How can i upgrade my alienware x51 to run arma 3 on ultra?

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Heatstream63

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Jan 21, 2014
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I have a default default factory alienware x51. By that i mean i just bought the premade one instead of changing parts for better parts. Anyway i was wondering what things i would need to upgrade and how much it would cost to upgrade it. My budget is about 300-400 but is flexible upto 550. Probably the most demanding games i plan to play alot are as follows: Arma 3, Grandtheft auto 5 "when it comes out on computer" , Dead island riptide, and Skyrim. Some advisement on what to upgrade would be awesome.
specs:
CPU

Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-3220 CPU @ 3.30GHz


3.3 GHz

RAM
6.1 GB


Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition Service Pack 1 (build 7601), 64-bit


Video card
GeForce GTX 645


Icon Pixel Shader version 5.0

Icon Vertex Shader version 5.0

Icon Dedicated Video RAM 1 GB 1.0 GB

Sound Card
NVIDIA High Definition Audio


Free Disk Space
388.6 GB


 
Solution
G
Your initial problem is your power supply. The high end X51s come with a 330watt power supply. Yours is not one of these, I'm 99% certain you'll have the weaker 240W power supply. First step is to upgrade to the 330W PSU. Then you'll be able to fit something like the Geforce 660. Not sure how well that runs Arma 3, but it's a powerful card, it will certainly give you respectable numbers in most games @ 1080p.

6Gb of RAM is plenty.

The i3 processor isn't amazing, but it's good enough. At a later date you could consider upgrading to a Core i5. I'd recommend one of the low wattage ones, they are the ones ending with an S. E.G. i5 3330 = standard voltage, i5 3330S = the low voltage version. Not just power draw from the relatively weak...
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lmaonade200

lmaonade200

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Oct 31, 2013
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list your full specs, the most you'll be able to do is probably get a new GPU, on account of the small form factor its upgrade-ability is pretty limited, but from what I know (I have a X51 R2) the GPU is pretty easy to replace

or new RAM if yours didn't come with an 8GB kit
 
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Kavinqt

Kavinqt

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Jan 26, 2014
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Trick question you can't the alienware x51 is almost impossible to upgrade unless you are a pc specialist. so GL honestly sell it or something mine has done me garbage and researching stuff on it i have found dell has literally shoved huge You know what in my ass...
 
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gopher1369

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Jan 20, 2012
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Your initial problem is your power supply. The high end X51s come with a 330watt power supply. Yours is not one of these, I'm 99% certain you'll have the weaker 240W power supply. First step is to upgrade to the 330W PSU. Then you'll be able to fit something like the Geforce 660. Not sure how well that runs Arma 3, but it's a powerful card, it will certainly give you respectable numbers in most games @ 1080p.

6Gb of RAM is plenty.

The i3 processor isn't amazing, but it's good enough. At a later date you could consider upgrading to a Core i5. I'd recommend one of the low wattage ones, they are the ones ending with an S. E.G. i5 3330 = standard voltage, i5 3330S = the low voltage version. Not just power draw from the relatively weak PSU, but also less heat is always a good thing in that limited space.

Finally, this won't help with Arma, but there is room above the optical drive for an SSD. You need one of the thin 7mm models. The 240Gb Samsung 840 Evo would be an excellent choice, for example. There is a spare SATA port on the motherboard. For neatness you'll want to purchase a short SATA cable, regular length cables are way, way too big.
 
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Solution
lmaonade200

lmaonade200

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If you have the 330 Watt power brick you can probably fit in an i5 and a GTX 750Ti (when it comes out) in there, since the newer GTXs are supposed to be low power cards, making it perfect for your lower power system, unfortunately you won't be able to use the 4000 series intel processors, the Haswells consume less power. and the cage of the system allows for 1 more hard drive I believe, so you can stick in an SSD.

the power brick can cost an upwards of 100 bucks though so make sure you're up for seriously upgrading the components or else it won't be worth it
 
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