Just wanted to come back to this video to give an update. The Alienware got an upgrade with watercooling, 16gbs of ram, new mobo and ryzen 5 3600 processor a while after this video. When i moved to attend uni i left it behind and replaced it with a RTX 2060 laptop. I have however brought it with me now so that i can start using it again. It still works very well and is fast in both gaming and editing alike. However, i plan to upgrade the GPU when the market stabilizes. I want to thank everyone who watched this video and all of my now 302 subscribers. This is my favorite video i've done and the one i'm the most proud of. Not because it's the best edited, written or filmed one, but because it seemed to have helped people out. Every time i get a comment on this video saying "thank you" or "this was helpful", it makes my day. Srsly guys, thank you all so much! Regards, Sneckit
Congratulations on the 100+ new subs since this comment you made.( I too will subscribe ! ) I was wondering what this thing draws regarding power consumption in watts when stock, and what your modded one draws. I found one by the dumpster in perfect condition minus the HD of course. I lugged all 50+ lbs of it home under one arm with my dog pulling me the other way 😬. I could use my KillaWatt meter to see the power draw at idle, but that will have to wait till I install a hard drive and see what else it needs to get going. A decade ago I dabbled in 3d ( XSI, Zrush, etc ) It's amazing to look at all this thing has ( dual graphic cards core i7, and all the super fancy bits ) - and yet it is considered trash. I would have done cartwheels had I had the chance to own one back then. Ideally, I like to find a system that will do 3d and video editing, but use as little energy as possible. This thing looks as if it wouldn't even be efficient as a wintertime heater ! It is watercooled, and that tells me it gives off a ton of waste heat. I see it has an 875 watt power supply. I'm thinking I could so the same things this beast could do using a laptop that draws less than 60 W. Lastly, does it use a proprietary O.S., or can I just install Windows ? - Thanks !
@@O-cDxA Sorry for the extremely late reply, i for some reason didnt get a notification on it. It uses standard windows, but you just need to install alienware command center!
Thank you for documenting all of this, the information, and the shout outs. Really helping me with my own ALX modernization project. also you're right Cass-Olé over at the forums is a god.
This is amazing man. I've had this case for over 9 years. Such a cool and way overbuilt case. But 9 years is decades in tech and it needs some attention. Been starting to look into upgrade paths and this is exactly the information I have been searching for. AAAAnd you uploaded this on my birthday. Thank you!
I'm planning to do a similar upgrade on a friend's old ALX soon, thanks for documenting that this is possible! Had a slight worry that the Dell PSU wouldn't play nice with nonstandard boards, but seems like that's not gonna be an issue, we appreciate the effort.
1:32 thank you friend 😢. I bought mine back in 2010. She's had long hibernation. She slept most of the 20teens I cleaned it up in 2015 and ran it for a few months, and it's been sleeping since. I'm now thinking of upgrading it. And I stumbled on your video. Ai is reading thoughts now 😅
Thanks for the vid! Has all the info one needs :) Actually gave me the courage to finally do a build in this case, got it 2 months ago and it was just sitting around collecting dust
Great video. I still have my Alienware Aurora ALX and I'm in love with this heavy - awsome - looking case. Man, they spent like a lot of money in this design, check all the little details outside, inside, it's just plain great. My rig: Alienware R4 ALX i7 4930K watercooled Processor 16GB DDR3 RAM AMD R9 380X 4GB DX12 Graphics Card SSD Samsung 840 1TB 1TB Hitachi HDD Bluetooth Wifi Logitech G403 Bluetooth Ozone Strike X30 Keyboard Corsair pad LG 34UC79G 144hz 34 inches monitor UltraWide Line 6 UX2 Soundcard Sony WH-900 Headphones If anytime this machine breaks, I will go for another rig but with same case, this case will die with me. Forgot: I guess there aren't much cases like this nowadays.
Just bought my 2012 r4 4 days ago on Craigslist. 350 bucks and the dirtiest computer I've ever seen. I spent two full days taking it apart and cleaning it. And just fired it up for the first time last night. I've only watched the first minute of your video but I'm excited to see what you cover.
Been searching for 2 months for something like this, thank you for sharing. Going to post to AlienOwners after watching. I've got Alienware Aurora R4 bought in early 2013 manufactured in October 2012. - Performance has progressively declined over the years where PC struggles with Rocket League on Low settings, it hiccups - Now I cannot boot at all without 3 beep error code (looked up chipset/motherboard issue) ***EXCEPT*** sometimes if I fold f2 it boots completely normal and everything is operational? (unreliable and cannot replicate consistently) - I can't confirm the motherboard is the issue although I assume so since I've swapped graphics card, reseated the ram, reset bios, defragged hard drive, I'm at the end of my wits. -Motherboards that are compatible (to my knowledge) with the processor (i7 3820) are all used and range from $200 - $1,000 + and terrible reviews. You are saying that any mATX will work it just has to fit? I'd like to resurrect this beast if I can, it could use some upgrades, I've got around $400 to throw at it... any suggestions? Stock -Liquid-cooled Intel Core i7-3820 3.6 GHz (Quad-Core, 10MB Cache) Overclocked up to 4.1GHz -875w PSU -Motherboard Intel® X79 Express Chipset (Intel® BD82X79 PCH)) - 8GB Quad Channel DDR3 at 1600M Hz (Four 2gb sticks) Replaced -1 TB WD HDD (intend to buy SSD depending on how much fixing / scrapping this rig will cost) -GPU Originally Nvidia 660, currently AMD 6770 Intend to swap with an NVIDIA 1060 that I currently have)
Great video for the most part, with really good information and a nice detailed look at the case specifics. I feel if you scripted the text a bit you would have a better time talking, since you have to pause occasionally to think what you want to say. I appreciate the honest mentality though of not cutting every time you pause. I also wish you put some links in the description, for people that want to have a go at this case aswell (which i am, since im trying to buy one rn). You can find the sites you need fairly easily, but informations like the specific link toward the AWCC software version and the Forum page where you got all you infos would be an imense help and skip some searching.
Mine's still going strong after 13 years. Updated graphics card to RTX 3060 - was working fine for 18 months but recently just stopped - so back to using a GTX 970 - while I try and find out the issue.
I'm planning on upgrading my Aurora R4 ALX. I have an AMD Sapphire 5700 XT graphics card already and it works with the stock Core i7 3820 but I'm not getting the performance that I should be getting. I'm upgrading my CPU, motherboard, and ram in preparation for the new generation of gaming! I know for a fact that my current CPU will not run smoothly with the new games about to be released (One game being CyberPunk 2077). I'm aware that I am currently bottlenecked so I'm really looking forward to an upgrade. What I have coming in is: GIGABYTE B550M AORUS PRO AMD - Ryzen 7 3700X PNY 16 GB DDR4 Thanks for this upload! I saw this vid a while back and it definitely inspired me to upgrade this dinosaur of a computer xD
Hey Sneckit, Nice build! I'm doing one too but my case did not come with the drive bay cover that holds the 2x aa batteries. I'm hoping that you or someone else could help out and show the inside of the battery compartment wiring. My guess is that the yellow wire is for a thermistor(temperature) but it would be really helpful to actually see how its wired so that I can make my own battery tray and use the theater lighting.
I got at MSI Board and couldnt get the case lights to work which is a shame. Will check whether I can actually find the plug you mentioned. I also cant get commmand center to run...
mine is really really really heavy , I have one alienware with the manual. mine is watercooled runs cooler than my new watercooled build I have on the other side six hard drives can put ssd in to but need . The fans on top I run on manual maxed out, just to blow it out, then alienware controlled to go silent almost
If I need to change power supply on Alienware aurora what power supply you recommend that will fit and the holes line up with the case when you screw it in ? I try Thermaltake power supply it fits but when comes down to screw it in the holes don’t line up with the case
I bought it at st Vinnie for 250 lol it had an amd radeon 6800 graphics card (about $200 online even as old as it is) 16 gigs ddr5 a tb had and 200gb ssd. Had unbuntu going though and my lighting as of yet won't come on, the aliens eyes work fine and inside the lights will turn on but the blue on the sides, front and back won't. Eithwr way the case is savage af and the graphics card alone was worth the pittance I paid lol
This looks cool! Have you ever managed to upgrade it and do an update vid? Also I was curious, could this case fit any modern graphics cards? I highly doubt something like the RTX 3080 could fit but would an RTX 2080 work in this case?
Most gpus should fit since space inside the case for gpus is abundant. Haven't upgraded the pc since 2019, but I plan to upgrade the GPU once prices start to go down. Stay tuned.
Hey bro...just wanna ask....mine same as u..but i cant turn it on....only if use the screwdriver to tuch the power pin...then it will turn on...i've heard the light of the case only work with msi board only...saw some ppl work on alienware area 51...can u give some advise...
My aurora I bought recently came with two and Radeon crossfire and they are extremely shitty am I able to get gts 1070 or gtx1050 or anything that can run a game like rainbow six
yeah dude thats a bad deal. dont buy the 1000 series unless you want heat and way too much power draw. get a 1660ti or even a 2070 as their now cheaper.
Use should use either mITX or mATX for the motherboard. You can just search alienware aurora r1 master I/O board and you should be able to find info on the I/O board
The information you provided was valuable. If you are going to continue to produce videos you need to improve your presentation style. Your jerky vocal variety is hard to follow. Your pace of rapid speaking followed by long "and" or "so" is distracting. Pauses do add to audience understanding. Your current style is amateurish. You can do better! Good luck!
Just wanted to come back to this video to give an update. The Alienware got an upgrade with watercooling, 16gbs of ram, new mobo and ryzen 5 3600 processor a while after this video. When i moved to attend uni i left it behind and replaced it with a RTX 2060 laptop. I have however brought it with me now so that i can start using it again. It still works very well and is fast in both gaming and editing alike. However, i plan to upgrade the GPU when the market stabilizes.
I want to thank everyone who watched this video and all of my now 302 subscribers. This is my favorite video i've done and the one i'm the most proud of. Not because it's the best edited, written or filmed one, but because it seemed to have helped people out. Every time i get a comment on this video saying "thank you" or "this was helpful", it makes my day. Srsly guys, thank you all so much!
Regards, Sneckit
Congratulations on the 100+ new subs since this comment you made.( I too will subscribe ! )
I was wondering what this thing draws regarding power consumption in watts when stock, and what your modded one draws.
I found one by the dumpster in perfect condition minus the HD of course.
I lugged all 50+ lbs of it home under one arm with my dog pulling me the other way 😬.
I could use my KillaWatt meter to see the power draw at idle, but that will have to wait till I install a hard drive and see what else it needs to get going.
A decade ago I dabbled in 3d ( XSI, Zrush, etc )
It's amazing to look at all this thing has ( dual graphic cards core i7, and all the super fancy bits ) - and yet it is considered trash.
I would have done cartwheels had I had the chance to own one back then.
Ideally, I like to find a system that will do 3d and video editing, but use as little energy as possible.
This thing looks as if it wouldn't even be efficient as a wintertime heater !
It is watercooled, and that tells me it gives off a ton of waste heat.
I see it has an 875 watt power supply.
I'm thinking I could so the same things this beast could do using a laptop that draws less than 60 W.
Lastly, does it use a proprietary O.S., or can I just install Windows ?
- Thanks !
@@O-cDxA Sorry for the extremely late reply, i for some reason didnt get a notification on it. It uses standard windows, but you just need to install alienware command center!
what MOBO did you end up using?
@@StevenRiseNYC B450M mortar max
Thank you for documenting all of this, the information, and the shout outs. Really helping me with my own ALX modernization project. also you're right Cass-Olé over at the forums is a god.
This is amazing man. I've had this case for over 9 years. Such a cool and way overbuilt case. But 9 years is decades in tech and it needs some attention. Been starting to look into upgrade paths and this is exactly the information I have been searching for. AAAAnd you uploaded this on my birthday.
Thank you!
I'm planning to do a similar upgrade on a friend's old ALX soon, thanks for documenting that this is possible! Had a slight worry that the Dell PSU wouldn't play nice with nonstandard boards, but seems like that's not gonna be an issue, we appreciate the effort.
I just finished putting my AMD Ryzen 7 5800x and 3070 rig in an aurora and it was so fun to build. Thanks to the video i knew what to watch out for!
1:32 thank you friend 😢. I bought mine back in 2010. She's had long hibernation. She slept most of the 20teens I cleaned it up in 2015 and ran it for a few months, and it's been sleeping since. I'm now thinking of upgrading it. And I stumbled on your video. Ai is reading thoughts now 😅
Great video! Interesting that you brought attention to the width of the case when the most striking thing about it to my eyes is the length.
Thanks for the vid! Has all the info one needs :) Actually gave me the courage to finally do a build in this case, got it 2 months ago and it was just sitting around collecting dust
Thanks dude,I’ve always liked Alienware cases(except the new ones)
Great video. I still have my Alienware Aurora ALX and I'm in love with this heavy - awsome - looking case.
Man, they spent like a lot of money in this design, check all the little details outside, inside, it's just plain great.
My rig:
Alienware R4 ALX
i7 4930K watercooled Processor
16GB DDR3 RAM
AMD R9 380X 4GB DX12 Graphics Card
SSD Samsung 840 1TB
1TB Hitachi HDD
Bluetooth
Wifi
Logitech G403 Bluetooth
Ozone Strike X30 Keyboard
Corsair pad
LG 34UC79G 144hz 34 inches monitor UltraWide
Line 6 UX2 Soundcard
Sony WH-900 Headphones
If anytime this machine breaks, I will go for another rig but with same case, this case will die with me.
Forgot: I guess there aren't much cases like this nowadays.
Just bought my 2012 r4 4 days ago on Craigslist.
350 bucks and the dirtiest computer I've ever seen.
I spent two full days taking it apart and cleaning it.
And just fired it up for the first time last night.
I've only watched the first minute of your video but I'm excited to see what you cover.
Been searching for 2 months for something like this, thank you for sharing. Going to post to AlienOwners after watching.
I've got Alienware Aurora R4 bought in early 2013 manufactured in October 2012.
- Performance has progressively declined over the years where PC struggles with Rocket League on Low settings, it hiccups
- Now I cannot boot at all without 3 beep error code (looked up chipset/motherboard issue)
***EXCEPT*** sometimes if I fold f2 it boots completely normal and everything is operational? (unreliable and cannot replicate consistently)
- I can't confirm the motherboard is the issue although I assume so since I've swapped graphics card, reseated the ram, reset bios, defragged hard drive, I'm at the end of my wits.
-Motherboards that are compatible (to my knowledge) with the processor (i7 3820) are all used and range from $200 - $1,000 + and terrible reviews. You are saying that any mATX will work it just has to fit?
I'd like to resurrect this beast if I can, it could use some upgrades, I've got around $400 to throw at it... any suggestions?
Stock
-Liquid-cooled Intel Core i7-3820 3.6 GHz (Quad-Core, 10MB Cache) Overclocked up to 4.1GHz
-875w PSU
-Motherboard Intel® X79 Express Chipset (Intel® BD82X79 PCH))
- 8GB Quad Channel DDR3 at 1600M Hz (Four 2gb sticks)
Replaced
-1 TB WD HDD (intend to buy SSD depending on how much fixing / scrapping this rig will cost)
-GPU Originally Nvidia 660, currently AMD 6770 Intend to swap with an NVIDIA 1060 that I currently have)
get a new mobo, and new processor. any matx board should work but i cant guarantee anything.
Great video for the most part, with really good information and a nice detailed look at the case specifics. I feel if you scripted the text a bit you would have a better time talking, since you have to pause occasionally to think what you want to say. I appreciate the honest mentality though of not cutting every time you pause.
I also wish you put some links in the description, for people that want to have a go at this case aswell (which i am, since im trying to buy one rn). You can find the sites you need fairly easily, but informations like the specific link toward the AWCC software version and the Forum page where you got all you infos would be an imense help and skip some searching.
Mine's still going strong after 13 years. Updated graphics card to RTX 3060 - was working fine for 18 months but recently just stopped - so back to using a GTX 970 - while I try and find out the issue.
By the way thanks for video totally awesome the beautiful thing is no one is going to go running away with this...
I'm planning on upgrading my Aurora R4 ALX. I have an AMD Sapphire 5700 XT graphics card already and it works with the stock Core i7 3820 but I'm not getting the performance that I should be getting. I'm upgrading my CPU, motherboard, and ram in preparation for the new generation of gaming! I know for a fact that my current CPU will not run smoothly with the new games about to be released (One game being CyberPunk 2077). I'm aware that I am currently bottlenecked so I'm really looking forward to an upgrade.
What I have coming in is:
GIGABYTE B550M AORUS PRO
AMD - Ryzen 7 3700X
PNY 16 GB DDR4
Thanks for this upload! I saw this vid a while back and it definitely inspired me to upgrade this dinosaur of a computer xD
Love to hear it! Hope it works out well for you mate!
Hey Sneckit, Nice build! I'm doing one too but my case did not come with the drive bay cover that holds the 2x aa batteries. I'm hoping that you or someone else could help out and show the inside of the battery compartment wiring. My guess is that the yellow wire is for a thermistor(temperature) but it would be really helpful to actually see how its wired so that I can make my own battery tray and use the theater lighting.
Thank u for all the info there's no good info on this case these days
I got at MSI Board and couldnt get the case lights to work which is a shame. Will check whether I can actually find the plug you mentioned. I also cant get commmand center to run...
Great video, not much info on this chassis out there, I do have one question about it though. Can you swap the PSU out for a 3rd party one?
This is one of the prettiest cases ever made. Prettier than 99% of the bullshit boxy crap out now.
I just want my adaptive cooling vents and lights to work
How hard is to get it working with modern mobos ?
Thanks for doing this video. Could you provide a link to the forum?
mine is really really really heavy , I have one alienware with the manual. mine is watercooled runs cooler than my new watercooled build I have on the other side six hard drives can put ssd in to but need . The fans on top I run on manual maxed out, just to blow it out, then alienware controlled to go silent almost
I got an Alienware Aurora r3 about a 4 days ago and It had a i7 960 and I paired it with a gtx 1050 ti I played warzone at 1080p medium settings
If I need to change power supply on Alienware aurora what power supply you recommend that will fit and the holes line up with the case when you screw it in ? I try Thermaltake power supply it fits but when comes down to screw it in the holes don’t line up with the case
where can you find one of these??
I bought it at st Vinnie for 250 lol it had an amd radeon 6800 graphics card (about $200 online even as old as it is) 16 gigs ddr5 a tb had and 200gb ssd. Had unbuntu going though and my lighting as of yet won't come on, the aliens eyes work fine and inside the lights will turn on but the blue on the sides, front and back won't. Eithwr way the case is savage af and the graphics card alone was worth the pittance I paid lol
I7 3820: whatcha watching?
Me: Nothing >_>
Alienware motherboard: dont sound like nothing
Me:.......
This looks cool! Have you ever managed to upgrade it and do an update vid? Also I was curious, could this case fit any modern graphics cards? I highly doubt something like the RTX 3080 could fit but would an RTX 2080 work in this case?
Most gpus should fit since space inside the case for gpus is abundant. Haven't upgraded the pc since 2019, but I plan to upgrade the GPU once prices start to go down. Stay tuned.
@@Sneckit Oh nice, that's great to hear!
@@TeCHnORiOT small update, it supports the 6900 xt from AMD, which is comparable in size to the 3090.
@@Sneckit Cool!
I wish i could find an old Alienware case. But on ebay they sell for like, 80 - 180 euros, which just isnt worth it.
Yeah, they unfortunately are quite expensive. took me a couple years to even get this one lol
Hey bro...just wanna ask....mine same as u..but i cant turn it on....only if use the screwdriver to tuch the power pin...then it will turn on...i've heard the light of the case only work with msi board only...saw some ppl work on alienware area 51...can u give some advise...
Mine has worked with the motherboards i have tried, which have both been MSI boards.
My aurora I bought recently came with two and Radeon crossfire and they are extremely shitty am I able to get gts 1070 or gtx1050 or anything that can run a game like rainbow six
yeah dude thats a bad deal. dont buy the 1000 series unless you want heat and way too much power draw. get a 1660ti or even a 2070 as their now cheaper.
can u send pic of the board that u say not to touch on the right side on the button and what side motherboard u choice
Use should use either mITX or mATX for the motherboard. You can just search alienware aurora r1 master I/O board and you should be able to find info on the I/O board
@@Sneckit I look but can u send me pic of yours please and thank u for letting me know about the motherboard
Hey, nothing happens when i press the alien head
The alien head doesn't start the computer, it only drops the cd door. Is the cd door dropping?
@@Sneckit the door isnt dropping, thats what i mean
@@xbyxenos3200 hmm. can you hold down the button and physically pull the door down?
@@Sneckit yea i can put the door down easly with my hand but when i click on the lighting alien head button nothing happenS
@@xbyxenos3200 ok. Pull down the door. Press on the alien head and look at the mechanism that the head is connected to. is it moving?
can post the link that u showing on your laptpo
www.alienowners.com/
The information you provided was valuable. If you are going to continue to produce videos you need to improve your presentation style. Your jerky vocal variety is hard to follow. Your pace of rapid speaking followed by long "and" or "so" is distracting. Pauses do add to audience understanding. Your current style is amateurish. You can do better! Good luck!
Thank you Richard! The feedback is greatly appreciated.