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2907
June 4th, 2013 10:00
power and water cooling
i know that the power brick is a power supply so is there any way of changing the power supply to give it more power and connect all the power options (like the pci and the 20 pin power). and what does the power card do? can you take the power card out of the system?
also can you water cool the computer
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DELL-Kiran K
6 Operator
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2K Posts
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June 4th, 2013 11:00
Hi asb19012,
I will be glad to help you. Request you to let me know the system model along with the type of operating system. Also let me know if you are trying to upgrade and if yes, what components are you trying to upgrade. I will check and let you know more information about the same.
asb19012
4 Posts
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June 4th, 2013 14:00
intel core 13 6gb ram gtx 645, 1tb hard drive
asb19012
4 Posts
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June 4th, 2013 14:00
Alienware X51 windows 8 64bit can i upgrade the ram to a high profile. also i want the gtx 660.with water cooling cpu
morblore
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2.4K Posts
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June 4th, 2013 23:00
Hello asb and grats on your x51
The PSU you have for your system is the 240w PSU. These are not standard ATX power supplies but are power bricks ( AC Adapters ) just like the ones used on laptops. Dell even uses the same 330w PSU that comes with the x51 for the M18x laptop. To run the GTX 660 you would need to buy the 330w PSU.
To water cool the system would take extreme modification which Dell does not support. It may even void your warranty on the system because of what would be needed to do it.
You can upgrade your 6gb of 1600mhz RAM to 8gb or even 16gb of 1600mhz RAM if you like. But to be honest you will not see any performance increase in doing so. 6gb of memory is more then enough for gaming. I would only go higher then your 6gb if you do professional work with your PC or if you can find it dirt cheap and can't pass up the deal. Your x51 only has 2 DIMM slots so you would need to buy two 4gb or 8gb sticks if you do decide to replace it.
Here is a link to the 330w PSU that you will need to buy if you want to upgrade to the GTX 660: http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&sku=331-2429
For the GTX 660 card you will want to buy a stock reference card. Do not buy one that has been overclocked or has a custom fan or you will run the risk of not having enough power along with heat issues. Dell rates the x51 up to 150w for a GPU so stick with a stock 660. This is a stock GTX 660 card made by EVGA for @204.99 plus a free Metro game and $10 rebate. EVGA is a very good brand I have no trouble with recommending them: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130825
This is the PNY GTX 660 that Dell sells for $229.99. It does not list it for the x51 but it will work. It's also a stock reference card: http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A6392631&baynote_bnrank=0&baynote_irrank=1&~ck=dellSearch
A single 8gb stick of 1600mhz DDR3 memory will run about $60 a stick. Here is one at Newegg you can use for a reference. It's made by Corsair which is also a very good brand I would recommend. It's $62.99 plus free shipping: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233309
This is the Dell branded certified 8gb stick they sell for the x51. It is $94.99: http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A5764358&baynote_bnrank=0&baynote_irrank=6&~ck=dellSearch
Keep in mind that if you buy components certified for the x51 from Dell and have issues with it Dell will help you trouble shoot it. If you buy outside of Dell they will still help you with it but only to a point. If they believe for instance that your GPU that you bought from Newegg is the issue they may ask you to remove it and use the original GPU for trouble shooting purposes. Keep this in mind when making your decision. Using 3rd party components ( unless they cause damage to the system of course ) will not void your warranty however so don't worry about that.
Have fun with your new x51 and mods. You should read this thread too. Lots of good info in it from many people that have already did what you want to do: http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19442269.aspx
asb19012
4 Posts
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June 5th, 2013 09:00
ok also can you change the cpu ?
Alienware-L_Por
842 Posts
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June 5th, 2013 10:00
Yes you can.