[How To] Transfer Alienware X51 Series to New Case

Well, I just spent all day and night researching and actually doing this. A lot of the reasons why people will transfer the X51 into a new case is that it doesn't support GPUs outside of what's supported 90% of the time. The problem is the 330W PSU just isn't enough for newer GPUs and I have personally experienced shutdowns on a GTX 970 and 1070 for a total of 2 years now. I spent dozens of hours troubleshooting from buying a new power supply brick to drivers and hardware. It's just not enough power and as much as I absolutely loved my X51-R2 it was time say goodbye. I spent $400 on a new GPU and 5 seconds into Wildlands or The Witcher and it shuts down. It was a gamble with the 970 as it would only shut down with a select few games. I got frustrated and one night tore the computer apart and transferred it all over. I also used the correct blower style cards and they were reference GPUs as to make sure they weren't overclocked and consuming too much power.

Before I actually spend several hours writing the guide, would anyone be interested? There's currently no comprehensive guide online as I had to piece together info from dozens and dozens of forums and also use my own guess work. It's not an easy task but can be done on a $150 budget for people who still want to use their parts. Let me know what you guys think and I will provide support in this thread for as long as people want.

Part List:

Case: Raidmax Viper GX $70
Fans: Antec TriQuiet (x3) $7 ea.
Cables: Generic SATAIII cables (x3) $3 ea.
PSU: Corsair CX750M $80
Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver Paste Remover and Arctic Silver 5 Paste $20

Final Total: About $200

[UPDATE 4-21-18] I just wanted to add some info here for new people who are looking to do this. For one I don't have this tower or any original Alienware parts anymore as I've long upgraded past this, but I still provide support as I still love Alienware.

Second, this setup is such as pain as the motherboard was built around the chassis of the X51 and isn't a standard motherboard. For one, there's no IO shield as it's built into the chassis of the X51 case. I had to put clear tape over the IO ports and cut out the ones I use as to reduce dust intake. Second, there are only two fan ports on this board and one is blocked by the GPU. The GPU was designed to be in the X51 cage and not directly plugged into the board. The fan port is literally right next to the PCI-E 16x port which is not a normal spot. You have to use Molex cables and connect all but one fan into the PSU itself which can be a pain. You also can't use your optical drive as it's designed for a laptop. You will need to buy a 5.25" drive or just use an external USB one if you want three HDDs inside.

Third, the special power board in the X51 case allowed for everything to be crammed into one small space, but doesn't really work in another case, including another Micro ATX/ITX case. This case was custom built and wasn't meant to be transferred. There's also the issue of the Wifi antennas as they are designed like a laptop. Motherboards with wifi built in don't have these antenna cables normally and you have to hang them on a metal portion of the case to get a strong signal.

 

Hey, Im just into transfering my X51 r2 to a new case as i Want to upgrade to a new gtx 1080.

Can you pls get into details about the process? It wil be really appreciate.

 

What details do you need?

 

At the very least, I'd be interested in seeing a list of parts you needed to do it.

I have an x51 r2 that no longer fits my needs. I'm debating whether it's a better choice to swap it into a new case and upgrade the components one by one, or if i should just scrap it and make a new system. Right now the 16GB of RAM is my biggest bottleneck. I realize I'll need a new mobo to solve that. From my initial search, I can do a swap and RAM upgrade for around $400 https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/HsvGgL (need optical out for my sound setup), which will give me a small window to upgrade from in the future, basically just the GPU and a Core i7-4790K.

 

You shouldn't be bottlenecking with 16GB. I have 16GB and it's more than enough. You need to get rid of crapware and software that sits in the memory. For $200 or less you can swap everything. Don't waste money on an old mobo. I'm going to buy a new mobo, CPU, and RAM eventually, but everything runs great right now still. Spending money to keep an older CPU is silly. Just buy everything for a 7th gen Intel cpu. About $700 is what I'm looking at for all 3.

 

So I am gonna upgrade my Alienware X51 case because every time I play high end games it crashes like Witcher 3, Titanfall 2. First question: Will changing my case with a 550w PSU fix this problem? Second question: What are the parts I need to transfer a SSD into this case? Thank you

 

Is it crashing as in shutting down/rebooting? Or are you just getting an error? If it's an error that's a software problem most likely. What GPU do you have? That will determine what PSU you need. To get an SSD in the case you don't need any parts except a SATAIII cable. You obviously won't be able to keep the optical drive. You can plug in 3 SATAIII drives into the motherboard.


I also updated the part list in case anyone wants to know. It literally took almost nothing to transfer. I think the final bill was $200. If you want to be super cheap you can forgo the thermal paste and extra fans, but I don't recommend doing that. Also, think of this as slowly upgrading to a new computer. Once you're done with this mobo you can upgrade to a new one with a brand new CPU and RAM.

 

Crashing as in shutting down and rebooting. I heard this may be cause I have a GTX 1060 and the max power supply for the Alienware X51 is 330w. Here is what I was gonna order to upgrade it. https://gyazo.com/55f3fe422a0f55c591ca47747b2d9044 Just tell me what I need to remove. I already have a mini ITX case I can use so im not worried about that.

 

550W is enough, but you don't need the splitters on that list.The PSU already comes with the power cables needed. You need the motherboard, HDDs, heatsink and fan for the CPU, and that's about it from the old case. The SATA cables from the Alienware PC will not work with the new PC for some reason and they are too short anyways. If you plan on upgrading the GPU in the future I would get a bigger PSU. I recommend going with a 750W as adding HDDs and other components in the future will use more power.

 

Okay, thanks for being active on this page. Ill contact you in a week if I need any more information transferring the parts.

 

Could you please make the guide? I am very interested! I have a Gtx 970 in my X51 R2 and it has just started to constantly crash due to the power supply. I would really love to see your guide as i am pretty much a amateur at knowing what to buy or replace but you seem to know your stuff. Do i need a new motherboard? Is the power supply that you put compatible with the Alienware X51-R2 motherboard? Please respond soon!

 

Okay so it's been a couple of days since I transferred and so far everything works fine other the power sensor error when booting the PC which can be ignored. Thanks for being active on this page my man

 

Hey Man, thanks for sharing this.
I am trying to do the same thing, but have 2 issues here:
1. how did you connect front panel headers? My case headers are very tall and graphic card is blocking them. And I don't even know which is which..
2. does the wifi card still working?

THanks,
JS

 

Follow this guide for the front panel headers. They are color coded differently as Alienware has a custom power board.



For question number two, the wifi card does work. Take the antenna wires (with the small hooks attached) and wire them as close to the top of the case as you can, but they need to be touching the metal of the case. I also upgraded my Wifi card to a Killer N1202 before transferring the case (about a year before) and I get a better connection than I did with it in the old Alienware case.

 

Thanks man!

I got front panel headers working.

For wifi, I attached wifi antenna to the case. But wifi speed dropped almost half. But it's working.

I could put graphic card directly on x51's motherboard, I bought a pcie extender instead.

Still, thanks a lot!

 

Hi, so I just made an attempt at transferring my x51 to a new case. I've gotten a new gpu and power supply (gtx 1050 and corsair cx750m to be exact). My main issue is that nothing seems to be powering up. Can you help to see what might be causing the issue? I've checked all the cables and it seems like everything is connected to where it's supposed to be. I'll keep trying until I hear back from you. Thanks

 

IF you could make the guide that will be nice so here are what we might want in the guide:
1. The cables that might be needed to do this migration
2. How did you connect the front panel for your case.
3. How did you connect power to your hard disk drive
4. Did you encounter any error/problems while doing this?
5. Why did you choose the parts you chose and if it ok to use some other parts
6. Was everything plug and play? did the OS work properly? was there any need to change any setting in the BIOS?
7. Thank you and much appreciated BTW Hello everyone am new here.

 

I'll just go ahead and answer your questions one by one.

1. You can't use any cables in the original case as they are too short and the SATA cables won't work for some reason. Just buy as many SATAIII cables as you need, remember you can have up to 3 HDDs with this mobo.
2. I connected the front panel case using this image. Whatever case you buy will have it's own power cables for whatever front panel stuff it has. ALL will have a power and reset cable

3. Power is pretty easy, whatever power supply you have will have plenty of power cables for each HDD you use
4. I did not encounter a single error and I was pleasantly surprised by this
5. I chose what was available at my local electronics store as I didn't want to wait for shipping. You can use ANY case or PSU you want really
6. Everything was plug and play and the OS was just fine. I didn't need to uninstall or reinstall anything. The only thing you need to do is disable the power check at startup in the BIOS. Otherwise, you will get a power error and have to press a button to continue startup.

 

I appreciate your response and hope to try it real soon btw Envying your GTX 1070 even if I have a 1060 lol once again thanks. will let you know how it works out which honestly may take a really long time to do.

 

I have the same questions, but I'm going to frame it differently.

I have a stock x51 r2, but I want to upgrade to a 1080.

How much of my X51 can I mothball for use in a new computer? I don't really have issues with the rest of it (though I wouldn't say no to a second HDD). I know I have to replace the power supply, but how do I go about figuring out which supply to get? Does it depend on what new case I get (like, do I choose the case first and then pick the power supply, or go the other way around)? I don't care at all about the lighting effects on the case.

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

I have transferred my X51R1 motherboard to a new case and have a question.Where is the front motherboard usb 2.0 header?Some people have said that there are 2 9 pin headers next to the 24 pin plug.However they seem to be larger than the standerd 9 pin header.Do I need to connect both headers to my usb cable ?With what kind of cable?

 

those look like standard 2.0 headers above, if yours has those there should not be an issue using standard 2.0 header cables, they should just pop on there

the blue type is a 3.0 header (19pin), for that your case needs front 3.0 ports + 3.0 cable > if the case has front 2.0s, but your mthrbrd has blue 3.0 header then you can buy a 2.0 to 3.0 adapter

otherwise, wait for someone to help u out since I do not own one of these. If the problem is indeed the mthrbrd has 3.0 but the case has 2.0, in some instances you can contact the manufacturer or their sales / accessories page & look for a 3.0upgrade kit for the case when available > if not available, you can try to shop for off-the-shelf 3.0 cables of correct length & correct ports layout & install them yourself if you find the right ones, similar to below

 

Thank you for your response.Since there are two of these headers and my case had only two front usb ports do you have to connect both of them?I thought each usb case header connected to 2 ports?

 

two of what headers, 2.0 or 3.0

which type of fronts, 2.0 or 3.0

It's like this: the top photo of mthrbrd w/two 2.0 headers, each header could run a pair of 2.0 ports, so four total > two ports per header, two devices per header, four total

The photo of mthrbrd w/blue 3.0 header can also run two ports, but since it has one header, it runs half as many as the 2.0 mthrbrd

See bottom photo of 3.0 cable > 'two ports' on the left, 'header connector' on the right = two ports per header

Top 2.0 mthrbrd has two headers = four ports


Bottom 3.0 mthrbrd has one header = two ports

single 2.0 header, powers dual-ports, see below

above, a USB2.0 header connector > each 9pin 5x5 2.0 header can run a pair of ports, one port in top pin row, one in bottom pin row
Same is true for 3.0 > each 19pin 10x10 runs a pair of ports from top/bottom row of pins

• look @ photos or post your own for someone to work this out

edit: if you own the top motherboard with the pair of 2.0 headers, but your new case only has 'a pair of 2.0 ports', plug the black 5x5 into a header & leave the other header alone > each header powers two ports > see the white 2.0 rear-slot-bracket photos = two ports per black 5x5

if you want to populate that un-used 2.0 header, buy the white rear bracket type I just posted to add two more ports to the rear of case, get one with a long enough cable

 

Thank you for your prompt reply.My motherboard looks like the one on top but it has only two usb 2.0 ports in front .I was surprised by the dual headers.

 

Hey man,
about the fans, what are the dimensions you used and can I fit a geforce GTX 1060 in that or I should stick with the 970 I wanted to buy?
Thank you

 

ok i bought cooler master elite 130 mitx case. everything worked perfectly except Front Panel usb 3.0. it can connect & work wireless mouse & dongles. but it doesn't connect usb external hard drive. it show green light but doesn't show up in pc or disk management. is there like separate power cable for usb 3.0 to work? i connected the front panel usb 3.0 to to blue pin next to sata. btw mine is x51 r2 series. any help

 

I have just one question (I think everything else was already discussed)

I have a stock gtx670. For the moment I kill keep it (Doing the slow upgrade), but I have doubts about the PCI connection.
Does the GPU fits horizontally? Or will I need and extension?

Thanks

 

Looking to transfer out of the x51 case so I can future proof the GPU upgrade (when prices come down, gosh!). But I am wanting a case that keeps around the same size as the stock case.

 

You can use another Micro ITX case just make sure it can fit a full size GPU. Look on Newegg.com.

 

I'm looking to transfer cases, every component bar the GPU is the standard x51 r2 setup, GPU is a EVGA GTX 1060 SC, i've never upgrade the power supply but never had any issues with regards to shutdowns, current problem is the lack of airflow in the case, since it's so small, during high load gaming the temperature can reach anywhere between 70-80 degrees, I'm not immensely confident about taking the whole thing apart and shifting it to a new case, and wanted to know if anyone can link me a case where I can just remove everything from the x51 and move it straight to the new case with as little hassle as possible so there's less for me to screw up along the way. And I really mean everything, motherboard, optical drive you name it I mean to fully gut this thing.

 

70-80 degrees is normal. Even in my new case (which is long gone. I don't have any original Alienware parts anymore or the case posted in my first post), I get into the low 70s with high-end fans and good airflow. I wouldn't bother with the hassle of switching everything. Unless you're going above 80 degrees often I wouldn't worry. With my 970 in my old X51 case, I always hit 80 degrees and pretty much stayed there.

However, if you do decide to switch anyways, there's no "hassle-free" switch as everything in the X51 case is proprietary and has a special power board that everything is plugged into. The actual motherboard isn't even a standard micro ITX motherboard and the GPU will even block a fan port on the board. The board was designed for the layout of the X51 case. You even have to get Molex cables for all your fans in the new case and plug them straight into the PSU as there are only two fan ports on the motherboard and one is blocked by the GPU. This motherboard was designed for the GPU cage and not to have one directly plugged into the board. You would still have to do the same stuff to another micro ATX/ITX case and you would still get restricted airflow. Micro cases are designed for workstations without dedicated GPUs thus the lack of airflow. That's why I stuck everything into a larger mid-tower case despite how silly that small motherboard looked in there. Also, understand, there's no IO shield for this motherboard as it's part of the X51 chassis itself. I had to use clear tape over the IO ports and cut out the ports I was using. This is my new current setup by the way. Full tempered glass case and RGB fans.




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Fair enough, I'll take your word for it. One other thing, I mentioned about never having shutdown problems when using, previously a gtx 970, and now a 1060, i've never changed from the smaller power supply so should I be concerned about that or just count my blessings.

 

I'm not sure why you don't have shut downs. It also depends on what card you have. I had the EVGA 970 and I even tried putting a 1070 in (Nvidia Founder's Edition) and I had complete shut downs a lot. I: even replaced my power supply, but there's a slight possibility my power board was going out, but I could never confirm that. It could be your GPU is slightly underclocked or there's some sort of throttling going on. I'm not sure.

 

Well, seems to be running any brand new games on maximum settings no problem, has no shutdowns, my only concern was the heat production, guess i'm just very lucky. Thanks for all the help.

 

Thank you ivory_soul. Got a 2014 x51r2 with i7-4970 with gtx760 and biggest issue is gpu overheating that requires regular thermal paste changing. Decided to use accelero twin turbo and 3 x 12cm fan with new case. Ur guide really helps for those clinging on to the x51 build. No complaints for the moment good air ventilation now just spending $150. Gpu temp also very stable, will share benchmarks and rig setup for the rest later. Thank you again for starting the thread. Kudos to you!

 

Am I missing anything i have the Alienware x51 r2 and wanted to move to new case. From what I am reading all I need to move to a new case is thermal paste, cpu cooler, case, sata cables, and fans if needed. Or am I missing something?

 

You use the CPU cooler that's already in the case. That should be it. Make sure you use a pea sized drop of paste at the center and press down evenly. Do not lift up or you have to do it over. Get some thermal paste remover as well to take the old stuff off.