Buying a X51 alienware pc

For just a little more ... If you want something more upgradable, faster, latest CPU and motherboard tech,  ... I suggest you look at the Aurora R4 (non-ALX to save some bucks). It has the 875w Power Supply.

You can get 16gb QUAD CHANNEL ram on a Aurora.

Hi, I'll gladly answer any questions you have. Please send us an email to: AWUpgrades@dell.com with your contact information so we can go ahead and help you out. Make sure you mention my name somewhere on the email so I can take personal care of it. Thank you  #Iwork4AW

I had a look at the Aurora but I was just too big and too expensive for me, all the upgrade proces for it seem way over priced and the only difference I can see between the X51 and the aurora is a slightly better processor. Also  because if I was going to go for a full size pc then I would probally get a custom one from http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/ .

Do you know of any major upgrade problems with the X51 ??

I had a look at the Aurora but I was just too big and too expensive for me...

I don't see how $500 more is a lot (especially for what you get extra), but whatever ...

You said you wanted an upgradable gaming computer ... that's a real desktop. The x51 is not really upgradable (not like a real desktop). If you buy a x51, I suggest you buy it very close to your target config.

If you think that the CPU is only difference between the two computers, I suggest you "read up" on how real computers are built and the latest tech. Even opening the 2 sales pages (tech specs) side-by-side should show the differences. Google about what you don't understand or ask here.

When I think upgradable I think about what I can fit in it. This is what comes to mind. If you can fit this then it's upgradable...Morblore upgradable 

Also keep in mind that the Aurora is not a full size desktop, it's a microATX system with a mid-size tower. Alienware doesn't have any full size desktops atm. To give you an idea of the difference..I could fit this GPU in my system but you couldn't fit it in the Aurora.

                                                   Kudan iGame GeForce GTX 680

Hi I pulled the standard Aurora (£1269) and the X51 with monitor and bluray (£1278) and the main differences I can see are:

1) Different processor - the X51 has an i7-2600 3.40 GHz

                                          - The Aurora has an i7-3820 3.60GHz

2) The X51 has 8gb of Dual channel memory and the aurora has 8gb of quad channel memory.

Also although there are some good upgrade options of the aurora they cost a small fortune e.g. £440 to get 16gb of ram - isn't this way over priced???

Wow

That a nice machine you have there .Morblore  

I have one, great machine for most uses... limited upgrade as small form and only 330W power brick.

Hi I pulled the standard Aurora (£1269) and the X51 with monitor and bluray (£1278) and the main differences I can see are:   1) Different processor - the X51 has an i7-2600 3.40 GHz                                             - The Aurora has an i7-3820 3.60GHz   2) The X51 has 8gb of Dual channel memory and the aurora has 8gb of quad channel memory.       Also although there are some good upgrade options of the aurora they cost a small fortune e.g. £440 to get 16gb of ram - isn't this way over priced???

Upgrade options are a small fortune..you got that right. Try to get the cheap memory, single GPU and no SSD. Stuff like that you can upgrade yourself for a fraction of what Dell wants for it.

Also, if you want the extended warranty ( trust me, you do ) you should buy it at checkout. If you buy it after you get the system it will cost you a lot more.

So would you recommend going for the cheapest graphics card, cheapest ram, cheapest sound card ...... and then just upgrade myself?

Also where do you get the extended warranty becuase there is an option for a 3 year next day home service which costs £400, or is there another place to buy the extended warranty?

Hi I pulled the standard Aurora (£1269) and the X51 with monitor and bluray (£1278) and the main differences I can see are:   1) Different processor - the X51 has an i7-2600 3.40 GHz                                             - The Aurora has an i7-3820 3.60GHz   2) The X51 has 8gb of Dual channel memory and the aurora has 8gb of quad channel memory.

Aurora R4 "Pros" over x51:

Latest processor tech (it's about more than just clock rate)

Latest chipset tech (research it)

Liquid Cooling

875 Power Supply (350w PS in desktops are so 10 years ago)

Ability to install almost any normal high-end video card (including AMD dual-gpu cards)

Ability to install one nice video card and still have 2 extra PCIe slots

Ability to install TWO power efficient single GPU video cards (most) in SLI or CFx config

Up to 4 HDD or SSD

2 or 3 Optical drive bays (using normal sized drives)

 ... I could go on, but I think that's the main ones.

Also although there are some good upgrade options of the aurora they cost a small fortune e.g. £440 to get 16gb of ram - isn't this way over priced???

Well, the base config is fine.

8gb is fine unless you are doing something extreme (like VirtualMachine, etc.). On the USA website, 8gb to 16gb quad is only an extra $100 ... I don't think that's too bad (fast 4gb DIMMs aren't cheap).

The only other thing I would upgrade is the video card. If you don't like the video card prices, get the cheapest one ... and pull it later and install a retail one. Back when the Aurora video card options were limited (due to Dell's supply chain fails) ... that's what I recommended people do.

 http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/p/19437088/20054517.aspx#20054517

(selection is better now ... the last time I checked ... the nVidia 580 and some newer AMD cards were up there finally). Hopefully, AMD 7xxx cards will be offered soon ... or go cheap and pick up a retail one.

So would you recommend going for the cheapest graphics card, cheapest ram, cheapest sound card ...... and then just upgrade myself?

Aurora R4 (value config)

Aurora r4 $1,499.00  it will run 2 times better than a x51 is totally different concept

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i7-3820 (Quad Core, 10MB Cache) Overclocked up to 4.1GHz edit

OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English edit

MEMORY 8GB Quad Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz edit

VIDEO CARD 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 555 edit

HARD DRIVE 1TB SATA 6Gb/s (7,200RPM) 32MB Cache edit

MONITOR No Monitor edit

SOUND CARD Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio edit

OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 24X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability edit

25GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560 Ti [Add $75.00   = 1566 usd and im sure you can ask for a discaunt