Dithering on a prospective purchase

Uh, hello to you guys, I'm new to this forum.

I am thinking about buying an Alienware 18, but as the year is closing in, do you guys think it is better to wait for a refresh, or just buy the current one? Thanks in advance.

P.S. excuse my english if it has errors, I'm not a native speaker.

 

I would wait for a refresh. Their Alienware 18s still do not have the newest Nvidia 900M series graphics cards, which are significantly better than the 880M graphics they currently offer up to.

 

I disagree. You need to grab an Alienware 18 or a used M18xR2 before it's too late and there are none left to grab, then upgrade it to 980M SLI yourself. If you decide to buy an 18 used, avoid 880M SLI unless you can get a great deal on it. Go for 780M SLI (much better GPU) and upgrade that as soon as your budget allows you to. If you can find an M18xR2 with 680M SLI that's an even better option.

DO NOT buy the next generation Alienware unless you're OK with the CPU and GPU being welded to the motherboard, poor performance from a low-TDP turd CPU, not being able to upgrade anything except RAM and storage, and having only two memory slots to work with.

Alienware has given us ZERO reason to believe they will refresh the 18 with 980M SLI. There is always hope and we certainly hope they do, but the silence is deafening. Judging from the direction they seems to be heading with their other laptops, the 18 probably will suddenly disappear without warning. I mean really, only a moron would want to buy the crippled new 17 with the current 18 still available as option, and they want to sell new machines. They would be cutting their own throat on new 17 sales.

 

What is the difference between the two cards?
Edit: After checking the Alienware website, there seems to be no more offers for the 780M SLI.

 

The difference is 780M is awesome and 880M is messed up. But, you can only purchase 880M now in a new Alienware because they (as did almost all OEMs) acted on the assumption that newer meant better. They were wrong. 880M absolutely could have and should have been better. It has 8GB of vRAM, which is awesome, but it has trouble with erratic behavior and overheating. If all you can get is 880M SLI, get it. You can use the heat sinks and SLI bridge to upgrade to 980M SLI, or just learn to live with it as is. It is by no means the worst GPU on the planet, it just never lived up to expectations and underperforms compared to its predecessor. For the most part, it play games well enough. It's still much better than an R9 M290X CF setup.

 

Yep you might be sorry if you wait and miss out. Alienware's new stuff seems to be aimed at a totally different market now.
I totally agree with Mr Fox. Get a AW18 with 780m SLI if you can, or a R2 with 680m SLI if you're really after a lethal laptop and a tweakers dream. Either of them will at least let you have your way with upgrades.. especially the R2.
Get a new Alienware if you're the type of person that doesn't mind having your own bought and paid for furniture nailed down to the floor.

 

Wait are you saying that there will no longer be a new 18 inch Alienware 18 and only a 17 incher with a soldered CPU?????

What happened to the 18?? The number one reason I always wanted my current Alienware is that they are one of the few manufacturers that offer 18 inch. 17 inch is too tiny for me

Glad I got the current setup with a 780M GPU I should count my blessings then

 

If you're comfortable with upgrading laptops and you want SLI, you should buy a refurbished AW 18 on eBay for $1500 and upgrade everything in it. It will probably save you the most. Heat sinks are cheap. The 980M's are the most expensive. A 4940MX CPU is also recommended, but a 4910MQ will suffice. You can sell the 765M's and 4700MQ as well.

Alienware 18 Dual NVIDIA GTX 765M SLI i7 4700MQ 8GB 750GB Windows 8 Laptop | eBay

 

But what about the 860M? Can I replace it with the 900M series?
Edit: Also, what may be the most bang for your buck parts that are currently offered are?

 

Ba-bump for people

 

If you buy AW18 with 765M, 770M or 860M you will need to upgrade the heatsinks along with the GPU.

 

Welp, 880M it is, not to mention having an easier time. Thanks for the help everybody, I'll check back once I get the laptop.

 

GTX 880M SLI is undoubtly very fast :thumbsup:

Anyone who wish to have an fully upgradeable AW notebook should buy now like mr Fox says. Since Dell is rumored to discontinue them, its only a matter of time before they stop selling them. And then you might see the resellers price at ebay start increasing because it become a rare item. Which it is with IPS display and everything