Thanks! There is never a guarantee, but I would expect that you'd be able to do the same upgrade for the R11, if it has similar original fans in it. I had chosen those Noctua fans originally as they had similar characteristics to the Dell fans but were substantially quieter. Upgrading the Dell/Alienware pre-builts is unfortunately not as easy as upgrading a PC that you've built yourself, but with the low cost of the fans, it could be worth a shot, even if you did it in stages as a test.

I hadn't included it in the finished cut of the videos, but I'd recommend going away from Alienware Command Center for controlling the fans. It was always buggy for me. A great video that shows alternate R10 software for controlling the fans is below. I used this software with this PC after the fan upgrade and it worked really well. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2H_5n6DMcU8.htmlsi=GwKfLlr35Sb6R0h6

@@clickssticksgaming Thank you, this was the trick. After all noctua upgrades, everything is monitoring at 80c max and 70c consistently while gaming. The open hardware app tuned to a R10 works great. Thank you again. I find it mind boggling that Dell/Alienware would go so far out of their way to make it harder for the motherboard to detect non stock fans.

See the post above about changing fan controller software. There is a better alternative to ACC that should work well with the extra fans.

Here you go. Links used to be active in the descriptions but they seem to have disappeared. www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-A12x25-PWM-Premium-Quality-Quiet/dp/B07C5VG64V/ref=sr_1_1?crid=V8H6OPQ58D2Z&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.573JgZEPpl8QUSfke-uaaorVnlpkFOJvLaRg417w7kGTeVYNn19_f8wZ2bPY_gkBLG5ZGh-N91KaW6NBIgM8BlAf35HL_os7l406BpO_whum2y4SNVr5DagxJcbKvsGytipmdySuGqUHnRWxBXE4hvMwPrOop4QhR9oWO-hEfIY4lqcUYADRVk5IDUwOTwwcNSNM2QQWTUD2IAJ-c7vU12m4racLoTuwNx9YsggDSdo.wXaQWIJG9w_19uOQf_8_L60EZ6JVsv0yU1x18yhcST8&dib_tag=se&keywords=Noctua+NF-A12x25+PWM%2C+Premium+Quiet+Fan%2C+4-Pin+%28120mm%2C+Brown%29&qid=1722120156&sprefix=noctua+nf-a12x25+pwm%2C+premium+quiet+fan%2C+4-pin+120mm%2C+brown+%2Caps%2C297&sr=8-1

I don't know that I'd be able to offer much help, as I hadn't upgraded the cpu in that PC. Are the 3600x and 5900x's the same socket size?

@@clickssticksgaming yes there are

There should have been a link in the video description. I purchased the long screws as part of a kit from Amazon. Balacoo 60pcs Computer Case Fan Screws Kit. Hope this helps!

@@clickssticksgaming Thanks! I guess i just didnt see it😅 I don't know if youll have a soultion but i used a splitter cable and added 4 Noctua NF-p12s and for some reason when i go in the alienware command center and try and change the fan speed it just caps out at like 42% even when i try and turn it to 100%. no idea why its really weird

also the splitter was pluged into the "fan front" port i havent done anything for the aio yet

Thanks for the comment! Did you check out the full walkthrough video as well? Around the 32:00 mark I went through the fan connections a bit slower. The top fans (if you're referring to the new radiator fans), should be driven by the software (either Alienware or other software) to cool the CPU directly through the pump/radiator combination. If your motherboard has a CPU fan connection, it should be utilized for the radiator fans, and not plugged into the Top fan connection. I utilized the Top fan connection to chain the front fans together, to operate as one. You would not want to separately connect the two radiator fans into different fan connections on the board, as they would then be controlled differently from each other, when they should be controlled the same. Hope this helps!

@@clickssticksgaming Ohhh, I missed the full walkthrough vid. Like I mentioned earlier I wound up chaining the radiator fans to the TOP fan connection cause that's what was being used before. So far it seems to be running ok but maybe I'll open it up again sometime and switch it over to the CPU connection instead. We still have only one front fan (connected to the FRONT connector on the mobo) cause we do have a regular 3.5" HD taking up the spot that the 2nd fan usually goes into. I tried moving the HD to one of the bottom tray positions but couldn't get it to fit properly.

Yes, Pump fan is a fan connection on the motherboard, which was utilized for the radiator fan for the CPU cooler. So I utilized this connection with the y splitter as I was now using two fans for the same CPU cooler function. If you're getting a failure, you could check that the fan cable connection is solid, or if you followed my video, that the y splitter connections are also solid.

Which screws specifically were you asking about? I had gotten a screw kit off Amazon with a large selection. The kit doesn't specifically reference diameter of the screws, but it had 30mm long screws for sandwiching the radiator, and 10mm long / 3.4mm diameter screws for the other fans.

Is the issue that it won't fit in the slot area? Or that it won't stay secured?

@@clickssticksgaming it will not fit in the slot area

@@clickssticksgaming Did you use any different fans? I just bought 4 of the fans you linked, and three of them worked but the other one just couldnt fit.

That is super strange. And you have an R10 as well?

@@clickssticksgaming yeah i do

The key is to use small zip ties. You can slip them through the small opening in the case and then push the end through the fan screwholes. If you have a set of small pliers and a wire cutter, you could use them to pull the tie through and to tighten it, then cut off the excess. Best image of this is around 15:30 in the video.

Glad I could help!

I found that ACC's control over the fans was pretty poor, so I ended up not using it for fan control at all. I was able to install a separate program that allowed for fan customization, tweaked for Alienware. It was Open Hardware Monitor for Alienware, and can be found on sourceforge.net. You can see more details in DGK86's video at this link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2H_5n6DMcU8.htmlsi=hDuMiMZzAOsI_UwT

Yes, the fan replacements and modifications would be independent of the processor type.

I found that ACC's control over the fans was pretty poor, so I ended up not using it for fan control at all. I was able to install a separate program that allowed for fan customization, tweaked for Alienware. It was Open Hardware Monitor for Alienware, and can be found on sourceforge.net. You can see more details in DGK86's video at this link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2H_5n6DMcU8.htmlsi=hDuMiMZzAOsI_UwT

Thank you and i wish to all of us a Happy New Year!!!@@clickssticksgaming

that means its air cooled

I grabbed a Balacoo 60pcs Computer Case Fan Screws Kit from Amazon. It had some longer 30mm screws that are needed for the all in one cooler radiator fan sandwiching.

Steven, sorry to hear that you're having issues after the upgrade. Have to tried disabling Dell Support Assist and seeing if you get any different results? You may want to double check connections as well to ensure that there aren't any issues there. Lastly, did you end up installing the same Noctua fans?

@@clickssticksgaming yes I have the same exact fans as the video. All connections are good. I also tried each fan independently too. How do you disable Dell Support Assist? Google no help. BIOS version 2.19.0045 American Meagtrends.

Depending on the age of the computer, Dell Support Assist may be adding no value to you (questionable value in the first place), as you can download firmware updates and such yourself using your service tag through Dell's website. You could check in the Windows processes (Cntrl Alt Del) to see if you can clearly spot the program running, and close it. Alternately, you could go into the services (Windows Services), find the support assist file and tell it to disable, so it won't start at start-up. That could prove out whether it's a software issue with support assist itself. Hope this helps!

It's definitely a compromise between the high noise levels with the stock fans vs. new fans, and the temperatures. Did you do the full fan replacement and addition with Noctuas as I did, or just one or two replacements of the stock fans?

You can't really go wrong if you're only paying $60 for one of these units, and can definitely accept and look past some of the design compromises when it's that cheap! I don't recall in my unit if the power supply was actually modular, but if it is, then it would certainly help to clean it up a bit to pull unused cables out!

The drive caddy is very easy to remove. If you look at the video at 7:16 and at 13:01 you can see two drive caddies on the right side of the computer (bottom of computer). They have blue trays with little tabs sticking out. You just squeeze the little tabs at the top and you can slide the harddrive in the plastic caddy out of the metal cage. The cage itself then has small tabs that can just be pushed to release. In the video at 7:49 you can see some grating in the computer case with the power supply swung up. This was the location of a drive caddy that I had removed in preparation for installing the upper front fan, and this would have blocked some passive airflow when in place. Hope this helps!

@clickssticksgaming yes yes! I actually just moved the drive to the other wall. It was a trick of the eye that it looked like it wouldn't fit, and there was some rigging to do when closing it but we got it. It was honestly fun and gave me a ton of confidence. I just need the liquid cooler on the cpu and I think my machine will be up to par. The fans helped a ton but somehow starfield is still basically impossible to play. I'm unsure if the liquid cool will help or not. 250 bucks is pretty steep for the corsair though it will suck to throw that cash at it when it isn't the problem.

Glad to hear it. It's a great side benefit of making modifications like this to get confidence to make more changes, or to build your own in the future. I couldn't comment on if adding a liquid cooler would make Starfield playable, as I'm not sure what issues you're having in getting it to run (temps, RAM, etc.). If it's purely temperatures and crashing, then potentially it could help.

I had no issues at all with BIOS after the upgrades.

Awesome to hear!

Thanks for sharing. How much did it cost at Microcenter?

@@sgp7771 for the labor about $100

I had no issues at all with booting. Based on my research of the fans that others had successfully installed without BIOS issues, this was why I when with these specific fans.

Hi Jimmy, I would suggest checking all the connections again and ensure that they are properly connected to a y-connector and then to the correct fan headers on the motherboard. Which fans did you use? As per some of my other comments, some may not be able to be recognized if they have a minimum speed that differs enough from the stock Dell fans. If you can get them at least spinning up, I would suggest disabling AWCC and using another piece of software to control the fans, as per a previous post I had made. Hopefully you can get them working.

Great to hear, thanks!

I'm getting 7-10 degrees lower on GPU with 2 fans on AOI Rad and third in place of the lower front intake

My R10 setup consists of a 3700x air-cooled processor. The standard configuration includes two case fans (located at the front and the top) and one CPU fan with no VRM heatsink. I initially experienced issues with high temperatures and thunderous fans. The idle temperature lingered around 60 degrees Celsius, skyrocketing to 99 degrees under full load. Deciding to switch the fans, I installed an ASUS 120mm AIO (with a single 120mm fan at 2000 RPM) and two Scythe 120mm case fans (running between 800-1200 RPM). These changes significantly improved the cooling efficiency. Now, the idle temperature hovers between 40-45 degrees Celsius. Even when I run a large project that engages all CPU cores at total capacity for an hour, the temperature remains steady at around 75-80 degrees Celsius, occasionally exceeding 80 degrees for brief moments. Most importantly, the overall system noise has been dramatically reduced! I've achieved this in a room without air conditioning or any particular cable management expertise. Yet, the temperature dropped by about 20 degrees. You could further optimize the cooling if you're more skilled in this area.

@@ouankou I have it even worse, with a 10900KF CPU and a 3090 video card only the standard server fans at 4000 rpm can cope... 3 pcs Noctua NF - A12x25 could not cope... (

@@user-ii9mw4ed8v I have it even worse, with a 10900KF CPU and a 3090 video card only the standard server fans at 4000 rpm can cope... 3 pcs Noctua NF - A12x25 could not cope... (

Great to hear!

Hi, they were 30mm long and about 3mm wide. Pretty standard Philips screw head size. You can find them on Amazon in the Balacoo 60 piece computer case and fan screw kit.

Hi, the long ones were 30mm long and about 3mm wide. Pretty standard Philips screw head size. The smaller ones were the standard fan screw size, around 10mm long and 3.4mm wide. You can find them on Amazon in the Balacoo 60 piece computer case and fan screw kit.

@@clickssticksgaming I'm from Russia, I couldn't find it anywhere)) Only on Aliexpress. Thx.

Unfortunately that is one of the drawbacks to using these pre-built Alienware systems, as the I/O shields are built into the case. This does prevent future motherboard changes into these cases, unless you're handy with a Dremel tool to cut it out. A better alternative would be to swap cases. I have successfully swapped an Alienware motherboard into a new case, and just ended up with some small gaps in the case, given the lack of I/O shield, which was left behind in the old Alienware case.

I would look into the software side in this case if the fan does run but only at high temps. I'd doublecheck which fan connections as well on the motherboard you connected it to, and then how that is being controlled in the software. If you're using Alienware Command Center, I would look at disabling it and getting an alternative software to manage the fans. I found that this software gives the appearance of being able to set fan curves, but it never worked properly for me, and even left the fans running full out at one point and I was unable to turn them down. If you must use ACC for managing your lights, I'd set those lights and then go into the Windows Services and set ACC to only run manually. This will remove it from managing your fans, and the colours you set should still work in the background. You can then download an Alienware specific hardware monitor software that actually works to manage custom fan curves. sourceforge.net/projects/openhardwaremonitor/ This software was tweaked to work with Alienware and should show all fans connected and allow you to set the fan curves. This worked great for me after the fan replacements. A great video on RU-vid on this process is below: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2H_5n6DMcU8.html

​@@clickssticksgaming Hello, I appreciate your response. I have checked the link you provided, and it seems to be for the Open Monitor designed specifically for the Alienware R10 edition, am I correct? I own the R9 version, and I'm uncertain if that's the cause of the issue, but when I run the application, it gives me an error and forcefully closes. While the motherboard and components are quite similar to yours, I have an Intel CPU. On a positive note, I have identified the problem, and it appears to be related to the Y-splitter. When I disconnect the Y-splitter and connect one of the fans directly to the connector, it functions perfectly, spins beautifully, and is detected by the AWCC sensor. Everything works flawlessly in this configuration. However, as soon as I connect the Y-splitter, it triggers all the problems. I suspect that either the BIOS or AWCC fails to recognize the dual fan module, though I'm not entirely certain why. It's worth mentioning that even though only half of the fans operate until the temperature reaches 70 degrees, the CPU temperature rarely exceeds 80 degrees, which provides some relief. Nevertheless, I would prefer my fans to spin consistently even during idle periods. As of now, I haven't discovered a definitive solution. I am reluctant to revert to the stock fan, especially considering the effort I put into installing the additional fans. I sincerely appreciate all the assistance you have provided, and if you come across any potential solutions or suggestions, please share them with me. Rest assured, I will also update you if I find a solution on my own. Thank you and have a great day!

@@media1981 Hi, my PC is R9 and the same issue with your PC. Did you get any solution?

What is the bios error?

I haven't seen it personally, but it would be an error message that pops up during boot-up, when the motherboard boots.

@@howlinghoo5123 Next time I shut down and cold boot my PC. If you just restart it won't show up but comes back again after doing a cold boot.

Ah I should mention that mine is an R11 Intel Edition.

Which fans did you put in? Some fans may have different limits for starting speed or voltage than the originals, and the motherboard may not be getting the feedback it is looking for at start-up.

Given my tower cooked my 3080 and I'm out of warranty, I'm in a similar position of curiosity now that I'm looking around to fix things back up and don't have an area in the house I'd consider an optimum work space for the harder part of the process. 3 dogs that really shed and a messy family can certainly bring its challenges. Given the mention of temps from the occasional 90 prior to low/mid-70s after, it'd be my hope that the 2 front fans would drop things to the high 70s or low 80s. And while the ideal air flow in and out should be equal, more air going in with the 2 fans with the 1 out sounds preferred over the other way around in case of imbalance since nature will still do its thing and vent through what holes are available. So while those temps might not be ideal, avoiding the forced shutdowns and crashes should at least be a plus. And just because we may not want to do the radiator part now doesn't mean we can't later, or perhaps even find someone who can. Would've been interesting to have just a front fan test, but obviously too late. Regardless, I see no downside to renovating the front.

It would depend if you're looking at it from a temperature perspective or noise level perspective, or both. The stock fans are very loud. Changing out the front fan for a quieter fan with good flow and adding an upper front fan with good flow should help with temperature of the CPU and GPU (to an extent). It may help less with the overall noise level, as the top radiator fan will still be quite loud, but depending on where your computer is located, it may be less of an issue for you. As per the reply below, you can always change out the radiator fan at a later time as well.

I agree it would have been great to complete these modifications in stages and have more test points to compare against, to show the impacts of just the new front fan, impact of adding in the new upper front fan, impact of new top fan, and then a second new top fan, but I definitely couldn't set aside the time to take the computer apart that many times. In my case, I was looking at the maximum impact in one shot by replacing the current fans and adding two additional fans. Hopefully if you make the same modifications, or even a subset of the modifications I made, you'll see some impact and extend the life of your PC and your enjoyment of it.

@@clickssticksgaming I can't fault ya for doing it all in one shot, either. Curiosity relative to the difficulty for the layman is what inevitably had me wondering. At the very least, I just don't see replacing the front fan and adding a second as downgrade unless you happen to choose really bad fans. I just feel bad for others like myself who picked these models up during covid times due to the GPU scalper spike only to get burned on the bad case design and cooling. It'd be great if Dell was more forgiving on repairs or replacements, but once you're out of their 1 year warranty plan, you may as well not exist. And while I've gotten a new tower from someplace else since, I can't in good faith sell off the Aurora to someone else until I mitigate Dell's shortcomings some because I feel like any buyer who knows what's up would avoid the tower, themselves.

If you're seeing 40 to 50C temperatures on the CPU in an Alienware PC like this when it's working hard, you are doing amazingly well and should have nothing to worry about. For comparison, my recently built PC with 9 fans and lots of open space in the case will see temperatures in the low 50C range when working hard.

I don't disagree, Thomas. The Alienware line-up has compromises in its case designs, although the newer cases appear to have more space inside and are closer to a standard new case that you can build. I have passed this particular Alienware on and have built a new computer. I'll have the detailed build video on the channel in the near future.

Yeah definitely I'm in this exact situation right now lmao

Chad, no I had not gone down the road of any overclocking or undervolting the components on that system.

In the intro, it was said that this PC is being used for intense gaming. Undervolting will lower temps but at the cost of performance. In this situation, other methods of reducing thermals is preferred.

Thanks Khalil! Best of luck with your new build.

Hi Michael. Yes, there will be a full video of the build in the near future, as I slowly tackle the editing.

@@clickssticksgaming Good to know, goodluck with that.