[SOLVED] Is a single fan GPU safe for an Alienware X51 R2 case?

[Endzo]

PC Build: Alienware X51 R2
OS: Windows 10 Pro
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 @3.20GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2047MB
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
PSU: Dell 330w power brick
RAM: 16GB

I've been running through troubleshooting for weeks and weeks due to the system rebooting only while playing Final Fantasy XIV. All of the tests say my system should be fine and even Final Fantasy XIV's newest benchmark says my system should be fine to play it at high or maximum settings, but the game is still rebooting the PC. I'm now to the stage of needing to buy new parts bit by bit and see if swapping things around will fix this. Beyond playing FFXIV, I play other multiplayer titles like the Borderlands franchise and Overwatch, and use this PC for streaming gameplay, watching videos, and using various graphic editing suites like Photoshop and Blender.

I'm considering an Nvidia 1060 or 1660ti, but it seems that the recommended blower style cooling is either sold out, no longer made any more, or just not made at all. Is a single fan model safe for running in this compact case? If so, I'm open to purchase suggestions. My money can go slightly farther on Amazon due to gift cards (up to $300 or so), but I'm okay with ordering from other reputable stores as well (up to $230 or so). With Final Fantasy XIV's next expansion coming out at the end of this month, I'd like to get the new card here as soon as possible so I have time to test things out before launch.

 

[Aeacus]

Well, to fix your reboot issue during gaming, you're looking towards new, higher wattage and good quality PSU.

X51-R2 initially came with GTX 745 which is 55W GPU + rest of the system at about 200W, making total power consumption about 255W. 255W is more than enough for it's 330W PSU to handle.

However, GTX 960 is 120W and with rest of the system, you're looking at 320W which is too much for that stock PSU to handle. Hence why system reboots when you start gaming (games put higher load on GPU and in turn, GPU draws more power).

Going for GTX 1060 or GTX 1660 Ti doesn't fix anything since both of these GPUs are also 120W. I'd be comfortable using 500W range PSU to run either of these GPUs. At bare minimum, good quality (Seasonic made) 450W unit would do too.

But there is an issue. Since your PC is prebuilt, it has proprietary parts inside, including it's PSU. Due to that, you can't upgrade the PSU without replacing the PC case.

Here, you have 3x choices:
1) Downgrade your GPU to e.g GTX 1050 Ti (75W) so you can use the GPU at it's fullest without random reboots.
With this, you'd loose gaming performance, e.g @ 1080p, games graphical settings would drop from high settings down to medium settings.

2) Keep your GTX 960 or upgrade your GPU to GTX 1606/1660 Ti and buy 500W range PSU as well (any Seasonic made unit will do fine).
New PSU would be sitting outside of the case since you can't put it inside the PC case. It may not look good, but it works.

3) Besides getting new GPU and PSU, buy a new PC case as well.
While this costs the most and also has the most work in it (swapping the system), end result would be nice and complete looking PC.

So, here you have it. Going with the small footprint prebuilt PC comes with a big sacrifice. You're sacrificing upgradeability; it's more difficult and expensive to repair it; you need to use proprietary parts and the availability of those proprietary parts is also an issue.

 

[Endzo]

2) Keep your GTX 960 or upgrade your GPU to GTX 1606/1660 Ti and buy 500W range PSU as well (any Seasonic made unit will do fine).
New PSU would be sitting outside of the case since you can't put it inside the PC case. It may not look good, but it works.

Do you know offhand how to set this up safely? I'm not too fussed about a PSU sitting outside the case as long as it is safe to run that way and is well connected. If it requires a lot of case cutting and soldering though, it may not be the option for me.

 

[Aeacus]

Well, you need to pull the 4-pin EPS12V and 24-pin ATX from the MoBo, where you connect the PSU. Also, GPU needs 6/8-pin PCI power connector and your storage drives need SATA power connection as well. Rest the new PSU next to the PC, on the table, with PSU fan upwards, so PSU doesn't have it's airflow blocked.

This video here shows the innards of your PC very well. Watch from 38:40 to 41:30 to know the details about hooking up the regular ATX/SFX PSU,
youtube:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypNG8w6AmTk#t=38m40s


For new PSU, i suggest getting any Seasonic unit, in 500W range. E.g: Focus 550, Focus+ 550, PRIME Snowsilent 550 or PRIME Ultra 550 Platinum
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/bkp323,KmgzK8,XndxFT,dstQzy/

Warranty wise:
Focus: 7 years
Focus+: 10 years
PRIME: 12 years (includes all PRIME models: regular, Fanless, AirTouch, SnowSilent, Ultra)

All my 3 PCs: Skylake, Haswell and AMD are also powered by Seasonic. Full specs with pics in my sig.

 

[contact_wolfpack]

I don't know what these guys are talking about people have been running 1070 and 980 on their X51 R2 with 330W PSU ,I have GTX960 OC Windforce dual fan without any problems temps at around 78 or 80° then I had GTX1060 3gb MSI Armor temps on that were higher I'm guessing Gigabyte Windforce does a better job, never experienced any reboots on my system

My system specs

Xeon E3 1240 V3 ( like 4770 minus i-gpu)
8gb single stick
GTX 960 2gb OC Windforce
BD ROM
500 SSD
330W PSU
Later I was using 1060armor no issues either

I looked up for this article thinking someone may have tried singlefan gpu as I am opting for EVGA 1060 3GB

Since X51 is designed for blower style with its front case fan helping fan out so maybe a single fan half length will leave more space in compact space also my ssd sits right under gpu


Anyways if you still need help I might bring it today and try it out

 

[Aeacus]

I don't know what these guys are talking about people have been running 1070 and 980 on their X51 R2 with 330W PSU

Any proof to your claims or do you expect us to take your word at face value?

I have GTX960 OC Windforce dual fan without any problems temps at around 78 or 80° then I had GTX1060 3gb MSI Armor temps on that were higher I'm guessing Gigabyte Windforce does a better job, never experienced any reboots on my system

My system specs

Xeon E3 1240 V3 ( like 4770 minus i-gpu)
8gb single stick
GTX 960 2gb OC Windforce
BD ROM
500 SSD
330W PSU
Later I was using 1060armor no issues either

Like i said above, wattage wise it's cutting it way too close for comfort. Sure, you can boot up the PC and run it with 330W unit (with power consumption about 100W when PC is idle) but put any load, any real load on your PC (e.g Prime95 + Unigine Superposition at the same time) and look what happens.

When i suggest PSUs, i do it with bare minimum of 100W spare headroom when CPU and GPU utilization is maxed out. While i'd be comfortable with 150W - 200W headroom on PSU side. Anything higher than that would cut into PSU's efficiency, which isn't that big of a deal, but price wise, 850W unit costs more than 550W unit.
With PSU's wattage headroom, it's better to be safe than sorry since when you blow the PSU, PSU has the magical ability to fry everything it's connected to.