"New" Alienware X51

[taylor1950]

Just prior to the 4th Gen of Intel, Alienware X51 was available with an NVidia GTX 660 card. I was considering buying it, then learned that the PSU was only 330W (external), less than recommended for this card. I asked more questions and learned that the card was "tweaked" to fit in the case & allow the lower PSU. Another example was the HDMI was only a mini, instead of a full, which the "real" NVidia card has.

Over the past 2 days (in Canada), Dell has started advertising the "New Alienware X51." Options include the NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660 with 1.5GB GDDR5, or for more extra $, NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 670 with 2.0GB GDDR5. [Both of these come with 4th Generation Intel® Core™ Intel® Core™ i7-4770 (8MB Cache, up to 3.9GHz w/ Turbo Boost Technology) ].

I don't have the time or energy to spend chasing after CSR's & Tech Support again to get the full picture on these GPU's. Some concerns that I have down-the-road are: 1) Could I pull one of the "tweaked" cards and upgrade it? 2) How do the cards respond to drivers that come available? 3) If I do decide to upgrade the video card later, what happens with the external PSU? etc. etc.

The biggest upgrade one can now make on "the new Alienware" takes it into the same price range as the Aurora! So, I'd like to make an informed decision. Does anyone know where I can get this info other than the obvious (or does anyone with any experience/insight about this?) Many thanks. (Sorry for the length - I'm new at this!)

 

[nurturedhate]

Anandtech did a review of the X51 from Feb 2012 that goes over most things. http://www.anandtech.com/show/5543/alienware-x51-the-xbox-with-teeth

As per your questions
1. It appears that you can upgrade the card though you would be limited by size constraints and the power supply.

2. I can't find any info on what driver ships with it from factory. I would assume a relatively recent WHQL cert. driver. The Anandtech review does mention Optimus which is nvidia software that is used primarily on laptops. It is used to switch between integrated graphics and the graphics card. I've heard it works rather well.

3. For the most part you would be limited in your upgrade choices by the external psu. I did not see an option to upgrade it past the 330 watt option.

 

[taylor1950]

Thanks for the tip-off re: the great Anandtech review of the X51 - awesome info re: listing components. However, the "new" Alienware X51 is very different from the product Anandtech reviewed over a year ago. The GPU then was a GeForce GTX 555; now, it's either a GeForce GTX 660 or GTX 670. There are HUGE differences between those cards; their requirements; what they offer, etc. To me, the "cut-off" card is the 650 Ti - it has only a mini HDMI, only requires 400 PSU, etc. ALL of the later cards have full HDMI display connectors, require 450 PSU/500W PSU, etc.

Product Specialists's Jeff Cubiloos' speaks about "The New X51" via video on the Cdn site: http://www.dell.com/ca/p/alienware-x51-r2/pd?~ck=anav. He actually addresses SOME of my questions, e.g., "When it comes to upgrading a graphics card on X51, it's literally minutes." But with that bold statement, it's not clear if he's talking about his earlier reference to the GTX 670 card (or the GTX 660 which is also offered & which I'd been told had been "tweaked"), & regardless, he doesn't state whether the PSU could also be upgradeable along with the "upgradeable graphics card" - as you alluded to in your answer # 1. The normal requirement for a "normal" GTX 670 card is 500W, but I can't find anything on Dell's site that addresses this.

It would be SO nice if Dell could just offer clear, detailed Spec Sheets for each of their product variations, like almost every other manufacturer does (& I'm not referring to their VERY short list of features). As it is, I am faced with either spending hours (once again) trying to track this info thru Dell's web sites and Tech Product Advisors OR just take a leap-of-faith. Thanks very much for trying to short-cut that process, & the review was very helpful.

 

[jcubes]

Thanks for the tip-off re: the great Anandtech review of the X51 - awesome info re: listing components. However, the "new" Alienware X51 is very different from the product Anandtech reviewed over a year ago. The GPU then was a GeForce GTX 555; now, it's either a GeForce GTX 660 or GTX 670. There are HUGE differences between those cards; their requirements; what they offer, etc. To me, the "cut-off" card is the 650 Ti - it has only a mini HDMI, only requires 400 PSU, etc. ALL of the later cards have full HDMI display connectors, require 450 PSU/500W PSU, etc.

Product Specialists's Jeff Cubiloos' speaks about "The New X51" via video on the Cdn site: http://www.dell.com/ca/p/alienware-x51-r2/pd?~ck=anav. He actually addresses SOME of my questions, e.g., "When it comes to upgrading a graphics card on X51, it's literally minutes." But with that bold statement, it's not clear if he's talking about his earlier reference to the GTX 670 card (or the GTX 660 which is also offered & which I'd been told had been "tweaked"), & regardless, he doesn't state whether the PSU could also be upgradeable along with the "upgradeable graphics card" - as you alluded to in your answer # 1. The normal requirement for a "normal" GTX 670 card is 500W, but I can't find anything on Dell's site that addresses this.

It would be SO nice if Dell could just offer clear, detailed Spec Sheets for each of their product variations, like almost every other manufacturer does (& I'm not referring to their VERY short list of features). As it is, I am faced with either spending hours (once again) trying to track this info thru Dell's web sites and Tech Product Advisors OR just take a leap-of-faith. Thanks very much for trying to short-cut that process, & the review was very helpful.

Hi Folks, this is Jeff from the video. Just noticed your thread here. Here is more clarification.

Our GTX660 and GTX670 are not "tweaked" cards. They are based on the Nvidia reference design and they both have "full size" HDMI ports. They pull air from inside the chassis and eject it out the back of the case.

The literally minutes statement, we've done it in around 3 minutes, applies to all our graphics cards GTX645,660,670. There are 3 screws involved in the process one of which is to open the side panel.

Those "normal" power requirements you mention make certain assumptions that a full size tower will have more power hungry components inside than a SFF unit like X51. All our cards have been extensively tested with the 330W psu and have no performance issues so rest assured the PSU is plenty for those cards.

Hope that helps...

 

[ElFenix]

Thanks for the tip-off re: the great Anandtech review of the X51 - awesome info re: listing components. However, the "new" Alienware X51 is very different from the product Anandtech reviewed over a year ago. The GPU then was a GeForce GTX 555; now, it's either a GeForce GTX 660 or GTX 670. There are HUGE differences between those cards; their requirements; what they offer, etc. To me, the "cut-off" card is the 650 Ti - it has only a mini HDMI, only requires 400 PSU, etc. ALL of the later cards have full HDMI display connectors, require 450 PSU/500W PSU, etc.

Product Specialists's Jeff Cubiloos' speaks about "The New X51" via video on the Cdn site: http://www.dell.com/ca/p/alienware-x51-r2/pd?~ck=anav. He actually addresses SOME of my questions, e.g., "When it comes to upgrading a graphics card on X51, it's literally minutes." But with that bold statement, it's not clear if he's talking about his earlier reference to the GTX 670 card (or the GTX 660 which is also offered & which I'd been told had been "tweaked"), & regardless, he doesn't state whether the PSU could also be upgradeable along with the "upgradeable graphics card" - as you alluded to in your answer # 1. The normal requirement for a "normal" GTX 670 card is 500W, but I can't find anything on Dell's site that addresses this.

It would be SO nice if Dell could just offer clear, detailed Spec Sheets for each of their product variations, like almost every other manufacturer does (& I'm not referring to their VERY short list of features). As it is, I am faced with either spending hours (once again) trying to track this info thru Dell's web sites and Tech Product Advisors OR just take a leap-of-faith. Thanks very much for trying to short-cut that process, & the review was very helpful.

the nice thing about power requirements is that review sites like anandtech post power consumption tests in their reviews. so, you can see what a real computer running real programs (and even power viruses) pull from the wall.

here's the current chart:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU13/598

keep in mind, that's what the supply draws at the wall, while supplies are rated by their output (e.g. an 850 watt power supply might draw 1000 watts from the wall when putting out 850 watts).

further, that is with an overclocked 6 core SB-E processor.

 

[jcubes]

the nice thing about power requirements is that review sites like anandtech post power consumption tests in their reviews. so, you can see what a real computer running real programs (and even power viruses) pull from the wall.

here's the current chart:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU13/598

keep in mind, that's what the supply draws at the wall, while supplies are rated by their output (e.g. an 850 watt power supply might draw 1000 watts from the wall when putting out 850 watts).

further, that is with an overclocked 6 core SB-E processor.

And that 6 core under FULL load can pull about 130W or more if overclocked. granted during gameplay rarely will you pull full load from both a CPU and GPU simultaneously. So case in point 330W is sufficient for GTX670.

 

[taylor1950]

I can't tell you how pumped I was to see your response to my comments. You almost nailed the two main concerns I had. Firstly, I was definitely told by an individual in your upper tier tech support that the HDMI was a mini Display Support, not a full one, on the GTX 660 (although this was prior to the "new Alienware X51" launch). Then a Product Specialist later wrote that the HDMI Display Support was 1.4a. He also sent me some other specs (which I had been trying very hard to get) but they were missing some information from the list which NVidea prints with its GeForce GTX 660 OEM card - which seems closest to what Dell actually uses.
If you, or someone else at Dell, can simply tell me that the specs of the 660 match all the specs of the NVidia GeForce 660 OEM, that would totally eliminate my first area of concern...
And you seem to implicitly address my 2nd concern, i.e., would it be accurate to assume from what you wrote that if I wanted to later upgrade the GTX 660 card to a 670 that the external 330 PSU would still be adequate? (Since I can find no other reference to this, I am assuming that the 670 card also comes with a 330W external power supply?)
I'm still new to the threads/forums, so I hope I've addressed everything you mentioned. If I can just get those couple of points confirmed, I can FINALLY buy my Alienware! Many thanks for "stepping up to the plate."

 

[Eureka]

I haven't watched the video yet, but a 670 has a TDP of 170W, and draws around 150W in power. As long as it's a good power supply, it should handle a 670 with an i7.

 

[jcubes]

I can't tell you how pumped I was to see your response to my comments. You almost nailed the two main concerns I had. Firstly, I was definitely told by an individual in your upper tier tech support that the HDMI was a mini Display Support, not a full one, on the GTX 660 (although this was prior to the "new Alienware X51" launch). Then a Product Specialist later wrote that the HDMI Display Support was 1.4a. He also sent me some other specs (which I had been trying very hard to get) but they were missing some information from the list which NVidea prints with its GeForce GTX 660 OEM card - which seems closest to what Dell actually uses.
If you, or someone else at Dell, can simply tell me that the specs of the 660 match all the specs of the NVidia GeForce 660 OEM, that would totally eliminate my first area of concern...
And you seem to implicitly address my 2nd concern, i.e., would it be accurate to assume from what you wrote that if I wanted to later upgrade the GTX 660 card to a 670 that the external 330 PSU would still be adequate? (Since I can find no other reference to this, I am assuming that the 670 card also comes with a 330W external power supply?)
I'm still new to the threads/forums, so I hope I've addressed everything you mentioned. If I can just get those couple of points confirmed, I can FINALLY buy my Alienware! Many thanks for "stepping up to the plate."

Glad to help clear things up.

Yes, the 330W is more than sufficient to power either the GTX660 or GTX670 that comes with the X51. The GTX670 equipped X51 comes with the 330W power supply.

Note: Some 3rd party cards are overclocked and could have higher power draw (i.e. FTW cards and other Overclocked variants) so "caveat emptor" on some aftermarket cards that deviate from the Nvidia spec.

 

[taylor1950]

Glad to help clear things up.

Yes, the 330W is more than sufficient to power either the GTX660 or GTX670 that comes with the X51. The GTX670 equipped X51 comes with the 330W power supply.

Note: Some 3rd party cards are overclocked and could have higher power draw (i.e. FTW cards and other Overclocked variants) so "caveat emptor" on some aftermarket cards that deviate from the Nvidia spec.

Many thanks to everyone who responded to my questions about the Alienware X51's GTX 660/670 GPUs as well as their PSUs. In particular, Jeff from Dell went above and beyond the call of duty by addressing further questions and concerns that I had. The happy ending? I ordered my 4th Gen Intel i7-4770 w/ 16 MB RAM, 2TB hard drive, and NVidia GeForce GTX 670 graphics card w/ 2.0 GB GDDR5, three days ago! I can't wait to start playing with this!

 

[moonbogg]

Let us help you build a better rig for similar cost, maybe less. There, I said it.

EDIT: Nevermind. Trigger has been pulled.

 

[Dankk]

When you get the machine, please keep us updated, and let us know how it is.

I personally bought an X51 last fall and it was a piece of junk. I'm curious to see if your opinion differs.

 

[taylor1950]

Let us help you build a better rig for similar cost, maybe less. There, I said it.

EDIT: Nevermind. Trigger has been pulled.

No harm in your suggestion - I'm sure many others thought the same. But trust me...I have spent a year going every conceivable route to get what I wanted in my price range - including having a rig built for me, or "building" what I wanted by making selections on etailer websites, etc. etc. I am fully aware that I could have got a bigger ("better") unit, allowing me more upgrade options down-the-road, etc. etc., for perhaps the same price (although when I would go thru each quote line-item by line-item, I would invariably toss out the inferior components which had allowed what had appeared to be a lower overall price).

AND... individual user needs/requirements are always important. So, for me: (1) Part of this equation is that I am currently living in rural BC, & will likely be relocating to the Lower Mainland again (or some other spot) in the next 3 to 8 months. Hence, a flexible warranty became an important consideration for me. The all-around warranty package for Dell's Alienware cannot be matched in my experience, although there are different levels at different costs (& I don't mean just hardware. Phone support for any other conceivable glitch/problem is also available as is on-site repair if absolutely necessary. And I do know going into this that the quality of service may not be optimal, but it is better than zero.) Dell also has a huge selection of Alienware resources on both its US and Cdn sites.

(2) The odds of me needing to upgrade down-the-road are slim for a variety of reasons. (3) My gaming preferences are definitely not FPS-oriented, so the overwhelming intricacies around the graphics cards, at a certain point, became overkill (pardon the pun) and counter-productive. I simply needed to be assured of the basic qualities that I expected from my choice of video card (& at that point, it was the EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost). So, I was easily able to adjust to the GTX 670 2 Mg card provided with this system! (4) Gut-level, I confess to still hesitating as this product was SO different from my business PCs. But I'd keep going back to the reviews which invariably gave high marks to the system (although granted, lower marks for the company). (5) As I was sitting at my (old) computer at 12:35 AM a few days ago, for the umpteenth time, I finally found myself executing a few keystrokes in such a simple, uncomplicated fashion (contrary to the hours and hours of time I'd spent with multiple employees at multiple sites who, with the occasional exception, knew virtually nothing about what they were selling), thereby delivering me (for free) a system of roughly double the capacity & specs, with added "fringe" benefits, for virtually the same price that I started out with a year ago.
So, while I very much understand and appreciate your observation, I hope you can understand some of the "curve balls" in this scenario. And, of course, I hope I am as excited 6 months down-the-road as I am now!

 

[taylor1950]

When you get the machine, please keep us updated, and let us know how it is.

I personally bought an X51 last fall and it was a piece of junk. I'm curious to see if your opinion differs.

I just caught your (very timely!) entry after I'd finished my lengthy response to moonbog. My very last line in that response underscores your point exactly: "...I hope I am as excited 6 months down-the-road as I am now!" The only comment I can make about your negative experience is that you bought a system from Dell in the U.S. For what it's worth, I have read user reviews by individuals who have had very different experiences with both the product and the service in the U.S. vs. Canada. Which is not to say that every user review in Canada was glowing, but on balance, they seemed more positive than negative. And critics' reviews were also overwhelmingly positive. Also, the system I bought (I think - it hasn't been delivered yet) is an "Alienware X51 R2 Standard Base." (If you're interested, the Owners Manual for same can be found at www.dell.com/support/ & then persevere from there!)
I am really sorry that you got a "piece of junk." In Canada, there is a one-year minimum warranty that automatically comes with every Alienware purchase (&, if you read the fine print, I believe it covers lemons as well). If it's the same in the U.S., perhaps it's not too late to rattle some cages....In any event, I will definitely be back three months from now to let everyone know how this turns out! Thanks for your input.

 

[Goose82]

Hi,

Came across the thread and have a nice and easy solution to fix any power issues that you may have with the X51.
You require a second power brick, a second DC Jack (cable included), and if you want to make your own adapter cable, you need to create a funnel cable to join the two power supply cables together inside the case. If you are like me though, you just strip and solder and heatshrink the second cable to the first.
One hole drilled into the case at the back for the new DC input (the second input fits directly to the side of the original without impeding on any of the other components). to mount the DC Jack itself will require two holes drilled to the chassis of the case and a couple of washers to keep the height even to the original DC Jack (I like things neat and tidy).
Once completed you now have up to 660w running into an X51 allowing you to put any graphics card you see fit to insert into it dependant on size.

 

[CountDown_0]

In any event, I will definitely be back three months from now to let everyone know how this turns out! Thanks for your input.

Hi Taylor, I found this thread while googling for info about the X51. I would be interested in hearing something about your experience with it. In particular, I would like to know if you have some overheating problems with the GTX670. The reason that I am asking this is that I've just checked Dell's site and now the top level X51 features a Radeon R9 270, whereas the GTX670 is gone. Of course, the R9 didn't exist when the X51 R2 was launched, but I'm really wondering why they changed the video card without waiting for the X51 R3 - and especially, why they changed it with a slower card. I suspect they have discovered the GTX 670 is simply too hot for this small case, and they have switched to a cooler model. To avoid confusion: I have no data to back this up. I just suspect it.

Anyway, this aside, I would like to hear something from you, in case you are still checking this thread. Thanks!

 

[Johnmcl7]

The top level X51 comes with an AMD R9 270 but if you check the options you can choose an R9 270x and an Nvidia 760Ti although I didn't think they sold a 670, only the 660Ti as they mention a few times that they don't support the 670. From reading around people seemed to be running the 670 ok in the X51 R2's, it seemed to be the upper limit.

I've just bought an X51 R2 as it was a reasonably cheap scratch and dent from Dell which I fancied as a console like device to use it under the TV, the entire system was less than the Asrock M8 barebones chassis. It's the i3 version but it's come with the 330W PSU and the dual six pin connectors so it's ready for a proper graphics card but it seems to be difficult to work out what exactly is the upper limit.

Originally I was going to play it safe and go with an R9 270x since that's what Dell offer but none of the cards seem to use the reference blower design and there's only one I can find with a blower type cooler (one of the HIS cards) but it's too long to fit in the X51's PCI-E cage.

I've now started looking at Nvidia GTX 760's as there's an MSI GTX 760 available with the Nvidia reference cooler which is a blower design and it's only slightly more than expensive than an R9 270x (at the moment in the UK) so I'm thinking of just going for it unless there's a good reason not to?

The R9 280x and the GTX 770 look like they will be too much for the X51 R2 even allowing for it running a less power hungry processor than AT were using for their power consumption tests.

John