Future upgrade potential for an R4?

I maxed out the CPU, GPU and RAM on the R4 I purchased a week ago and through reading these forums, I see allot of the users upgrade different parts of the laptop from time to time, the GPU being the most common core component next to an SSD upgrade.

So say 2 years from now, if there is an i7 Gen 5 CPU, a Radeon 9990m, and 16x4 DDR3 memory, could I potentially put those upgrades in an R4,

I would really be interested in 16gb x4 - 64GB ram. I think the Dell business laptop 6600M supports 64gb of ram now, so it has to be possible (abit rare) to see 64gb on a laptop today.

 

The CPU will be a different socket so no.

The Graphics card maybe, depends if it is MXM 3.0b

And RAM it has 4 DDR3 slots and can support a maximum of 32GB or 4 x 8GB as stated by the intel Ivy Bridge chipset.

 

Sorry but a upgrade able laptop is a joke...it only is upgrade able with current parts usually so you can buy a low end Alienware and buy after market parts at a better price. That will not be under you're warrant though. Some times you can upgrade the GFX card but it has to be seen by the BIOS so if Alienware doesn't update the BIOS you have to take a chance on a hacked BIOS.. Just my opinion. Alienware doesn't want you to be able to update a laptop a laptop. They don't make money........

 

your wrong with bios support being needed. Only system that needs bios support is 3d. Other than that, you can put just about any dell/clevo mxm graphics card in an alienware system and it will run although there will usually be small quirks that need to be addressed. Alienware serves a niche market of gaming enthuisists. If they didn't want you to upgrade, they would solder all their parts to the mobo like apple. They would also lose a large customer base if they decided to go down that road.

 

Actually they do make money selling upgrade parts. If you have a R4 with 660M, feel free to call a rep here and ask for a quote of 7970M/ 680M. Their price is higher than the average price but it also comes with warranty by Dell. But Dell will only sell upgrade parts when they have extras in stock. Eg, No 680M parts available until they have enough stock.

 

Right I get that, so the next gen or 2 will not fit the G2 socket and pin config defined by Intel? If it does, then all it would be is a bios update to support the new CPU. (A G1 socket CPU will not pin up with a G2 socket), Unless the next gen Mobile CPU needs a G3 socket I think I should be good? (with a bios update).

GPU if it is the same size card/pin config should be an easy upgrade and should not need a bios refresh unless it has some strange new features (3D).

If the CPU upgrade works and pins out the same, then the 32gb ram limit should be lifted to the next point (I would assume).

Reading on the intel mobile processors on intels website, The CPU is technically what caps how much ram you can install.

 

No I highly doubt anything will be backwards compatible in terms of processors, just take a look at Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge mobile.

GPU's are a different story, they are all following the MXM 3.0b standard, that I highly doubt will go away, but be wary as you'll also need BIOS support, like take for example my Sager NP8690 (Clevo W860CU) and I believe the best GPU that works is only 1 generation newer, a 6990. And alot of Clevo owners were angry that Clevo cut off BIOS support for newer Clevo models.

Point in case, don't buy a laptop specifically for the fact it can be upgraded, if it can be, hey great. Owners of the M17xR2 have been blessed that 680M/7970M can be upgraded in it, but not without issues (fan issues, HDMI/audio issues).

 

The CPU won't be able to be supported. For example, Haswell CPU's won't be using the same Socket on the motherboard as IVY Bridge,