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[brainpann]

Ok gaf- I need help again. I apologize for the long post in advance.

I decided to upgrade my X51 R1 with a better graphics card. My current setup is an I7 3370, 330W psu, gtx 660, and 8gb ram.

The first thing I did was replace the power board with one from an X51 R2. Everything went well and works perfectly.

Next I updated my bios to v14. Everything went well. No problems.

Then I uninstalled my gtx 660 software and drivers. Just a basic uninstall. Not sure if I need to do more than that.

Last thing I tried to do is install and EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB SC GAMING ACX 2.0. Ive read of a few instances of an earlier version of this card working fine in X51 units, therefore I picked this updated version because it runs cooler and quieter, thinking this would be better for the X51 size.

So the problem is, is that it doesnt get recognized and doesnt show up in the device manager. However, the card is getting power because I can see the lights turn on and the fan move. I get absolutely nothing on mu monitor but I dont get any warning beeps either. Everything seemingly boots up fine, just no picture what so ever. After more reading, I have

-made sure discrete gpu was selected in the bios.
-tried disabling the onboard graphics and booting up.
-tried various HDMI an DVI cables
-tried reinserting my old graphics card to ensure that nothing happened to the pci slot during installation. It checks out fine as my old card gets recognized right away.

If there anything I'm missing? Im inclined to think that the card is either not working correctly or that this variant doesnt play well with the X51. The EVGA GTX 980 SC has been shown to work in other X51s without any further modification. I assumed the 2.0 version would work just as well. Was that a mistake? Also, I am unable to check the card inside another computer.

Any suggestions or recommendations would be much appreciate .Im inclined to return this card and get the older version because it's been proven to work. If that doesnt solve the issue, should I bother with a 970?

Thanks again.

 

[120v]

from what i've read even replacing the power board still isn't a surefire way to run a 980 on an r1. i'd wager a 970 would work fine, though (based on anecdotal evidence)

good luck

 

[brainpann]

from what i've read even replacing the power board still isn't a surefire way to run a 980 on an r1. i'd wager a 970 would work fine, though (based on anecdotal evidence)

good luck

Damn-that's a little disheartening. Oh well. I guess Ill try a different 980. Maybe not a SC and stick with a reference. If that doesnt work, Ill go with a 970 and pray.


Any other 980 cards recommended for the x51?

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

I spoke with Dell support a couple of times this week. After a couple of attempts, the last one did say that the Oculus X51 doesn't come with a 970 internally, it's for the Amplifier. Not sure if they even know, but something to think about if you're looking into one.

Wow, that's quite shitty if you're not interested in the external amp.

 

[Micerider]

Damn-that's a little disheartening. Oh well. I guess Ill try a different 980. Maybe not a SC and stick with a reference. If that doesnt work, Ill go with a 970 and pray.


Any other 980 cards recommended for the x51?

970 in x51 is a pain. I made one work in my R1, but it's noisy as hell and you ideally have to downclock if you want to avoid PSU bailing on you at full load. I honestly can't recommend it

 

[brainpann]

Ok-so I tried the regular EVGA 980 SC with the single fan and it seems to work fine. So excited!

Furst thing i did was run firestrike and it worked great. Ill be playing around with and monitoring tjings for a few days and let every know if anything changes.

Fwiw-i was reading that dual fan cards have issues in x51's. Seem to be the case.

970 in x51 is a pain. I made one work in my R1, but it's noisy as hell and you ideally have to downclock if you want to avoid PSU bailing on you at full load. I honestly can't recommend it

I havent heard of anyone needing to underclock their 970, unless perhaps youre running with the original x51 r1 powerboard.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

So, who here has installed an SSD into their X51? Any tips for the installation? Or how about migrating the OS over?

 

[Jawmuncher]

So, who here has installed an SSD into their X51? Any tips for the installation? Or how about migrating the OS over?

For the SDD I heard people just putting it where the HDD is or laying it on top or in the space that the DVD drive is. Unsure about Migrating. My stock HDD recently went to shit and I had to basically fresh install a new HDD and thankfully someone had a copy of windows 10 I could use.

So yeah unsure of how to migrate it without it being a pain.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

For the SDD I heard people just putting it where the HDD is or laying it on top or in the space that the DVD drive is. Unsure about Migrating. My stock HDD recently went to shit and I had to basically fresh install a new HDD and thankfully someone had a copy of windows 10 I could use.

So yeah unsure of how to migrate it without it being a pain.

Yeah, this looks to be the best video guide on Youtube regarding placing the SSD on top of the DVD drive.
http://youtu.be/8fg28qY_Xbo

How was it to replace your entire HDD? What'd you drop in the x51 to replace the stock drive?

 

[Chiggs]

970 in x51 is a pain. I made one work in my R1, but it's noisy as hell and you ideally have to downclock if you want to avoid PSU bailing on you at full load. I honestly can't recommend it

Agree with this.

I think the R9 Nano is the way to go for an X51.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Yeah, this looks to be the best video guide on Youtube regarding placing the SSD on top of the DVD drive.
http://youtu.be/8fg28qY_Xbo

How was it to replace your entire HDD? What'd you drop in the x51 to replace the stock drive?

Actual installation wise it was pretty easy. You just life the GPU out, unscrew the piece holding down the HDD and replace it. I just put a Western Digital 1TB drive in there. Original in mine was seagate.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Actual installation wise it was pretty easy. You just life the GPU out, unscrew the piece holding down the HDD and replace it. I just put a Western Digital 1TB drive in there. Original in mine was seagate.

Hmm.... maybe I'll just replace my stock with a 2TB SSHD. That is, if I can find one in the proper 2.5" size.

 

[brainpann]

Agree with this.

I think the R9 Nano is the way to go for an X51.

Is this just an issue with the R1 psu controller? Ive replaced mine with an R2 and everything hasbeen running great so far.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Is this just an issue with the R1 psu controller? Ive replaced mine with an R2 and everything hasbeen running great so far.

Where did you get an R2 power adapter from?

 

[Elitist1945]

Can anyone tell me why Razer Synapse just says "Updating from Razer Synapse" and I can't do anything? I've reinstalled it two times already.

 

[Micerider]

I havent heard of anyone needing to underclock their 970, unless perhaps youre running with the original x51 r1 powerboard.

Very late answer but for those wondering: yes it was with original power board. Still the most annoying part was the noise, not the downclock which made it fine with barely 10% performance hit.

Anyway, I moved away and eventually sold my X51 after close to 4 years of good service
I went for a custom mATX rig instead. Not as small but much more upgrardable and quieter. It was nice still and I don't regret buying an X51...it just felt too limited eventually.

 

[brainpann]

Where did you get an R2 power adapter from?

I had to order it from eBay cause Im in the states. Ive seen mentioned on other forums the Dell of Australia will sell you one. US Dell will not.

 

[Jawmuncher]

I had to order it from eBay cause Im in the states. Ive seen mentioned on other forums the Dell of Australia will sell you one. US Dell will not.

I'm guessing you got a Chinese adapter. Has everything been fine with it?
Getting a 330W adapter and a 970 would be cheaper for me than going all in for a new PC.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Very late answer but for those wondering: yes it was with original power board. Still the most annoying part was the noise, not the downclock which made it fine with barely 10% performance hit.

Anyway, I moved away and eventually sold my X51 after close to 4 years of good service
I went for a custom mATX rig instead. Not as small but much more upgrardable and quieter. It was nice still and I don't regret buying an X51...it just felt too limited eventually.

Yeah, I know I'll reach that point eventually with my X51. I'm surprised that Dell still doesn't officially support putting a 970 in X51s. I guess they're too busy pushing their external GPU amp.

But, for a good while longer, my i7-4790 & 970 is serving me well for 1080p60 gaming. I'm going to increase my RAM up to 16GB this week, too. I'm curious to see how Windows 10 will treat my setup, not to mention Quantum Break.

I'd love to invest in an Oculus too, but I'm not keen on spending $600 right now.

 

[diffusionx]

Can anyone tell me why Razer Synapse just says "Updating from Razer Synapse" and I can't do anything? I've reinstalled it two times already.

My first guess is because Razer Synapse sucks balls.

 

[BarrelMakingPenguin]

So I just got a 970 to work in my R1 after replacing the powerboard. Loaded an old Witcher 2 save and it seems to run fine on High settings at 60. Tried to start a game of Far Cry 3 on High settings as well and screen goes out after 5-10 seconds in a loading screen saying "HDMI no signal". The PC still seems to be working but I just have no picture. Is this the PSU bailing on me?

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

So I just got a 970 to work in my R1 after replacing the powerboard. Loaded an old Witcher 2 save and it seems to run fine on High settings at 60. Tried to start a game of Far Cry 3 on High settings as well and screen goes out after 5-10 seconds in a loading screen saying "HDMI no signal". The PC still seems to be working but I just have no picture. Is this the PSU bailing on me?

Can you try a different output cord, like DVI?

 

[brainpann]

I'm guessing you got a Chinese adapter. Has everything been fine with it?
Getting a 330W adapter and a 970 would be cheaper for me than going all in for a new PC.

My mistake-i should have said "powerboard". I already had a 330 watt psu but the R1 powerboard doesnt always play nice with the 970. I replaced the powerboard with one from an R2 and then put in an EVGA 980 SC, single fan version. For whatever reason, the new dual fan version didnt work.

Anyway, i been playing Project Cars and Alien Isolation at max with no issues. Ive also ran 3d mark several times without issue.

 

[Jawmuncher]

My mistake-i should have said "powerboard". I already had a 330 watt psu but the R1 powerboard doesnt always play nice with the 970. I replaced the powerboard with one from an R2 and then put in an EVGA 980 SC, single fan version. For whatever reason, the new dual fan version didnt work.

Anyway, i been playing Project Cars and Alien Isolation at max with no issues. Ive also ran 3d mark several times without issue.

Hmm i'll have to look into this. Was thinking this might be the easier route for me with my R1.

 

[BarrelMakingPenguin]

Can you try a different output cord, like DVI?

I just hooked up a DVI cable and only my wallpaper shows up. No icons, no open windows - all of which I can see when I switch back to HDMI.

Speaking of which, the HDMI signal was just lost while playing Punch Club. Could that be a sign that something else is going on since that is hardly a graphically intense game?

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

I just hooked up a DVI cable and only my wallpaper shows up. No icons, no open windows - all of which I can see when I switch back to HDMI.

Speaking of which, the HDMI signal was just lost while playing Punch Club. Could that be a sign that something else is going on since that is hardly a graphically intense game?

Yeah, definitely an issue with the 970 and/or power board. Wish I could offer more help, but I'm not super familiar with the R1.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Looks like you can get an X51 with a 970 now without the external GPU amp, at least from what I'm seeing on the Dell website. And it still only has a 330w power supply.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Looks like you can get an X51 with a 970 now without the external GPU amp, at least from what I'm seeing on the Dell website. And it still only has a 330w power supply.

Finally!

 

[thechristoph]

I searched for the x51 r2 power board on eBay but I'm not having any luck finding it. Are they difficult to come by?

 

[brainpann]

I searched for the x51 r2 power board on eBay but I'm not having any luck finding it. Are they difficult to come by?

Search for D85RT Dell. I found a some listings a few minutes ago. They arent difficult to get, just expensive. Think of it as "small PC tax", lol.

Just wanted to give everyone an update about the EVGA 980 sc inside my X51 R1. Everything is still running smoothly except recently, after having played Rise of Tomb Raider with settings maxed out, the card got up to 80'C and the game started stuttering a little.. Having "Purehair" on is what sets it over the edge and it mostly happens during cut scenes.
Keep in mind, I had to remove the factory fan to make the card fit. To remedy this, I have purchased a 60mm X 10mm pwm fan. It should be at my house in a day or two and I'll let everyone know how much of a difference it makes. Until then, I'll just turn "purehair" off.

 

[Soyongdori]

Ugh, I really wish my GTX970 came with more than just one output for monitors. Been using this card past 7 months, having only one monitor connected just doesn't cut it for me.

 

[thechristoph]

Search for D85RT Dell. I found a some listings a few minutes ago. They arent difficult to get, just expensive. Think of it as "small PC tax", lol.

Just wanted to give everyone an update about the EVGA 980 sc inside my X51 R1.

Holy smokes. Between the power board and that card, I'd be in $650 in upgrades... I know my i7 in the R1 is still viable but wow....small PC tax indeed.

Still, I think it's better than buying a new one.

Have you felt the need to upgrade your memory at all?

 

[brainpann]

Holy smokes. Between the power board and that card, I'd be in $650 in upgrades... I know my i7 in the R1 is still viable but wow....small PC tax indeed.

Still, I think it's better than buying a new one.

Have you felt the need to upgrade your memory at all?

My thoughts exactly.

As for memory, tbh, I havent felt the need to but not really sure. I may go ahead and upgrade mine from 8 to 16 down the road, after the sting of upgrading the video card has worn off.

 

[thechristoph]

Alright, I have some Amazon-redeemable reward points burning a hole in my pocket. It's video card time and power board time.

I'm not going to try to exceed 1080p and 60fps. I might upgrade to a Gsync monitor one of these days. I don't want to overspend on a video card if I'm not going to be shooting for 1440 or 4K. I think I'm going to go with a 970 SC instead of a 980. Good times, or shooting myself in the foot?

 

[brainpann]

Just wanted to say that the fan makes significant difference. Before while playing Tomb Raider, my 980 would hit 80'C but now the highest I've seen it go is 73'C.

If anyone if considering putting a 980 in an X51, I would definitely install a replacement fan for the one that has to be removed.

 

[thechristoph]

I just installed a new power board in my X51 R1. Went smoothly... except there's a port on the new power board that I don't recall unplugging from the old one. I'm pointing a screwdriver at it in the attached picture. I don't see any loose cables floating around, but I'm second guessing myself. Yes, I should have taken photos and paid attention when I was unplugging everything.

I put everything back together and played a game on it and everything's hunky dory, it's just that like I said, I'm second guessing myself.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/dzLXWgz.jpg[/img]

I've decided on the 970, and since the 970 uses the same PCB as the 980, then maybe you can answer this question, Brainpann. What power sockets are on the video card board? Would I need to pick up any adapters to go along with it? I'm using a 750ti right now that doesn't require a power cord at all. The 555 that came with it did; there are two four-pin square leads free in the case.

 

[SlaughterX]

Has anyone here tried running 2 hard drives (or rather, an ssd and a laptop hdd in one of those double mounts)?

Also for 1080p gaming is a gtx 960 sufficient? Should I wait for lower end pascal cards? I don't need anything right now but I do want to upgrade this thing a little before I retire it to the bedroom. Also I wonder if I can put faster ram in...

 

[pezley]

Has anyone here tried running 2 hard drives (or rather, an ssd and a laptop hdd in one of those double mounts)?

Also for 1080p gaming is a gtx 960 sufficient? Should I wait for lower end pascal cards? I don't need anything right now but I do want to upgrade this thing a little before I retire it to the bedroom. Also I wonder if I can put faster ram in...

I have an R2 which I run a full size 2tb HDD, 970 & SSD with out problems. Hasn't crashed in the year or so it's been running

 

[thechristoph]

I run the HDD that came with it and an SSD as my boot drive. Works great.

I took out the optical drive, not because of the SSD, but because I want to save whatever minuscule amounts of power the drive drew.

For the 960, you'll probably need to upgrade your power board if you got the first generation X51 (see my photo a couple posts up, and make sure to note what was plugged into it before you unplug anything...).

 

[brainpann]

Ill be upgrading my computer in the next couple of days and therefore wont need the R2 powerboard from my X51. If anyone was looking to upgrade to a 970 or 980 and needed the powerboard, PM me. Ill be letting it go to a gaffer for a VERY reasonable price. First come first serve.

If none here are interested, Ill just list it on eBay.

Looking to sell quickly to offset cost of upgrade.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

The new 1080 and 1070 card can fit inside the x51 r2?

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

The new 1080 and 1070 card can fit inside the x51 r2?

Just looked up the thread to pose this very same question. Even though I upgraded to the 970 12 months ago, I'd be game for the 1070 if the X51r2 can handle it.

 

[120v]

1070 and 1080 seem to have the same TDP as 970 and 980 respectively, so it's probably a matter of size.

wish i knew for sure... i'd like to upgrade to 1070 right when it's released. but i'll wait to see if anybody can pull it off first.

 

[blastprocessor]

Reckon the 1070 will be too power hungry for the X51 R1. Reckon the 1060 will be the one to go for and i'm hoping will give better than 970 performance with a much lower TDP. Is the 970 good for 1440p gaming?

 

[120v]

Is the 970 good for 1440p gaming?

it's not optimal but my 970 handles 1440 fine. as long as you're okay with newer games running ~45 fps

 

[2002whitegt]

I think the 1080 pulling 180 tdp might be too much for the system, I've always had 170 as the max theoretical tdp. The 980 I had was at 165tdp, and with my power meter I was pulling up to 290-300 watts from the wall on super intensive benchmarks.

I can't find any info on the 1070, but I'm willing to bet that would work perfect for the x51, the height and length are athe same as the 980, so as long as the front 60mm fan is removed or replaced with a thinner version, the 1070 will fit.

EDIT: The 1070 has a TDP of 150w, that would be perfect! My friend who I sold my x51 to is upgrading to the 1070 for sure.

 

[Tillbo]

I'm hoping someone can help me...

Currently I'm running an X51 R1 with a 330w power supply. The card I currently have is the 660ti but it is showing its age.

What card would give me a decent upgraded and fit without problems? I'd like it to be as inexpensive as possible but offer a noticeable boost to my current card?

If anyone could help that would be great. I've tried to research it but a lot of the info is quite old...

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

I'm hoping someone can help me...

Currently I'm running an X51 R1 with a 330w power supply. The card I currently have is the 660ti but it is showing its age.

What card would give me a decent upgraded and fit without problems? I'd like it to be as inexpensive as possible but offer a noticeable boost to my current card?

If anyone could help that would be great. I've tried to research it but a lot of the info is quite old...

R1? GTX 960. Be sure to get it with 4GB RAM and the "reference" style fan. Like this one.

 

[Tillbo]

Thanks, I'll see if I can find one at a decent price. I'm in the UK and seem to be looking at nearly £200 which is a bit more than I was hoping to spend.

 

[itschris]

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.