Advice on purchasing Alienware 17

Hi,

So I'm coming from the m15x camp. My alienware is having display issues and crapping out on me I'm going to need to get a new laptop. So I'm obviously interested in the AW17. My m15x lasted a few years and I was pretty happy with it overall. But I've heard the 17 has a lot of issues and a lot of people don't like them. So I'm wondering if you guys could give me your advice. I'm thinking either the AW17 or an Msi gs70 stealth pro or something.

I tour for a living. So I spend a lot of the year traveling in airplanes, vans, and buses. My laptop gets tossed around and tumbled quite a bit.
The main uses for it are video editing and gaming. I like playing new games with eye candy and enjoy cranking my settings up with good frame rates. Battlefield 4. Stuff like that. And I edit a WHOLE lot on Adobe Premiere pro and Adobe After effects. Manage a lot of high quality video. Not 4k currently.

So what dyou guys think. Should I go for an Aw17, and if so which set up would work for my needs? Or should I rather look into the msi gs70 or one of those models?
My budget is around $2000. Give or take a little.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

You can't go wrong with the Alienware 17 R1. It's a great system, and it's built like a tank. It is going to be substantially larger than the M15x, and will weigh a bit more, too. But, I doubt you're too worried about that, as you are an Alienware owner.

As for what GPU to choose: the 860M is a great choice, the 870M is a better choice, and the 880M is the best choice. How helpful was that? Not much. Considering your budget is at or below $2000, the 860M is probably what you'll want to get. You don't need to waste any money on a better CPU than the 4710MQ. The 860M can handle BF4 on Ultra (4xMSAA) at roughly 40 FPS, give or take a few FPS. On High settings, it sits around 60 FPS. I believe this is satisfactory for your needs.

Here is a list of the FPS results I've seen:

• 860M:
  The 860M performs at about 38~42 FPS on Ultra (4xMSAA).
• 870M:
  The 870M performs about 15%-20% faster than the 860M, on Ultra (4xMSAA), which is approximately 46~51 FPS.
• 880M:
  The 880M performs about 30%-35% faster than the 860M, on Ultra (4xMSAA), which is approximately 50~58 FPS.

P.S. These are all Kepler. The 860M is 28nm Kepler. For High settings, add 45%-50% to each FPS result, and that's what you'll see.

Definitely get as much warranty as you can. I suggest starting with the base model at $1499, adding a 1080p screen and the 3 Year Alienware Enhanced Support warranty. This amounts to approximately $2040 before taxes. You should be able to negotiate off the taxes. Just tell them your budget is $2000 after tax, and you want those exact specifications. It shouldn't be a problem.

Hope this has helped you. :thumbsup:

J.Dre

 

You really think I should start at $1500?
I was looking at the $2150 model. It comes with the radeon r9 m290x 4gb card. What dyou think of that compared to the nvidia cards your suggested?
And what about ram, you don't think I'll need 16gb?

 

I don't think AMD is a wise choice over an NVIDIA card and 3 years of warranty.

 

How much does the 3 year warranty cost?
Is the warranty really worth it in your guys opinion? Does that not imply that the laptop wont last?
It just seems like a bit of waste getting the lowest grade aw17 there is.

 

Also what are the pros and cons of the aw17 vs the msi gs70 stealth? Anyone have any experience with the gs70?

So far the msi looks a lot thinner however not as powerful.

 

Thinner = hotter and louder = less performance.

Less powerful, well, that explains itself, lol.

EDIT: And yes, the warranty is worth every penny. It also keeps the resale value up a bit.

 

The r9 290x is more powerful than the 870m right?

 

It's a re-branded 7970M. The 870M actually outperforms it in some games.

 

Just becuz of the driver issues for the R9 290x right?
Better driver will change the game?

 

I currently have a 7970m in my m15x. Should I maybe put that into an AW17 if I get one?

 

Dyou guys think Ill be satisfied with the $1500 build and not have/want to upgrade real soon? Id like to be able to play recent game and newer ones coming out.