Need some advice regarding ALIENWARE 17 R2

hello everyone , as the title says i am looking for an advice regarding an alienware 17 r2 which i am currently thinking to buy after my m17x r4....i just want to confirm that can i upgrade the gpu and cpu in this laptop or is it a BGA crap kind of thing .. here are the specs of the laptop that i am thinking to buy :

MODEL: Alienware 17 r2
SCREEN: 1080p 120HZ 3D
CPU : 4910MQ
GPU: 860M
RAM: 16GB
HD: 1TB
SSD: 80GB
DEPLOYED (SEPTEMBER ,2014) shows on backplate.

if anyone has knowledge regarding that kindly let me know ..i have searched alot on internet but couldnt get the right answer.

 

"upgrade"

going from m17x r4 to alienware 17 r2 is not an upgrade. 860m is a good bit weaker than 780M

 

well i know.. i mean to say upgrade in terms of new shape ,screen and generation ... will swap my 780m in that but want to confirm that its gpu is changeable or not ?

 

Older Alienware 17 with Haswell Mx/Mq processors have fully upgradeable hardware. It’s Alienware 17(R1 or called Ranger). This chassis has never been called R2.

Aw17R2 (Echo models) have Haswell HQ processors. Aka fully BGA!!

 

i dont know why that guy is calling it r2 then ... he says that he never did any upgrade or downgrade to that laptop ..it is as it is from the first day...he even shared pictures of its backplate and complete back without its cover removed ...from the design of the heatsink which is a little bit visible from its grills make me assume that the gpu is not BGA nor the CPU...posting those pictures...let me know what u guys think

 

Upgrade your R4 instead, the 3940XM overclocks way better than the 4940MX does.

 

Can't tell from the pics but going on the GPU I'd say it IS an AW17 Release2 - making it BGA.
The M17x series stopped with the R4. 680m as it's top GPU. The AW17R1 was a transitional model. They changed the design but kept the insides, so it was the last socketed upgradable Alienware Laptop. This had the 7xx series of GPU's but I believe an 8xx model was introduced close to the EOL (adding to the confusion). Only an open back pic is going to clear this up .

IMO the R4 is a way better machine. A 980m or above is needed to get a decent step-up from a massively overclocked 680m

 

Simply use the service tag to look up its exact model at alienware site. I think its BGA from the looks of it.

 

This Alienware 17 model has never ever been called R2. Period!! Its second revision of Alienware 17 with Haswell chipset and socket MX/MQ processors (2013/2014). Alienware 17R2 is the Echo models aka full BGA and launched early 2015. Known as, massive throttlemonsters.

 

hmmm i see :/ well thanks alot guys for your suggestions and advices will post the picture of its back cover removed as soon as i will receive it and will ask the picture of its bios too

 

No need for it... It's last gen *normal* Alienware 17 with pure upgradeable socket hardware

 

how did you figured out?

 

Your own pict. Single cpu HS. Bga models have unified HS(shared pipes between cpu and gpu)

 

yeah thats what i was thinking when i saw this picture at first well just to confirm i asked him for the picture and he said he will send me today or tomorrow as he is busy with some stuff ..well thanks alot mate !!

 

And you can compare the power button. The BGA crap have the Alien skull in the middle

 

oh thats a great way to differentiate between alienware BGA and Non-BGA books xD except the m17x series ...thanks for this great idea will help me alot in future

 

update : @Papusan ... i just got the pictures and the gpu is removable now i have one question ... if i change its gpu from gtx860m to 780m ..will i get display on that 120hz screen? and 3d feature? quiet confused about that

 

Alienware 17 was a option with 780m and 120hz 3D screen. Your laptops has to have correct screen if you want this feature. +3D glasses if you want 3D feature.

 

i see so that means that 3d feature wont work on 860m which is installed in it by the seller?

 

You need the 3D 120Hz screen + the glasses(60Hz screen was probably the big seller due cheaper price). I don’t remember if 860m was supported.

 

according to the laptop's metal plate on its back , it seems like the 3d feature will work in it because gtx 860m is written on its metal plate and the laptop is with 120hz of screen.If it wasn't there , that would be a doubt .. the only thing missing is the NVIDIA vision glasses and i dont think there is any other way to check the 3d feature

 

I don't see why the 3D feature shouldn't work. It doesn't matter what card you have as long it's connected via eDP, even an old card like 570M could do it, if it runs well however is a different discussion. The only way the 3dfunction will not work and other problems arise is when you try to use a card whcih vBios cannot completely be used by your system. In your case you have 2 AW cards, so there should be no issues whatsoever.

I still strongly recommend your old R4 over the new AW tho. I've seen plenty CPUs running at 4.7ghz or higher while haswell furnace CPUs barely run at 4.4ghz.

 

Well i dont even know that why 3D does not works when u upgrade or change your gpu from which it had before...well i like the new shape and thats the reason im thinking of buying that one..i never Overclocked my cpu nor GPU ..and i avoid it because i dont want my cpu or gpu to burn/fry/blast because of any stupid mistake and one more reason is to get as much life span from it as i can and currently im running a 2nd gen i7 processor in it

 

R4 with 2nd gen CPU? So you have a R3 then?

 

Lol no its r4 ...2nd gen cpu's work in m17x r4 xD...its suppored by the chipset

 

but...why??? :'D

Why don't u slam a 3920xm / 3940xm in it and OC it to around 4ghz having your perfect performance / heat :'D

If I were you i'd go for an XM and be done with it. There is really no purpose to getting a newer alienware model, especially if you plan on getting ur old card into the new AW notebook. It's just a waste of money you could invest in something like a XM cpu and maybe a baller card.

 

Well i live in a country where finding these processors is difficult...and buying them online costs double the price of it...still im looking for an XM series cpu but cant find it...and about overclocking ..i have never thought of overclocking gpus and cpus as i like to run them stock ...and nowadays my cpu's fan has started to make weird sounds and the stock fan keeps the cpu to 70-75 degrees while gaming and is currently pasted with gelid gc extreme..so these are the reasons i dont OC specially the cpu xD

 

So you plan on spending money on a notebook to get pretty much the exact same performance instead? :'D
Also are you sure, that the notebook you want to buy is indeed an Alienware R2? Because as far as I remember the R2 series had maxwell while R1 had kepler. Not to mention that I remember R2 being relased 2015 not 2014.

Also I'm pretty sure that R2 notebooks have BGA CPUs, while the R1 had socketed. So I think the notebook u're planning on buying is an Alienware R1, not R2

 

Not really like that...i like the shape of new alienware more than the old one ...thats why im thinking of getting that one ... Well i have posted its pictures and its specs too on the metal name plate in my previous posts and its a 4th gen cpu alienware and got its pictures of back removed too ...so everything can be upgraded or replaced(cpu/gpu/hdd/rams/msata) etc etc

 

Yeah because it's an Alienware R1, in the end it's up to you. If you want to spend that much money for same performance because the other notebooks looks better then go ahead, I'm not one to judge.

 

Yeah well currently arranging somecash if i get otherwise i'll keep this one and upgrade its cpu and replace its fan too...and thanks alot mate for the suggestions

 

You can ask some people who did some decent modding on the cooling on your model for advice. If you can keep the XM cool, then you have better performance on your old R4 than the R1 can get. Also 70c in gaming is excellent, most modern gaming notebooks run easily on high 80s to low 90s.

Also I had the R4 myself, the cooling is actually really really good, only thing that annoyed me was the glossy screen and the noise it made when it went beserk on cooling.

 

Yeah i saw those posts too of modding its fan with an 14inch alienware's fan i guess(CFM thinggy fans ) ...the issue is that i cannot find a single part of alienware in my country so i have to buy it online from aliexpress and i hate sound it makes at low speed rather than sound it makes at full speed and it really p****s me off sometimes :/

 

Just to jump in re the 3D.

It's all about licensing by Nvidia. when an oem sells a laptop with 3d they register the GPU and screen ID, and pay a per-machine fee. This is then added to a certificate hidden somewhere (BIOS?) that the driver looks for and verifies a licensed 3D model.

If you have a 120hz model laptop and even buy the 3D kit from NV it will not work, been there tried that on my X8 . A little driver hacking gave me a 'licence' error against the screen ID . The only 3D available is through a 3D TV, and that is terrible.

I was following AW closely at the time and the 3D model was only offered with their top GPU of the moment so an 860m does not sound right . What wattage is the PSU? It should be a 220w if the original GPU was a 100W model (The 860m is a 75W GPU).

If 3D is going to work it has to be a combination as-sold by AW. HTH good luck

 

yeah i got a confusion too about that because i have searched alot on internet about alienware 17 r2 with gtx860m and 3d screen bla bla but couldnt find any single website with the same specs except one person selling a laptop on gumtree which was actually sold ..so im still confused about that and the laptop has 240w brick according to the person whom i contacted

 

some more pictures which i have got of the laptop yesterday

 

why is this service tag showing as XPS 17 L702X on DELL SUPPORT

 

I really can't tell if that is BGA or not . Maybe an AW17R1 owner would know? But the BIOS is exactly what I would expect from a 120hz panel model

 

its not a bga .. the picture clearly shows that the gpu is removable

 

Oh god, that is TERRIBLE cooling.

 

Thanks, I've not seen inside one and that looked a lot 'neater' than my R4.
Does it have an Nvidia 3D Vision sticker anywhere?

 

hahaha here xD

 

terrible ? really ?

 

yeah. Open your R4, compare your GPU cooling to the picture. You'll notice rather quickly why that is not going to cool down the 780M very well.

EDIT: nevermind, the heatpipes are much bigger than the ones of the R4, it's basicially the same.

 

All know 780M need the bigger HS.
For the records. Alienware 17 With 780M is delivered with 240w psu.

 

i see no such difference in m17x r4 ...apart from the black colour of the pipes and the heatsink
edit: oh yes i just saw the 2 pipe GPU heatsink .... my m17x r4 has the 3 pipe heatsink ..can i swap that one in this one ? i mean , are the size and dimensions same ?

 

Whoops! Doh, sry .
That asset number is strange....

 

confusing right ? same here

 

then whyyyy is this laptop having service tag of xps 17 laptop im so confused now ..literally

 

still ..looks like it wont handle that much heat as the number of pipes matter alot as far as i know