SSD 512gb (M.2 PCIe NVMe)

Toshiba 1tb 7200rpm HDD (if you have a lot of music, video files, etc)

DVD Burner (or Blu-Ray if you want to play those discs)

Killer Networks e2400 Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45
Intel 3165 802.11ac Wi-Fi & Bluetooth v4.2 (it's included ... DO NOT get Killer-WiFi)
Alienware Keyboard and Mouse (free)

Your wants:  Speed, Quiet, Cool, and <= $1,000; 

Let's start w/ speed.  I would suggest an i5 overclocked, or i7 overclocked.  I'm not sure you'd notice a tremendous difference in day to day applications, or most games @ 1080p, with an i5 6600K instead of i7 6700K.    I can't confirm that with benchmarks, only reading other users comments, but with price a consideration I believe i7 to i5 is a fair compromise. 

You will see a bigger difference in speed from your storage drive than the CPU.  (*I'm not talking about processing speed, but loading speed, which is generally more noticeable.)  Tesla was correct again in that the M.2 PCIe NVMe is currently the fastest interface available for consumer storage drives.  However, this is another area that if price compromise is necessary, I'd recommend doing it here. 

Once again, I'm not sure what M.2 Storage Drive ships with the Alienware Aurora, however I'm guessing it's from the Samsung 800 series.  This is still a quality, and fast storage drive, but it's considered old now.  Samsung has since released the 900 series (960 Evo which is what I use, and the 950 Pro).  Adding one on via the customization page I believe will likely cost more than a new 960 Evo will. 

Considering the 960 Evo is faster, and adding a M.2, or Sata SSD is relatively easy, it's worth buying one, doing it yourself, and saving money on the Aurora purchase.  WITH ALL THAT SAID, I think you would be happy with a Sata III SSD as well if you wanted to save a little more money.  As I said, I have one of the fastest NVMe drives available, and it's definitely fast, but felt less when compared to upgrading to a SATA SSD from a SATA HDD.  NVMe storage drives generate more heat than Sata drives as well.  Either way, I think 250GB is sufficient for your SSD.  That is enough to put Windows 10, a fair amount of media such as music, pictures, etc.  Samsung 850 Evo 250 GB if you decide SATA SSD, or Samsung 960 Evo 250GB if you decide NVMe.  Samsung includes a free software that works very well to clone your HDD, and transfer it to your SSD.

Regardless of which CPU you chose, I'd recommend going w/ the liquid cooling option, which again is only available on the overclocked CPUs, which are indicated w/ a, "K" @ the end of the CPU model number.  I have an i7 6700, and do not have a liquid cooled CPU.  I hadn't considered that this could have played some factor in my PSU noise, requiring it to work harder, and therefore make more noise.  However, the liquid cooled CPU will accomplish 2 of your goals:  Lower Temperatures, and Noise.

I assume you want to be able to play the latest games since you are buying an Alienware PC.  Something I quickly learned after purchasing my PC is that your display (*monitor) is almost as important as your PC.  You might have the greatest PC in the world, but if the display cannot utilize that power, it's pointless to have all that power.

I have an Nvidia gpu, and I love it.  However, if I had it to do all over again I would probably chose the GPU you were initially thinking in the AMD RX480.  I mentioned Free-sync display technology in another post.  It is only compatible with AMD graphic cards.  Nvidia uses a similar technology called G-sync, and it is only compatible with Nvidia graphic cards.  Long story short, G-sync displays tend to cost more due to licensing, (*My G-sync display was $1100 on sale!) so if considering price, AMD is generally a better choice. 

If you already have a display you intend to use, (*and it does not have either technology mentioned above) then it doesn't really matter which of the two GPUs you buy, as the GTX 1060, and RX480 have similar performance.  However, if you do buy a display, I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY suggest buying one with one of these technologies based on the GPU you own. 

Initially, I would not buy the case fans I told you I purchased.  I suggest getting your machine, and seeing if meets your standards as is, and deciding from there. 

I also recommend looking @ Dell Outlet, which sell refurbished, and scratch and dent Alienware Aurora PCs.  They come with the same warranty as if you bought it new.  You can save quite a bit of money this way, and I have some suggestions I can message you privately to get you the best possible price if you are interested.

They add more configurations daily, if not hourly, so if you don't see one you like then you might if you keep checking:  http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&brandid=2202&fid=100563&fid=100298&fid=8005&fid=1059&fid=1073&fid=2060&fid=6239&fid=9126&fid=8005&fid=7856&fid=9175&fid=111074&fid=111177&fid=111171&~ck=mn

All the best

One other thing I failed to mention is I would still go with the 460watt PSU, and not the 850 (or whatever wattage), as I saw on the customize page, it adds $100 to the total price which is totally not worth it considering the 460 watt is enough to power those components, and you can change it out yourself for quite less, and better quality.

Id also skimp on 16GB of memory, and attempt 8GB of memory if buying new from the customize page.  Again, my reasoning is for such a simple to install component, one you can buy for less, and faster speeds, its worth buying yourself if you determine you need 16GB.  The memory they sent with my machine wasn't dual channel anyway, eliminating the need for it to be identical to the other module.

Also looks like we all are enthusiasts in that I'm a software developing student @ 34yrs, and will complete Associates Degree in 2018 hopefully.