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April 5th, 2025 02:18

Cass-Ole's MIO Adapter for a new PSU/Motherboard in Area-51 Aurora 7500

Hello, I'm considering turning my nostalgic Alienware Area-51 7500 desktop (circa 2002-2003, tall blue case) into a modern setup with a Seasonic GX-650 PSU and ASUS TUF Gaming B660M-PLUS WIFI D4 motherboard. Would I need a custom adapter for the power button and lights to work with this new PSU/motherboard? Thanks for any help or guidance! It's been a minute (or more like a decade) since I put my last build together!

9 Legend

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14.6K Posts

April 5th, 2025 16:48

correct you have predator 1.  they do not use LED but old school cold cathode light.  not familiar with it but you may just get lucky.  no psu adapter needed.

(edited)

6 Professor

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1.8K Posts

April 5th, 2025 06:41

Hi, You should be able to PSU swap to an aftermarket type without need for an adaptor

Does your current power supply provide the light board w/ a 2pin as seen in pics below?

Likely a JST EH Series (2.5mm pitch) 2pin, & if your system has this 2pin now then you'd likely want the new power supply to have a replica 2pin ... you'd source a 2pin & terminals and jump them into the new 24pin etc (knowing the EH Series can be difficult or expensive to source). One option is to snip the 2pin off of the original PSU & transfer it ... happy to discuss it. Posting a pic of your current light board & it's power needs would be of help

I admittedly know little about the pre-Dell Alien Predator lineup, where u might have luck finding other owners & answers on say Reddit if need be

 

9 Legend

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14.6K Posts

April 5th, 2025 14:13

Extensive write up here

https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/alienware-desktops/pre-dell-predator-2-area-51-x58-trying-to-find-command-center/647f9f80f4ccf8a8de454fd1

Cass posted pic shows a rarely seen active LED card. More commonly seen is passive LED card.

9 Legend

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14.6K Posts

April 5th, 2025 14:26

example of passive led card

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April 5th, 2025 16:10

Thank you for the information! I checked, and I don't see a daughter card in there. Is it possible that on Predator 1 models (that's the model I have, I believe, the tall blue behemoth tower) there is no physical board for light control? Perhaps, then, it's not going to be an issue. 

@Cass-Ole the new PSU I'm ordering (Seasonic GX-650 PSU) does not provide a 2-pin connector. It has the typical 24-pin, 8-pin EPS, 6+2 pin PCIe, etc.

Here are a few photos of the motherboard and the surrounding area. Apologies for the dust, just opened it up after a while in storage.

(edited)

9 Legend

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14.6K Posts

April 5th, 2025 17:10

some disassembly pics

(edited)

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April 5th, 2025 17:29

Thanks @redxps630 that's the exact one I have, just blue with black grills.  My current todo list:

  • figure out how to mount the ASUS TUF Gaming B660M-PLUS WIFI D4 motherboard 
  • replace old fans (Chieftec D80BL-12 in front and Chieftec D80BM-12 in rear) with new 80mm fans, probably Noctua NF-A8s, although I would lose the lights. Perhaps, add a light controller instead..
  • switch out the old PSU, CPU, GPU. Will try using Seasonic GX-650 gold I have laying around, GeForce RTX 4060 and i5-13600K. Seems like should be enough clearance.
  • add low-profile RAM so it doesn't touch other components
  • add low-profile heatsink for CPU, like Noctua NH-U12A
  • finally, replace old locks with new, because I lost the key

    If you have any tips you wish you knew prior to making this build, please let me know. I would appreciate anything that will save me hours of time. Although, it's part of the fun :)

9 Legend

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14.6K Posts

April 5th, 2025 17:43

it may be easier than you think.  I never have one so I can not be too helpful.  part of fun (to me) is to figure out how to do it.

some pic I found. some show the cold cathode light tube at front which uses a voltage inverter.  I speculate these just use 4 pin molex power from psu

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9 Legend

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14.6K Posts

April 5th, 2025 17:47

eye candies.  makes me want to get one

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April 5th, 2025 17:52

@redxps630​ hmm I might be missing that plasma tube, don't see it on mine, or it's tucked away somewhere I don't immediately see. Will check more during the disassembly. 
I absolutely love mine, it's a timeless look, which is why I'm revamping it! Will post the finished product 

9 Legend

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14.6K Posts

April 5th, 2025 17:55

the official name is (CCFL) Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp

I have one of these but never tested

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL_IXszVS6Y

some users just install a modern LED behind front.  modern light may be brighter and easier to control.

(edited)

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April 5th, 2025 17:59

@redxps630​ thanks, I was thinking that too. Just put an LED stick in there, and that allows me to replace the front 80mm fans with new quiet ones that don't need to be light-controlled. Less cables, better airflow and noise level.

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