Upgrading an Alienware x51

[RC_03]

Hey guys, I have had my Alienware, my parents bought for me over 3 years ago, and it has seen me through, but I think it is time to put it away. I am currently planning to upgrade it by salvaging the CPU, HDD and RAM, and put into the new system. I have about a 900$ budget and have a few parts in mind. I just wanted to know if this is feasible, and if they are any warnings I should know about.

 

CPU: Intel i7-4770

HDD: 1 Tb

RAM: 8gbs

 

Wont be able to respond for a little while will be back

[Uwillparish]

Hey guys, I have had my Alienware, my parents bought for me over 3 years ago, and it has seen me through, but I think it is time to put it away. I am currently planning to upgrade it by salvaging the CPU, HDD and RAM, and put into the new system. I have about a 900$ budget and have a few parts in mind. I just wanted to know if this is feasible, and if they are any warnings I should know about.

 

CPU: Intel i7-4770

HDD: 1 Tb

RAM: 8gbs

 

Wont be able to respond for a little while will be back

why a new system? you plan on watercooling? other than that i see no need to ditch  the rest of the system

[Inception9269]

Something like this maybe?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  (Purchased For $0.00)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($92.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($81.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Twin Frozr Video Card  ($499.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($83.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $863.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-29 15:09 EST-0500

 

Depending on what kind of ram you have (if it's one 8gb ram stick you could get another one for 16gb. if you have two 4gb you could get two more for 16gb).

 

Only things worth pointing out is i went with a relatively high psu so you can reuse it for a longer time and more worth the money. Also added a standard ssd

[RC_03]

why a new system? you plan on watercooling? other than that i see no need to ditch  the rest of the system

I plan on replacing the GPU which in turn means I have to replace several other components. Alienware only has a 330 watt PSU which is not enough to supply the 970 I am looking at, so that means new PSU and I'm not sure either I want to save the current motherboard (off brand mini-itx) or swap it for a new ATX one.

 

Here is what I am looking at for upgrades:

CPU: i7-4770 (Same)

GPU: MSI 970 4g

PSU: EVGA GQ 650w

HDD: 1tb (Same)

SSD: Kingston v300 240gb

Case: Depending on Mobo

Mobo: Undecided

 

 

Here is current build:

CPU: i7-4770 (Same)

GPU: GTX 645

PSU: External 330w

HDD: 1tb (Same)

SSD: N/A

Case: Alienware x51 case

Mobo: Off-brand mini-itx

[SeaPanda]

Hey guys, I have had my Alienware, my parents bought for me over 3 years ago, and it has seen me through, but I think it is time to put it away. I am currently planning to upgrade it by salvaging the CPU, HDD and RAM, and put into the new system. I have about a 900$ budget and have a few parts in mind. I just wanted to know if this is feasible, and if they are any warnings I should know about.

 

CPU: Intel i7-4770

HDD: 1 Tb

RAM: 8gbs

 

Wont be able to respond for a little while will be back

 

Something like this maybe?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  (Purchased For $0.00)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.98 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($92.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($81.49 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Twin Frozr Video Card  ($499.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($83.98 @ Newegg)

Total: $863.42

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-29 15:09 EST-0500

 

Depending on what kind of ram you have (if it's one 8gb ram stick you could get another one for 16gb. if you have two 4gb you could get two more for 16gb).

 

Only things worth pointing out is i went with a relatively high psu so you can reuse it for a longer time and more worth the money. Also added a standard ssd

Go with this build, add extra ram if you think you'll need it. Try selling the case on eBay or craigslist for more money to your add to your build.