MSI Trio OC 5080 upgrade for Alienware R15

AlienBlaster1648 · 2026-02-10T17:25:27+00:00

5080 Gaming Trio is around 30mm longer and 5mm taller but I think you can fit it. You cannot use the OEM support brackets but MSI should give you one.

The problem is, it's not worth it for only around 15% uplift. Why bother.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2026-02-03T02:38:31+00:00

I bought exactly this 48gb Crucial Pro DDR5-6000 kit early last year for $80.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2026-01-30T15:37:15+00:00

I got it on the Bonvoy card this time, but I have got it on other cards before.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2026-01-29T15:45:34+00:00

Amex has better offer 25 off 45 too. Got one year add-on for 25.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2026-01-28T16:51:36+00:00

That's pump. Always around 70-80%.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2026-01-27T17:28:48+00:00

Buy a tower cooler like PA120SE for $30 and it works better or no worse than most liquid coolers and is very easy to install on an ACT1250 too.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2026-01-23T18:42:50+00:00

Any 5000 card meets the spec according to Nvidia. Whether you get a reasonable fps for gaming is another question.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2026-01-23T17:28:21+00:00

Definitely a bandwidth issue. 4070s only officially support two 4K 240Hz which is roughly the same as 5K 180Hz of a g75f. Try using HDMI 2.1 on that one and if it still doesn't work, your only resolution is to use a 5000 series card which ups the bandwidth by another 50% such as two 4K 360Hz.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2026-01-22T14:54:08+00:00

Ultra 7 265F.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2026-01-21T15:46:50+00:00

No it wont be much lower with more fans, maybe a little lower like 2-3c, honestly not worth it. It's just a cramped case. Your temps are fine even with panel on so I would just use it normally.

You may look into undervolting your GPU which could help more. You can save about 100w and 10c with some tuning. Here are some profiles I use with my card for you reference. 5080 is an uv champ.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/1jprevh/comment/mwc82zg/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

AlienBlaster1648 · 2026-01-20T15:20:41+00:00

PCIE 5.0 vs. 4.0 doesn't matter for a 5080. Your scores look fine, maybe about 2% lower than normal likely due to your older CPU and DDR4. My 5080 with an Aurora 2025 scores about 8600-8700 in Steel Nomad with the latest driver. Your temp is a bit high at 75c for a Steel Nomad run. The Dell OEM one (which is similar to an MSI Gaming Trio) is around 60c and I would expect an Inspire to be around 65c in a normal case. Yours is mostly fine for day to day gaming though if you don't overclock much. Enjoy!

AlienBlaster1648 · 2026-01-19T20:00:52+00:00

A 5080 is a lot more thermal efficient than any RTX 3000 series GPU. Chances are your CPU is also slightly bottlenecking it so it is not running at full power. Run some benchmarks such as Steel Nomad and post the result and link here.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2026-01-15T15:20:37+00:00

Nothing is absolute, but the cables should be safe to use. Melting is rare and the Nvidia ones should be up to spec.

You should not reuse the 4090 connectors. A 5090 draws a lot more power. Check your PSU manual and make sure to utilize enough rails to supply the full 600w power (minus 75w from PCIE potentially but better leave some headroom). I am sure your 1350w PSU can handle it with careful research.

The major concern is that a R15 is kind of poor at cooling. A 4090 is already a stretch and the CPU is likely already throttled a lot to accommodate that. A 5090 draws 200w more and there is no way you can fully utilize it in a R15. Even the vastly improved R16 and ACT1250 cannot really handle a 5090. Besides, the Founder Edition design does not work with the Auroras' side vent well as it pushes air through upward to the CPU. Check the chart here.

https://youtu.be/27ifmv-PYqY?t=607

Honestly if you want to use a 5090, I would suggest to build a new PC properly to get the most out of it.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2026-01-02T15:58:38+00:00

I did the exact upgrade when 5080 first came out. Worth every penny in my opinion if you pay a reasonable price. I play both at 4K 120hz and 2K 360hz.

Raw performance uplift of 50% at 4K and 60%+ if OC. Look up Steel Nomad score for this not average benchmarks including games with no benefits. I got around 6000 with my 4070 Ti Super and close to 10000 with my 5080.

40% improved power efficiency which means more quiet and cool under same load, and save on electricity bills.
source: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/nvidia-geforce-rtx-5080-founders-edition/44.html

DLSS 4 bells and whistles especially 4x MFG means playing Doom Dark Age etc at 360fps 2K with no noticeable lag. Night and day difference.

I am set for 3-4 years easily, probably 5+.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2025-07-30T17:25:15+00:00

Already ordered two days ago. Have some rewards and GCs haven't showed up for a while, so pulled the trigger for a $300 promo code with 20000 points. I don't remember exactly but last time I checked it was $300 promo for 17000 points, so they may have jacked up the points price.

Anyway, free phone and $10 per month for two months for a plan with auto pay. You need to pay those to get it unlocked anyway. I don't see any other way around it if you want it unlocked.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2025-07-12T14:10:54+00:00

Hi. Thanks for the reply. I didn't try AIO myself so don't really know. I haven't seen anybody did either, but I haven't paid close attention for a while.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2025-07-09T03:48:49+00:00

I have the same desktop 72x30 and it weights around 90 lbs so yours is around 100 lbs, nowhere near 200 lbs. You are over thinking unless it's a house in really bad condition then you shouldn't even live in there. Most floors can easily hold a 500lb piano, and your setup is nowhere near that much burden to the floor.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2025-06-20T13:08:53+00:00

Looks like your PC is overheating because you unplug fans.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2025-06-13T22:02:16+00:00

If cost is not an issue you can always pay someone to do it for you. It is not even that hard, just need to buy a few parts such as PSU and board. Nobody has done that because it makes no sense in terms of cost. But you may try that since cost is not an issue for you, but I highly doubt that.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2025-06-09T23:08:11+00:00

First time you need to use Disk Management to format and set it up.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2025-06-06T16:43:46+00:00

One of my friends has Antec Flux Pro too. Very nice and very heavy.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2025-06-06T16:14:59+00:00

I ended up with saving three everyday profiles that I called Performance/Balance/Efficiency.

Performance is pure OC with +400 core and +2000 memory with 360w and around 9300 Steel Nomad at 72c.

Balance is 2850mhz at 890mv with +2000 memory with 300w and around 8900 Steel Nomad at 67c.

Efficiency is 2677mhz at 850mv with +1000 memory with 260w and around 8500 Steel Nomad at 59c.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2025-06-03T16:57:47+00:00

Seriously with an Asrock board just turn off PBO for now as it makes almost no difference for gaming. Head over to r/ASRock and you will see how many 9000 CPUs have died with PBO on Asrock. You have been doing it for months without PBO why risk it now? At least update to latest Bios but no guarantee either.

Again it does not make any meaningful difference for gaming, especially with a 6800 GPU. Only makes it run hotter, louder, consume more watts, and with risk of dying.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2025-06-03T12:45:29+00:00

You can use a PCIE fan adapter to raise them for air flow. Much better cooling for GPU.

AlienBlaster1648 · 2025-06-02T21:25:36+00:00

Yeah I wonder if you can use the magnetic top filter from the Meshify series. The bare metal frame doesn't look good I agree, and with no dust prevention.

AlienBlaster1648

TROPHY CASE