What would be a fair price for used Alienware x51?

just_pure ironical

I'm thinking of selling my three year old alienware x51 so as i can build a new pc.

Specs:
i7 3770 3.4 Ghz
Gtx 660
8 Gb ram
1 Tb storage
Windows 7 home premium

I looked on ebay and the asking price ranged from 400-700. I honestly don't know what a fair asking price for my rig would be considering the age. I'd be happy for any advice

Digital Solitude

Can your GPU be upgraded? Nothing else in that PC would be holding you back

just_pure ironical

Case size is the problem with the x51, as i can only use blower gpus that are under 10" in length. Also 330 watts is the maximum power i can use so that also limits what gpus i can buy.

Lu Tze

just_pure ironical wrote: »

Case size is the problem with the x51, as i can only use blower gpus that are under 10" in length. Also 330 watts is the maximum power i can use so that also limits what gpus i can buy.

Have a look at what they go for on adverts (if you are selling on adverts). You could also look at the cost of transferring to a new (or second hand) case, powersupply, graphics card and possibly motherboard (i think the backplates on those x51s are built in to the case and cant be removed?).

just_pure ironical

Yeah ebay would be my best bet, i think 400 would be a reasonable asking price. I want a better hardrive and ram also so I think it would be easier just build a new pc, i want to run fallout 4 on ultra after all xD Thanks for you help

TerrorFirmer

Keep it. 330w is enough for a GTX970 with that setup.

You are limited to Nvidia, but a GTX960 or 970 would be OK.

Alienware machines hold resale value better than their specs do, so you should easily be able to get 500-600 for that on adverts.

I would keep it though.

glynf

Go ebay, certain Alienware cases have a bit of a cult following so have great resale value. I sold an area 51 a while back-over 200 for the case alone IIRC, quite a few bidders as well. Auction winner paid to have it shipped to Germany as well.

just_pure ironical

glynf wrote: »

Go ebay, certain Alienware cases have a bit of a cult following so have great resale value. I sold an area 51 a while back-over 200 for the case alone IIRC, quite a few bidders as well. Auction winner paid to have it shipped to Germany as well.

Yeah I noticed on ebay most of them were being sold with ****ty gpus like the gt 645, so hopefully my gtx 660 will be a good selling point. Also do you think its likely i will get it sold before christmas?

glynf

Very hard to say, I'm not in the market for one so no ideal really; give a good look at what similar cases are going for and if you price your's keenly it should be easy enough to ship. Just make sure to say you will ship to the UK/EU when you list it. GL with the sale.

just_pure ironical

Thanks for the advice!

mad turnip

You would be crazy to not just buy a new PSU and GPU, upgrading the whole thing is just such a waste of money. Your looking at spending hundreds replacing the CPU and motherboard when its just not necessary...

and ram also

You likely don't need "better" ram.

as i can only use blower gpus that are under 10" in length.

What GPU is longer than 10 inches???????????????

I have a 390X and its a massive card and I don't even think that is 10 inches. (oh I guess its 12 inches)
GTX 980 is 10 inches

just_pure ironical

mad turnip wrote: »

You would be crazy to not just buy a new PSU and GPU, upgrading the whole thing is just such a waste of money. Your looking at spending hundreds replacing the CPU and motherboard when its just not necessary...



You likely don't need "better" ram.



What GPU is longer than 10 inches???????????????

I have a 390X and its a massive card and I don't even think that is 10 inches. (oh I guess its 12 inches)
GTX 980 is 10 inches

Well first I read that it's impossible to upgrade the psu on my pc past 330 watts due to the motherboard which sucks.

It would cost 300+ for GPU and another 150+ for a new motherboard and psu so that's around 500.

I have a pc build in mind that would blow my alienware out of the water that costs just over 1000.
I could probably sell my alienware for 400-500 so I'd end up paying just over 500 for the new pc which I think is more logical than upgrading for a little less.
What do you think?

challengemaster

just_pure ironical wrote: »

Well first I read that it's impossible to upgrade the psu on my pc past 330 watts due to the motherboard which sucks.

For anyone that wants a good laugh - it's posted here BY AN ALIENWARE EMPLOYEE

http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19579761

This is definitely not a supported upgrade for this system as the Motherboard wasn't built for 600W. If you decide to try the upgrade the risks won't be covered in warranty.

:pac::pac::pac::pac:

The entire wattage of the PSU does not flow through the motherboard. There aren't even words for how stupid what that person has said :pac:

The problem which they actually had in the same post - is that there is no PSU in the x51. It's an external power block. Hence there's no room in the case to install a proper PSU. Because of that you'd need to buy a new case. And if the motherboard can't be removed as has been suggested, then the list of parts just keeps growing and growing until a new build makes the most sense.

just_pure ironical

challengemaster wrote: »

The problem which they actually had in the same post - is that there is no PSU in the x51. It's an external power block. Hence there's no room in the case to install a proper PSU. Because of that you'd need to buy a new case. And if the motherboard can't be removed as has been suggested, then the list of parts just keeps growing and growing until a new build makes the most sense.

Yeah you've effectively explained why I want to sell it, and also the fact that my current build doesn't make much sense with the i7 core.