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Alienware X51 thread of 2.56TFLOPS comfy couch gaming at 180W in a console size box

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mr stroke said:
What makes the GTX660 OEM that Alienware uses like the Ti? (Is it clocked higher, more Stream Processors,Texture Units, etc.)



Wondering if the OEM GTX660 thats included is suficient enough for maxed out 1080p games(except Crysis 3)
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For the most part, yes. The only thing I've had to tweak is Far Cry 3.
 
Oh man, still can't believed that I've owned my x51 for a year now. I love this little box with a oc'd 670 in it.
 
Is the i5-3330 with the gtx660 a good option? Dell uk don't show the i5-3570, and the next one up is an i7 which seems overkill.

Plus they have 11% off so it'd be £693 plus delivery which - for dell uk - seems a decent deal
 
I have the msi gtx 670 power edition in my x51.It fit but I had to shave a piece of metal off,other than that it works beautifully.
 
Got my X51 today installing the GTX670. Does this card require me to install MSI afterburner to alter the fans and speed of the card? Or can I run it stock with no problems?
 
Who's were putting 670 in there now what did I miss? Might have to ready up for that soon.
The power supply isn't an issue or will I have to change it?
 
How is a 670 working with a 330W power supply? Wouldn't that be way too close to the max of the PSU - you usually want them to have some headroom?
 
Eh, PSU is fine oddly enough. I've had my 670 power edition in my x51 since July 2012 and I've had zero issues with it.
 
So I ordered the X51 over the weekend, came in today. However, upon booting, the screen does not come on, and the machine beeps 5 times, nothing else.

What can I do to fix this? Also, I am not very tech savvy, simplified instructions would be best.
 
Kard8p3 said:
So I ordered the X51 over the weekend, came in today. However, upon booting, the screen does not come on, and the machine beeps 5 times, nothing else.

What can I do to fix this? Also, I am not very tech savvy, simplified instructions would be best.
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Send it back
 
LyleLanley said:
Any good looking modern 3D game pretty much turns my X51 into an airplane engine.
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You sure you're not having an issue?

Dunno if it's cause mine is newer (just got it less than 2 weeks ago?) but it's quiet as hell playing top games all maxed out. Playing TR on full blast and it was dead silent--couldn't hear a thing.
 
Kard8p3 said:
So I ordered the X51 over the weekend, came in today. However, upon booting, the screen does not come on, and the machine beeps 5 times, nothing else.

What can I do to fix this? Also, I am not very tech savvy, simplified instructions would be best.
Click to expand...


If it allows, check the ram slots and the video card slots to see if they are secure.
 
Kard8p3 said:
So I ordered the X51 over the weekend, came in today. However, upon booting, the screen does not come on, and the machine beeps 5 times, nothing else.

What can I do to fix this? Also, I am not very tech savvy, simplified instructions would be best.
Click to expand...

Call Alienware Support now. It's possible the video card is unseated, they will walk you through it.

mkenyon said:
Welcome to prebuilt systems.

Is the warranty voided if you open it up?
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Not at all. I had a similar problem and the support guy walked me through reseating the card.
 
btrboyev said:
BS

Much higher failure rate or DoA with custom builds. With something from Alienware, they are tested before they go out.
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I commented on the fact that your troubleshooting options are limited with a prebuilt system, and then asked whether or not the warranty was voided. How is that BS?
 
mkenyon said:
Welcome to prebuilt systems.

Is the warranty voided if you open it up?
Click to expand...

This is almost never the case with a pre-built system.

Edit: Queston for X51 owners:

How upgradeable is the power supply in these? I feel like the 330 watt PSU will be the largest bottleneck in terms of future upgradeability. Did anybody post pics of the internal layout?

Edit 2: Yay it's in the OP, I'm dumb.
 
I think the maximum watts on that thing is almost as much as a good stopping point for heat as well as power draw. Not a lot of airflow in it.
 
So I came here just to say that I now have had my Alienware x51 for 3 months now and I have had no problems. When I first got it I had a 5 beeping problem (I blame Bestbuy not Dell) but I solved it fast and its been working beautiful now. Also I don't think I've encountered a game yet I couldn't run on ultra (omit Planetside 2 of course).

If anyone wants to know the exact model I have here it is:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Alienwa...rive/6912556.p?id=1218812711766&skuId=6912556
I traded processor power for graphics power and I think it was worth it overall

Also I made a first impression video of it. So if anyone who's pending on getting it wants to know what my first experience was like (I'm not experienced with computers if that helps) then this was mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h237MaYm1Vo

Hope I helped :)
 
mrklaw said:
How is a 670 working with a 330W power supply? Wouldn't that be way too close to the max of the PSU - you usually want them to have some headroom?
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nvidia's 28nm gpus are very efficient. the days of gpus slurping ungodly amounts of power are over thanks to the advancements made chip manufacturing.
 
Kard8p3 said:
So I ordered the X51 over the weekend, came in today. However, upon booting, the screen does not come on, and the machine beeps 5 times, nothing else.

What can I do to fix this? Also, I am not very tech savvy, simplified instructions would be best.
Click to expand...

My first X51 was like that, turned out mobo was busted. Dell has great service though, they send a dude next day to fix it at home. No problems since.
 
Marty Chinn said:
Would a Titan even fit inside?
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No.

My 670 FTW is a really tight fit. Required removing the intake fan guard to get it in.

EDIT: I'm wrong. Titan is actually slightly shorter so yes, should fit.

Obviously the Titan draws too much power though so its a no go regardless. That's said, the 670 FTW draws about 170w and the Titan draws around 220w. The 7xx cards should be magical - Titan beating performance and a much lower power envelope in an X51? Yus plz!

For those worried about power draw, I've had my 670 in there since September or so with zero problems. Is 330w a bottleneck? Sure, 550w would be better, but since power draw decreases each generation, its probably not really going to be a problem in the long run.

For those upgrading from the 660 (and I would) - I can wholeheartedly reccomend the EVGA 670 FTW Edition.
 
Majik said:
Obviously the Titan draws too much power though so its a no go regardless. That's said, the 670 FTW draws about 170w and the Titan draws around 220w. The 7xx cards should be magical - Titan beating performance and a much lower power envelope in an X51? Yus plz!
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All conjecture. The 780 may very well be a cut down Titan versus an upgrade.

The Titan was created partially with SFF PCs in mind (like this X51) - that's why it's crazy to me Dell hasn't started offering them as an upgrade (with a PSU upgrade, of course).

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6763/highend-meets-small-form-factor-geforce-titan-in-falcon-northwests-tiki
 
sk3tch said:
All conjecture. The 780 may very well be a cut down Titan versus an upgrade.

The Titan was created partially with SFF PCs in mind (like this X51) - that's why it's crazy to me Dell hasn't started offering them as an upgrade (with a PSU upgrade, of course).

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6763/highend-meets-small-form-factor-geforce-titan-in-falcon-northwests-tiki
Click to expand...
The X51 simply doesn't have the thermal performance to handle a higher wattage system. I've looked into this in the past, and there were a number of Q&A's on the Dell forums where the Dell folks were saying to not even think about upgrading the PSU due to the system not being able to cool. In fact, the reason why they have the PSU externally is because the system could not handle the extra heat from the PSU being internal.

They'd have to do a little bit of a redesign in order to make it happen.

Beyond that though, with the Tiki you at least get a CPU that can be OC'd. Being stuck in the 3.X GHz range with a Titan seems sad.
 
This sounds amazing... I'm seriously considering this over the PS4. I really just want a PS4 for multiplats and the convenience of a console. I used to game on PC and really miss using mods.

How well does this replace a console? Can you do couch co-op in a game like Trine? Can you play most games with a 360 controller? Thanks!
 
So, unless I am absolutely blind, I could have sworn before I ordered my X51, it said the video card was a GTX 660, however, upon looking at the machine, it says it's actually a GT 640?

I'm going to have to have my brother check his confirmation email from dell outlet tomorrow(It was a gift from him, otherwise I'd be getting to the bottom of it right now).

If I'm actually not crazy, and it WAS suppose to be the GTX 660, what are the chances of this getting fixed? Should I just upgraded my video card and not worry about it? If so, what should I switch it out with?
 
I see an i7 gt640 for $550. Good deal? And I plan on gaming in 720p would this be powerful enough for 60fps on the latest games?

edit: looking at reviews it looks like that's a negative.
 
I just bought a dell xps 8600 with the i7 and gt640. Basically the same specs as the current x51 but for the same price it came with a 21" monitor (else I'd have gotten the x51).

I can tell you that the gt640 can't handle 60fps on the latest games. It barely makes 30fps on tomb raider on high settings. I'm switching the gt640 out for a 7950 first chance I get. Hopefully the 460w psu will be enough to handle it.
 
sk3tch said:
All conjecture. The 780 may very well be a cut down Titan versus an upgrade.

The Titan was created partially with SFF PCs in mind (like this X51) - that's why it's crazy to me Dell hasn't started offering them as an upgrade (with a PSU upgrade, of course).

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6763/highend-meets-small-form-factor-geforce-titan-in-falcon-northwests-tiki
Click to expand...

Cant hacker/Ben Heck types cobble together a DIY PSU upgrade for this thing? Seems odd they werent on it months ago actually.
 
So should I pick one of these up, get a Revolt or wait? My laptop shit the bed but I have an iPad in the mean time if the prices should drop significantly soon.
 
After both my 360 and PS3 dying the death over the last few months, I've been contemplating just going to one of these instead.

In the UK, Dell appears to have a 72 hour deal on these that ends tomorrow. Eyeballing the middle range one for £764. Would that be the one to get from a price/performance viewpoint?

Intel® Core™ i5-3330 (6M Cache, up to 3.2GHz)
8GB5 Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
1TB Serial ATA (7,200 rpm)
1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660

Is the top end one really the only one capable of BF3 at 50FPS+ at 1080P? Or is that just some marketing to deep pockets?
 
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