What upgrades would be worth it for my M17xR3?

I have an Alienware M17xR3 with the following specs:

-Intel Core i7 2820QM
-Radeon HD 6970M
-1.5TB 5200x2 RPM HDD(Two 750s using Raid 0)
-16GB DDR3-1333 RAM

What are my upgrade options, and what would be worth it performance/price wise?

Thanks for any help.

 

I would get an SSD if you could, maybe a mSATA one so you dont break your raid array.

That will give the most noticeable day to day performance increase.

Otherwise a new GPU could be useful, but not sure if the price would justify it.

 

SSD definitely. I have almost the same setup with a 580m and 2860. Either of those would be a very minor upgrade IMO. I do have an SSD however and it makes a real difference when compared to my other AW machines.

 

Overall I'd say SSD as well, but the R3 doesn't have a mSATA slot so you'd have to break your Raid array and make a compromise to storage capacity. Purely for gaming, a 7970M would be a more worthy upgrade than a SSD.

 

How hard would it be to get the 7970m installed properly(does it need a different heatsink or fan or anything like that as compared to the 6970m?) and working in the R3? I've been trying to find a thread where someone has done it but the advanced search function won't load for me so it's a lot of sifting.

 

I believe this thread is what you are looking for:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-mobility-7970-m17x-r3-illustrated-guide.html

I followed most of the steps & everything works fine.

 

Gaming is always graphics card first, general usage an SSD, ram if your running low in your current apps.

 

I think I'm going to end up building a new PC and selling my Alienware, sadly. It's had a good run but now it just seems to be holding me back when trying to enjoy newer games.

 

That's a bit sad since it just needs a graphics card to double its performance.

 

Truly a pity indeed,my system was just like yours before I upgraded my 6970m to 7970m,which I felt was totally worth it considering the huge jump in gaming performance.
& judging from my own specs,I believe they are sufficient enough to enjoy upcoming games in very high to ultra settings for a few more years.(from my own perspective,of course)

 

I might keep it and get the new computer anyway, but I don't know, for some reason doing anything in a laptop always makes me feel like I'm somehow going to horribly break the machine. I've had my hands in desktops hundreds of times without breaking anything, but just laptops make me feel that way for some reason.

 

You'll never get over that feeling unless you try it out! I was like you- only worked with desktops in teh past. But with the help of people here and some common sense, I changed my ram, hard drives, and CPU with no problems

 

You just need a slightly different feel for things and you are good to move over to be honest, just less force in general required.

 

Sorry to jump in on your thread Lakart but it seems fitting to my current situation,

I have a Mx17-R3 and my 6970 just crapped out in it. I was thinking of replacing it with the 7970 and was wondering if that link "[GUIDE] Installing and Overclocking the AMD Mobility 7970 in the M17x R3,an illustrated guide " that shinob! referred to was still current.

Also, does anybody know where I can get a 7970 from?

 

You order it directly from Dell. Call them and get directed to Parts. Don't tell them your service number and just say you have a m17x r4 and that you're not home. If they find out you have an r3 they won't let you order it.

Once you get the card, its really simple to install with the guide. The 6970m bracket will fit the 7970m so the process will be very easy. Use a non-conductive non-diamond thermal paste on your gpu and you're golden. (I think shin-etsu x23-7783d is the best paste ever)

 

I got the 7970m from here:
HD7970M Alienware M17x M18x VGA Upgrade Kit Dell HD7970M 2GB DDR5 CF Ready | eBay
It was delivered to me roughly within a week.I suggest getting a quote from Dell before you shop around.
Also,I changed my card less than a month ago using the link's guide,followed everything except that i use 13.3 beta driver & Trixx to overclock.So far so good:thumbsup:

 

Cheers for the info, Dell quoted me over $700AUD for the 6990 so I might just go with the 7970 from your eBay link shinob!

The guide mentions: "At the time of writing, there is no driver support for the 7970m...hence no Enduro. We have to shut off the integrated graphics."

Is this still the case?

 

For the integrated graphics,I am not sure,although judging from the majority of the threads here,we are better off without Enduro,since it sometimes causes downclocking when playing games.
If your system is the R3,here are some things to take note if you are intending to get the 7970m:
You will lose the ability to adjust brightness & most likely your display brightness will be fixed at a dimmed level once you get the card to work.
Here is a solution to fix it back to the original brightness level but I still have not found a driver that can allow user to manually adjust the brightness level.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/678968-7970m-dim-screen-fix-r3-sort.html#post8732198
This issue happens to a lot of R3 owners,perhaps R2 too,I'm not sure.

 

The SSD is definitely needed and a 7970m could work but the best one certified by us is the 6990.

 

Unless youre using windows 8 x64 7970m... Because my screen dim works perfectly.