M17x R3 "Upgrade"

Im considering to buy an used M17x R3 with the following specs:
i7 2860QM 2.5Ghz
16GB DDR3 1333Mhz
Nvidia GTX 580M
SSD 256GB (No model specified)
Full HD Screen

Coming from an Alienware 14
Nvidia GTX 765M
8GB DDR3L
i7 4700MQ 2.4

Is a good "upgrade"? Im really fan of the Alienware M17x and im considering to upgrade the GPU (680M at least or 780M) plus the i7 to the extreme edition (2920XM)

Any issues that i should be aware from this model? Greetings

 

BIOS has to be unlocked to allow for sata 3 speeds on the SSD. The 580M is known for a whole bunch of errors with it failing after a year. Check around on the forum concerning that.

 

If i update the BIOS to the last version, should this allow SATA 3 Speeds? Or is through other method? I dont know a lot about the previous generation of M17x

About the GPU, there isn't any problem with the last generation of AMD in this model? (HD 7970M for example)

 

The 7970's also have some problems, if I recall. Honestly, I don't think it will be an upgrade as is, and might actually be worse. Granted, you can get a better GPU, but at the cost of a new high end GPU and CPU, as well as whatever you're paying for the laptop itself, you'd be well on your way to a completely new laptop. The 765 is a rebadged 675mx, and is actually about the same performance wise compared to the 580, and actually a little faster in some games. The CPU is also two generations older, and so you're going to lose some power efficiency and performance there as well. I wouldn't do it, but it's your money.

 

765M is NOT a rebrand of a 675MX, 675MX sits slightly below a 680M and above a 670M/670MX. 765M is like a slightly better 760M. That being said, 765M isn't much worse than a 580M/675M but 580M drop like flies, I'd avoid that card with a 10000 ft pole.

 

Just to back up this information , the 675MX is not even the same core technology as the 675m. The 675m is exactly the same as the 580 - I've had both - and both have crapped out multiple times .

The SATA 3 thing is because dell had so many problems getting it to work on both drive bays they pulled support for it and released newer BIOS' with it removed on the R3. I went through hell getting my R3 to operate on SATA3 only to find it made almost no difference at all. Maybe a couple of seconds on win load and nothing after that. SSD's are so fast already it seems that 3ghz is not a bottleneck. It would make quite a difference with a SATA 3 HDD though I never got to test this.

You need the unlocked BIOS to be able to disable the on-board when using a GPU that is not in dells list of supported GPU's for a specific model. Optimus gets messed up and needs to be halted. Anyone with a 120hz machine does not need to do this since the iGPU is already disabled.

You also need a modded driver .inf file othewise you get a 'Hardware not found' message.

HTH

 

Oops. I guess the 675 being basically a 580 is where I was getting confused. I was a generation behind in my rebranding. My point stands though, that the 765 is comparable to a 580, and seemingly a lot more reliable.