Looking for advice on modding an Alienware x51

FizzyXzzY

What's an ITX?
Original poster
Nov 21, 2017
1
0
Hello everyone and thanks for taking your time to read this,

I'm looking into upgrading my old X51 due to it's aging specs and already sub-tier 1080p performance.
I've already gutted the parts from the pc to make a pc for my family member, so I can't re-use them (except for the powerboard and brick I kept those in).
This is obviously a very silly idea, since I know that it's probably less expensive and less of a hassle to just build a new mITX form factor case or just buy an S4 Mini from NFC. But what can I say? I'm emotionally attached to this case as it's a very special gift that was given to me, so if possible I want to keep the case as original as possible.

Things that I already know:
  • I have a budget of around 700€
  • I know I need to mod out the I/O of the case to be able to upgrade it to a custom motherboard sort of like this guy
  • I'm ready to mod some of the case in general
Things I'm unsure of that I would generally like advice on:
  • Can I reuse the powerboard and just get a much higher power brick or should i upgrade to something like an HDPLEX or Pico PSU?
  • What would be the best Low-Profile cooler for the CPU?
  • How do I find out what Revision I have of the X51?
Thanks for reading so far, if you have any general advice or ideas I'd be stoked if anyone could help me!