Best 17" Alienware - R1, R2, R3, R4?

I am thinking of picking up a 17" Alienware, but can't put my mind on which one.

From my knowledge, it seems the R2 would be the BEST of the line, due to it having the RGB 1200P screen and the dual cards ability.


Do the other models not have better screens?

 

The new AW 17 is the best, unless you upgrade everything in the R4. I owned the R4 and two of the new AW 17's. I can say with confidence that the quality has drastically improved from the previous generation.

 

Can't say which is the best, but I can honestly say my M17x R3 has been to least reliable laptop I've ever owned by far. The graphics card (GTX 580m) dies way too often, despite no overclocking, official bios/vbios, and is kept cool at all times. The thing just wears like a pair of cheap shoes. Can't say whether it's Alienware or Nvidia's fault, but my faith in both brands has dwindled significantly.

 

Got to agree with this. The R3 is probably the least option IMO. Mine was so much trouble (yes, the 580m ) dell replaced it with this one. Not much better as I'm on my second 675m .

The warranty is worth it's weight in gold though so it gets fixed quickly. Last time was a replaced card next day after calling!

 

This all depends on how you want to put your back into it and what matters the most.
Internal screen = personal preferance. Id go for the r2 any day.

GPU = Noone comes close to the R-2 fully built with 2*7970M
Positive = This one wins any full computer benchmark test im quite sure with a 920XM or 940XM. Also very GPU heavy games will run the best.
Btw BF4 is a bit CPU heavy to and will be boarderline choice between a good single GPU with a fast CPU and the r2 rebuilt.
Negative you might have to run HwInfo for fan control and you will have to put in some elbow grease or flux if you want.

CPU = the newer generations and a computer that takes the 780M will be the best.

Then we talk price.

All depends on what you pay for your computer.

To build your R2, and if it has the top of the line CPU you are in for a rebuild with GPU and PSU setting you back in the area of apx 1000 $ pluss personal effort.
If you have to swap CPU you are in for apx1500 $

What you gonna use it for?
Why have the hassle of the rebuild if all you do can easily be done by single slower GPU on full settings.

 

I would say the R2 has the best upgradability to this day, accepting almost every modern MXM 3.0b card without too many hassles. That and coupled with a 1200p RGBLED screen, it's truly a beast. The R1 can't go beyond like 5870M CF, and the Core 2 Quad platform is really aging, also can't go past 8 GB RAM. The R3/R4 Alienware completely changed ODMs from Flextronics to Compal, and resulting the outgoing 17" Alienware model became only mid range and the M18x being the new flagship model. The R3/R4 have a plastic chassis like most other 17" laptops on the market, and have that soft touch on the palmrest (I hate it). Basically the R3/R4 replaced the M15x, offering a single high end GPU. The new 17 is good, they changed back to a metal chassis, offered with the highest end GPU's like the R3/R4, but IMO it doesn't keep up with the older R2.

 

I've loved my r3 through the years i've had it and its always served me well although its always had its little quirks. The R2 was probably the golden machine of the line though as its still pretty awesome even in its older age and lasted a ridiculously long time as far as laptops go. I've gotta say if I had the cash and really needed a new primary machine I'd buy another 17" alienware in a heartbeat, but I really don't need one anymore at least right now Since I built my desktop. Hopefully gonna pick up a next gen 14" though for college, and then I'm gonna be broke for a couple years as a college student and won't be able to afford anything.

 

I'd get the R4 IF AND ONLY IF you can get one with a 100% functional sound card. The R3 was good to me, but I had the 6990m card, which never died or crapped out on me, but I ran it undervolted (which was great, it reduced temps by 15 degrees Celsius). Really Nehalem and Core 2 platforms are too old, I wouldn't bother with those, even if the R2 was a beast. Personally, I'd save up and get a M18x R1 or R2

 

An overclocked 920/940XM is still nothing to sneeze at and I doubt that CPU would bottleneck anything but the best GPU's. That and the R2 has been proven, and it quite cheap, compared to the what is offered on the R3/R4.

 

If I ever see a cheap one on craigslist I'll probably snag it and see if I can find another 6990m to run in crossfire for a cheap backup system.

Edit: And what happened to your r2? Just curious.

 

True enough, but there are other factors to consider. I can pull 5-6 hours battery life on my R3 and R4, I doubt it is possible to do that with the R2. Integrated USB 3.0 is also very nice to have. Sandy bridge/ivy bridge is great for PS2, Gamecube, and Wii emulation. Depends on what OP wants out of his system.

 

The R2 was shipped out before there was switchable graphics for the HM55 chipsets. Anyhow it's a PM55 for the R2, and TBH saying an Alienware has XX battery life isn't exactly a strong argument, these kind of machines are not meant to be run on battery. A used R4 is still $$$, while a R2 is far cheaper, you can find OOW ones for 600 and under if you know where to look. And I thought the R3/R4 has its own host of issues, like USB 3.0, the BIOS for SATA 3, etc. R2 is a proven platform.

I'm always going between my parents house and my girlfriend's house, so carrying around 15 pounds almost everyday is too much. That and before I got my new job I needed a new car, and the R2 was supposed to fund my car. But I'm sick of using the Clevo I'm using now, in the market for another 17" gaming laptop, probably an MSI or a 17" Clevo, not that I didn't enjoy my Alienware. It's way overkill for the games I play (Dota 2 really). What's really bugging me is I am so used to the 17" screen on the R2, that going down to 15.6", it's just bugging me.

 

ah makes sense. I've yet to own either a sager or an MSI machine, but I've heard some decent things about both over the years. That 11" Sager really had me interested for use on the go, but haven't looked at it in a while. Might have to check it out again.

 

When it comes to USB 3. I have that in my R2. I have 3 off them. PCI express with a cost of 12$ does the trick.

The only thing is what do you need and what is most important for you?

Battery life is not important for me. For battery life I have tablet or other lighter better suited computer that are actually laptops.

If all you want is a bit of all worlds not 100% optimal for anything but good enough for most, then the R-2 is not the solution, it eats battery, and like all other laptops, the performance goes down the drain when on battery. .
If performance on an easy to move computer is the need, then the R-2 is king outperforming all M17's made until now.
But do you need that extra performance? If the price is lower than other M17's and screen is better, why not? (the fact that its most likely old and used is a good NOT argument)

Alternative if price is no issue = M18.