*Update*
The new CPU liquid cooler arrived today. I managed to get it installed, although it was quite frustrating. Trying to put the (long) screws through the back of and into the case and into and through a fan and into the radiator was difficult. I did watch a YouTube video of someone doing just this thing with my PC. I think at first he had the system (cooler) in the wrong orientation. It took me a while to realize why I wasn't having any luck with it, so I had to flip it upside down (or right side up). Then I got it all screwed in and plugged up. My CPU with the old cooler just days ago was running at a blazing 91c! I downloaded an Intel program that can tell you whether or not your CPU is thermal throttling and sure enough at that temp, my CPU was doing it. No wonder it shut itself off! It's still in the 90's but that's no longer the celsius measurement, that's the fahrenheit temp (which is what the cooling system's software from Corsair is telling me). However, HWMonitor is telling me that the CPU is running at a very cool 36ish (in celcius) at max. Wow this tech is seriously awesome! I must admit at first I was sceptical about liquid cooling, it's well known that water and electronics don't mix. However, there (obviously) are some good systems out there that remove all worries (just don't try to take it apart yourself and fix it or you might spring a leak). From what I've been through with this PC, I believe that liquid cooling is very necessary, especially if you're planning to run a beast and do some really good gaming.

On that note, I'd like to add that I upgraded a couple of other pieces of hardware in recent years. I got a Razor Chroma keyboard, which has lit keys. Now I believe this kind of hardware is essential, especially if you're gaming in the dark (WASD are not the "home keys" unfortunately). I also got a Corsair Harpoon RGB mouse. I needed a new mouse, went to Wal-Mart and found "gaming" mice, so I picked one up. It's pretty good and the Corsair software (iCUE) controls my mouse and my new liquid cooling system. I've been a fan of Corsair for a long time, I've bought at least two of their PSUs.

Wow that looks like a sweet laptop! That sucks that you've had issues with it though. I wonder how a beastly laptop like that stays cool. I used the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/24075/Intel-Extreme-Tuning-Utility-Intel-XTU-) to see that my CPU was throttling.

It's good that you got an extended warranty, although bad that you had to get some replacements and such. I initially didn't have a problem w/ my PC, except the mouse's optical piece was damaged shortly after getting it, but I quickly replaced it.

Anyway, I'm glad we have another Cheerful Ghost Alienware user. :)

I agree with you and I think you're right on both accounts and so am I. LOL I haven't really cared much about "cutting edge" tech for a while. But, I've decided it's time to try some out. The CPU Liquid Cooling System in this PC was new tech to me when I got it 5 years ago. The GPUs I've order are a bit "cutting edge," too. Now, I'm making the jump to SSD, which is long overdue, I'm sure! Now I might even get into higher def gaming. I might not go 4k, but I might take the step above me w/ 144. I don't know much about ray tracing, just that it's new. I'm not too worried about it, but you're good because it's on your GPU. I'm not quite up to date on CPUs, either. However, I did read that my i7-4820k is still actually a really good processor. I'm sure your's is better and you have faster RAM, but I think what I have has been very good and I don't have too much reason to change (yet I'm doing some upgrading). I like computer tech, but I haven't been staying "in the loop," so I've missed out on a lot. Luckily, I found a great YouTube channel that's helped me get up to speed on things (https://www.youtube.com/user/Jayztwocents).

Update! All parts have arrived by now and are installed. I'm now running a fresh install of Win10 on the SSD and the difference is astounding! Before I had to wait maybe 5 minutes before Windows was ready for me to do stuff, now it's pretty much like *BOOM* right there! Whoa!

I tested the GPU, it got just over 120fps in Heaven benchmark (which is double what my monitor can display). It did reach 80c, so I emailed EVGA to see if this is normal or if they have suggestions for a water cooler or if I should reapply thermal paste with my new tube of Artic MX-4. I might let you know what they say, but I bet this is normal. It idles about 40c, but the CPU w/ the new water pump idles, well it looks like less than 25c. I did a stress test on it and I think it reached 40c. That's freaking sweet! I found out I can overclock it, but I'll see how things go and if I need that extra horsepower.

I have returned the motherboard as I didn't need it. I installed the new RAM in the first pair of slots. There were only 2 and for some reason I was expecting 4 (I got 2x8 not 4x4). So I decided to let the old RAM stay in DIMM 3 & 4 slots, but it wouldn't POST with both sticks in, so I had to settle w/ just leaving one of them in. So now I'm running at 20GB RAM. Wow!

I ran CineBench and well, the results didn't look so good, but that's a hard stress, demanding test. The only way I can check my CPU is to keep an eye on it and see how it goes. I've installed lots of monitoring software, but HWMonitor feels like the best while Prime95 is quite confusing.

I think that's it. I may update this post more in the comments section (since I used the max amount of characters in the post). I might get a new higher refresh rate monitor, otherwise I think I'm good for now. Oh and I did get that 10 year warranty for the GPU, not cheap, but I think it's worth it considering my GPU history in the last decade.

I have successfully revived my PC. The difference is astounding! It really feels like a brand new PC. I think the major key involved is the SSD. If you don't have one, you seriously need to get one, it makes a world of difference! I also firmly believe a liquid cooler kit (as the one I got, read the post) is essential, especially for a CPU and if you do heavy gaming.

That's awesome! I don't know much about the Xeon processors. I'm assuming as long as the CPU is an Ivy Bridge with the same socket it might be compatible. I'm not sure exactly what CPUs are compatible with this motherboard. I don't know much about NVME, but I just Googled it and it looks cool. I don't think my SSD is NVME, but Windows boots up incredibly fast now. As for the CPU cooler, I love this Corsair one. It was a pain to install it, though. I had to put four screws through the case, through the fan, and into the radiator and didn't have very much screw to do so. At first it wouldn't work at all, then I realized I had to change how I had it positioned. I finally got it to work. My PC is incredibly quiet now! I don't mind running the Corsair iCUE software as I was already running it because of my Corsair Harpoon mouse that I got months ago. I put the iCUE cooler on "Extreme" fan control and I either can't hear it or barely so. The one that came with the PC was much louder.

Thanks for replying to this post!

Cool. I haven't done a benchmark like that in a long time. I don't have a 4K monitor either, although I'm thinking about getting an upgrade to 1440p.

Sweet! You probably can find a good deal on something like that. Like I said in another post, $300 for the 1660Ti, was a great deal considering the past few GPUs I've had. What do you have now? I've been going w/ 6GB of VRAM for a while and I feel like that's enough, for now.

After your comment, I actually watched a new video explaining why now is not a good time to buy new hardware, because new stuff is coming soon and what's new now will get go on sale. https://youtu.be/kip0axDBjQ0 However, I think you'd be fine, because you're not really looking for currently brand new. But, still, if you wait then yeah prices are definitely going to get reduced. I was thinking about upgrading to a better monitor, but I pretty much blew what I had saved over recent months on all the other parts to get my PC back up and running. I might wait until next month or longer to get a new monitor, or maybe not at all, I don't know yet. I haven't done a whole lot of research or "window shopping," yet. I think I want a 1440p GSync monitor, that's about it, I'll need to do more research.

I agree with what you've decided. If you're going to be playing your Switch instead of your PC then yeah, do that and wait for GPUs get get cheaper. Playing on your Switch gives you something nice to do while you're waiting. As JayZTwoCents mentioned, waiting for the "back to school" or end of year (holidays) sales would be wise.

Back to the Switch, hit me up and tell me if you're going to get Civ 6, or write about it so I can read and comment!

It seems to be a great card for it's price! I went from $1,000 > $600 > $300 GPU upgrades!

Just for reference. I've been sitting here playing Civ6 on some high settings, though I think I did so w/ the 980Ti, although it might have had a different shadows resolution, I'm not sure. However, the 1660Ti has hit 1935mhz. The 980 hit 1190mhz. The 1660 is running 60-68c while the 980 idled at that temp or even higher when I last had it running. While playing Civ6 last w/ the 980 I watched as it climbed into the upper 80's (c). I did some looking around and it seems difficult to find an advanced cooler for this card, yet it's obviously running well. I tried to add some more fans to my case, but I failed, there's just not enough room. Any way, I thought I'd share this point of reference. I don't remember the 980's temps when I got it, so I can't say. I'm still impressed by the "value" of the 1660.

Oh and I am using the frame limiter setting and vsync, I also have vsync enabled on the Nvidia Control Panel. I turned these settings off on Civ6 for a test and saw major screen tearing. Eventually I may have to get a 144hz monitor to get this GPUs full potential. It can do up to 144fps, maybe more, I'm don't remember atm.