Hardware & Technical Graphic Card Help.....

Stubbsy

S
Hi All...

After some advise...!! please... :)

I've got an Alienware X51 R1... Great compact little PC... Although it has very few upgrade options especially around the graphics card... The processor is fine i7 Quad-Core 3.4 GHz... 8GB RAM.. Hard-drive Samsung SSD 840 Pro... Also, I have the 330Watt power supply, after doing some research to confirm.. Oh running windows 8.1..

I really need some advice on the Graphics card, the current one is an Nvidia GeForce GTX 555, which is an issues since I'm only getting a max of 30-33fps..

I really would like to get to the 60fps, but not sure on the type of card I should be getting without doing any serious modifications to power or cooling..

I've seen a few tech forums mention the GTX 660 ti... I'm also aware that I'm restricted on power consumption I believe the maximum card Wattage I could use is around 150W...

Has anyone out there done any changes to there X51 or know of a good card that I could use?

Any assistance is really appreciated....

Thanks in advance.....
 

Simon Briscoe

S
Sounds like you have a similar problem (only less acutely) to mine a few months ago. My solution might not be one you want to take but here it is for your perusal anyhow. Hope it helps.

I have a mini ATX motherboard which was in a tiny case with very little room for a decent size graphics card (prior to Elite I was just using the graphics processor ont he motherboard as it was only used for office type work), so I got what I could fit in (a 1GB pee wee job) and it was unusable with FPS too slow to even enable controlling the ship properly (this was back in the day with the pre-release combat training scenario's before Premium Beta).

At that point I decided to stop mucking about and got the cooler master case (120 I think from memory) which allows for a full size graphics card and then went and got a proper power supply (Seasonic 650W - I had a 300W PSU beforehand) and an R9 280X. Safe to say it's solved the problem. And then some. My biggest gain now when the graphic load drops with code optimisation (which it will) will be that the fan will run a bit less often.
 

Stubbsy

S
Thanks... I joined just as Alpha went to multi-player... I do have every graphic option set has high and the game plays really well but as I said not great fps....

I've toyed with a new box and I'd probably go for a new machine but I really think there is an options out there...

Many thanks for your comments....

Hope you are having fun!!
 

Darth Sidious

Darth Sidious
Alright get rid of that psu.
You should know a good high end psu runs cheaper on the long run
It should use only 50% of your systems need at full capacity.
I suggest a corsair ax860i or something similar. Its fan won't turn on because it will run cold.
This will probably last for the next two system builds.
Then pc housing should always be big because the bigger the cooler blocks you can use the cooler your system is and the more punishment it can take. Ive got scyte muggen rev B on top of my cpu
Power consumption: usually amd consumes more but is cheaper initially nividea is more reliable but comes with a price tag
.never buy the newest gpu look up some price graphics and check weather the price of the card your interested in is stabilised or still dropping . Make a choice of graphic cards of those who pricewise recently stabilised. You can consider those your high end cards.
Perhaps you are left with 4 cards now ... read the reviews and comparisments about those.
And be aware that within 2 years you are going to want a better system .one that is capable of a good vr experience

You dint post your mobo and its not clear what cpu you have
Nobody can advise specifically if your not exact about those...
 

Slopey

Volunteer Moderator
Slopey
Stubbsy said:
Alienware X51 R1... Great compact little PC...
Click to expand...

Overpriced, underpowered.

The 330W PSU is a complete waste of time. Have a look online and see what the maximum PSU you can fit in that case is - see if you can get up to around 750-800W.

And then, can you fit a full height graphics card in it? If not, your options are incredibly limited. If you can get a double height full length card in there, then you'll have a few more options, but with a case that cramped, it's going to run hellish hot on a decent card.

Only other viable alternative is to buy a new machine - but DO NOT buy Alienware, ever since Dell bought them out, they're not the high end rigs they used to be. The top spec X51 currently is a shadow of a normal machine you could get of the same money.
 
Last edited:

Trader Pat

Trader Pat
Slopey said:
Overpriced, underpowered.

The 330W PSU is a complete waste of time. Have a look online and see what the maximum PSU you can fit in that case is - see if you can get up to around 750-800W.

And then, can you fit a full height graphics card in it? If not, your options are incredibly limited. If you can get a double height full length card in there, then you'll have a few more options, but with a case that cramped, it's going to run hellish hot on a decent card.

Only other viable alternative is to buy a new machine - but DO NOT buy Alienware, ever since Dell bought them out, they're not the high end rigs they used to be. The top spec X51 currently is a shadow of a normal machine you could get of the same money.
Click to expand...


+1 on that.

Here in the US, a X51 will cost around $1250 plus shipping and taxes, and be a somewhat disappointing machine.
I built a new rig around a I5-4690K on Z97 mobo for $1100 all included in August, and it rocks: 60+fps with all settings at max on ED, AC4, Skyrim and such.
 

Stubbsy

S
Thanks for the advice guys... I'm 100% I'll not get an Alienware again, had a laptop which was pre Dell and thought it would give the X51 a try...

I'm defo building a new machine in the new year but for interim I'll replace the graphic card... I've chosen a PNY Geforce GTX 660 XLR8 NVIDIA Graphics Card (2GB, GDDR5, PCI-Ex16), which looks compatible and no power issues...

So until next year when I start planning a new system and look at top end spec's this hopefully will increase the performance slightly... If not a lot more than i currently have...
 

flexy123

F
Mind you, my PC is *very* old, it's still an old, overclocked Q6600 CPU with a GTX 660TI.

But I would be extremely afraid putting ANYTHING below a 800W PSU in there, the one I have right now is 850W. (I once blew a brand new 750W OCZ PSU doing some tests). How you can run off a 330W PSU I have no idea.
 

Stubbsy

S
Yeah... But its all i have at the moment so 330Watts is my limit until i build something new... I really didn't fancy putting more power as i read the board wouldn't take it without some serious modifications... and i don't really have the time...

Thanks
 
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