Is it possible to buy off the shelf case to create a Alienware X51?

H

Hitokiri Batohsai

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 22, 2003
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429
I was looking at the new Alienware X51 and I think the idea is quite neat. Here is a review of the system.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RafZCg04wV4

The only thing I am not sure is could you build your own X51 SFF with available hardware as the PSU is not standard. What is the smallest high performance pc you could make from available hardware?
 
Volumewise I think SG05 is close.... just a different form factor.
 
That case is awesome! With the built in riser, I wish more case manufacturers did this for itx cases.
 
can't have a very good vid card powered through a brick... console shenanigans
 
After minutes! of googling I found the GTR GT-3 review on the Inq.
The case is no longer manufactured, but the company is seeking investors for larger scale production.
Full disclosure: I am in no way affiliated, only liked the case when it came out.
 
sidsaccount said:
an SG03 is honestly not that much bigger, and you can have the awesomeness of a full CPU as well.
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I highly doubt that, i recently ditched my SG03 for a smaller build. SG03 is much wider then the x51 for starters and the x51 do have a full CPU.

i be looking forward to some proper slim towers oppose to the shoeboxes
 
Captain Obvious strikes again! lol
What he meant by a full CPU basically it is not a mobile chip nor a CULV CPU
Hope I m right and my job here is done!
 
KeymaN said:
Captain Obvious strikes again! lol
What he meant by a full CPU basically it is not a mobile chip nor a CULV CPU
Hope I m right and my job here is done!
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Somewhat: The Alienware X51 comes with the Core i7 2600, a desktop CPU. As such, what sidsaccount said does not make sense unless he was mistaken about what CPU was actually in the X51.
 
There are NO laptop components in the x51 other then the slot loaded optical drive

PSU should be a custom pico itx PSU and thats probly the only other non full desktop component in it. The rest of the system is using a standard ITX board that uses a standard LGA1155 CPU, standard PCIe OEM GPU, a full sized 3.5" HDD
 
Let's face it, the Alienware case is simply superior to any off-the-shelf parts. There's no dual slot capable (yes I know the power limitations) small-ish book form mini ITX case with good cooling. Every other case insists on the -- for a lot of us unwieldy -- cube format.
 
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Raudulfr said:
The smallest and slimmest case (compatible with full height expansion cards) that I could find was the In Win BK644

http://www.in-win.com.tw/products_pccase_series.php?cat_id=1&series_id=42&model_id=374
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Huh the G-Alantic 620 must be smaller than that... http://www.g-alantic.com.tw/1082/ga620/ also a bunch http://www.polywell.com/us/oem/other-ITX.asp here and I see a lot http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=3 here say Jou Jye NU-528i-B Mini-ITX Case 220W with a riser.
 
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Titan ITX was trying to build a case with a similar design. Unfortunately, the OP, has not posted an update since late November, so it's unclear how much progress has been made. He has purchased many parts for it, so there is hope it will be available one day.
 
next-Jin said:
The best thing I can find is www.jetway.com.tw/jw/case_view.asp?productid=586&proname=JC-111-B

The only thing is powering it like most of these setups. I wish they had 450w power bricks.
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How about 350W? Here's the idea. It is modular. Just make some extension cabling and run it as a pseudo external brick. SeaSonic 350W 80Plus Gold unit should be able to run any graphics card needing only one PCIe power plug. Heck, maybe even two, if it is one of those cards who's TDP is borderline. Heck, looking at entire system power draw from the wall I can envision even higher end cards like a GTX 670 or Radeon 7870 running with this PSU.

FWIW I briefly ran an overclocked dual core (Xeon E3110 @4GHz) with a GTX 260 on this SeaSonic 350W PSU.

EDIT: I wonder if cabling can be simplified by only running +12v and ground wires from the PSU to the computer, and then running a Pico PSU internally to power the motherboard and drives, and diverting the rest of the power to the graphics card? I'm pretty sure those SeaSonic units are independently regulated, so it should be able to put out all 350W on the +12v. Which leads to my next thought... wonder how many units it would take for SeaSonic to sell these things as pure +12v (sans the secondary PCB internally) and with a custom cabling harness? That case is around $100. Wonder how much to get one custom built in aluminum?
 
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Zap said:
SeaSonic 350W 80Plus Gold unit should be able to run any graphics card needing only one PCIe power plug.
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Just FYI. the seasonic 350W TFX doesn't have a PCI-e connector, just 20/4 pin, 4pin CPU, 2x 4-pin molex, and 4 SATA. You could still pull it off with a molex to PCI-e adapter, but just be aware that the TFX was not designed with a cable to power GPUs.
 
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