moving Alienware X51 mobo into NZXT Phantom 410 case

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GBar

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Dec 26, 2013
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I bought the Phantom 410 so I could move the components from my Alienware X51 into the larger case (and then upgrade the psu and graphics card). However, even though the Alienware lists its motherboard as a "mini ITx" and the Phantom 410 will accept a "mini-ITX" motherboard, it appears that the Alienware specs don't tell the whole story. There are two daughterboards that appear critical to the operation of the PC, and their orientation is such that they won't attach to the existing standoff pre-drilled holes (or so it seems to me, anyway).

I was hoping you could shed some light on how I might be able to make this upgrade.
 
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jb6684
Whoa, interesting, informative, but like many mini-ITX..... it's ugly
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1414/pg4/alienware-x51-desktop-review-internal.html

They call out "two smaller PCB's" in the article. One for Input / Output connections (you can likely live without this). And one handles power. From the "look" of that card it would seem to provide the voltage regulation (also seems this computer has an external "brick" power supply). Ah, you can NOT live without that and hard to by-pass as you need to assure that your standard ATX PC supply would have correct voltages on the correct pins....

Trouble is to move forward, add a more powerful GPU & its requite larger powersupply you have to get around this...

I'd recommend...
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jb6684

jb6684

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Feb 20, 2011
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Whoa, interesting, informative, but like many mini-ITX..... it's ugly
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1414/pg4/alienware-x51-desktop-review-internal.html

They call out "two smaller PCB's" in the article. One for Input / Output connections (you can likely live without this). And one handles power. From the "look" of that card it would seem to provide the voltage regulation (also seems this computer has an external "brick" power supply). Ah, you can NOT live without that and hard to by-pass as you need to assure that your standard ATX PC supply would have correct voltages on the correct pins....

Trouble is to move forward, add a more powerful GPU & its requite larger powersupply you have to get around this...

I'd recommend you re-access your situation:
1). sell the X51 system as-is (hope it's working...), use money for clean build....

OR

2). Strip CPU from X51, and RAM IF it is DDR3 (If Not, go back to option #1...)
Strip out DVD drive (If it is SATA, if Not you need a new one about $20...)
Junk the old hard drive, never start a new build with a used HD, nothing but trouble....
Buy a new and proper ATX or MicroATX motherboard (stay away from mini-ITX as non-standard is the rule with them...)

For either option #1 or #2 you'll need a new copy of Win 7 or 8 (assume Alienware is "keyed" to their motherboard and can not be re-used...

 
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G

GBar

Honorable
Dec 26, 2013
3
0
10,510


Well... I wouldn't have a clue how to make it function without a power switch, and that's on the smaller of the two smaller pcb's... I've considered the new mobo route... not sure why I'd need to junk the hd, though I realize there might be driver concerns. I've read on this site that Windows 8 (which is on this machine via an upgrade, that could complicate matters further) is not keyed to the mobo, but if you know a way to be sure, I'd appreciate the info. I guess I was wondering if it's worth it to drill new holes to mount standoffs for the daughterboards so I can move the whole shebang into the new case, or if that's problematic. Unless there are other ideas out there, I guess selling the existing unit (I reassembled it after I saw no easy way to move it into the new case... doh!... but it works fine) is going to be the best option. I was hoping not to take too big a financial bath on the process, of course. Thanks for the feedback
 
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