Viralistic
Member
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2013
- Messages
- 11
Hello All!
So to start, I am new to the Alienware Owners Forum, as well as a first time Alienware PC Owner! I have had my X51 R2 for about a week now, and everything is great! This is the first desktop I have owned since probably 2002. I have had various gaming laptops throughout the years, and realized that of all the gaming laptops I owned, I rarely if ever used them outside of my home. So I figured, why not just get a desktop? Now I know many would say just build your own its cheaper, but what really pushed me to go Alienware is Dell extended me a nice line of credit, and I received one year no interest with my purchase! Here is what I got!
Alienware X51 R2
Windows 7 Home Premium
i7 4770
16gb 1600mhz Ram
Nvidia GTX 760ti
2tb HDD (Replaced with Samsung 840 Pro 512gb SSD)
DW AC + Bluetooth WiFi Card
330w Power BRICK!
I can never leave anything alone, ever! I always like to tinker with my computers, make them unique, make them "better", etc. So here are some upgrade thoughts and questions I have:
Processor: The i7 4700 is plenty good for me. Wouldn't consider upgrading this. Maybe downgrade, get to that later.
Memory: 16gb is obviously the max, and the stock Samsung seems just fine to me. Upgrading to aftermarket would show no real world differences I am sure.
Graphics: This is where I am curious. Is my GTX 760ti enough for me? Sure, handles everything I play at max settings. Upgrading pointless? Probably. Do I want to do it anyways, just to say I did and see what I can squeeze out of this little monster? Yup!
HDD: So I did the whole molex power splitter/SSD attached to disk drive caddy ordeal. Then I removed the splitter, removed the 2tb BRICK altogether, and un-mounted the SATA combo connection that the original HDD was plugged into and routed it up to the SSD mounted to the disk drive caddy. (I did this because not only do I have no need for the HDD, but to give the GTX 760ti more room to breathe)
So what exactly I am looking to upgrade? Two things.
Cooling: There has to be a better heatsink to use in this thing. My 4770 is idling around 50c. This is after a re-paste with some AS5. (Yes I know how to properly paste a CPU) I am looking for something to take place of the stock cooler. Not looking to do some crazy modding. Modding a vent or two into the chassis I can handle. Cutting a huge whole in the side for a massive heatsink to stick out of or a radiator to mount to, not so much.
Graphics: I would really like to put a GTX 770 in this thing. Now I know two things for sure. First being it would preferably be a reference design. (Blower Fan Model) Second being power limitations. Now I have done some research. The 760ti max wattage is supposedly 170w according to Nvidia. The 770 is 230w.
So, is my X51 currently using all of the 330w coming from the power brick? Is it possible to shave off 60w somehow? I am sure I shaved off a few just by removing the HDD and using a SSD instead, but not many. One thing I looked into, is an i7 4770s processor. It uses 65w as opposed to the 84w of the 4770. Also, those people running a 680 with no problems (uses 195w?) shows there is some extra wiggle room.
Sorry for the wall of text. Just looking for some thoughts on all of this. Thank You!
EDIT
So looking into more information towards shaving off some wattage, I just discovered an intel i7 4770T. It is a 2.5ghz/3.7ghz with Boost processor as compared to the i7 4770 which is 3.4ghz/3.9ghz boost. However, this only uses 45w! Shaving off a whopping 39w! Just a thought.
So to start, I am new to the Alienware Owners Forum, as well as a first time Alienware PC Owner! I have had my X51 R2 for about a week now, and everything is great! This is the first desktop I have owned since probably 2002. I have had various gaming laptops throughout the years, and realized that of all the gaming laptops I owned, I rarely if ever used them outside of my home. So I figured, why not just get a desktop? Now I know many would say just build your own its cheaper, but what really pushed me to go Alienware is Dell extended me a nice line of credit, and I received one year no interest with my purchase! Here is what I got!
Alienware X51 R2
Windows 7 Home Premium
i7 4770
16gb 1600mhz Ram
Nvidia GTX 760ti
2tb HDD (Replaced with Samsung 840 Pro 512gb SSD)
DW AC + Bluetooth WiFi Card
330w Power BRICK!
I can never leave anything alone, ever! I always like to tinker with my computers, make them unique, make them "better", etc. So here are some upgrade thoughts and questions I have:
Processor: The i7 4700 is plenty good for me. Wouldn't consider upgrading this. Maybe downgrade, get to that later.
Memory: 16gb is obviously the max, and the stock Samsung seems just fine to me. Upgrading to aftermarket would show no real world differences I am sure.
Graphics: This is where I am curious. Is my GTX 760ti enough for me? Sure, handles everything I play at max settings. Upgrading pointless? Probably. Do I want to do it anyways, just to say I did and see what I can squeeze out of this little monster? Yup!
HDD: So I did the whole molex power splitter/SSD attached to disk drive caddy ordeal. Then I removed the splitter, removed the 2tb BRICK altogether, and un-mounted the SATA combo connection that the original HDD was plugged into and routed it up to the SSD mounted to the disk drive caddy. (I did this because not only do I have no need for the HDD, but to give the GTX 760ti more room to breathe)
So what exactly I am looking to upgrade? Two things.
Cooling: There has to be a better heatsink to use in this thing. My 4770 is idling around 50c. This is after a re-paste with some AS5. (Yes I know how to properly paste a CPU) I am looking for something to take place of the stock cooler. Not looking to do some crazy modding. Modding a vent or two into the chassis I can handle. Cutting a huge whole in the side for a massive heatsink to stick out of or a radiator to mount to, not so much.
Graphics: I would really like to put a GTX 770 in this thing. Now I know two things for sure. First being it would preferably be a reference design. (Blower Fan Model) Second being power limitations. Now I have done some research. The 760ti max wattage is supposedly 170w according to Nvidia. The 770 is 230w.
So, is my X51 currently using all of the 330w coming from the power brick? Is it possible to shave off 60w somehow? I am sure I shaved off a few just by removing the HDD and using a SSD instead, but not many. One thing I looked into, is an i7 4770s processor. It uses 65w as opposed to the 84w of the 4770. Also, those people running a 680 with no problems (uses 195w?) shows there is some extra wiggle room.
Sorry for the wall of text. Just looking for some thoughts on all of this. Thank You!
EDIT
So looking into more information towards shaving off some wattage, I just discovered an intel i7 4770T. It is a 2.5ghz/3.7ghz with Boost processor as compared to the i7 4770 which is 3.4ghz/3.9ghz boost. However, this only uses 45w! Shaving off a whopping 39w! Just a thought.
Last edited: