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[Grumbul]

I'm considering the X51 as one of my options, and from reading the OP it seems like I would indeed be able to upgrade the graphics if I needed to do so say, a year or two from now. How hard/easy is it compared to a standard desktop though? What if I had to upgrade the PSU as well? Is the X51 really inflexible compared to other systems when it comes to upgrades?

I am very much in the same situation and the more I look into this the more the X51 starts looking like a very viable option.

As many folks will confirm you can get better value for money than the X51 offers. However having said that the X51 is not badly priced at all. Currently in the UK the top option (without monitor/Blu Ray) is standing at £899 and there are vouchers available to reduce that by 10%.

If you are considering 1080p gaming then I reckon the X51 is not that badly priced at all to be honest considering the very neat form factor here.

The standard GTX 555 card is pretty easily replaced with a Radeon 7870 which is one heck of an upgrade if you consider what those are going to cost by the time you actually come to make the jump.

It is pretty clear that an SSD can be slotted on top of the existing 2.5 drive as well, so that was something else I was considering for a later date.

I am getting more and more tempted to be honest.

 

[Tunesmith]

I am very much in the same situation and the more I look into this the more the X51 starts looking like a very viable option.

As many folks will confirm you can get better value for money than the X51 offers. However having said that the X51 is not badly priced at all. Currently in the UK the top option (without monitor/Blu Ray) is standing at £899 and there are vouchers available to reduce that by 10%.

If you are considering 1080p gaming then I reckon the X51 is not that badly priced at all to be honest considering the very neat form factor here.

The standard GTX 555 card is pretty easily replaced with a Radeon 7870 which is one heck of an upgrade if you consider what those are going to cost by the time you actually come to make the jump.

It is pretty clear that an SSD can be slotted on top of the existing 2.5 drive as well, so that was something else I was considering for a later date.

I am getting more and more tempted to be honest.

Not really, since it's not a 2.5" drive that comes with it, they're using 3.5" 7200RPM drives. Case design-wise the HDD caddy sits directly underneath the graphics card (case horizontally) with very very little space in-between.

Two 2.5" drives could fit in a 2x2.5" frame but very few of those actually fit into the default slot-in caddy. So unless you want to actually just leave your new SSDs lying around in the case I wouldn't recommend it.

I ended up using 1 SSD which I fitted into the pre-existing slot-in caddy using a 2.5" frame that Dell uses (was lucky with matching screw holes between the 2.5" frame and the slot-in caddy) which is then fitted into the case itself.

 

[Grumbul]

Not really, since it's not a 2.5" drive that comes with it, they're using 3.5" 7200RPM drives. Case design-wise the HDD caddy sits directly underneath the graphics card (case horizontally) with very very little space in-between.

Two 2.5" drives could fit in a 2x2.5" frame but very few of those actually fit into the default slot-in caddy. So unless you want to actually just leave your new SSDs lying around in the case I wouldn't recommend it.

I ended up using 1 SSD which I fitted into the pre-existing slot-in caddy using a 2.5" frame that Dell uses (was lucky with matching screw holes between the 2.5" frame and the slot-in caddy) which is then fitted into the case itself.

Sorry that is my bad, thanks for pointing out the error.

I actually meant to say that a 2.5" SSD fits perfectly bang slap on top of the DVD drive cage.

 

[BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO]

So if I buy one of these things without adding in anything would I be able to emulate ps2/wii at a reasonable speed? Also how would this thing handle modern in pc games.

 

[Barkley's Justice]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this:

Digital Foundry's £300 box:

"4x console power in a games machine you can build yourself for £300? We show you how."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/df-hardware-introducing-the-digital-foundry-pc

 

[Marty Chinn]

Hmmm. That indicates a problem with the GPU fan, because even if you take case Fan 2 offline the temperature never rises too high. There are two possibilities

1. GPU fan is physically not working. It's either blocked by a cable, leaning to the case, or it's broken.

2. GPU fan profile is wrong .

The best way to test this is to manually set the GPU fan profile to constant 100% in Afterburner, and then run Furmark. If the temp still rises uncontrollably (hit ESC to abort before it goes all the way up to 100C, say, at 96C), then you have a blocked or broken fan. In case you succeed with the test, you will need to tweak the fan profile so that it works right. If the test fails, you will want to try to reinstall the video card and reroute the cable to ensure no blockage. If it still fails, you have a broken fan ithe card and should replace it.

By the way, I have found that for Speedfan and Afterburner profiles to stick after reboot, I need to make them startup items. Sometimes I need to still manually launch them after reboot.

Is MSI Afterburner better than Catalyst Control Center? I used that to jack the GPU fan to 100%. I just opened it again, couldn't see anything that might be blocking the GPU fan and now I shined a light through the vent and can see there is a gap between the GPU and the HDD, so nothing looks to be blocking. The gap isn't that big but I can't imagine how much bigger it can get given the cramped quarters of the case. I can't tell if one of the two fans is broken or not since I can't see them spinning. I can hear the sound of the fans increase as the speed increases though.

So after jacking it to 100%, it gets through about 17% of the 15 min stress test before it gets to mid 90s. I assume that's unacceptable. So at this point should I just swap for a replacement card? Just to be clear I got the Sapphire 7870 OC Edition clocked at 1050 that runs for about $350 on Amazon. Just wanted to know if there's anything else I should consider before getting another graphics card.

 

[Chittagong]

Is MSI Afterburner better than Catalyst Control Center? I used that to jack the GPU fan to 100%. I just opened it again, couldn't see anything that might be blocking the GPU fan and now I shined a light through the vent and can see there is a gap between the GPU and the HDD, so nothing looks to be blocking. The gap isn't that big but I can't imagine how much bigger it can get given the cramped quarters of the case. I can't tell if one of the two fans is broken or not since I can't see them spinning. I can hear the sound of the fans increase as the speed increases though.

So after jacking it to 100%, it gets through about 17% of the 15 min stress test before it gets to mid 90s. I assume that's unacceptable. So at this point should I just swap for a replacement card? Just to be clear I got the Sapphire 7870 OC Edition clocked at 1050 that runs for about $350 on Amazon. Just wanted to know if there's anything else I should consider before getting another graphics card.

Yes that's not right. I am assuming normal ambient temps, say 20-25C. It should not boil so hot, certainly not that fast.

It does sound like a dead fan to me, or bad thermal paste, neither of which you can't really fix yourself.

I have the non OC Sapphire 7870, which is identical but just lower quality die. So clock against clock, you should run cooler. You can still try and lower the clock and see what happens, but I seriously doubt you would see a change.

Sorry to hear about the hassle, annoying I know - my first X51 was dead as a dodo, hate that feel when nothing you try works.

 

[Fletcher]

I just ordered one of these and am super excited to get back into PC games. Mostly got it to keep playing Diablo and Sim City when it comes out. Plus, Valve has to announce HL3 soon, right?!

 

[diffusionx]

I just ordered one of these and am super excited to get back into PC games. Mostly got it to keep playing Diablo and Sim City when it comes out. Plus, Valve has to announce HL3 soon, right?!

Yea, any day now.

Enjoy it. I got mine a couple weeks ago and I <3 it. It's quickly become my second favorite PC ever (after my PII-450 Voodoo2 SLI).

 

[Chittagong]

I just ordered one of these and am super excited to get back into PC games. Mostly got it to keep playing Diablo and Sim City when it comes out. Plus, Valve has to announce HL3 soon, right?!

I'm right there with you - Diablo, Sim City and definitely waiting for HL3. Dammit gabe!

 

[Marty Chinn]

I'm right there with you - Diablo, Sim City and definitely waiting for HL3. Dammit gabe!

Sim City is high on my list and heh the summer Steam sale is going to wreck me.

BTW, I just put in the request for the replacement card and it should be here tomorrow. Hopefully it's the card. Something just dawned on me though, what happens if only one of the power connectors of the two worked? Would the card still function or would only one of the fans work? Is that a possible problem or is it an all or nothing situation?

 

[Anticitizen One]

That's actually a cool PC from Alienware. I like how it looks like a console.

 

[Chittagong]

Sim City is high on my list and heh the summer Steam sale is going to wreck me.

BTW, I just put in the request for the replacement card and it should be here tomorrow. Hopefully it's the card. Something just dawned on me though, what happens if only one of the power connectors of the two worked? Would the card still function or would only one of the fans work? Is that a possible problem or is it an all or nothing situation?

The guy FreshyDeff on YouTube tried having just one of the power connectors on my suggestion. I don't remember exactly the outcome, I think it was that the card didn't work at all. It's one of his "installing 7870 videos", he namedrops my handle in the beginning. Fairly sure it didn't result in overheating though, but you never know I suppose.

 

[Marty Chinn]

The guy FreshyDeff on YouTube tried having just one of the power connectors on my suggestion. I don't remember exactly the outcome, I think it was that the card didn't work at all. It's one of his "installing 7870 videos", he namedrops my handle in the beginning. Fairly sure it didn't result in overheating though, but you never know I suppose.

So latest update.

I had time to swap out cards tonight and there definitely was a difference. For starters, the Furmark test completed this time and ended up with a high of 92C. Based on me watching it, it got to about mid to high 80s by about halfway through and very slowly crept up the rest of the way. This was without SpeedFan enabled too so the case fan was going full blast.

Am I right to assume that's still high? Definitely much better than before, but still not sure what to think. Thoughts?

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

Not really, since it's not a 2.5" drive that comes with it, they're using 3.5" 7200RPM drives. Case design-wise the HDD caddy sits directly underneath the graphics card (case horizontally) with very very little space in-between.

Two 2.5" drives could fit in a 2x2.5" frame but very few of those actually fit into the default slot-in caddy. So unless you want to actually just leave your new SSDs lying around in the case I wouldn't recommend it.

I ended up using 1 SSD which I fitted into the pre-existing slot-in caddy using a 2.5" frame that Dell uses (was lucky with matching screw holes between the 2.5" frame and the slot-in caddy) which is then fitted into the case itself.

a lot of SSDs come with a 3.5 inch bracket adapter so if the X-51 has a 3.5 HDD cage you can still get a SSD with an adapter for it.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

So latest update.

I had time to swap out cards tonight and there definitely was a difference. For starters, the Furmark test completed this time and ended up with a high of 92C. Based on me watching it, it got to about mid to high 80s by about halfway through and very slowly crept up the rest of the way. This was without SpeedFan enabled too so the case fan was going full blast.

Am I right to assume that's still high? Definitely much better than before, but still not sure what to think. Thoughts?

I wouldn't use furmark as a gauge of temperature since that test unrealistically pushes your video card. I would test it out normally by using a regular game.

 

[Chittagong]

So latest update.

I had time to swap out cards tonight and there definitely was a difference. For starters, the Furmark test completed this time and ended up with a high of 92C. Based on me watching it, it got to about mid to high 80s by about halfway through and very slowly crept up the rest of the way. This was without SpeedFan enabled too so the case fan was going full blast.

Am I right to assume that's still high? Definitely much better than before, but still not sure what to think. Thoughts?

That's alright. Mine caps at 89-90c in Furmark, so it ia in the ballpark. The ultimate figure is less important, the key thing is that it stabilizes. In gaming it will never go that high anyway.

 

[Tunesmith]

a lot of SSDs come with a 3.5 inch bracket adapter so if the X-51 has a 3.5 HDD cage you can still get a SSD with an adapter for it.

Yeah but the 3.5 HDD cage used in the X51 is not standard by any means, it has very few extra screw holes to fit any adapters into and then it slides/locks into place on the exterior case wall.

 

[DR3AM]

got the 7850, do i need to replace the power supply on this or am i got to go?

 

[Marty Chinn]

If anyone is on the edge, you can get the Sapphire Radeon 7870 for $269 after rebate at Tiger Direct. Heck even Amazon lowered their price to $314 after rebate.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2262856&CatId=7387

Good god, I just bought this too. Wonder if I should go through the hassle of returning it.

 

[Flunkie]

As I've been looking to upgrade from 2 year old hardware, I've now changed my stance on building my own to grabbing one of these. I can't think of any logical reason why not. And the portability (well, way more portable than a traditional desktop) is a huge thing for me, going back and forth from school a lot.

 

[Marty Chinn]

So I think I fixed my SpeedFan issue. I've got my fingers crossed but in case anyone else is having trouble:

1) Under Config->Temperature, select GPU and change the Warning Temp from 50 to something higher like 90 or 95. From the thing I read, it sounds like if it hits the temperature warning level, it will automatically kick in to 100% full speed and override your setting.

2) For your custom curve, make sure you extend the temperature graph curve further. By default it was at 60C and the arrows to extend weren't showing up because the window for SpeedFan was too small. Once I made it bigger, I made the curve go all the way out to 90C.

Haven't done extensive testing so far, but I think it's working. The first one was killer because the fan would still kick in to 100% and I couldn't figure out why. It made me think whatever I was setting in SpeedFan wasn't working. Someone please correct me if I have this wrong though.

So here's my end results from upgrading the GT545 to a Radeon 7870:

Before:

P2105
Graphics Score
1885
Physics
5930
Combined
1934

After:

P6353
Graphics Score
6498
Physics
5974
Combined
5930

So it looks like pretty much a 3 times performance increase.

 

[Chittagong]

So I think I fixed my SpeedFan issue. I've got my fingers crossed but in case anyone else is having trouble:

1) Under Config->Temperature, select GPU and change the Warning Temp from 50 to something higher like 90 or 95. From the thing I read, it sounds like if it hits the temperature warning level, it will automatically kick in to 100% full speed and override your setting.

2) For your custom curve, make sure you extend the temperature graph curve further. By default it was at 60C and the arrows to extend weren't showing up because the window for SpeedFan was too small. Once I made it bigger, I made the curve go all the way out to 90C.

Haven't done extensive testing so far, but I think it's working. The first one was killer because the fan would still kick in to 100% and I couldn't figure out why. It made me think whatever I was setting in SpeedFan wasn't working. Someone please correct me if I have this wrong though.
.

Ha, good old warning temp. Forgot all about it, but yeah, I struggled with that too.

Great perf increase too.

 

[Chittagong]

got the 7850, do i need to replace the power supply on this or am i got to go?

If you have the 330w one you are fine. Smaller one will likely work but is pushing it a bit too close, in my opinion.

 

[Flunkie]

Could I fit, say, a GTX 680 in one of these?

 

[AstroNut325]

Right now it looks like I'll be buying the Alienware X51 come next summer. Hope the successor to the GTX680/R7970 will fit in.

 

[Flunkie]

I just ordered one of these and cancelled it right away. I don't know if I should just build one or not. The GTX555 is really the only thing keeping me from doing it right now, and I don't want the 7870, wanting to go nVidia for my next card.

 

[Marty Chinn]

I just ordered one of these and cancelled it right away. I don't know if I should just build one or not. The GTX555 is really the only thing keeping me from doing it right now, and I don't want the 7870, wanting to go nVidia for my next card.

What's the reasoning for preferring NVIDIA over ATI? Normally I prefer them too but this seemd like too good of a setup to pass up.

 

[Banana Kid]

I ordered the GTX 555 model last week, and it's showing up on Friday. I was hoping the Steam sale would start before it showed up so I could pick up a bunch of shit to play, but that's looking increasingly unlikely, so I'll have to make do with what I've got.

I have been saving Skyrim for a new PC, though, so I'm still gonna get plenty of use out of it.

 

[Marty Chinn]

I ordered the GTX 555 model last week, and it's showing up on Friday. I was hoping the Steam sale would start before it showed up so I could pick up a bunch of shit to play, but that's looking increasingly unlikely, so I'll have to make do with what I've got.

I have been saving Skyrim for a new PC, though, so I'm still gonna get plenty of use out of it.

Amazon has been replacing the Steam sale so far. Picked up a few new things there to play on my X51.

 

[grimshawish]

Not sure if I posted this last time I was in this thread:
Is there much to be gained from investing in the Intel i7 as oppose to the i5 model? I noticed the OP never did.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Not sure if I posted this last time I was in this thread:
Is there much to be gained from investing in the Intel i7 as oppose to the i5 model? I noticed the OP never did.

It sounds like if you're using it strictly for games, there's no need to go i7.

 

[Tunesmith]

Not sure if I posted this last time I was in this thread:
Is there much to be gained from investing in the Intel i7 as oppose to the i5 model? I noticed the OP never did.

Went with the i7 Ivy Bridge for power efficiency and general future proofing since the i5 is only a Sandy Bridge. Plus ou can actually play games with the integrated Intel HD card. Price wise it was a negligible difference for me.

 

[Flunkie]

What's the reasoning for preferring NVIDIA over ATI? Normally I prefer them too but this seemd like too good of a setup to pass up.

Just bad personal experience in the past + future quirks like PhysX.

 

[mrklaw]

I am very much in the same situation and the more I look into this the more the X51 starts looking like a very viable option.

As many folks will confirm you can get better value for money than the X51 offers. However having said that the X51 is not badly priced at all. Currently in the UK the top option (without monitor/Blu Ray) is standing at £899 and there are vouchers available to reduce that by 10%.

If you are considering 1080p gaming then I reckon the X51 is not that badly priced at all to be honest considering the very neat form factor here.

The standard GTX 555 card is pretty easily replaced with a Radeon 7870 which is one heck of an upgrade if you consider what those are going to cost by the time you actually come to make the jump.

It is pretty clear that an SSD can be slotted on top of the existing 2.5 drive as well, so that was something else I was considering for a later date.

I am getting more and more tempted to be honest.

its a straightforward 'do you want to pay to avoid building' question. I think I built mine for about £600-700, and that was one of Hazaro's recommended gaming builds. And in a quietened HT case so it could live in the lounge easily and not make too much noise (unless playing a game)

And its easy to put one together.

 

[Terbinator]

I just ordered one of these and cancelled it right away. I don't know if I should just build one or not. The GTX555 is really the only thing keeping me from doing it right now, and I don't want the 7870, wanting to go nVidia for my next card.

In that case build your own in an ITX form-factor.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Went with the i7 Ivy Bridge for power efficiency and general future proofing since the i5 is only a Sandy Bridge. Plus ou can actually play games with the integrated Intel HD card. Price wise it was a negligible difference for me.

The i5 is now Ivy Bridge too. Heh why would you want to play with the integrated when you have a dedicated?

 

[Tunesmith]

The i5 is now Ivy Bridge too. Heh why would you want to play with the integrated when you have a dedicated?

It's completely silent while using the integrated one.

 

[MaverickHunterX]

Guys and gals, I finally bit.

I ws surfing on newegg when I saw an ad for this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883155401

A refurbished version of the i7 x51 for $919 (they say it was originally 1400, any truth to it?)

Anyhow, I signed up for their card which makes it interest free for a year, plus 25 bucks off the order, and of course, free shipping and no tax.

Now, GAF, where do I go from here? I want to load with ram, but any recommendations on graphics cards, etc?

Thanks.

 

[j0hnny_385]

Now, GAF, where do I go from here? I want to load with ram, but any recommendations on graphics cards, etc?
Thanks.

What's your budget and what components do you want to change besides CPU? Memory and GPU?

 

[MaverickHunterX]

What's your budget and what components do you want to change besides CPU? Memory and GPU?

I'd say definitely memory and graphics, but didn't think about CPU. Isn't I7 suppose to be top of the line, at least for the moment?

 

[Canis lupus]

PS4 will have the same performances as this, for 1/3 of the price right?

 

[cyberheater]

PS4 will have the same performances as this, for 1/3 of the price right?

What a stupid thing to say.

So to the folks who have the Alienware stuff. How quiet is it when running games?

 

[Canis lupus]

What a stupid thing to say.

So to the folks who have the Alienware stuff. How quiet is it when running games?

Why is it stupid?Ellaborate, I just asked a question.. Many people expect it to have a similar GPU. Not only that but with optimalizations it could have the same performances in games.

 

[Warnen]

What a stupid thing to say.

So to the folks who have the Alienware stuff. How quiet is it when running games?

1st xboxish sound levels, got much louder when I swapped the 3rd card.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Ok, I thought I was through with the little quirks, but now I've got a new one. On rare occasions, I've seen the video signal just cut out to my TV. The computer hasn't, but no video signal. I plugged in headphones to the front jack this time to see if audio was still going, but nothing. I can't figure out the behavior of this too because sometimes I'll play for awhile and everything is fine but in other cases it'll happen shortly after starting a game. It doesn't seem to be overheating to my knowledge either. It's even done it once in XBMC and not during a game so I don't think it's stress to the system. Today it happened while I was playing Spec Ops though. Can anyone tell me what causes such a symptom?

 

[Chittagong]

Ok, I thought I was through with the little quirks, but now I've got a new one. On rare occasions, I've seen the video signal just cut out to my TV. The computer hasn't, but no video signal. I plugged in headphones to the front jack this time to see if audio was still going, but nothing. I can't figure out the behavior of this too because sometimes I'll play for awhile and everything is fine but in other cases it'll happen shortly after starting a game. It doesn't seem to be overheating to my knowledge either. It's even done it once in XBMC and not during a game so I don't think it's stress to the system. Today it happened while I was playing Spec Ops though. Can anyone tell me what causes such a symptom?

It might be the HDMI cable. I had picture cutting off because of a bad quality cable.

 

[j0hnny_385]

I'd say definitely memory and graphics, but didn't think about CPU. Isn't I7 suppose to be top of the line, at least for the moment?

It is. If you have an i7, you'll be OK for a long, looooong time.

As far as memory goes, I think 8GB DDR3 1600MHz is the sweet spot right now, in terms of price and performance.

As far as GPU...well, that's why I asked what's your budget. NVIDIA 680 or one of the top AMD 7xxx series and your're set.

 

[Hazaro]

I'd say definitely memory and graphics, but didn't think about CPU. Isn't I7 suppose to be top of the line, at least for the moment?

Yup. i5 vs i7 for gaming means nothing right now though.

If you can budget it, a stock (small size) 670 uses the same power as a 7870.
Memory, just pick up some 1.5V 1600MHz DDR3 low profile (no pointy giant ramsinks)

 

[CTE]

I'd say definitely memory and graphics, but didn't think about CPU. Isn't I7 suppose to be top of the line, at least for the moment?

Just be sure the card will fit in the case before buying it. You have options, but they are not unlimited.