Alienware X51

vince1 · 18 Jan 2012 at 17:04

Alienware have just released a small form factor system, not relevant to most of us on here but one interesting thing is the use of a 240W external PSU as standard and an optional 330W. Seeing as the highest pico available is 160W could we see higher powered ones in the future?

http://www.dell.com/uk/p/alienware-x51/fs

gropingmantis · 18 Jan 2012 at 17:30

Like the 360 PSU? No thanks that thing is massive I would rather use a TFX or SFX PSU over that hunk of metal and plastic outside my case.

The only good thing that will come of this is that hopefully it will show people that ITX is a valid gaming form factor. Other than that pfffft Alienware typical over priced nonsense.

despotofmidnor · 20 Jan 2012 at 18:53

What would people's views be on this?
Im needing to shrink down, and this would be a perfect size. Is there anything commercialy available this size? Im thinking about the i7 (top model), what would that cost in parts to anyone?

gropingmantis · 20 Jan 2012 at 21:16

Buying as parts would be much cheaper. For the same price you could get a better GPU which is important for gaming.

edit: get this muuuuuuch better although really you want the 450 version of the sg06 which would not be too much mroe expensive but OcUK do not stock it.

oweneades · 20 Jan 2012 at 23:39

gropingmantis said:
Buying as parts would be much cheaper. For the same price you could get a better GPU which is important for gaming.

edit: get this muuuuuuch better although really you want the 450 version of the sg06 which would not be too much mroe expensive but OcUK do not stock it.

Where are the rest of the components/software required to bring it in line with the X51?

I agree that you can probably do it cheaper but you are missing at the very least a HD (1TB ~ £100) and Windows (~£70).

gropingmantis · 21 Jan 2012 at 09:30

oweneades said:
Where are the rest of the components/software required to bring it in line with the X51?

I agree that you can probably do it cheaper but you are missing at the very least a HD (1TB ~ £100) and Windows (~£70).

Ok ok here with an HDD, ODD, Win7 and K+M.

Still cheaper but has a much better spec and easier to upgrade. Oh and when I say much better: GTX555 vs GTX560Ti 448 is no competition.

It looks pricey because I haven't gone for bargain basement parts unlike Alienware. If I were to spec a similar system (which I wouldn't recommend as a "gaming" PC due to the i7 which is a waste of money as you have to turn the hyperthreading off to get better in game performance) with cheapo RAM and a **** PSU and even worse K+M then I could bring the price down but lest be honest this is a better build for less even if you substitute in the SG05-450 which is available from competitors for only £10 more.

This is what you are getting from Alienware (do not add £10 for the better case+PSU as the alienware only has a 240 or 330W PSU) and the GPU is still better as the GTX 555 sits between the 550ti and the 560 so I went for the better 560:

Have I made my point yet?

gropingmantis · 22 Jan 2012 at 09:50

Other viable alternatives:

CPU: i5-2500
Mobo: Asus P8H61-I
RAM: 8GB Corsair XMS3
GPU: MSI GTX 560 Ti OC
HDD: 1TB Samsung F3
ODD: Samsung DVD+RW
Case+PSU: Silverstone SG05-450
+ Win7 64bit
Total cost £720

CPU: i3-2120
Mobo: Asus P8H61-I
RAM: 4GB Corsair XMS3
GPU: MSI GTX 560
HDD: 1TB Samsung F3
ODD: Samsung DVD+RW
Case+PSU: Silverstone SG05-450
+ Win7 64bit
Total cost £610

Both of these are very capable gaming builds for much less than equivalent X51s.

abarth_1200 · 22 Jan 2012 at 10:58

Unless your parents are rich you aint getting an alienware, thats just the way I see it

saitrix · 22 Jan 2012 at 10:59

gropingmantis said:
Like the 360 PSU? No thanks that thing is massive I would rather use a TFX or SFX PSU over that hunk of metal and plastic outside my case.

The only good thing that will come of this is that hopefully it will show people that ITX is a valid gaming form factor. Other than that pfffft Alienware typical over priced nonsense.

So you would rather have the heat the psu produces inside the case and require active cooling? I know I'd rather have the psu outside of the case and it be passively cooled, plus allowing more room for a heatsink inside the case. 330W would be plenty for a good single card gaming pc.

gropingmantis · 22 Jan 2012 at 12:01

saitrix said:
So you would rather have the heat the psu produces inside the case and require active cooling? I know I'd rather have the psu outside of the case and it be passively cooled, plus allowing more room for a heatsink inside the case. 330W would be plenty for a good single card gaming pc.

Whats to say it is passively cooled? Every external PSU I have seen at that power output has had an 80mm fan on it. Even then why not just get a fanless PSU if the sound really bothers you that much? PSUs at that power draw barely create that much heat anyway and, unless you somehow turn the fan around on the PSU like an imbecile, the warm air is vented out of the case and actually contributes to the overall cooling by drawing warm air out with it. Also I can guarantee that the X51 wont have a good heatsink and will be noisy as ****. Standard cost cutting. At best it will have the stock Intel cooler.

TheVoice · 22 Jan 2012 at 12:39

gropingmantis said:
Also I can guarantee that the X51 wont have a good heatsink and will be noisy as ****. Standard cost cutting. At best it will have the stock Intel cooler.

Based on what? In my experience, pre-built systems are usually very quiet, especially Dell ones.

gropingmantis · 22 Jan 2012 at 12:47

TheVoice said:
Based on what? In my experience, pre-built systems are usually very quiet, especially Dell ones.

Based on experience of other prebuilt SFF builds. Unless they are low power HTPCs they have some of the worst heatsinks I have ever seen.

despotofmidnor · 22 Jan 2012 at 14:38

abarth_1200 said:
Unless your parents are rich you aint getting an alienware, thats just the way I see it

Or have a job and no space in a tiny ass flat lol.
As a system, and looking at how games seam to have hit a stand still in terms of advancement, cost aside, is this a good system? How long do you think it will run games on full at 60fps before needing an upgrade?

gropingmantis · 22 Jan 2012 at 15:21

despotofmidnor said:
Or have a job and no space in a tiny ass flat lol.
As a system, and looking at how games seam to have hit a stand still in terms of advancement, cost aside, is this a good system? How long do you think it will run games on full at 60fps before needing an upgrade?

Not long. See above. It is not cheap or good. Build one yourself better for less in a nice small size. The GPU in the top X51 is an OEM only GTX555 which sits in between the GTX550ti and the GTX560. The GT545 in the lowest X51 is really underpowered especially if you are at 1080 res. For the same money you can build a rig that will handle anything for a couple of years at 1080 medium to high settings.

Edward78 · 22 Jan 2012 at 15:50

allowing more room

I am in agreement with the room issue on PSUs being outside, where do you find external PSUs though? There are laptop bricks, but ones with actual power would be great.

despotofmidnor · 22 Jan 2012 at 17:29

At the moment my current system is:
AMD phenom II x4 810, 2.60GHz,
6GB ram
GTX 560

What would performance be like comparably between the two?

gropingmantis · 22 Jan 2012 at 17:53

despotofmidnor said:
At the moment my current system is:
AMD phenom II x4 810, 2.60GHz,
6GB ram
GTX 560

What would performance be like comparably between the two?

Worse

Your GPU is already better than the best GPU on offer, your CPU is more than enough and if you can OC it will be viable for a few years yet. and 6GB is more than enough and I am sure it will be for quite some time as I can't see next gen consoles having more than 4GB if that.

marc1024 · 22 Jan 2012 at 19:42

I actually like the look of the case....thats about it. I would much rather build my own for less.

despotofmidnor · 22 Jan 2012 at 19:56

Would my gpu fit into the case or do you think they have specific scaled down cards?

gropingmantis · 22 Jan 2012 at 20:08

despotofmidnor said:
Would my gpu fit into the case or do you think they have specific scaled down cards?

My guess is its either a low profile OEM model or on a riser. It is impossible to know without seeing a picture of the internals or at least the back panel but you can be sure they wont have made it simple. Seriously though are you willing to spend £200 on some cheap plastic and a light up alien button?