. . . to be clear; the blue thermal pad stays on the heatsink; the plastic protective strip is pealed off prior to installation
I bought an Aurora R12 last year and it brought me nothing but stress and anger. i paid 2300$ for a PREMIUM GAMING MACHINE WITH A NEW RTX 3000 CARD so u would think that u would be able to game and enjoy  ur new pc with no issues for atleast the next 5 year huh ? .... well think again today is jan 1st 2023 an  i still havent been able to sit and play a game or use this pc once like its supposed to be everyday i look at it and cry and feel like smashing it . When i first ordered it  there was an issue with the order so after contacting support we came to a agreement that the pc i had ordered will be returned once i receive it and instead i will receive the same pc (same specs and about 50$ difference in the price ) but with liquid cooling instead of the cheap fan because i had realised it comes with a cheap fan and has no heatsink , but somehow the order with the aoi cooling got canceled without my permission after i had already order it .So now im stuck with a pc that has issues . Since that day ive been contacting dell everyday whether its by chat,phone,whatsapp texting,emails only to hear excuses or sometimes they ignore my emails and text ,when i call i keep having to repeat myself and they keep transfering me to wrong departements and the people on the other end of the call are from foreign countries and can never do anything other than transferring me , paid 400+ extra trying to fix it myself (aftermarket coolers, heatsinks or parts from ebay ) but im not good at these things and dont know how to . They just kept ignoring me till my warranty expired and after it did they suddenly respond quickly to remind me im not under warranty . This is unacceptable i just want to enjoy the pc i paid for .This was my first one and i paid more than i should and put my trust in a 'PREMIUM BRAND'  only to be let down BAD.
Aurora R12, warranty expired