Alienware x51 Strip out.

[SuicidelBunnyz]

Hey all.
I'm new here and was referred too this website by a friend as you guys seem to be the best. Basically I have an Alienware x51. I know now that this was a terrible idea at the time but I didn't want to spend a grand on parts only for me to do something stupid and mess the whole thing up. So now I've purchased an EVGA GTX 670 FTW for it. Only it seems to be causing me nothing but reboots. I've already been through everything with different sites and have come to the conclusion that I need a better PSU, despite the fact that Irishlad147 has had no issues with it. My question is I'm now looking at stripping out the internals and putting them all in a new case with a 600w PSU. However I think it's a miniture motherboard and everything inside the PC leads to one point due to the external brick, will I need a new motherboard or anything? Sorry if this seems really nooby but I'm pretty new at the building end of things.
Cheers and happy holidays

 

[clifford_cooley]

Is this the PC you purchased? - Alienware X51 Mini Gaming Desktop

There seems to be 4 different base models that are all configurable. Have you considered contacting Dell to see if there is upgrade options available?

Without knowing exactly which configuration you have, there is little we can suggest. It looks as if the Alienware X51 has a proprietary PSU. If thats the case then you may have no option but to contact Dell for a replacement.

 

[SuicidelBunnyz]

Is this the PC you purchased? - Alienware X51 Mini Gaming Desktop

There seems to be 4 different base models that are all configurable. Have you considered contacting Dell to see if there is upgrade options available?

Without knowing exactly which configuration you have, there is little we can suggest. It looks as if the Alienware X51 has a proprietary PSU. If thats the case then you may have no option but to contact Dell for a replacement.

I purchased the highest tier model back in June 2012 which came with a 330w proprietary PSU. I'm now looking to take the motherboard, processor, ram, hard drive, disk drive and graphics card out of the case and into a brand new case perhaps the Antec One mid case. i'm wondering if swapping everything out would be okay. Thanks for your reply.

 

[clifford_cooley]

Whats the model number printed on the motherboard?

This will give us clues as to whether the board is proprietary or not.

 

[TrainableMan]

Your video card specs require a 500W minimum PSU so it's not surprising you are having issues with a 330W PSU.

Since this is specially designed for a small case and I think you can expect screw holes to not line up and trouble getting a back plate to cover the ports exposed on the rear of the case. Some of the X51s I saw in searching had the video card specially mounted sideways in a separate housing rather than plugging directly into the mobo which could be an issue if you have to add that housing to your new case. And if you are going to buy a new mobo and case then you may have to buy new RAM that is compatible with the new mobo. And is the CPU permanently attached or is it a socket? Unless it's a socket then you can't transfer it to a new mobo so you need a new CPU too. Even if it is a socket-type CPU, after you buy all that other stuff, you may as well put this one back together, sell it, and just get a new CPU to finish off your new machine.

So at best I would say it is "iffy" but like Clifford said, without knowing exactly which X51 you have it is hard to be sure of anything.