Alienware Aurora R3

[Frandaman]

Hi All,

I just bought myself an Alienware Aurora R3. It should be delivered in a few weeks (I hope). I opted for the following options:

CPU: i7 2600K 3.9Ghz
Memory : 6GB 1333Mhz(2x2GB & 2x1GB)
GPU: 2GB GDDR5 Radeon 6950
HDD: 1TB SATA 3.0 Gb/s Native Command Queuing
Optical Drive: 24x DVD+/-RW with Dual Layer Write Capability
Chipset: Intel P67 P67 Express Chipset
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
PSU: 875w
Monitor: Dell Ultrasharp 23" HD Monitor

I do have a few questions about it and hopefully you guys can help me out.

1. Can I flash the GPU to the 6970 version as I heard this was possible but I am not sure whether I can do it on the item that came with my system?

2. If I can flash to 6970 can I then buy another 6950 flash it to 6970 again and have it run in crossfire?

3. How hard is it to overclock the CPU in the aurora? Is it the same as what I read in most forums?

4. If I overclock my CPU does it void my warranty?

5. About the hard drive, Can I buy another HDD and have it in Raid 0? Do I need to buy anything else other than another hard drive to configure Raid 0 in this system?

6. Or better yet I have 2 500gb hard drive can I install this and have this as the OS drive in Raid 0 and use the 1Tb Hdd that comes with the system for my files, etc? Do I need to buy controllers to get Raid set up or is there something in the system that I can use to set this up?

7. How hard is it to install an extra optical drive (Blue Ray)? are the wires already there and all I do is install the drive and plug the wires at the back or do I have to look for the wires somewhere?

8. The system does not come with a card reader and it does not let me have the option of having one either when I was configuring the system, is it possible to install one? Would the wires I need to plug in an internal reader already be at the back so all I would need is to install it in one of the drive bays and plug the wires?

Thanks guys and hope someone can help me out.

Fran

 

[WR2]

Hello Frandaman;

1. Yes you can. THG did that in their most recent System Builder Marathon, March 2011: $1000 Enthusiast PC
Assembly And Overclocking
Are you clear on the risks of doing that?

2. Yes.

3. Should be very easy. But it's a Dell. Check with the alienware arena forums to find out for sure from other R3 owners.

4. Check with the alienware arena forums to find out for sure from other R3 owners.

5. Yes. But you'd be much better off using that money to save up for a SSD boot drive IMO.

6. What does your motherboard manual say? Have you checked to see what motherboard is installed? CPU-z will tell you.

7. Open the case up and check for yourself. You should have a SATA power cable free. And you should have a free SATA port too. (unless you're going to use up all the free SATA ports with your RAID or SSD plans. Did your case come with any extra SATA cables? If not you'll need a Retail boxed Blu-Ray drive SAMSUNG 12X BD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Drive Model SH-B123L/RSBP LightScribe or pick up the extra SATA cable yourself.

8. Yes. Yes - most use a USB 2.0 header on the motherboard. Rosewill 40-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB Port / Extra Silver Face Plate

 

[Frandaman]

Hello Frandaman;

1. Yes you can. THG did that in their most recent System Builder Marathon, March 2011: $1000 Enthusiast PC
Assembly And Overclocking
Are you clear on the risks of doing that?

2. Yes.

3. Should be very easy. But it's a Dell. Check with the alienware arena forums to find out for sure from other R3 owners.

4. Check with the alienware arena forums to find out for sure from other R3 owners.

5. Yes. But you'd be much better off using that money to save up for a SSD boot drive IMO.

6. What does your motherboard manual say? Have you checked to see what motherboard is installed? CPU-z will tell you.

7. Open the case up and check for yourself. You should have a SATA power cable free. And you should have a free SATA port too. (unless you're going to use up all the free SATA ports with your RAID or SSD plans. Did your case come with any extra SATA cables? If not you'll need a Retail boxed Blu-Ray drive SAMSUNG 12X BD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Drive Model SH-B123L/RSBP LightScribe or pick up the extra SATA cable yourself.

8. Yes. Yes - most use a USB 2.0 header on the motherboard. Rosewill 40-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB Port / Extra Silver Face Plate

Thanks for the reply. I'll see how it all works out once I get my hands on the system

 

[Frandaman]

Best answer selected by Frandaman.