Is it time to upgrade from my M17x R2?

I keep going back and forth on this guys, and need some assistance.

Thinking of upgrading from my R2, which I love. I have the RGB LED and the SLI 285m combo.

Now graphically, even though the 285s are older, I can play most games on mid to high settings, even games like Alan Wake, where I might have to switch between low and mid, I am fine with.

What I am struggling with the most is walking away from the RGB LED. How is the upgraded screen on the m17x? I have read conflicting info on reviews, some say the 120hz is awesome...But I would want to go with the AMD cards this time, especially with the benchmarks shown from the 7970.

From those with the experience, am I going to miss the RGB LED if I switch to the 1080p 60hz screen on the R4??

Thanks in advance for the info.

 

Depends on your preference. I prefer only AMD video card. I had too many bad experiences with Nvidia. I won't upgrade my m17x until they bring back the 1920x1200 screen resolution. I do think the 120hz makes a noticeable difference, but I use my system for photo & video editing so I prefer a larger screen resolution than a higher refresh rate. As far as the RGB LED goes, eventually it will be offered again on the alienware systems. I haven't noticed much of a difference between my R2 screen and my friend's R4 screen apart from the lower resolution. Just don't go paying premium for the 3D screen. Its way too expensive at the moment to be worthwhile.

 

You can price out the 7970 with the upgraded 60 hz screen for under 2k, which is pretty good. But I hear you, might just wait for the R5.

 

I wish they'd bring back the lunar silver color. My neighbor has an R4 in black, and it's like a dirt magnet, I swear.

 

RGBLED seems to be a big factor.
Don't switch yet.

 

Man, you guys will have to wait a long time before Alienware brings back RGB LED and 1920x1200 screen resolution.

 

True. It might be years. But I can wait. Alienware will be the only laptop brand I will ever buy because its seems they will be the only ones who offer an AMD video card in their systems.

 

What cpu do you have?

Throw some 6990m's or 7970m's into that R2.

Problem solved. You keep the RGB and have the power of a nearly maxed M18x - for 1/4th the price of a new laptop if you sell the GTX 285m's.

 

Given now my gaming requirements have surpassed my unit, I'm willing to sacrifice RGBLED for much higher end hardware, given I'm not willing to spend 800 for 580M SLI to where my 920XM will be the bottleneck.

 

If you upgrade your laptop from your 285m to 580m you'll see a night and day difference. I can't speak for the 920xm yet. I was thinking of going with the new m18x r2 but, decided to upgrade to 6990m in crossfire. In all honesty these cards are beasts. So I'd recommend upgrading your r2. Since the upgrade would be literally be a three generation difference it'll feel like a new laptop at a fraction of the cost.

 

Having just upgraded from the R2 to the R4, I will throw in my 2 cents and say the screen in the R4 is great. Seriously, I always thought myself to be a picky person when it comes to picture quality/graphics but dang people on here are A LOT more picky.

Seriously, I would say there is no significant loss of overall image quality from the old screen in my R2 and the new one in this here R4. But I guess as near as I can tell (from everyone elses opinion) I dont know what I am talking about.

Or, more likely, some time ago somebody with some clout on the internets suddenly decided that the screen in the R2 was vastly superior and now everyone seems to tout the same thing. If you didnt have someone telling you the old one is WAY better and didnt have them side by side to compare I'd bet you could barely tell any difference between the two. But thats just my silly uninformed opinion.

 

Actually I agree with you. I've played games that have only supported 1920x1080 as opposed to 1920x1200. They look great. But the one thing about the r2 is how upgradable it is. That got me is the big selling point of holding onto my r2 for another year. When it finally reaches the point where I can't upgrade it anymore I'm upgrading. Not to mention how far ahead cpu's are from what I have. As far as the screen goes though it's not a big loss.

 

Wait, what? I can switch from Nvidia cards to the AMD's? I thought you could only upgrade if you had AMD's.

I have the I7 Q740 w/8gigs of RAM.

I am a complete noob with opening this cpu up...I tried opening it up to fix a problem a month ago, and f'd it up and had to send it into depot...So I have no confidence in installing new GPUs.

Would the Dell InHome tech be able to do this?

 

Dell Tech won't upgrade your graphics cards to unsupported cards (cards not sold with the system). And unsupported cards are the only real upgrade available to the R2 (AMD 5870s would be a lateral move). If you want to see a huge upgrade, your best option is to upgrade to AMD CF 6990m or try the 7970m's. You can switch from Nvidia to AMD. But you have to do the video card upgrade yourself, which means you have to know a little or do a lot of reading on the upgrade process. See here for a COMPLETE guide to upgrading the M17X R2 video cards:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-6990-your-m17x-r2-single-gpu-crossfirex.html

By COMPLETE, I mean it's a long thread so get prepared for some reading if you are unfamiliar with the process. A lot of people have done it and most have had success. There are some limitations with the upgrade that you will need to know so read through the thread, specifically on undervolting the cards.

 

Interesting, thanks for the feedback man...I am not a videophile by any means, so not sure I would notice that much either, but the colors are so vibrant on this screen.

I have to weigh out how difficult/costly this GPU upgrade would be, and then see if it's worth it.

This is awesome feedback so far, thanks NBR

 

Ok, awesome, thank you very much for the info...I'll read this and see if I think I can handle it...Doing this would probably void the warranty. So I'll only do it if I feel confident in my abilities...If there is any soldering involved, I'll probably just Ebay my R2 if I decide to upgrade.

 

No soldering involved. Just repasting and reapplying thermal pads to the GPU/heat sink. It won't void your warranty either, but I would keep the old cards for awhile in case you ever need to return the laptop to the depot for repair just to be safe. That way you can put the old ones back in. If you do decide to go with an upgarde, post in that thread if you have problems. There are a lot of smart people in there that have been through it and will help you out.

 

Awesome, will do...Thanks man.

 

The 920xm won't be a bottleneck. If you have it overclocked you're able to score on par with a 2820qm or even a stock 2920xm. I'm definitely not seeing a bottleneck with my cpu forced to 3.4ghz with throttlestop and my video cards. . . . .

What kind of gaming are you doing that requires so much cpu power?

 

Exactly!! With a pair of 6970/6990's (or even 7970's if/when they are tested) you should be good to go for a long time. Amazes me how upgradable the R2 is...love mine!