Alienware M17x R4 upgrading parts?

I've been thinking of doing a few upgrades on my R4 lately.

Currently I have
Intel i7-3610qm
AMD 7970m
16gb memory

Last November I actually purchased a 1TB Samsung 840 EVO and put that into my computer. I've been thinking of putting in a new processor and a GTX 880m (or the next iteration of it), but I don't think it would be worth it. But I do want to upgrade my screen to a 120hz one so getting the 880m wouldn't just be for the speed boost. That's already a lot of money, and I was wondering if it would be better to sell my current R4 and just buy a new setup than upgrading parts. But I love this thing and I don't want to just replace it for better things. Another option I can do is instead of investing to upgrade this computer, I can just build a tower, but again I don't want to have 2 computers, at least not yet. Any thoughts?

 

I'd get a 3920xm/40xm and a ssd if you don't already have one. I'd also get corsair 1866mhz or 2133mhz ram, although not necessarily more than 16gb. I would then wait for the next gpu line to come out to upgrade the gpu. This is what I would do in your shoes.

 

Hi there ,

I'd say your correct about the current GPU's for any dramatic speed increase and the 120hz display is loved by all who get it .

Things to consider; It is a 120hz native panel and as such cannot sync with a 60hz signal. It fails post when the iGPU is tested. AW got around this by using a different cable and connector on the MB to bypass the iGPU completely. Not even seen in the bios.

Only NV cards have the ability on their microcode to boot at 120hz so you'd need a 680m as well but since they are performing as well as the 780m with some OC work it might be a good consideration? It is fully supported in the R4 so is very much plug-n-play. And the price should be reasonable by now?

When you decide to go for the next generation of NV card you wont need to get a modified bios to disable the iGPU with a 120hz display either. You will loose 3D with a later card but 120hz works fine .

General opinion I got about CPU's was that for gaming pretty much any i7 is going to perform very well and the top version is not going to make that much difference unless benchmarking is your thing? - I stand to be corrected on that though

Good luck

 

I would personally recommend you buy the GTX 680m instead of the 7970m's unless you're strapped for cash

 

This ^^ plus the nVidia card if you are planning to go for 120hz.

 

I already have a 1tb SSD and 16gb of ram. MickyD states that I shouldn't worry too much about the CPU now though unless I'm benchmarking.

The 680m and the 7970m is nearly identical with a very slight edge favoring the 680m. I'm looking at either the 780m or the 880m, but I'm going to wait and see for the maxwell cards now.