# Alienware Aurora ALX-XL



## kier (Oct 27, 2012)

The Alienware Aurora ALX-XL

Sometimes you get a chance you can't say no to, so that's what happened to me.
After some discussions and exchanging ideas with Dell, I am very happy to announce to you a build with a super case. It's allready beautiful But I'm gonna give it a try 

The Alienware Aurora desktop.

And not only the case, but a complete configuration with the following components:

- CASE :                                 Alienware Aurora ALX 875W-chassis (Matte Black)
- PROCESSOR:                    Intel® Core i7-3820 (4 Core, 10MB Cache, 3.60GHz) 
- OPERATING SYSTEM :  Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64-bits
- GRAPHICS :         1 GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 555
- MEMORY :                      16GB (4 x 4 GB) 1.600 MHz Quad Channel DDR3
- HARD DRIVE :                256 GB SSD
- OPTICAL DRIVE :     8X Blu-ray Disc-rw-station en 24x dvd+/-rw-station

Before I start, first I want to thank all the great sponsors for making this build possible.

Alienware, for the system.





Nvidia to deliver GPU upgrade (more on this later)





And EKWB for the watercooling components





There will be a lot of pictures again in this build. What is new is that I now going to add videos, think this will be a nice addition.

First contact with an 

alien

Always a great feeling to receive packages  Once everything is dragged into the living room to have another great feeling ..... 

unboxing







The Aurora is certainly well packed, they have given this some good thought.






A box in a box











Clips to unlock the cover






Almost 













The Alienware Aurora




































Nice shapes
















Front also beautiful and clean


























One touch on the Alien head and the panel slides down.






If the PC is turned on and you activate the sliding panel, the lights which illuminate the optical drives will turn on
















Acrylic part what looks very nice ... especially when it is enlightened











Power button






Behind this is a pushpanel to the front I / O. containing

(2x) Hi-Speed USB 2.0
(1x) SuperSpeed USB 3.0
(1x) Mic
(1x) Headphone






At the rear is the handle to unlock the side panel.











Pull the last vent











To unlock the sidepanel











The PSU (Alienware™ 875-watt) is also swappable and modular
















Another great gadget is the enlightenment on the back. Activated with a push button.











Also a great gadget is the Alienware Active Venting.
















Next box. With keyboard and other accessories
















The Alienware tactx keyboard with two-zone lighting setup


























The Alienware mousepad






Some documents






Drivers and utilities






Cables






And two Alienware 3D avatars






Not finished yet ..... a monitor, the beautiful 

Alienware OPTX AW2310

Specs:

•Connections Dual-link DVI (with HDCP), HDMI, 4 x USB
•Viewable Screen Size 23.5in
•Maximum Resolution 1,920 x 1,080
•Contrast ratio 80,000:1 (dynamic), static not quoted 
•Brightness 400cd/m2
•Response time 3ms (grey-to-grey) 










































Back to the Alienware Aurora .... 

the inside

First looks without sidepanel






And again a nice gadget: when the sidepanel is removed, the inside is illuminated without the power on.











Powered by rechargeable batteries






Very handy!!!

The caps for the airflow and coverup are very nicely designed and printed





















Cap for the GPUs is rotatable and removable











Beautiful swappable, tool-less and cable-free hard drive bays


























Also well thought about is the power suply for the side panel (Lights)
On the side of the powersupply are contact points which provide this











For now a Nvidia GTX555 is installed, but this will be exchanged for two Nvidia GTX680






Cooler motherboard






And the beautiful Alienware CPU cooler











Personally I really like this one, so it stays in this build (perhaps modify)






What cable management is concerned, everything is provided. But it looks a bit messy.
This will  be better 





















Module for lighting, fans and other applications











This will be a lot of work, but a very exciting thing to do.

The first change that I'm going to do is swap the Nvidia GTX555 for two GPUs Nvidia has sent me.

Again thank you Nvidia





For sending me two Nvidia GTX680's

Engine Specs:

- CUDA Cores: 1536
- Base Clock: 1006
- Boost Clock: 1058
- Texture Fill Rate: 128.8
- Memory Speed: 6.0 Gbps
- Standard Memory Config: 2048MB
- Memory Interface Width: 256-bit GDDR5
- Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec): 192.2

Unboxing again





















The beautiful GPU's
























































with one Dual Link DVI-I, one Dual Link DVI-D, one HDMI and one DisplayPort






And installed the new GPU's











And now it is time for some modding 

First a window in the Alienware Aurora. And maybe two, one on both sides.
But this is for later... first one.

The sidepanel











Contacts for lighting has to be kept in mind






And the shapes / curves must be maintained






Everything is pretty easy to disassemble. Black panel removed and drawn the line for cutting











Disassambled the remaining parts











RGB strip for color effects






Detached the Acrylic carefully











What's left...a piece of iron






This is what we gonna use for cutting the window in the plastic panel






After some sawing and filing











Excess plastic also removed with my dremel to place the window (later)






first fit






Next step. We use the jigsaw






Removed the reinforcement strip and drawned the hole slightly larger than the window in the plastic panel






And saw it (and some filling of course)






The points which seem to be thin will be reinforced






Furthermore, it's still a strong frame






And placed everything back. The gap inside between the plastic and iron needs to be filled






And the window is almost finished











A big start topic with a lot of pics and vids, but hope you like it.

Until the next update!!!

Grtz.

Kier


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## cdawall (Oct 27, 2012)

At first I started reading and thought who let the spam bot in. The further I read man was I wrong good build so far I can't wait to see what you come up with.


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## Arrakis9 (Oct 28, 2012)

looking good, i already admired alienware case design for the longest time but really hated how they priced their systems. really curious to see what direction this goes and how much better you can make it look


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## ALMOSTunseen (Oct 28, 2012)

Looks Sweet.
Subbed!


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## dude12564 (Oct 28, 2012)

Subbed! Excited to see where this will go!


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## kier (Oct 29, 2012)

cdawall said:


> At first I started reading and thought who let the spam bot in. The further I read man was I wrong good build so far I can't wait to see what you come up with.



Lol no spam bot...just the start. Thanks



Arrakis+9 said:


> looking good, i already admired alienware case design for the longest time but really hated how they priced their systems. really curious to see what direction this goes and how much better you can make it look



Gonna make it the mothership 



ALMOSTunseen said:


> Looks Sweet.
> Subbed!



Thanks 



dude12564 said:


> Subbed! Excited to see where this will go!



 thank you


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## JNUKZ (Oct 29, 2012)

Nice setup you got there


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## kier (Oct 29, 2012)

Thanks!


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## kier (Nov 3, 2012)

Update!!!

After playing some games and testing it was time to strip the case.
First the wiring, which is quite a lot in this case. But quite logical because all the gadgets.

PCB and a lot of cables for the lights





















The PCB strip at the top for lighting and power pump





















2 of these for the lighting behind the HDD bays






And some more cables
















After all cables are removed, This is what's left ... for illumination











Also removed the Alienware mobo. Rams will by provided with black ram coolers later on.





















Fan bracket for the swap bay











And the fanbracket for the GPU's











The HDD bays are easy to disassemble with screwdriver











Putting the SSD away for later











CPU cooler remains a beautiful item, so as previously mentioned this will be used again in this build later











Removed the midplate.






And mobo tray






Still dismanteling with only a screwdriver  Also removed the PSU






Later on this will be black






And the cables which will be a challenge regarding the sleeve job






And removed the covers






Everything is stripped, so this is what's left






Time to think and mod. The idea is to put 2x 360 rads for the GPUs
This is not possible in the  original case. Therefore I'am gonna raise the case using an old LL case where I have shortened the vertical bars and put it back together.






Mounted the Alienware Aurora on top and made a bracket around the lower part​. Because the lower case is smaller I had some space for the HDD cage to place it in the empty space.
















For the sides I have cut a piece of aluminum and bent the curves in it.











Bent everything in the shapes of the lower strip on the existing side panel. This strip is where the new cover is going to be mounted on.











Done both sides and front.






After this cut out the radiators











All assembled and stick together with tape





















Shiny 
















Made the covers black





















And the end result after some sawing, filing, drilling, bending and pasting.































The Alienware Aurora XL version


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## ALMOSTunseen (Nov 3, 2012)

Wow, looks awesome! The quality of your modding is so good, it looks like this case came from alienware!(that may be a bad thing in some areas )


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## Animalpak (Nov 3, 2012)

Awesome work !!! I want that case SO F...cking BAD !!!!!


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## kier (Nov 4, 2012)

ALMOSTunseen said:


> Wow, looks awesome! The quality of your modding is so good, it looks like this case came from alienware!(that may be a bad thing in some areas )



Thanks bro  



Animalpak said:


> Awesome work !!! I want that case SO F...cking BAD !!!!!



Thank you


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## adulaamin (Nov 4, 2012)

WOW! 

It's looking real good. Can't wait for updates


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## kier (Nov 19, 2012)

Update!!!

Hi Y'all, 

I had a nice update in mind about the internal and the beautiful water blocks. Unfortunately GLS did it again... destroyed my package and send it back to Slovenie.... Thanks again GLS!

So this time only an update about the internal parts.

First I have some RAM coolers mounted on the Dell RAMs











I also changed the CPU cooler.

Before:






Shorten the tubes, turn the cover, turn the alien and re-route the cable 











Internal: First cut and bent a custom cover






What hides the 5.25 bay






Made it black






Placed it











Next cut a piece of green acrylic to the right size with two small pieces for mounting the midplate and side cover





















Which will be like this






The midplate. Later on there will be holes in it and a vinyl cover with the brand names which will be illuminated from below





















The side cover is also made ​​of aluminum with recess for the power for the side panel


























And last... made a cover next to the motherboard tray,which will hide all cables




































Next week after the waterblocks are in, the case will go to the coater and turns completely black.


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## HammerON (Nov 19, 2012)

Sub'd!!!
Love your builds and great pictures


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## Animalpak (Nov 19, 2012)

wow wow amazing man keep it up !


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## [Ion] (Nov 19, 2012)

This is incredible! 

Subscribed


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## Jetster (Nov 19, 2012)

At first I was like this is silly. But its looking really nice. Excellent job on the aluminum side panels on the bottom.


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## sneekypeet (Nov 19, 2012)

For the life of my I cant figure out why they have a PCB to power all of the extras in that case just to leave you swapping out AA batteries to play with some LEDs that are widely already available in 12V systems. Sorry that just seems slightly retarded to do in a case.

The modding is pretty sweet though!


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## ALMOSTunseen (Nov 19, 2012)

sneekypeet said:


> For the life of my I cant figure out why they have a PCB to power all of the extras in that case just to leave you swapping out AA batteries to play with some LEDs that are widely already available in 12V systems. Sorry that just seems slightly retarded to do in a case.
> 
> The modding is pretty sweet though!


I think its for people that have their case open for modding, etc, need the light, but don't want to have it connected to the power.


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## scaminatrix (Nov 19, 2012)

ALMOSTunseen said:


> I think its for people that have their case open for modding, etc, need the light, but don't want to have it connected to the power.



But then there's corrosion - most of my kid's toys don't last until the next Christmas because of this. I own PC cases for over 3 years each, I'd end up taking these batteries out just so I don't have to worry about keeping an eye on them.

Nice work again kier


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## acperience7 (Nov 20, 2012)

That's...so...awesome...


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## sneekypeet (Nov 20, 2012)

ALMOSTunseen said:


> I think its for people that have their case open for modding, etc, need the light, but don't want to have it connected to the power.



people mod in the dark? I sort of get it for a card or ram swap, but beyond that I see no real use or need. Even at that, doesn't swapping components pretty much void the warranty?


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## ALMOSTunseen (Nov 20, 2012)

sneekypeet said:


> people mod in the dark? I sort of get it for a card or ram swap, but beyond that I see no real use or need. Even at that, doesn't swapping components pretty much void the warranty?


Hey, I find I sometimes need a torch for my case. Some areas of it can actually get hard to see. Warranty? Alienware, warranty? Those 2 words hate eachother.


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## sneekypeet (Nov 20, 2012)

Fair Enough


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## kier (Nov 20, 2012)

Thank you guys 



sneekypeet said:


> For the life of my I cant figure out why they have a PCB to power all of the extras in that case just to leave you swapping out AA batteries to play with some LEDs that are widely already available in 12V systems. Sorry that just seems slightly retarded to do in a case.
> 
> The modding is pretty sweet though!



Think it's a nice gadget, internal is always dark even with the lights on. So never have to use a torch. Also on the back there's a light for the IO and GPU's...also very handy.
Btw. batteries are NiMH and rechargeable


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## dhdude (Nov 21, 2012)

looks awesome man, sub'd!


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## RCoon (Nov 21, 2012)

I remember constantly bitching about alienware being overpriced. Seeing this reminded me of why i still want one xD

EDIT: I'd still never buy one, just checked, the option of adding a 1TB HDD would cost £160 on alienware, vs buying a 2tb seagate for £67 from ebuyer...


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## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Nov 22, 2012)

Nice build


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## kier (Nov 26, 2012)

Update!!!

Received a beautiful package today. This time GLS did a good job 







Early christmas










EKWB your the best 






Unpacking can begin

First some EK-PSC Fitting 10mm - G1/4 Black











No build without EK-PSC Adapter 90° G1/4 Black











And offcourse the EK-PSC Adapter 45° G1/4 Black











Two beautiful EK-CoolStream RAD XT (360)


























And for the great Nvidia GTX680 GPUs 2x EK-FC680 GTX - Acetal + Nickel CSQ



















































Linked with a EK-FC Bridge DUAL Serial CSQ


























And don't forget the EK-FC680 GTX Backplate - Black CSQ (QClass2)
















This time I will use the new EK-BAY DCP 2.2 Combo Reservoir - Acetal




































With this the EK-DCP 2.2 (12V DC Pump)































Filled with EK-Ekoolant CLEAR (premix 1000mL)











Thanks Gregor and everyone from EKWB who made ​​this possible.

Don't forget to look at the great new site from EKWB CooledPC and show your system to win great prizes


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## ALMOSTunseen (Nov 26, 2012)

kier said:


> [url]http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx233/kier1976/NEW/Alienware/Banner/aurora_branding.jpg[/url]
> 
> [url]http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx233/kier1976/NEW/Alienware/Banner/NV_GF_GTX_preferred_badge_FOR_WEB_ONLY.jpg[/URL]
> 
> ...


EK Christmas! Can't wait to see all this installed.


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## Jack1n (Nov 26, 2012)

The thing i really like about the case is that the HDD trays are made of metal and not cheap plastic,also the hotswap is pretty nice.


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## kier (Dec 16, 2012)

Alienware Aurora ALX-XL is sponsored by:













Update!!!

To start with I have placed the EK bayres to see  how it looks
















Installing the pump onto the bayres











Small tutorial about this

Installing pump/ Bayres tutorial
















Time for the Nvidia GTX680















Also made a tut for placing the EK-FC680 onto the Nvidia GTX680

GPU/ Waterblock tutorial

Don't wanna see the vid!!! Thank god we still have pictures 

Removed the plastic





















Also removed the block











Dismantled the bracket











The EK block











First cleaning up the GPU






Placed pads and compound






Mounted the EK block






Also installed the EK-FC link































And backplate











Second GPU finished




































Connected all together with the EK-FC Bridge Dual Serial
















And offcourse....placed it right away


























Made a minor adjustment  into the CPU cooler. Placed LEDs for a nice effect, bright Alien eyes





















I was still searching regards the radiator recesses on both sides. Here's the first idea.
Playing with some mesh and air outlets





















But no...didn't like this.
So cut an aluminium strip, bended a lot of vents and assembled









































Made it black
















Next ..... The  Nvidia Logo should come back. Therefore I made ​​a little cover where the Nvidia logo is displayed.






Like this





















Frosted the piece 











Just to see how it will look I cut out the name by hand.
This is NOT the final logo, soon there will be a better one (with Nvidia claw)






To give this a bright shine, I have used a piece of glowpad
















Placed a small piece
















For the cables, I cut out a recess











This will no longer be seen through the cover






And another recess for the remaining connections mobo






And a recess for the GPU power. Bottom PCI-e power is tight, but possible
















And last... Busy again with acrylic tube











After some measuring, Made 2 holes ​​for the fill ports































That's it for this weekend  To be continued!


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## kier (Jan 27, 2013)

Alienware Aurora ALX-XL is sponsored by:













Update!!!

It took a while but here is a new update of the Alienware Aurora. After some doubt what I would do, paint or powder coating I decided to do it myself.
purchased a number of cans primer and Black.

Put the primer on
















Let it dry for a night and then applied several layers of black
And again, hung to dry. Looks good i think 





















Internal also used some black for the heatsink and other small stuff ... still need to exchange the connectors











Always fun to play with Alien eyes






I also gave the midplate a black layer. This to get a illuminated green border using a CCFL. I first made the top ​​white, after that a black layer






Placed the CCFL
















Time to place the PCB for the lighting etc. For this I have cut a aluminum plate






Placed like this





















After extending some cables
















Power on for testing











And it's working again











Always good to know before the cable management begins


























Searched and found my sleeve stuff again  for sleeving the big bundle
















I discovered that the pins of the big block are not so easily to remove. 've Tried al kind of tools, but it isnt possible without demolishing. I just miss the slots for the pin remover.






So change of plans ... going to use sleeved extenions now. Sorry no sleeve update this time 

I also did the lower back. Because I made ​​the Aurora a bit higher, I also need to extend the back.
For this cut, bent and drilled an aluminum plate






Cut and bent another aluminum plate











First plate mounted on the existing PSU cover






And made the other plate black and mounted it. Must still bend it a bit and still make some openings with mesh in it..I think, but this is how it fits.









































Finally the choice of the fans for the rads. The Scythe SY1212SL12H ... pretty thin fans but very noisy. 
definitely need some adjusments 





















More coming up!!!


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## Cotton_Cup (Feb 4, 2013)

I want mooooreeeeeeeeeeee


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## Wells (Feb 6, 2013)

This is awesome. I want more pics. please, have a performance test and post our the result.


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## kier (Feb 17, 2013)

Alienware Aurora ALX-XL is sponsored by:













Update!!!

The end is almost in sight. Recent weeks i've done a lot on the Alienware Aurora R4
Because the sleeving didnt go easy with the large connector I used extensions. It is certainly not MDPC sleeve, but it's not too bad

Lower GPU power connected











And another











One more






And the last one











Some straightening and pulling






Looks nice






24 pins also some shapening
















You've probably saw some pictures pass by with the the tubes, but here everything is connected. This time with 12/10mm tubing
Finally I found them with the perfect size (thanks E22 Nate). Only thing to do is to file a little edge off the tubes just like the crystal links.


























Was a lot of work, but here one pic of the other side finished lol






Time to fill her up and leak testing. Optical drive removed and fill the bayres.






After some noise...it became quit 




































And then it was dark ...
Lights on please!!!

Oww almost forgot, the midplate: I've got the whole plate illuminated using a green ccfl bar for one half.
And the other half (left) I've used a glowpad. The PSU cage would otherwise cause a dark spot ... not now 











And power on!!!. Because the side panel is off, 3 white LEDs are shining at the top, which shows the internal











Leds off






Default color is green, but all original color options are possible






Front is looking very nice






And lights back on. Some pictures with daylight and the panels installed





































































































Still some minor work to be done, such as the Nvidia GPU sticker on the cover, acrylic window and so on. Next time Cheers!


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## HammerON (Feb 17, 2013)

Looks amazing


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## Random Murderer (Feb 18, 2013)

Wow, that's some impressive work there! The bottom half of the case(the part you made from scratch) looks like it came that way from the factory.
Definitely a big 10/10 from me so far!


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## kier (Mar 16, 2013)

Alienware Aurora ALX-XL is sponsored by:













Update!!!

This is it ... he's finished.
Last work is done and now only the final photo shoot. Then he (temporarily) returns to Alienware.
For the demo room and events ... so maybe you'll see it again live somewhere

Window was one of the last things that must be done, so I have adjusted the original cover a bit more unnecessary plastic removed











Cut a piece of acrylic.






And installed




































The vinyl stickers were in and looks very nice. They gave my some more pieces to try it out. Letterop Advertising thank you very much for this.




















Applied and tested the light































And the Alienware Aurora ALX-XL connected






Crysis 3 installed 











Last update will be the final photo shoot and maybe a nice vid ... until then!


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## HammerON (Mar 16, 2013)

Another awesome build sir


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## grunt_408 (Mar 16, 2013)

Wicked


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## kier (Mar 19, 2013)

Just noticed that my Alienware build is nominated for mod of the month february. Here's the link of all of the nominees: http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/mod-...ebruary-2013/1 choose wisely my friends


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