Alienware Aurora purchase

[pat_ai2009]

So I just purchased this machine sadly for 275$ I didn't look at the specs closely enough before I bought it...honest noob mistake.. But I like tinkering around w computers and electronics so I'm hoping you guys could tell me there's still some hope left.. Is this case/mobo good for upgrading/customizing. Think I might get a better graphics card at least 16gigs of ram a SSD.. Anything else you guys might think of or opinions on what I can do with this.. Probably going to use it for gaming or a media center hooked up to the flat screen

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[pat_ai2009]

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[carnageX]

I mean it's not terrible...but definitely aging. That said, the 920's are still pretty good for what they are.

I don't think upgrading RAM is all that necessary...already has 9GB, and that's plenty for gaming. New GPU would be needed - and you'd also have to see what PSU it has.

SSD is always a good upgrade.

 

[pat_ai2009]

Yea but 2.67ghz deff on the slow side.. Why would I need to see what PSU it has.. I'm going to check in a min

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[pat_ai2009]

Oh to figure how big I could go with the graphics card right?

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[PP Mguire]

It's not all about GHz and I wish people would get that out of their heads. The CPU is still good and I'd check to see if they have a utility to OC or if it's possible through the bios. The GPU is a turd, and from what it looks like probably used to be a Radeon 5870. If that's the case the PSU is probably their 525W version. This is good enough to go up to a 980ti if you so desired.

All in all for 275 you didn't do bad. The machine is a good platform and if their crappy rebranded Asetek cooler isn't leaking you've fared well. There are a few things you can do to really make this thing nice. Firstly, clean it up. Take the cooler off and clean it, get all the dust off. Put new TIM on the CPU (only a grain of rice size in the center of the IHS). Get all the dust out of the case and make sure the PSU is clean too. Next in terms of upgrade the first thing to do is get a better GPU in there. If the PSU is the 525W unit stay away from AMD cards. Definitely an SSD of course too, but prioritize GPU if you want to game.

Finally if you can't OC the CPU at all an i7 960 can be had for less than 100 all day on Ebay.
Intel Core i7 960 3 20GHz Slbeu LGA 1366 Processor CPU | eBay

I recently had an i7 960 and Sabertooth board to test performance with. I had 0 hiccups when gaming anything meaning to say if you could get the i7 920 to 3.2GHz like that thing you'd be fine.

 

[patonb]

I'm still on my 950...

 

[pat_ai2009]

Thanks for the feedback.. I'm going to do a full clean up right away that's the first thing... Then it sounds like first I should figure out if and how I can OC my 920 if not screw it and I'll just drop the one you mentioned above in it.. Not sure if I wanna get a ssd or a graphics card after seeing how much ssds cost for a 256 gig.. I'm Not sure.. I would be putting a OS on it and just saving the usual dvds/software/music etc so I'd imagine I wouldn't want to get one less then 500gigs

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[pat_ai2009]

Haven't figured the PSU watts yet seems like I'm going to have to take it out to check.. Can't find any specs on Google or any manuals for the Aurora that tell me the wattage.. And I didn't notice and leakage signs.. Also I'm sure there's a better aftermarket liquid cooling system to replace the old one right? Before it does start leaking which could really mess things up

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[MadmanRB]

Looks to be a good machine none the less, upgrading the GPU should be doable as well as the PSU.
At the very least it will be a workhorse