# [SOLVED] Upgrading Alienware



## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

My mobo died on my Alienware aurora, so I'll be needing a replacement. 

I've decided I should take this opportunity to upgrade to AM3 and DDR3.

I've researched these parts but would appreciate any insights, advice or opinions. I thought it'd be useful to put my selections out there before I actually spent the money, see what the feedback is. 

MSI 790FX-GD70 mobo
790FX chipset :heartlove


AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
3.2GHz quad core :grin:



Mushkin Silverline 4GB
(note: I'm least sure about this product, never used Mushkin) :4-dontkno


Arctic Silver 5


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

Does your model Aurora use a standard ATX motherboard and not a BTX board?
What Motherboard and CPU do you currently have?


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

\

a digital close up pic of your motherboard would help us alot (use image shack or similar to post the pic)


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

The pics I find of that model are BTX.


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*



Tyree said:


> The pics I find of that model are BTX.





that aint good............say good-bye to that crazy alien head case if you need a new motherboard


----------



## V0lt (Sep 14, 2002)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

Yeah, that's pretty rough... the upside is that DDR2 is so damn expensive right now that you could probably get enough back from that to make up for the cost of a new motherboard.


----------



## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

THe current mobo and CPU are: 

ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+

The ATX/BTX was a good catch, but I think its an ATX mobo. Below is a pic just in case I am wrong

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Nis60Lkf-lQHdKcp2-o21w?authkey=Gv1sRgCMng08Sfk-Dk_gE&feat=directlink


----------



## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Nis60Lkf-lQHdKcp2-o21w?authkey=Gv1sRgCMng08Sfk-Dk_gE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_xcxGf1f9tVU/S0jvVlB1MbI/AAAAAAAAAow/A3nbHx4PMMI/s144/IMG_2152.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/JPattison93534/RamblingsOfSquiggle?authkey=Gv1sRgCMng08Sfk-Dk_gE&feat=embedwebsite">Ramblings of Squiggle</a></td></tr></table>

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Nis60Lkf-lQHdKcp2-o21w?authkey=Gv1sRgCMng08Sfk-Dk_gE&feat=directlink


----------



## manic (Aug 2, 2005)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

Yup its atx. Not real up on amd cpu's, so I wont comment about the
build.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

Yep your good with the ATX board but I would look at Asus or Gigabyte over MSI, also do you know what caused your board to fail?


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

I agree its an ATX board ..........thats good news


----------



## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

I never figured out why the mobo died. It had been giving me weird problems (asked me to reset bios at startup...when the bios was already at default) for awhile. After it went out I tested the comp parts (connections, voltages)and eventually figured it was the mobo. 

I had a thread going about it, I can try to find the link.

ANy opinions on this gigabyte mobo? 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128416

its similar to the MSI one, with a few differences.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

That's a good Motherboard, what video card are you running?

Also what power supply?


----------



## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

The vid card is a NVIDIA 9800GX2 and the PSU is an off brand 750-watt. Its not the greatest quality but its always worked fine.

I'm stuck between the MSI board and the Gigabyte board. The MSI has a little more of a 'wow' factor w/ its heatsink and PCI slots, but the Gigabyte has some nice features like SATA 6 and USB 3.

Both would work for me, Im just wondering if there are any reasons to get one over the other.


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

Gigabyte has better support.

Get us the brand and model off your power supply, generic supplies can have voltage ripples that reek havoc with motherboard and video card power control circuits.


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*



wrench97 said:


> Gigabyte has better support.
> 
> Get us the brand and model off your power supply, generic supplies can have voltage ripples that reek havoc with motherboard and video card power control circuits.




especially when you are trying to power a 9800X2 :4-thatsba


----------



## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

its a Newton Power n750E-00. I've never heard of the company and google doesnt seem to have much about it.


----------



## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

I'd rather keep the PSU if possible (mostly due to my budget) but if I need to replace the PSU, would something like this PSU (on sale for $50 via newegg) be a good choice? I have looked through the power supply selection on lindermans signature and it seems ok, but I know little about PSU's


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

That's an Alienware oem PSU, Personally I would not keep it for the 9800x2 something like this> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2E16817153104,N82E16817139006,N82E16817151084


----------



## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

Thanks for the link, I've looked through the PSU's and the CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W might be something to look at. 

About the mobos though, its been hard to find any info on the Gigabyte UP4 mobo, which makes me hesitant to buy it since it doesnt seem to be particularly popular. 
Any opinions on that mobo or any mobos that stand out as 'good' that I should be considering?


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

The UD4 is newer and a mid to high range board, most of the reviews you find in AMD boards are on the lower priced boards the high end market has gone mostly to Intel.


----------



## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*



wrench97 said:


> The UD4 is newer and a mid to high range board, most of the reviews you find in AMD boards are on the lower priced boards the high end market has gone mostly to Intel.


gotcha, that makes sense, thanks for the info I think I'll be going with the UD4 since the UD5 is $40 more and I dont need crossfire

One last thing, how important do you think it is for me to invest in a new PSU? I know the OEM one is prob crud so should I make it a priority to replace (since its powering a 9800gx2) or should it be ok?


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

I think the PSU should be towards the top of your list of replacement items, Pre Dell Alienware used decent PSU's but anymore while not complete junk they leave a lot to be desired.


----------



## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

*Re: Upgrading Alienware*

Alright, thanks for the advice and all the help!


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

edited:

the best AMD board I have used for quite some time now is this one'
'
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387&Tpk=GA-MA790X-UD4P


I have sold a pile of these boards and no complaints yet


----------

