Case Mod Alienware Aurora ALX-XL

[Nexxo]

Originally Posted by Owndapwn

While your craftsmanship is outstanding, I still see this project as trying to polish poop.
It's starting to get a gloss to it, no doubt, but you're still dealing with poop.
This is how the case should have been from the beginning. But with better cable routing.

Also, you're planning on replacing that CPU heatsink with a custom waterblock, right?
I'd hate to see you be part of the ~24-46% (Depending on model) of Alienware users who have their water cooler randomly explode.
Pump failures (Some just stop circulating water and it just boils the water and burns the CPU, others actually explode and destroy the casing), radiator clogs (Paint dust or corrosion, usually), and hose ruptures (Either split lengthwise or come off the fittings).
That'd leak right on those 680's. Dx

Moderator hat on:

Dude, you gave your unrestrained opinion and then you found that you had to apologise for sounding a bit rude and conceited. Now you're going for round two?

We know what you think of Alienware by now. Let it go. This is about the modding.

[Owndapwn]

Originally Posted by jeckulz

**** all yall.
I think he's doing a bang up job.

From what I've seen, no one disagrees with you.
Which is exactly why no one wants to see that cooler burst.
Granted, when these stats were pulled (By a Dell CR rep just before leaving the company), the year was 2009, so maybe they've fixed it.
I had to service one that had the pump stop circulating water. Luckily he didn't get the overclock option, or else throttling and emergency shutdown would have been disabled.
They are (or were) not quality water coolers. They're not worth defending.

Originally Posted by sixfootsideburns

No we don't... that would make us Facebook and nobody needs another one of those...



You both need to chill out! So he doesn't like Alienware... big deal! Your not helping anyone by saying he should be ban for given an opinion. His opinion is simple...
"While Kier's work is high quality, it's hard to make chicken soup out of chicken ****."

You don't agree... well guess what! That doesn't make him a troll. While I agree with you that he could keep some of the comments to himself, the point of a thread is to recieve peoples opinions about your work... most people just post things like "AWESOME!" and "MOD ON!" Just because he didn't follow that boring norm doesn't mean he's trolling. Both of you need to just leave it alone or take your disagreement elsewhere.



Damn man, I really hope not. While Alienware may not be my personal favorite I can definitely say that you are making this case look pretty sexy. I like that you painted the side vents black, something about the plain aluminum finish just didn't look right to me. Also with such a dark case internally I think you may actually do better trying to hide as much of the cabling as you can instead of sleeving. Typically I would prefer sleeved cables over stealthed because I think it adds more character but in this case I'm not so sure. I'm definitely interested in seeing the final results.

This guy.
All of what he said.

Originally Posted by siliconfanatic

Why do people keep beating me to posting?

Email updates and a smartphone that beeps when you get an email.

Originally Posted by kier

Thanks y'all for the support , I don't mind to have occasionally Alienware haters after i post an update.
But every time is getting a bit annoying. Please start your own thread or just call Dell support center if you have any issues.

Like I said before....it's all about the modding. Still very proud on the fact that Alienware has choosen a regular Dutch guy to mod one of there cases and after it's good enough take it with them to events with my name on it....this is a modders dream in my oppinion

Enough about this..... for those who like, more cable management

I call hacks.
No way you sleeved non-modular cables that smoothly without performing some sort of sacrificial ritual.
Teach us your secrets, oh great sleever of cables! Guide us to the path to OCD peace and prosperity!

Originally Posted by Nexxo

Moderator hat on:

Dude, you gave your unrestrained opinion and then you found that you had to apologise for sounding a bit rude and conceited. Now you're going for round two?

We know what you think of Alienware by now. Let it go. This is about the modding.

No offence.. But cowboy hats are way cooler.
Or those sombreros with the bells and stuff on them.

Anyways, I'm not going for round two.
My replies have offered significant advice (It's advisable to not spill fluids on expensive electronics, or put them at undue risk of being fluided on. GTX 680's aren't cheap.) or contributed positively. ("This is how the case should have been from the beginning.")

[siliconfanatic]

Well, on the bright side of this debate, this thread got boosted to page six!

And yay cablemanagement!

@owndapwn, smartphones just aren't worth it imho. They're one heeeeeeeyuuuuge gimmick full of more gimmicks. I text alot, yes, but the screens are'nt big enough and the apps are free but if your not cautious you'll wind up broke! and my email has become a spambox to the point where im getting spam faster'n i can mark it as such and I'm sub'd to too many threads to put in my yahoo account anyway that's for another thread..

[Nexxo]

Originally Posted by Owndapwn

No offence.. But cowboy hats are way cooler.
Or those sombreros with the bells and stuff on them.

Who says moderator hats don't have bells on them? And they have lights. They flash.

Originally Posted by Owndapwn

Anyways, I'm not going for round two.
My replies have offered significant advice (It's advisable to not spill fluids on expensive electronics, or put them at undue risk of being fluided on. GTX 680's aren't cheap.) or contributed positively. ("This is how the case should have been from the beginning.")

Yeah, especially the poop comment was constructive. And the roll eyed comment about his sleeving.

Expressing concerns about the cooling system is great. Saying that you don't like Alienware is fine. Harping on about how it's poop crosses the line from honest opinion to self-important asshole just a little bit. Don't be that guy. Be the mellow guy. The guy who wears the cool cowboy hat.

[kier]

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!

[Pranja]

Very nice. Great job!

[kelmannen]

ooh, havent watched this log in a while, and now it's almost done... '-_-
Really good craftmanship kier, high class as usual

[jeckulz]

DELL!
Take note!

[siliconfanatic]

Bliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinded by the liiight!

Loop just got filled with awesomesauce
Are you gonna keep it as-is mostly, or pull off some kier acrylic pipe power of pine-sol magic trick on the cpu block? Thats what you've got!
The power 'o pine-sol, baby!

[Hanoken]

I feel that if Alienware ever wants to boost their sale, they will probably come after you Kier to do their next on display model seriously what you have done so far has made the computer all the more desirable, and probably made me think again of getting an alienware product (not a hater, just not a fan of the price tag ) anways, Im kind of bummed that the second tubing covers the Nvidia logo on the GPUs, I really liked that logo :3

[AverageNinja]

Not a big fan of alienware (and Dell by that matter), but I like this. Interested in seeing more

[tekonivel]

Nice and tidy! Liking a lot.

[elAwesome]

kier, thank you very much for the tutorial of how to install the GPU water block! That really helped me a lot

And I must say that this is an absolutely outstanding build!!
I love every detail of it!

[kier]

Originally Posted by Pranja

Very nice. Great job!

Thanks

Originally Posted by kelmannen

ooh, havent watched this log in a while, and now it's almost done... '-_-
Really good craftmanship kier, high class as usual

Only a few things to do

Originally Posted by jeckulz

DELL!
Take note!

Originally Posted by siliconfanatic

Bliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinded by the liiight!

Loop just got filled with awesomesauce
Are you gonna keep it as-is mostly, or pull off some kier acrylic pipe power of pine-sol magic trick on the cpu block? Thats what you've got!
The power 'o pine-sol, baby!

lol, internal is almost done...so no big changes anymore, but thanks

Originally Posted by Hanoken

I feel that if Alienware ever wants to boost their sale, they will probably come after you Kier to do their next on display model seriously what you have done so far has made the computer all the more desirable, and probably made me think again of getting an alienware product (not a hater, just not a fan of the price tag ) anways, Im kind of bummed that the second tubing covers the Nvidia logo on the GPUs, I really liked that logo :3

I hope so earn some money with it. there will be another beter logo and will be visible all the way

Originally Posted by AverageNinja

Not a big fan of alienware (and Dell by that matter), but I like this. Interested in seeing more

Thanks

Originally Posted by tekonivel

Nice and tidy! Liking a lot.

Just the way i like it too

Originally Posted by elAwesome

kier, thank you very much for the tutorial of how to install the GPU water block! That really helped me a lot

And I must say that this is an absolutely outstanding build!!
I love every detail of it!

Your welcome mate, good to hear

[kier]

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!

[Pranja]

Wow-sexy pc.

[The_Crapman]

Outstanding. A very evil green machine... muwah ha ha ha haaaaaaa!

[avolla]

That mid plate is such an amazing piece of craftsmanship. Great work.

[Hanoken]

oh my.... oh my... oh my.... oh my... (this went on for an hour as I kept at looking at that logo) yep, I def agree with you having a better logo... damn so that is the product of putting vinyl over plexiglass?

[dreps]

so clean! love it