Alienware Area 51 rebuild

[Illbeinmyoffice]

Hey all,

Planning on rebuilding an Alienware Area 51 7500 R5. Just cant let that sexy case go to waste. Heres my 2 questions:

AMD FX-8350
ASUS M5A99FX Pro mobo
G.Skill Ripjaws 8gb DDR3 2133 (o.c.)

This a good deal for roughly $320?


Second question...

I love the blue LEDs that the case has right now. Will a new board support thise same LEDs? Should I prepare myself to lose all that lighting?


Thanks all!!

 

[logainofhades]

OEM cases like that, don't always work with aftermarket hardware. As far as that being a good deal, I would say no. FX is over 3yrs old, and AM3+ platform is dead. This would be a much better solution.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H170A-X1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($45.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $324.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-25 16:45 EST-0500

 

[Illbeinmyoffice]

Can I ask why the case wouldnt work? Its a full ATX case... why wouldnt the new components like it?

 

[logainofhades]

The front panel connectors are often proprietary. That isn't always the case, with older models, such as yours. I would verify that before anything else. If they are individual connectors, you are good to go. If it is a single plug, it may not work, without some rearrangement or wiring.

 

[Illbeinmyoffice]

So its the nForce 680i mobo right now. Theres an 8 pin header for the front panel and LEDs... each plug is 2 prongs. So the power button is 2, the LEDs are 2, etc.

If you google the board, you can look at the manual to see what im working with now. This is a potential changer for me, so id really apprecoate it if you took a look yourself. Id love to salvage this case at all cost.

 

[logainofhades]

As long as you can find what wires are for what, you could probably use this extension kit, so you can use the case, without worrying about trying to rewire the header.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/17760/cab-1057/Phobya_Front_Panel_Extension_Cable_Kit_-_300mm_87487.html#blank

 

[Illbeinmyoffice]

Ok great, Ill take a look into this..

Also... FrozenCPU is located about 600 feet from my house. Big warehouse.

Anything else i should be concerned about? The current HDDs are salvagable, as well as the gtx760 card...

 

[logainofhades]

Make sure you have a quality power supply. Tier 1 or 2 preferably. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

Only other thing would be if they decided to use non standard connections for front panel audio and/or USB.