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Extremely frustrated at failed attempt to upgrade video card in X51 R1
I have the Alienware X51 R1. It was the most expensive model with the i7 and 8 gigs of ram and the 330 watt PSU.
After much research on what compatible videocards work with the X51 and it's upgraded 330 watt PSU, I decided to buy the EVGA GTX 660.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130911
I read many people have successfully upgraded their stock GTX 555 OEM to the GTX 660. EVGA seems to be the only card maker that has the same heat flow design as the GTX 555.
I installed it and it took all but 10 seconds in game for my PC to crash. My GPU temp was around 95c. I could smell burning.
As it turns out, the fan on the video card was scraping over my hard drive and there was absolutely no air flow going through the card.
I am so frustrated right now because I spent $220 on this card and it almost destroyed my hard drive.
Why are people recommending this card for the X51 if it does not even fit? CAN SOMEONE PLEASE REFER ME TO A NEWEGG LINK OF A GTX 660 THAT WORKS WITH THE X51 R1.
dngray
46 Posts
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October 9th, 2013 05:00
Look right here, it shows that the GTX 660 is compatible with the X51 R1
http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/19/KCS/KcsArticles/ArticleView?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&docid=609152&dgc=SM&cid=249387&lid=4816513
AndrewSi
901 Posts
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October 9th, 2013 04:00
DNGRAY - Before you go spending any more hard earned cash, is it worth while trying to make the 660 you have fit?
By how much is the GPU fan hitting the hard drive? Do you think if you removed the steel hard drive caddy the extra couple of millimeters would help?
Or you could take another approach and remove the 1TB hard drive altogether and replace it with a SSD mounted above the DVD player, that would give you plenty of room.
Goodluck with your mods
dngray
46 Posts
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October 9th, 2013 05:00
During my research before purchasing the card, I learned that the GTX 660 under heavy load only uses around 160 watts which is why it only has one 6 pin power connector. I know the newegg site says 450 watts but I read elseware (i will find the link) that it was much less. That is why everyone was touting the GTX660 as the go to card to upgrade their gtx 555.
I will try to remove the hard drive sleeve to give the fan more room and see if that makes a difference.
DELL-Ravi Ch
7 Technologist
7 Technologist
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7.1K Posts
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October 9th, 2013 05:00
Hi dngray,
EVGA GeForce GTX 660 3GB GDDR5 video card’s minmum PSU requirement is 450 watt. But the Alienware X51 comes either with 240 or 330 watt AC adapter. I would like to know if you have replaced the system with compatible AC adapter for the Video card?
AndrewSi
901 Posts
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October 9th, 2013 08:00
Just a thought but the 2nd power GPu power cord has a habit of getting caught in the fan, maybe check that is not interfering with the 660
AndrewSi
901 Posts
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October 9th, 2013 08:00
Not sure where you are but a X51 with a GTX660 (Dell/Alienware Brand) has been available here in Australia for almost 12 months. The EVGA model must be larger, is the new card you have a standard GTX660 or a Ti/Titan???
dngray
46 Posts
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October 9th, 2013 13:00
It is the standard GTX 660 with 3 gigs of video memory. It is a bit longer and thicker than the GTX 555 but I am still able to fit it into the video card chasis no problem.