• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Alienware X51 thread of 2.56TFLOPS comfy couch gaming at 180W in a console size box

Status
Not open for further replies.
So, the new RX 480 should be an ideal upgrade for those of us who haven't gotten a 970, right? I was looking at the 1070, but it uses an 8-pin power connector, and it's 10.5 inches long (the same as the 980 - too much to fit normally, though some people have managed by removing a fan, something I don't want to do). Sure the RX 480 is less powerful, but it's also a lot cheaper ($199 for the 4GB version; WCCFTech says that the 8GB is $229, but I'm not sure that that's been confirmed elsewhere yet) and it uses a single 6-pin power connector.

It would certainly blow away my R9 270! It's served me well, but I'd like to be able to get 1080p 60FPS in games like Witcher 3, and it would be nice to not have to worry about whether only having 2GB of VRAM will be an issue with new games.

It's certainly an option, I would still want to get a 1070 if I still had my x51. The 980 was a champ in my system, and the fan removal was not that tough and made no difference in cooling. Not too worried about the 8 pin connector, I know EVGA included a 2x6pin to 1x8 pin for the GTX 960 which also only had an 8 pin connector.


At 199 though the RX 480 will be like getting 970/980 performance for cheap. If money is tight, this is the card to get.
 

itschris

Member
It's certainly an option, I would still want to get a 1070 if I still had my x51. The 980 was a champ in my system, and the fan removal was not that tough and made no difference in cooling. Not too worried about the 8 pin connector, I know EVGA included a 2x6pin to 1x8 pin for the GTX 960 which also only had an 8 pin connector.


At 199 though the RX 480 will be like getting 970/980 performance for cheap. If money is tight, this is the card to get.

Interesting. But yeah, since I only play at 1080p, I'm fine with 970/980 performance levels - I'd rather stay in the $199-249 USD price range. If that ends up not being powerful enough 3-5 years from now, I'm sure there'll be another cheap card that's at least twice as powerful as the RX 480.
 
Gosh I hope the 1070 fits in the case. Apparently it's only an inch bigger, so I'm hopeful :)

It will fit. I just looked up the sizes and the 1080/1070 are the exact same size length: 10.5in and height: 4.376in as the 980 I had in my x51 with the 60mm fan removed.

The question is the 8 pin connector seeing as the x51 only has 2-6 pin connectors. Honestly I think an adapter (2x6 pin to 1x8 pin) that's usually included will do the trick.

All these new cards sure are breathing new life into the x51.
 

SpokkX

Member
I am using the watercooled x51 r3 with a 6700k + the default gtx 970

It runs great but these new cards have gotten me interested in an upgrade. Btw i only play @1080p, never higher

Just putting some questions out here

1. Is the amd rx480 even worth to upgrade to from a gtx970? Minor difference?

2. Has anyone with the watercooled r3 + 6700k tried or planning to try a gtx1070? I wonder if the 330psu will be enough..
 

Tillbo

Member
I currently have a 660ti in my X51 and am considering upgrading to the RX 480 when availble.

My machine has the 3.0GHz Core i5-2320 processor & 8Gb of Ram.

Is the RX 480 a sensible upgrade and will I see significant gaming performance or am I bottlenecked by processor etc.
 
I currently have a GTX 970 in my X51 and what im seeing is that I should be able to fit the 1070 in there if I remove the fan in the front of the case? How much of an effect will that have on CPU and GPU temps? I believe a 2x6 pin adapter will work for the 8 pin adapter but I don't want there to be temperature issues in the case itself. Would a GTX 970-RX 480 upgrade be worthwhile or not? Is the 480 closer to GTX 980 levels or 970, if its close to the 980 I may spring the 200$ for it.
 
I currently have a GTX 970 in my X51 and what im seeing is that I should be able to fit the 1070 in there if I remove the fan in the front of the case? How much of an effect will that have on CPU and GPU temps? I believe a 2x6 pin adapter will work for the 8 pin adapter but I don't want there to be temperature issues in the case itself. Would a GTX 970-RX 480 upgrade be worthwhile or not? Is the 480 closer to GTX 980 levels or 970, if its close to the 980 I may spring the 200$ for it.

If you use a reference style cooler there really isn't a change in temperatures for the cpu, as all the hot air gets blown out of the case.

I've debated what to recommend my friend between the 1070 and the 480x, but the 480x at that price is swaying me back to team red.

Just waiting on full benchmarks for the 480x
 
I'm looking into getting a small prebuilt computer, is the X51 still the best option out there? Is it powerful enough to do VR? If not is there something similarly sized that is powerful enough?
 
I currently have a GTX 970 in my X51 and what im seeing is that I should be able to fit the 1070 in there if I remove the fan in the front of the case? How much of an effect will that have on CPU and GPU temps? I believe a 2x6 pin adapter will work for the 8 pin adapter but I don't want there to be temperature issues in the case itself. Would a GTX 970-RX 480 upgrade be worthwhile or not? Is the 480 closer to GTX 980 levels or 970, if its close to the 980 I may spring the 200$ for it.
Just ordered a 1070 founders edition for my x51 r1 (with r2 power board). Will let you know how I get on, but from checking around it should fit with some jiggery pokery and some fan removal. (I also ordered a 2x6 pin to 8 pin adapter).
I'm looking into getting a small prebuilt computer, is the X51 still the best option out there? Is it powerful enough to do VR? If not is there something similarly sized that is powerful enough?
Everyone slags off Alienware and x51 for being overpriced/"I can build it cheaper" etc etc.
I picked mine up 2nd hand cheap. I have a 970 in it at the moment , which runs most games at 60fps 1080p fine.
It also runs my VIVE fine.
It depends on which card you have in the machine as to whether it runs VR.

I'm putting a 1070 in mine next week, so x51 is fine for VR.
 
Everyone slags off Alienware and x51 for being overpriced/"I can build it cheaper" etc etc.
I picked mine up 2nd hand cheap. I have a 970 in it at the moment , which runs most games at 60fps 1080p fine.
It also runs my VIVE fine.
It depends on which card you have in the machine as to whether it runs VR.

I'm putting a 1070 in mine next week, so x51 is fine for VR.

I could definitely build one cheaper but in this scenario I just want a small-ish prebuilt PC that can do VR. Ideally it would be a PC with a 1070/1080 already built into it so that I don't have to bother buying and installing another card.
 

SpokkX

Member
Just ordered a 1070 founders edition for my x51 r1 (with r2 power board). Will let you know how I get on, but from checking around it should fit with some jiggery pokery and some fan removal. (I also ordered a 2x6 pin to 8 pin adapter).

Everyone slags off Alienware and x51 for being overpriced/"I can build it cheaper" etc etc.
I picked mine up 2nd hand cheap. I have a 970 in it at the moment , which runs most games at 60fps 1080p fine.
It also runs my VIVE fine.
It depends on which card you have in the machine as to whether it runs VR.

I'm putting a 1070 in mine next week, so x51 is fine for VR.

Also looking at upgrading my x51 r3 from a 970 to a 1070. Really interested in how it goes for you. Also ordered a splitter 2x6 to 1x8

- What exact model 1070?
- Did you remove the front fan?
- Did you really push the system? Gta5 for example.
- Is it still stable and what gpu temp?
 
Figured this thread would be good for this question:

I can get the i5 GTX 745 1TB model with 8GB of ram for $650 from Amazon thanks to a 10% coupon they sent me. (I also have $500 in amazon gift credit from a recent wedding)

Really seems like a great deal, and I always get the graphics amp to throw a 1080 into later if I feel the need to make it something more powerful. Any thoughts on this?
 
Also looking at upgrading my x51 r3 from a 970 to a 1070. Really interested in how it goes for you. Also ordered a splitter 2x6 to 1x8

- What exact model 1070?
- Did you remove the front fan?
- Did you really push the system? Gta5 for example.
- Is it still stable and what gpu temp?

The card turned up 2 days ago, but the cable splitter has only just left the Kentucky global shipping centre (I live in uk....formally of Europe ;-) and we can't get that cable over here)
1: i bought the founders edition direct from nvidia website.
2:I will remove the front fan when the cable turns up. (Bit of a bitch...but not to bad).
3&4: I will let you know on here the minute I've done it!
Gonna be really chuffed or mega pissed :D

Remember I have a r1 with an r2 power board. So you should be fine even if mine doesn't work. If mine works......you're in there like swimwear.
 

SpokkX

Member
The card turned up 2 days ago, but the cable splitter has only just left the Kentucky global shipping centre (I live in uk....formally of Europe ;-) and we can't get that cable over here)
1: i bought the founders edition direct from nvidia website.
2:I will remove the front fan when the cable turns up. (Bit of a bitch...but not to bad).
3&4: I will let you know on here the minute I've done it!
Gonna be really chuffed or mega pissed :D

Remember I have a r1 with an r2 power board. So you should be fine even if mine doesn't work. If mine works......you're in there like swimwear.

I removed the front fan in preparation. Was a bit more work than it should have been but quite doable with a guide.

Ran some temperature tests afterwards on my current setup (gtx970+6700K) and the temp seems to be the same so i guess the front fan does not really do that much. For testing i am using Prime 95 to max the CPU and running Heaven benchmark to max the GPU at the same time

I am using MSI Afterburner software to adjust the fans on the GPU, this would also be a must with a GTX1070 i expect. The fans run 100% under full load (on my gtx970). It holds 70C though without the front fan when system is 100% maxed which is quite ok

Hopefully the gtx1070 does not get that much warmer
 
So my friend finally decided to upgrade his gtx 760 with 1.5gb ram and went with the rx 480.

I will be installing it this weekend, and will post some pictures and thoughts on the rx 480 for the x51.
 

jdstorm

Banned
I probably would have waited for PlayStation Neo (4tflps) or XBox Scorpio ( 6tflps) both due out by Xmas 2017. (Neo is possibly this year) With pricing at no more then 600£

But I'm glad your having a good experience with it
 

SpokkX

Member
Installed a gtx1070 in my x51 r3

Kind of a tight squeeze but it fit after applying some force and removed front fan. Anyway bought an evga founders 1070 and it includes 2x6 pin to 8 pin adapter.

Btw I think one can forget having a 3,5" hhd below the card, felt tight even with my ssd.

Running benchmarks for a couple of hours and power seems ok. Pushing cpu with prime 95 at the same time running heaven bench. A bit warmer than 970, seems to stabilize at 76-77C which is ok in such a small case

So far so good
 
Installed a gtx1070 in my x51 r3

Kind of a tight squeeze but it fit after applying some force and removed front fan. Anyway bought an evga founders 1070 and it includes 2x6 pin to 8 pin adapter.

Btw I think one can forget having a 3,5" hhd below the card, felt tight even with my ssd.

Running benchmarks for a couple of hours and power seems ok. Pushing cpu with prime 95 at the same time running heaven bench. A bit warmer than 970, seems to stabilize at 76-77C which is ok in such a small case

So far so good

Glad to hear it's all good. My PC runs at about 81-82C under max load with 970 (probably because I have an R1).

Still waiting on my leads from eBay!...
I did put my 1070 in the case just to see if it fits, because I was worried about the 3.5" hdd. It fit fine. Phew.
 
Interested to see how this turns out. IIRC, the 480 is higher wattage that the gtx 970 and the 970 is already pushing it.

Turned out pretty nice. I have a kill-a-watt meter and during a gameplay of the division total system draw was around 250-267 watts. A little less than the 980 SC I had in the same system.

The card did need some tuning in Wattman, because with the stock fan profile and voltage, the temperature peaked at 91 celcius.

After some under volting the card was still hitting the max clock at 1266hz with no throttling and temps were between 72-76 with a max of 80.

I also made the fans spin up a bit more to cool the card. I will say the card was quieter than the 980 I used to have in it a year ago.

My friend was satisfied, and I feel that the card will do fine in his system, but we will see in a few weeks what happens.
 
So, the new RX 480 should be an ideal upgrade for those of us who haven't gotten a 970, right? I was looking at the 1070, but it uses an 8-pin power connector, and it's 10.5 inches long (the same as the 980 - too much to fit normally, though some people have managed by removing a fan, something I don't want to do). Sure the RX 480 is less powerful, but it's also a lot cheaper ($199 for the 4GB version; WCCFTech says that the 8GB is $229, but I'm not sure that that's been confirmed elsewhere yet) and it uses a single 6-pin power connector.

It would certainly blow away my R9 270! It's served me well, but I'd like to be able to get 1080p 60FPS in games like Witcher 3, and it would be nice to not have to worry about whether only having 2GB of VRAM will be an issue with new games.

The 480 actually draws more power than the 1070 and might burn up the PCI-e slot in your motherboard while doing it.

If you want a smaller 1070, get this little guy.
 

itschris

Member
The 480 actually draws more power than the 1070 and might burn up the PCI-e slot in your motherboard while doing it.

If you want a smaller 1070, get this little guy.

Well, my post was from a month ago, so that wasn't known at the time, and AMD has said that they're going to do something about this problem. Though even if it's fixed, the 480 has turned out to be somewhat disappointing, with the higher than expected power consumption and not much overclocking potential (at least for the reference design).

That 1070 looks neat, but it'll probably cost at least $550-$600 (plus tax) in Canada, and I can't afford to spend that much on a video card. For now, I'll wait and see how the 1060 turns out.
 
Found someone selling an x51 R2 for $400 with the following specs...

- i5 Quad-Core @ 3.0GHz (thinking it might really be dual)
- 8GB RAM
- 512 GB SSD
- GTX 660

Seems like a pretty good deal to me...especially if that processor is really a quad-core i5. I've asked them to clarify a few things like the SSD (wording is confusing) and the model number of the processor, but if it checks out I should be jumping on this right?
 
I've got an old X51 with a 2nd Gen i5 2320 and a GTX 670 in it. I use my Vive with it, and some games work surprisingly well, but I really want to upgrade - but can't afford a new system. Will any of the new GPU's work with this? Not sure which powerbrick I use, but I think it's 330 watt or something like that. I can check when I get home from work.
 

itschris

Member
I've got an old X51 with a 2nd Gen i5 2320 and a GTX 670 in it. I use my Vive with it, and some games work surprisingly well, but I really want to upgrade - but can't afford a new system. Will any of the new GPU's work with this? Not sure which powerbrick I use, but I think it's 330 watt or something like that. I can check when I get home from work.

The upcoming 1060 should easily work. It's supposed to be officially revealed soon, but a lot has already been leaked, and it has a TDP of 120 watts. The 670 is 170 watts, so there should even be plenty of headroom to overclock the 1060.

At stock, the 1060 is rumored to be near the 980, so it'll be a big improvement over your 670.
 
I've got an old X51 with a 2nd Gen i5 2320 and a GTX 670 in it. I use my Vive with it, and some games work surprisingly well, but I really want to upgrade - but can't afford a new system. Will any of the new GPU's work with this? Not sure which powerbrick I use, but I think it's 330 watt or something like that. I can check when I get home from work.

The new cards that should work with the x51 are gtx 1070 and 1060, rx 480. Previous cards that work include the 980 and 970, I would recommend a r2 powerboard if you have an r1.

Although with the Nvidia reference blower design you will need to remove the 60mm front fan behind to fit the 10.5 in long cards.
 
The new cards that should work with the x51 are gtx 1070 and 1060, rx 480. Previous cards that work include the 980 and 970, I would recommend a r2 powerboard if you have an r1.

Although with the Nvidia reference blower design you will need to remove the 60mm front fan behind to fit the 10.5 in long cards.

Thank you for the info!!! Would it even be worth it to stick a 1070 in this machine? I do plan on building new one eventually, within the next 8 months, so I would get the 1070 now if it would enable me to enjoy most of the Vive content, and then just transfer it to the new machine down the line.
 
Thank you for the info!!! Would it even be worth it to stick a 1070 in this machine? I do plan on building new one eventually, within the next 8 months, so I would get the 1070 now if it would enable me to enjoy most of the Vive content, and then just transfer it to the new machine down the line.

That's exactly what I'm doing. I've had an r1 x51 for four years now, and plan on building a new PC next year (waiting on hbm2).
I fitted a 1070 into my r1 yesterday! You'll still get good money if you sell it in a year to build your new PC. Or keep it for the new PC!
You definitely need an r2 power board, if you haven't got one. I fitted mine 2 years ago, and the system became a lot more stable after.

The 1070 is a hell of a squeeze if you have a 3.5" drive and not an ssd. It took me 40 mins of gentle pushing/pulling/coaxing/cursing to actually get it in. Worth it though. Benchmarking well in heaven 4.0 extreme and temps are running at around mid 70s ( my 970 was running 80-82 before).
 
That's exactly what I'm doing. I've had an r1 x51 for four years now, and plan on building a new PC next year (waiting on hbm2).
I fitted a 1070 into my r1 yesterday! You'll still get good money if you sell it in a year to build your new PC. Or keep it for the new PC!
You definitely need an r2 power board, if you haven't got one. I fitted mine 2 years ago, and the system became a lot more stable after.

The 1070 is a hell of a squeeze if you have a 3.5" drive and not an ssd. It took me 40 mins of gentle pushing/pulling/coaxing/cursing to actually get it in. Worth it though. Benchmarking well in heaven 4.0 extreme and temps are running at around mid 70s ( my 970 was running 80-82 before).

Do you know how I can be certain about which I have? All I know for sure about the hardware is that it's got an i5 2320 processor. Everything is stock save for the GTX 670. I think the system shipped with a Geforce 550 or something like that.
 
Do you know how I can be certain about which I have? All I know for sure about the hardware is that it's got an i5 2320 processor. Everything is stock save for the GTX 670. I think the system shipped with a Geforce 550 or something like that.

I remember on mine on the back by the ports it said "Alienware x51 R2" on it
 
Do you know how I can be certain about which I have? All I know for sure about the hardware is that it's got an i5 2320 processor. Everything is stock save for the GTX 670. I think the system shipped with a Geforce 550 or something like that.

I can't remember for sure how to tell.
I googled difference between R1 and R2 X51, and found out that way.
 
I remember on mine on the back by the ports it said "Alienware x51 R2" on it

Do you know how I can be certain about which I have? All I know for sure about the hardware is that it's got an i5 2320 processor. Everything is stock save for the GTX 670. I think the system shipped with a Geforce 550 or something like that.

I can't remember for sure how to tell.
I googled difference between R1 and R2 X51, and found out that way.

Yep just as I remembered.The R2 says it on the back as shown below circled in red.

Wy2fqBW.jpg
 

brainpann

Member
Maybe not the right place but I still have an R2 powerboard for anyone looking. Ill eventually put it on eBay but id rather let it go to a gaffer.
 
Anyone with an R3 who knows if it still requires a blower-type GPU, or if I could get away with an open air cooler?

I'm specifically interested in either the RX480 or GTX1060.
 

ACE 1991

Member
Looks i forgot to put the standoff on the top right corner where the mobo is, is this a problem? Would be an incredible pain to take everything off. The mobo is definitely solidly screwed into the case.
 
So going from a 970 to a 1060 probably isn't worth it, right?

It'll likely be a fairly small upgrade on performance (maybe 10fps on average, if the 1060 truly is comparable to a 980). The main benefits would be having basically twice the VRAM making it more future-proof, and the lower power-draw (approx 25w less).

It's of course up to you, but I don't think it would be worth the price at the moment.
 
It'll likely be a fairly small upgrade on performance (maybe 10fps on average, if the 1060 truly is comparable to a 980). The main benefits would be having basically twice the VRAM making it more future-proof, and the lower power-draw (approx 25w less).

It's of course up to you, but I don't think it would be worth the price at the moment.

I'd just love to upgrade to a 1070 without having to modify any internals.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom