X51 R2 Upgrades

Question

Good Evening Everyone,

I'm looking to upgrade my X51 R2 as much as possible. I purchased it several years ago and would like to 'update' it so I can play more modern games on higher settings (mainly use it to play Elite: Dangerous right now.) I'd really appreciate some advice on how to go about this. I'll be using the machine purely for gaming. Here is my current stock setup:

Item	Description
Base	Alienware X51 R2 Standard Base
Memory	8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600Mhz
Keyboard	UK/Irish (QWERTY) Alienware Multimedia Keyboard
Monitor	No Monitor
Video Card	1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 645
Driver	WLAN Card DW1506 Driver
Hard Drive	1TB (64MB Cache) 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s
Chassis	Matte Stealth Black with Dark Chrome Accents
Operating System	Windows 8 64bit, English
Mouse	Alienware Standard Optical Mouse
CD ROM/DVD ROM	Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD RW, CD-RW)
Wireless	DW1506 Wireless-N WLAN Half Mini-Card
Cable	UK 250V Power Cord
Documentation/Disks	Ship Docs : Eng
Bundle	D00AR201
Extended Service	1 Year NBD with Premium Phone Support
Placemat	Documentation (English, French, German, Italian, Dutch)
Documentation	Documetation not included
Order Information	Alienware X51 R2 Order
Processor	Intel® Core™ i5-4430 Processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.2GHz with Turbo Boost Technology)
Color Choice	AlienFX System Lighting - Mars Red
Accidental Damage Support	No Accidental Damage Protection
Packaging	MOD,SHP MTL,RTL,ANDR,EMEA
Online Backup	No DataSafe Online Backup selected
FGA Module	ANDRO1403_002/1405_003/BTO
Online Backup Software	No DataSafe Online Backup selected
Optical Software	Cyberlink Media Suit Essentials DVD
CFI Included (Smart Selection)	CFI not included
Hard Drive Software	Not included
Retail Drop in the Box Leaflet	Retail Drop in the Box not included
Retail Information	Retail Info not included
Retail Tech Sheets	Retail Tech Sheets not included
Microsoft Application Software	Office not included
Protect your new PC	Anti-virus not included
Power Supply	240W AC Adaptor

I understand that the first thing I'll need to do is upgrade the power supply to the 330W adaptor. However, I was wondering what is the best possible supported graphics card I could get? If anyone could provide links to recommended models that would be fantastic. Also, would it be worth upgrading the CPU and/or memory too? Many thanks in advance for your help!

Best Wishes,

Daniel

Alienware - Rodrigo · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Every game has its own system requirements so we recommend you look into that first for whichever game you want to run with this system. As far as the components you can upgrade, you could upgrade the memory to 16GB or your HDD to an SSD for better overall performance. However, for better gaming performance, you could upgrade your video card to an NVidia GTX 660 (which is the highest GPU upgrade that we can support for this system). In your case, I don't believe a CPU upgrade would be required.

Game7a1 · Accepted Answer

If I remember correctly, the highest support graphics card Alienware has for the X51 R2 with 330w PSU is the GTX 960, which is a better option.

OP, your CPU is fine. You could upgrade to 2x8 DDR3 1600 MHz RAM. As for the GPU, get a blower design from PNY (regular looking GPU with fan on end of GPU). There's a 4 GB model to choose, which will work just like the 2 GB will as well.

ZeDan · Accepted Answer

Hi guys, Many thanks for this! I really appreciate it. Do you recommend the 4gb PNY GTX 960 over an MSI GTX 960? Will there be any advantage in getting the 4gb one for my system?

Game7a1 · Accepted Answer

Higher VRAM means better experience (may not correlate with performance, but it could be smoother) with games or resolutions that require more VRAM.

I'd go with PNY since their GPUs work well in the X51.

Alienware - Rodrigo · Answer

Hi, I’m sorry about that, I was confusing the X51 R1 with the R2. Game7a1 is right about the GTX 960 being the highest GPU upgrade option that we can support for the Alienware X51 R2.

ZeDan · Answer

Thanks Game7a1! That's a big help. I just wasn't sure whether a better card (4gb etc) would require more CPU / power resources that would prevent my system from getting the maximum benefit. I'll go for a PNY GTX 960 4gb then! Would something like this card do the trick?

www.amazon.co.uk/.../ref=sr_1_1;ie=UTF8&qid=1449004918&sr=8-1&keywords=pny+4gb+gtx+960

Game7a1 · Answer

There's an overclocked version of the PNY one? Huh, never knew that. It should still work, though if things start to go south, you might want to downclock the GTX 960 (it's not hard to do).

ZeDan · Answer

Sorry to bother you again! I was just wondering if this card would work / fit in the X51 R2?

www.amazon.co.uk/.../ref=sr_1_1;ie=UTF8&qid=1449347185&sr=1-1&keywords=pny+gtx+960

It's the only PNY GTX 960 I can find (and there was a review from someone who fit it in an X51 R1 - though not sure if that is a larger case). Many thanks once again!

Kron98 · Answer

Hello! Im plannign as well upgrading my rig. I have an X51 R2 with 16 GB of RAM and a GTX 670. I want to buy a GTX 960 because its the only one that my PC will run. Do you think the following is okay?

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 960 AMP! 4GB GDDR5

If not, what would you reccommend?

Kron98 · Answer

Hello! Im planning in updating my rig. I have an X51 R2 with an GTX 670. I want a GTX 960 with 4GB, do you think the following would fit corectly in my PC? ZOTAC GeForce GTX 960 AMP! 4GB GDDR5

Resurrectionist · Answer

Sorry to bother you again! I was just wondering if this card would work / fit in the X51 R2?

www.amazon.co.uk/.../ref=sr_1_1;ie=UTF8&qid=1449347185&sr=1-1&keywords=pny+gtx+960

It's the only PNY GTX 960 I can find (and there was a review from someone who fit it in an X51 R1 - though not sure if that is a larger case). Many thanks once again!

PNY GF960GTX2GEPB

Length = 9.5 inches / 24.5 cm - Yes it will work.

Hello! Im planning in updating my rig. I have an X51 R2 with an GTX 670. I want a GTX 960 with 4GB, do you think the following would fit corectly in my PC?

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 960 AMP! 4GB GDDR5

No Dual Axial Fan cards with the X51.

Single centrifugal fan reference card design only.

Locked Topics – Alienware General

X51 R2 Upgrades

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