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[krumble]

Upgraded from a 970 Blower to 1070 Founders thanks to EVGA Step-Up

Had to move the hard disk above the Optical Drive, then removed the tiny rear fan.
Did this while the step-up swap was happening

When the 1070 arrived took less that 10 minutes to install, and it's a GREAT upgrade for VR

I only game at 1080p on the TV, but Vive will eat as much graphics as you can throw at it
Even managed a stable +200 overclock on the GPU so it's running around 1950

 

[Tillbo]

I have an X51 R1 but I do have the 330W Power Supply. I currently have the 660 ti. What card would I be best to get based mostly on easily installation and avoiding frying my motherboard without having to tinker too much?

 

[Chittagong]

I don't think Dell is making X51s anymore. They don't exist on their site as far as I can see.

Really sad, I still think it was their best product. Abandoning it to focus on something like the Alpha :/

 

[blastprocessor]

I don't think Dell is making X51s anymore. They don't exist on their site as far as I can see.

They still make the X51 currently at R3 with optional liquid cooling.

http://www.alienware.co.uk/landings/desktops.aspx

 

[blastprocessor]

I have an X51 R1 but I do have the 330W Power Supply. I currently have the 660 ti. What card would I be best to get based mostly on easily installation and avoiding frying my motherboard without having to tinker too much?

I've just ordered the 1060 GTX founders edition. According to Alienware support it will fit.

According to the specs, it should fit. However, this is not a verified upgrade and we can't assure you that this will work.

Hopefully will get it fitted in my R1 this week

 

[outunderthestars]

I don't think Dell is making X51s anymore. They don't exist on their site as far as I can see.

That is correct. I reached to Alienware and they confirmed that they have retired it in favor of the Alpha and Aurora.

 

[LyleLanley]

That is correct. I reached to Alienware and they confirmed that they have retired it in favor of the Alpha and Aurora.

Well this is disappointing.

 

[Langdon Alger]

That is correct. I reached to Alienware and they confirmed that they have retired it in favor of the Alpha and Aurora.

That's unfortunate. Although the new Aurora is pretty good looking in my opinion. It looks a lot less 'edgy' and agro than the previous Auroras. Although if you want a console sized computer, it doesn't fit the bill.

 

[blastprocessor]

I'm very pleased it's transformed my X51 R1! Fitted the GPU without any issues.

1440p is getting me 60fps on Forza 6 Apex and Doom.

 

[Tenck]

I'm very pleased it's transformed my X51 R1! Fitted the GPU without any issues.

1440p is getting me 60fps on Forza 6 Apex and Doom.

You modify your X51 at all or are you running stock everything?

 

[Zarfol]

I'm very pleased it's transformed my X51 R1! Fitted the GPU without any issues.

1440p is getting me 60fps on Forza 6 Apex and Doom.

Did you have to remove the front fan for the 1060 to work and how are the temps/fan settings? Really looking forward to upgrading my 960 but would rather not have GPU fans running at 100% to keep the card cool.

 

[blastprocessor]

Did you have to remove the front fan for the 1060 to work and how are the temps/fan settings? Really looking forward to upgrading my 960 but would rather not have GPU fans running at 100% to keep the card cool.

On the X51 R1 no need to remove the fan as it will accept a card 10 inches in length and the FE card is 9.8 inch. The GPU cage slid into place no issues.

If you have an R2 or R3 i'd double check the max length.

 

[MrCompletely]

On the X51 R1 no need to remove the fan as it will accept a card 10 inch in length and the FE card is 9.8 inch. The GPU cage slid into place no issues.

If you have an R2 or R3 i'd double check the max length.

Awesome!! which processor do you have in that machine? Thinking of doing the same.

 

[blastprocessor]

Awesome!! which processor do you have in that machine? Thinking of doing the same.

i7-3770 3.4Ghz

That CPU is more than ample having checked the usage today

 

[blastprocessor]

You modify your X51 at all or are you running stock everything?

Running stock GPU temp around 72c. Ambient temp around 20c.

Edit: Max temps seen so far 82c

 

[blastprocessor]

Sniff

It’s never easy saying goodbye. But the time has come.

http://en.community.dell.com/dell-b...to-a-friend-alienware-x51-hello-to-the-future

 

[LyleLanley]

I'm really disappointed that they're not replacing it with something else. The X51 was the perfect size for a living room gaming PC.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Sniff

It’s never easy saying goodbye. But the time has come.

http://en.community.dell.com/dell-b...to-a-friend-alienware-x51-hello-to-the-future

Too bad.

 

[2002whitegt]

The x51 was a perfectly sized and could be a beast with a 980/1070. going to miss it.

I really enjoyed my r2 with a 980 while I had it, shame that they never put a bigger power supply, because if they did, I would still have it.

The alpha is cool, but they need to put a 1070m or 1080m gou in it for it to have any chance of not being outdated in 6 months.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Yeesh, they killed the X51?! Terrible news.

But I'm glad to hear that a 1060 will fit without any modifications. Although it's only a slight increase on the 970, I might pick one up for my X51's final upgrade.

 

[Chittagong]

Sniff

It’s never easy saying goodbye. But the time has come.

http://en.community.dell.com/dell-b...to-a-friend-alienware-x51-hello-to-the-future

Good night sweet prince.

It was an amazing ride. First there was ridicule for anyone buying Alienware kit. Then came the verdicts. The tinkering. Evolution. I never thought X51 would last nearly a generation.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Good night sweet prince.

It was an amazing ride. First there was ridicule for anyone buying Alienware kit. Then came the verdicts. The tinkering. Evolution. I never thought X51 would last nearly a generation.

And so a chapter closes. You did this product a great service opening it up with this thread OP

 

[120v]

comes at a fitting time, as i've just "retired" my X51. decided i didn't want to make a frankenstein workaround for future GPUs and just went ahead and built a PC. but in my case it accomplished what it was set out to do, to serve as an entry point into PC. i expected it to carry me much longer, but it's my fault i didn't do more research

i guess with Alpha it's kind of rendered useless as folks wanting a small form factor/entry level experience will just migrate towards that. though killing it off does seem a little drastic as it serves as a good middle ground, but whatever

still pretty excited about what i can do with the thing. 1060 isn't enough of a bump from my 970 to justify a purchase but with the next *60 card i plan on making it a monster living room PC

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

comes at a fitting time, as i've just "retired" my X51. decided i didn't want to make a frankenstein workaround for future GPUs and just went ahead and built a PC. but in my case it accomplished what it was set out to do, to serve as an entry point into PC. i expected it to carry me much longer, but it's my fault i didn't do more research

i guess with Alpha it's kind of rendered useless as folks wanting a small form factor/entry level experience will just migrate towards that. though killing it off does seem a little drastic as it serves as a good middle ground, but whatever

still pretty excited about what i can do with the thing. 1060 isn't enough of a bump from my 970 to justify a purchase but with the next *60 card i plan on making it a monster living room PC

Hmm... that's a good point, wait for the "1160"

 

[Ken]

Anyone ever have this issue with their x51? I turn it on and hear the fans go loud but the side lights don't turn on and I get nothing on the screen.

 

[Karish]

what's the cheapest x51 I can get now that would work with a 1060 or 1070? Thinking of copping one on craigsliist.

 

[RadioJoNES64]

I just bought an RX 470 for my Frankenstein X51 R2. I'll post here if there is any issue.

 

[Tenck]

what's the cheapest x51 I can get now that would work with a 1060 or 1070? Thinking of copping one on craigsliist.

The very first edition R1 works with the 1060. You just have to make sure it comes with a 330w psu. Mine came with a 240(?) one when it first came out. Had to buy a 330w one last year.

 

[FunkyDealer]

I just bought an RX 470 for my Frankenstein X51 R2. I'll post here if there is any issue.

You should be fine. I've got an RX 480 in my R3.

Are they discontinuing the X51 worldwide, or just in the US? I just bought mine a few weeks ago, and saw nothing about it.

My r3 should last a while though, and I'll probably upgrade to an Aurora when the time comes anyway. But the X51 has such a nice form-factor.

 

[Tillbo]

Anyone know if the RX460 would be an easy fit in a R1 X51 with the 330w power supply?

Also would it offer a significant improvement over the 660ti?

 

[Marty Chinn]

What's the best alternative now?

Edit:

Hmm, the 1060 sounds attractive. Is there a specific brand to get? What's this about needing to update the power board on the X51 that keeps coming up?

 

[CosmicQueso]

Does anyone have experience with or have seen the Syber Vapor Elites?

Seems like a similar form factor to the X51, thinking about grabbing one since the X51s are disco'd and the Extreme version comes with a 1080.

 

[drangleic tourism]

What's the best alternative now?

Edit:

Hmm, the 1060 sounds attractive. Is there a specific brand to get? What's this about needing to update the power board on the X51 that keeps coming up?

I'm wondering this as well....I have an R2 X51. Are there any 1060s that won't fit because of the length, or won't work for whatever reason?

 

[Jawmuncher]

I'm wondering this as well....I have an R2 X51. Are there any 1060s that won't fit because of the length, or won't work for whatever reason?

The Zotac Mini 1060 seems like it would fit. Dunno about PSU though.

 

[LyleLanley]

So do none of the bigger well known companies make a good X51 competitor?

 

[Tillbo]

I'm a little unsure what to do with my X51 so any advice would be greatly appreciated...

I currently have the 3.0GHz Core i5-2320 processor & 8Gb of Ram with the GTX 660 ti.

Thinking of getting a 1060 GTX which is gonna cost me around £250 but worried the processor will be a bottleneck? Not sure therefore if I wouldn't be better off selling the X51 and building a 'normal' desktop? I like the form factor of the X51 but it's not as vital as it was when I bought it.

 

[Tenck]

What's the best alternative now?

Edit:

Hmm, the 1060 sounds attractive. Is there a specific brand to get? What's this about needing to update the power board on the X51 that keeps coming up?

Blower style fan. The one NVIDIA sells on their website. No power board upgrade required. Just fit that inside and you're good to go.

 

[krumble]

I'm wondering this as well....I have an R2 X51. Are there any 1060s that won't fit because of the length, or won't work for whatever reason?

Honestly you should get a 1070 if it's in budget, the minor removal of the fan is fairly straight forward if you are patient and then the EVGA 1070 founders I got slid in pretty easy..

 

[krumble]

I'm a little unsure what to do with my X51 so any advice would be greatly appreciated...

I currently have the 3.0GHz Core i5-2320 processor & 8Gb of Ram with the GTX 660 ti.

Thinking of getting a 1060 GTX which is gonna cost me around £250 but worried the processor will be a bottleneck? Not sure therefore if I wouldn't be better off selling the X51 and building a 'normal' desktop? I like the form factor of the X51 but it's not as vital as it was when I bought it.

What kind of games do you play?
If you want VR then the processor would be the bottleneck
Otherwise the 1060 would be a great performance jump from the 660

Others might have more relevant info though..

 

[Tillbo]

I tend to play a lot of Blizzard games (Overwatch, WoW, HoTS etc.) but would probably like to dabble a little in VR.

On my current spec I am getting solid 60fps on most of my games at around the 'good' setting although the Legion Beta has meant I've had to dial back some settings to maintain a solid framerate. Basically hoping the 1060 GTX will allow me to bump up the settings back to high/ultra whilst maintaining 60 fps.

I know Blizzard games aren't terribly demanding but I believe WoW in particular used to be pretty CPU intensive so didn't want to spend £200 if it had a negligible effect.

 

[drangleic tourism]

Honestly you should get a 1070 if it's in budget, the minor removal of the fan is fairly straight forward if you are patient and then the EVGA 1070 founders I got slid in pretty easy..

Huh, ok...thanks. Time to do some price comparisons. Any other 1070 models that would be appropriate as well? I'm in Canada...the prices of cards up here can be pretty nutty.

 

[Marty Chinn]

I didn't realize my X51 was over four years old now. So I decided to look up what was inside it and it currently has a Intel Core i5-2320 3.0GHz processor. Would it still be worthwhile to upgrade it from a Radeon 7870 to a GTX 1060 or should I consider moving on because of the CPU?

 

[Dural]

Anyone know of an AIB that makes a 480 or 1060 with an upgraded heatsink but uses a blower fan?

 

[SlaughterX]

Tempted to upgrade mine to a 1060... but I think I'll wait until next year for the price to drop and to see how the 1160 fares since I already have a new computer with a 980ti. The 1060 will probably fit the bill since it will most likely be connected to a 1080p TV and I'm not even gonna use it anyway so I'm basically wasting money on it, but still...

 

[drangleic tourism]

Hey dudes, a place near me has the zotac 1060 AMP for a decent price. Any reason this won't fit or work with the r2 X51? I have the 330w power supply.

It looks like it should fit given the dimensions?

 

[MuchoMalo]

That thread title becomes less impressive by the day.

 

[Tillbo]

I didn't realize my X51 was over four years old now. So I decided to look up what was inside it and it currently has a Intel Core i5-2320 3.0GHz processor. Would it still be worthwhile to upgrade it from a Radeon 7870 to a GTX 1060 or should I consider moving on because of the CPU?

I have the same processor as you and have recently put in a GTX 1060. I was also worried about the fact that my older processor would be a bottleneck and I wouldn't get a massive boost over my 660Ti but I have been more than happy with the performance so far.

I am only playing at 1080p but have been able to get a solid 60fps at ultra or better settings on all the games I've tried so far (Doom, Overwatch, Witcher 3 etc)

 

[Chittagong]

That thread title becomes less impressive by the day.

4.5 years is a damn long time in gaming, almost an entire generation

Looking back, X51/7870 really was a monster back in the day

 

[Marty Chinn]

HELP!

So I tried to upgrade my GPU from a Radeon 7870 to a GTX 1060 but when I tried to boot, I ran into problems.

So if I plug the HDMI cable into the motherboard port, nothing shows up on the screen and I get 5 beeps. If I plug the HDMI cable directly into the GPU, it gets stuck at the bios screen but no beeping. Hitting F2 doesn't allow me to get into the bios either. I believe the version is A02. So I opened up the computer again to reset the CMOS by undoing the jumper on pin 2 and 3 and putting it on pin 1 and 2 for about 10 seconds and then put everything back together. Nothing changed and the same behavior as before. It was working last night with my old GPU just fine. I haven't tried plugging in the old GPU because the 7870 is such a pain in the ass to get in the case.

Can anyone help?

Edit:

Turns out the bios needed to be updated in order for the card to work.

 

[Tillbo]

Did you get the 1060 all working now then? Really happy with mine and I think you have the same X51 as I do