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7884
November 2nd, 2016 13:00
Moving alienware to a new case
hey guys so ive been looking for ways to upgrade my alienware x51 but from what ive read, its upgrade possibilities are really limited by the case (too small, no ventilation) and the PSU (cant change it, only 330w)
So i was wondering if i can just take all the components from the alienware and put them on a good case with another power supply and just start upgrading from there?
or would i also need to change the motherboard? if so how do i know what motherboard i need?
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89fordprobee
1.2K Posts
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November 2nd, 2016 14:00
nope not without replaceing the board... it IS NOT possible to use a standard power supply with the X51 board as its power board is way different internally and has different connections.. now if you want to take the time to figure it all out and rewire a standard psu to work it probably can be done.. but wont be as simple as plug and play .
easier way would be to strip it and replace board with a standard board .. but what are you limited for upgrades? (depending on revision i understand...) but users have gotten 32 gig ram.. no issues, ssd's no issue.. and even upto a GTX 1080 .. in the r2 and r3's ..
Also if you do go for board swap, you may have to repurchase a windows certificate since the alienware OEM probably wont work with aftermarket board.. and board required would be dependent to the cpu you have..
jm3107
6 Posts
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November 2nd, 2016 14:00
are you sure its not possible to just use it with a normal psu because some people have told me i can and some that i cant, and how do i know what MOBO i should buy if i have an amd r9 290?
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
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17.1K Posts
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November 2nd, 2016 15:00
Not sure what "Release" of x51 you have. But know that older ones are limited by slower interfaces like Sata-2/300 and USB 2.0.
Basically, I don't think the old MB is worth moving ... not when you can get a better mATX one for around $150. Can you move CPU, RAM, video card? ... sure, I would think so.
EDIT: This post is mainly based on the assumption that you have an older x51-R1.
89fordprobee
1.2K Posts
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November 2nd, 2016 17:00
I own an x51 it's connection. Isn't anywhere close to standard ATX plug on a full psu but as stated everything else can be moved the amd you posted is video. CPU is what limits the board you can get and till we know what version x51 you have or actual CPU we have no idea
I'm plenty happy with my little power house after I upgraded to what I needed