Physical difference between R1 and R2

I am buying a refurb on Thursday and to ensure that I am not been conned how can i tell if its a mx17 R2 rather than a R1? If there is a very quick way without switching it on that would be perfect.

TIA

 

There isnt. They are identical on outside. You can see if there's a i5/i7 core sticker on backside. That will tell you if its a R2. I think R2 isnt made with the core duo's so thats a method of checking. Correct me if im wrong.

 

First things first this should've been posted in the Alienware m17x subforum as it is specific to that model.
As for cosmetic differences between the two there is none.
Without turning it on you can check the specs list that comes wirh the box or if you get to open it the laptop should have a sticker on it :
Core 2 Duo/Quad/extreme or core i5/7/extreme
And also there's the service tag that you can check up on Dells support site.

 

I can think of only one difference, the F7 key will not switch graphics on the R2 so will not have the GFX icon on it

 

You're right hehe
The m17x All Powerfull F7 key says I/D GFX and the m17x R2 F7 key says GFX only.

 

I guess you could also tell by looking up through the fans on the sides with a light and seeing if the GPU PCB is red or green, if green you know it is an R1 if red it could be either one

edit: nvm...they offered nvidia gpus on the R2 as well, disregard

 

Oooor
The audio jacks in the All powerfull are coloured (Pink, Black, Orange, Green) while on the R2 they are all black

 

You are really in the best situation to find these differences.....you have them side by side haha

 

Yes but i guess that's kinda it, should be enough tough and meets your request OP (without turning it on)

 

My R1 has got GFX on the F7 key. Not I/D GFX.

 

That's because keyboards are the same.
Did you buy yours from the outlet or did Dell change your keyboard?
I/D stands for Integrated/Dedicated

 

This. That's the fastest way.

Also the R2 should be a tad heavier due to a beefed up cpu cooling system.

 

The R1 heatsink is bigger( has to cool the integrated 9400m/chipset with it) than the one in R2.

 

My R2 on the F7 key has GXF

 

As others have said, look at the stickers on the under side. If they mention "Core 2" it's an R1. If not then it's an R2.

If you do need to boot it up, you don't have to go all the way into Windows. Hit F2 at the alien head logo to get into the BIOS, and look at the first page that comes up. It'll tell you what the CPU is, and you can see from there if it's a Core 2 or an i5/i7.

 

Excellent. thanks for all your help

 

The Alien head on the lid of R2 has a smirk on his face because he knows that you will be wow when you look at the RGB.

The guy on R1 looks like he's trying to cover something up. He obviously does not want you to look at the display knowing that you are darned by the auto-dimming.

Just kidding Not bashing R1's users really. I owned an R1 before and I cried my eyes out when we departed.

 

Hahaha, love it! Nice to see you're still here by the way!



With regards to stickers... They can be bought from ebay and swapped at the cost of a dollar or two. If I wanted to sell an R1 and I knew I could get more for it if it was an R2.... Stickers would be getting changed around!

 

The audio jacks are the easiest straight off to view.
they are black on the R2 and colour coded on the R1.
Outside of that they are identical, even internally.

 

Internally they are not identical....the CPU heatsink of the R2 is not cooling the northbridge as well where on the R1 one piece cools both