Dell Alienware Aurora Owners Manual

21CHAPTER 2: GETTING TO KNOW  YOUR DESKTOP 
Top View Features
Accessing the Top Panel Connectors
Press the top panel downwards to access the top panel connectors.1
1Top panel 

22CHAPTER 2: GETTING TO KNOW  YOUR DESKTOP 
Top Panel Connectors
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2
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1 Headphone connector — Connects to headphones.
NOTE: To connect to a powered speaker or sound system, use the audio out connector or one of the S/PDIF connectors (available on Aurora and Aurora ALX only) at the back of your computer. 
2 Microphone connector — Connects to a microphone for voice or audio input into a sound or telephony program. 
3 IEEE 1394 connector — Connects to high speed serial multimedia devices such as digital...

23CHAPTER 4: USING YOUR DESKTOP 
CHAPTER 4: USING YOUR DESKTOP
CHAPTER 4: USING YOUR DESKTOP 

24CHAPTER 4: USING YOUR DESKTOP 
Alienware Command Center 
The  Alienware®  Command  Center  gives  you  access  to  Alienware’s  exclusive software  and  is  a  continuously  upgradable  control  panel.  As  Alienware  releases new programs, they download directly into the Command Center allowing you to build a library of system management, optimization, and customization tools. 
To  access  the  Command  Center,  click Start → All  Programs→ Alienware→ Command Center→ Command Center.
AlienFX
AlienFX®...

25CHAPTER 4: USING YOUR DESKTOP 
RAID Level 0
CAUTION:  RAID  level  0  provides  no  redundancy.  Therefore,  a  failure of  one  drive  results  in  the  loss  of  all  data.  Perform  regular  backups  to protect your data.
RAID  level  0  uses  data  striping  to  provide  a  high  data  access  rate.  Data  striping 
writes consecutive segments, or stripes, of data sequentially across the physical drive(s)  to  create  a  large  virtual  drive.  This  allows  one  of  the  drives  to  read  data...

26CHAPTER 4: USING YOUR DESKTOP 
RAID Level 5
RAID level 5 uses data parity. RAID level 5 stripes both data and parity information across  three  or  more  drives.  It  provides  data  striping  at  the  byte  level  and  also stripe error correction information (rotating parity array). This results in excellent performance and good fault tolerance.
If a drive failure occurs, subsequent read and write operations are directed to the other  surviving  drives.  A  replacement  drive  can  then  be  rebuilt...

27CHAPTER 4: USING YOUR DESKTOP 
Optimizing Performance
Your  computer  has  been  configured  to  operate  optimally  across  a  wide  range of  applications.  Depending  on  the  configuration  you  purchased,  the  computer may  have  been  overclocked  at  the  factory  to  achieve  maximum  performance  in resource intensive applications including gaming and multimedia development.
CAUTION:  Technical  support  verifies  the  full  functionality  of  the  computer  at  the  factory  configured...

28CHAPTER 4: USING YOUR DESKTOP 
Configuring the BIOS
System Setup
The System Setup options allow you to:
Change the system configuration information after you add, change, or • remove any hardware in your desktop.
Set or change a user-selectable option.• 
View the amount of memory installed.• 
Set the type of hard drive installed.• 
Before you use System Setup, it is recommended that you write down the current System Setup information for future reference.
CAUTION:  Do  not  change  the  settings  in...

29CHAPTER 4: USING YOUR DESKTOP 
System Setup Options
NOTE: The  items  listed  in  this  section  may  or  may  not  appear  exactly  as listed depending on your computer model and installed devices.
NOTE: For the updated system setup information, see the Service Manual at support.dell.com/manuals.
System Information
Product NameDisplays the product name.
BIOS VersionDisplays the BIOS version number and date information.
Service TagDisplays the service tag of the computer.
Asset TagDisplays the asset...

30CHAPTER 4: USING YOUR DESKTOP 
Standard CMOS Features 
Wait for ‘F1’ If ErrorsIf enabled, the system will HALT during boot to display system errors.
Advanced BIOS Features
NumLock StatusSelect power-on state for num-lock.
ACPI APIC supportInclude ACPI APIC table pointer to RSDT pointer list.
OptionROM Display ScreenAllows you to enable or disable the RAID Option ROM screen during POST.
Boot Configuration Features
1st Boot DeviceDisplays the first boot device.
2nd Boot DeviceDisplays the second boot...