Updating an old Alienware Area 51

Daragoth

Commendable
Mar 20, 2016
3
0
1,510
So I have been looking at building a cheap desktop for my daughter to play Minecraft on and then I remembered I had my old Alienware Area 51 desktop sitting in the closet. I was top of the line when I purchased it back in 2003, but over time it just didn't meet my needs anymore. I'm thinking this would be a good starting point for her computer build, plus I still love the bright green case and red lighting!

After reading a lot of budget Minecraft computer builds, it seems it is more of a CPU intensive game than an GPU intensive one. So I'm thinking I'll need to replace the motherboard, RAM, power supply, operating system and graphics card. While I have done the usual upgrades to desktops and laptops like RAM, graphics cards and new HDs, this will be my first time replacing a motherboard.

I guess my biggest question is what type of motherboard will fit in my case? This will give me a starting point for everything else I need. Also any advice (besides reading lots of posts here) for a novice builder would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
 

Daragoth

Commendable
Mar 20, 2016
3
0
1,510


As I mentioned, I plan on replacing almost everything and just using the case. The current motherboard is an ASUSteK P4C800-E. Would any ATX board fit? What about a micro ATX one? I did upgrade the video card, but honestly for a little bit of nothing I could get one much better. Biggest thing for me is nailing down a decent motherboard and CPU and then hopefully the rest will fall into place.
 

Daragoth

Commendable
Mar 20, 2016
3
0
1,510


Accidentally marked this as solved and I'm not sure how to change it back, but looking at keeping it under $500,

Here are a few pictures:






If you need pictures of anything else, just let me know.





 
Is that Antec Earthwatts 500? This one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007

Did you replace the power supply later on? How old is it?

I wouldn't use the case. Idk why, I just wouldn't. It is old, old layout, old ports, eww. Also, I don't know if it will fit mATX. You need to find your PC model and what it supports - if it even tells you that. This is what I do not know which is why i would get another case.

As for the upgrade:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($112.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($45.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB Superclocked Video Card ($194.99 @ Amazon)
Case: DIYPC Solo-T1-R ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.88 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply
Total: $502.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-21 18:24 EDT-0400