Alienware Barebones help needed

I want to restore an old Alienware. My options are:
-Area 51 M17
-M17x R1
-M15x R1
I also need a 3.1 ghz+ processor for PCSX2 and Dolphin
A BluRay drive isn't needed, but would go a long way
Basically, which one will give me the most performance in modern gaming? I only need 30+ FPS on low/medium settings. However, I do want to be able to play Dark Souls 2 and Dragon Age Inquisition when they come out.
Also, how do I achieve these goals?

Any help or reasonable dissing would be appreciated, total noob to laptop barebones.

In case you're wondering, the games I play/want to play are:
-Guild Wars 2
-Skyrim
-Minecraft
-Fez
-Diablo III
-Dark Souls
-Dragon Age Origins/II

 

Are you wanting to do this purely for fun? Because you're going to spend around as much as you would on a new computer, get less performance, and probably spend a lot of time troubleshooting drivers and modifying INF files.

If you want to go at it anyway, I'd run with the M17x R1, toss in a Core 2 Extreme QX9300 (which is bios overclockable to 3.2ghz) and a 5870m (or if you're brave, try a 660m or two.) Toss in any laptop HDD/SSD you'd like, and you're laughing.

 

770M would likely be the best bet actually to try.

 

I'd be worried about thermals and power draw at that point, as 50w per slot seems to be the recommended ceilling.

 

I would also recommend the new PC, but if you want to do it I would say m15x

 

My vote would be a new system or the m17X-R1. The Area-51 M17x is nice, but I just sold mine; it did everything I wanted out of it at the time, but I was as close to the performance ceiling as I could get without breaking bank on a 260m/280m MXM setup, and it still ran pretty warm. At least with the m17x you can throw in an Extreme quad-core, a good dual-GPU setup (or maybe a more recent single GPU that can outrun an older dual setup) and a decent amount of RAM and have a quick system. I have seen some very reasonably-priced R1's on eBay over the past 4-6 months, just keep your eyes open for them. I have eBay and Craigslist set to send notifications to my phone every time one of my searches is listed, which is much easier and faster than finding the time to search every day.

 

I own an M17X R1, and the highest confirmed GPU is the AMD 5870M - and you can crossfire this. The highest ram is 8GB, and highest CPU is a Intel Core 2 Quad QX9300 2.53GHz, but you can overclock to 3.06-3.2GHz, really depending on the CPU quality itself. If you want to put in an i7 940, 16GB Ram, and dual 7970M's or higher in your M17X R1, you will need to fully replace the motherboard with an R2 motherboard. It is a lot of work, but if you are up for that a tutorial can be found here: ¹ýÄêÀ²£¡Ë͸øËùÓÐM17X R1µÄÐÖµÜÃÇÒ»·Ý´óÀñ£¡R1¸ÄR2³É¹¦£¡£¡£¡£¡_´÷¶ûAlienwareÍâÐÇÈËÂÛ̳

With my M17X R1 I have played the following games from your list on high settings without issue, the ones not listed I haven't played:
-Skyrim
-Fez
-Dark Souls
-Dragon Age Origins/II

My M17X R1 specs are in my signature.

However, for mere simplicity right out of the box I would recommend the M15X R1 over the M17X R1, because already without the need of a motherboard swap it accepts 1st gen i7 cpu's AND the AMD 7970M. The gpu comparability may go even higher as new cards are released, so that is a plus. And with Dark Souls 2 and Dragon Age Inquisition you may have trouble running them on the 5870M in the M17X R1. But, if you have the money and time on hand, I would recommend the motherboard swap in the M17X R1.

 

Wow, I never really looked into the m15x so that's good to know

 

Ya, it surprised me as well when I found out what it can do. Throw an i7 940XM, 8GB Ram, 7970M, and you will destroy the M17X R1 ten times over and will still be looking for more . Just the thought of that makes me look down upon my M17X with shame

 

haha, I don't know if I can look at the m17x with shame, but I will give it a stern glare...

 

The 770M is actually very power efficient, it's a good cheaper choice for older systems but yeah, if you can then a new system is going to give you a lot of breathing room.