Best Alienware laptop for video editing?

Hey guys. So I'm on the market for a new laptop. I started off with the alienware m15x ages ago, and about 4-5 years ago I got the alienware 17 laptop which I'm still currently using but I think it's getting outdated and it's time for an upgrade. I've just been so out of touch with alienwares new stuff so thought I'd ask everyones advice here.

I'd like to stick to a 17inch laptop. I work in film and edit video for a living. So that's my top priority. You might be wondering why the hell I'm editing on a laptop. Well I travel a ton. That's why. Trying to get back into gaming too. Looking to spend $1500-$2000. Mainly editing on Adobe Premiere Pro which I think requires mainly RAM and CPU power. But I also do a fair amount of work on Davinci Resolve which is all GPU power.
I'm a little confused with all of Alienwares new laptops. So any suggestions are welcome! Back when i got my first alienware laptops no one else was really cranking out laptops with the specs I needed/wanted so thats why I chose them. But if there's other companies out there now you think would be a better fit for my needs let me know.

 

Your limited in a away. I would stay away form the new 17 r2/15r2. Look at the 17m that is still upgradeable with ram and storage or look for a previous 17r5 (you can find some really goods deals on 17r5 right now).

 

Why d'you suggest staying away from those two models?

 

Your stuck with 8 or 16gb of ram as whichever you choose is soldered on system board as well as the WiFi Card is soldered on system board. Video editing you’ll want more than 16gb of ram I’m sure.. almost your limited to to 2 m.2 drives and rhatsbit. The previous new 17m has 2 m.2 and a 2.5 bay.

 

Not only that, but the RAM supplied by Dell, soldered or not, is likely to be the cheapest possible Dell could find. For instance, the m15/m17 ships with CL19 memory from Dell but can be upgraded to a 25% faster Hyperx Impact memory at a cost of $75 per 16GB. I mention that since memory latency is likely to be a significant factor in video editing performance. Your best bet is m15/m17 R1 with 8GB of Dell RAM + the desired capacity of 2666MHz CL15 Hyperx Impact RAM.

 

25% faster? That's a great way to lead someone into thinking they will have much better results with the HyperX vs stock. That's not true in the slightest. Latency has little affect on video editing, and it has little affect on day to day use. I would stick with the argument that it can't be upgraded at a later date (which is a real issue).

Here is a good review to see how much of a difference memory speed/latency plays in some popular video editing suites:
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Does-RAM-speed-affect-video-editing-performance-1528/

 

Not leading anyone anywhere other than out of the Dell memory trap. Factory upgrading the m15 from 8 to 32GB and possibly 16GB costs more than just getting the cheapest 8GB config and getting the Hyperx impact kit. It's a no-brainer.

The +25% is the highest real synthetic benchmark result delta posted in the m15 users' lounge, video editing performance would probably see less of an impact. We won't know until someone benchmarks it on the exact system with the two exact memory kits. The benchmarks posted above quote 4-12% improvement in a different system memory config (which sounds worthwhile anyway), so can only be used as a fairly sketchy proxy.

BTW I am finding the reference to real life use meaningless in the context of measuring computationally intensive tasks' performance. Sure, my memory speed doesn't matter when I'm just reading the news on the web.

 

Synthetic benchmarks don't translate to actual gain in real usage scenarios like gaming or video editing. I'm a memory snob of some sorts, but I have no preconceived notion that it actually gets me anything, it's more of a hobby.

The Puget Premiere Pro shows a LOSS of 0.46% in going from 2666MHz CL19 to 2666MHz CL16. The only system that actually had a gain in going with tighter timings was the 3900x.

I'd love for you to show me a 25% gain in anything that's not just memory benchmarking. Games and video/photo editing won't see anywhere near that, more like a couple of percent.

 

A loss of 0.46%... Please, I'm sure you've heard of variance. They clearly state faster memory can yield up to 13% improvement in performance (conclusions section). Q. E. D.

I would love to do some independent video editing perf testing, there are just three issues:
1. A day has only 24h
2. I only have one Dell stick and not sure if single channel results could be extrapolated to the usual dual channel setup
3. I don't have any video editing software nor any need for one at present.

 

I have heard of variance, my point was that for the OP's specific needs, there is no gain in going with faster memory.

Here is the conclusion:
"Overall, our recommendation for most users is to stick with the RAM speed that is officially supported by your CPU in order to maximize the stability of your system. If you are looking to get every ounce of performance, however, there are some applications (Photoshop and NeatBench from what we tested) that can to potentially get up to ~13% higher performance with DDR4-3600 RAM. Just keep in mind that this performance is definitely not "free" - just like CPU overclocking, it is possible that it may cause more problems than the extra performance will solve and may require a bit of tinkering in the BIOS to get it stable over the life of your system."

So up to 13% in certain applications when going from 2666MHz CL19 to 3600 CL16, all on desktop processors that may be limited by memory (vs a laptop which will more likely be CPU limited).

In the testing I've done, even going from a single 16GB stick to dual 8's (same speed, but the 8s are CL15 vs CL19), gaming performance didn't change. The only significant changes were with synthetic benchmarks which tested memory.

 

Thanks, it turns out faster memory does speed things up in some cases.

The tinkering comments are completely irrelevant to the m15 which supports XMP and takes Hyperx Impact RAM like a champ, as evidenced by multiple users here.

Ultimately it's up to the OP whether they are happy to pay Dell more for clearly worse, not to mention soldered RAM, and forfeit potential upside / upgradeability.

I would expect gaming to be relatively least affected due to the expectation of effective optimisation and of course the offloading of computations to the GPU - no argument there.

 

Right, it does help in some rare cases. But that's going from 2666 CL19 to 3600 CL16. Going from 2666 CL19 to 2666 CL15 would yield much less spectacular results. 99.9% of users would never be able to tell a difference between the two, so I'm not sure how that's "clearly worse." The only real issue would be lack of capacity upgrades due to the soldered on components.

 

The specification is clearly worse.

You are highly unlikely to have the data in your disposal that would allow to accurately make a statement such as "99.9% of the users would not see a benefit".

To answer OPs question accurately we'd need to benchmark his use cases on specific hardware. The 9900K used in the Pudget piece has 16MB of cache vs 9MB in the 8750H, therefore will be less sensitive to RAM latency.

 

What @custom90gt said is true. For normal tasks even a worse or higher CL'ed RAM @2667MHz won't make a stellar performance impact unless you mainpulate heavy DBs in-memory or use spare RAM as RAM-disk for semi-persistent scratch space.
If you have a non-tech savy family member and ask them how fast Chrome loads in your PC with 200 tabs open with 2 test case(s) say 2400MHz HyperX module and 2666MHz or higher module. They'll definitely say both launched at same time ignoring milli-second difference we noticed because *we* I mean you are the sole user of your machine and you know it better!

 

If you have a non-tech-savvy family member, a Surface, Yoga or a tablet will do, that's not the point.

 

Yep even a 5 yr PC with enough RAM and SSD will do!

 

You're right, it's anecdotal that 99.9% of people wouldn't notice a difference, but I've yet to see any evidence to the contrary. I've tested the 8750h with CL19 and CL15 and haven't seen any difference in a variety of test suites from gaming to encoding to system wide benchmarks, engineering software, and memory benchmarks. The only benefits that I've seen are on memory benchmarks.

The whole point of me derailing the poor OP's thread was that your 25% faster comment is not anywhere near accurate. I feel like that point has been made, so I'll let it be.

 

I'd go with a Alienware Area-51m base model for $1,803.99: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/gam...a51m-laptop/wnser7cr5101h?view=configurations

I recommend the 144Hz display if you will game. You can upgrade RAM, drives, CPU, and maybe one day GPU if ever needed.

I still have my Alienware M18xR2 and it can render @ 4.3Ghz non-stop full turbo all day long with good temps.

My Area-51m needs a -100mV but at stock speeds (9900K @ 4.7Ghz) it performs well in rendering as well. The 9700 in the base model should be able to render with a undervolt at full turbo all day long as well.

 

The 25% improvement is indeed the theo max probably only reachable in memory benchmarks, my bad.

I have found this quite interesting:

https://www.techspot.com/article/1171-ddr4-4000-mhz-performance/

Note performance improvements almost across the board, including in gaming. Again, not the same hardware though (Skylake this time).

In summary, there is no good reason not to buy HyperX Impact memory instead of the more expensive and slower Dell one.

 

Wow guys... I appreciate all the input. But to be honest, a lot of this is going over my head hahah. It's been a while since my "tech days".
A small update is that I've taken quite a financial hit in the last few days so I'm looking to hopefully spend around $1500-$1700 now. Might be a little wiggle room. But anyway, I got a little confused in regards to all the RAM talk. Can anyone clarify if there's any models that I should really steer away from? Sorry for sounding so dumb, it's just a little confusing looking at alienwares latest setups. Used to be simpler back when I got my last 2 laptops. Still trying to figure this out and make a decision soon.

 

You should steer clear of the m15/m17 R2 (soldered RAM). Look at m15/m17 R1 or maybe the A51M.

If you'd like more than 8GB RAM (you do want at least 16GB), and are not afraid to open up the laptop, you can order the cheapest 8GB build from Dell and go with an aftermarket memory kit called Hyperx Impact. It will probably be cheaper than getting 16GB (def 32GB) RAM from Dell and you stand to gain a bit of extra performance.

 

Looking to buy a bag/case for my Area 51. Any recommendations?

 

Wrong thread but AW sells 51m specific bags or Everki titan

 

Thanks! So the advantage of going with the older models (R1) is that they have upgradable RAM where as the newer models (R2) are limited to 16GB of RAM correct?

How difficult would it be to install the aftermarket RAM myself? I used to open up my laptops all the time but it's been a while. Also how much would it cost to get me to 32GB of aftermarket RAM?
And am I at any disadvantage with going with the newer (R2) models other than being stuck with limited RAM? I assume there must be some upgrades otherwise they wouldn't have released the newer series. Is there any differences as far as the physical size/weight of the laptops or anything else I should be aware of that I'd be missing out on?

 

Installing memory in the R1 is quite simple, you just need a plastic shim to open the case (the entire bottom of the laptop needs to come off). You can look at the service manual on Dell website.

There are more disadvantages to the R2 actually, see here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-m15-r2.829035/

Probably the #2 fail of that model after soldered RAM is the inverted motherboard design which would make any repasting very cumbersome, in contrast the R1 is very simple to service.

The main advantage would be the availability of an 8 core CPU for that model. I've only seen one user report and apparently that CPU performance was quite disappointing though.

 

Hmm very interesting.

Regarding the R1 versions, is there any difference at all with the 15in and 17in versions or it's literally just the size?

I still have my AW17 and m15x. They're both pretty junked but functioning. Does anyone happen to know if Dell takes them in? I'm trying to reduce cost of this new laptop as much as possible.

And this is probably a very dumb question, especially in this forum. But is there any other brands you guys recommend I check out that would be a good fit for my editing needs before pulling the trigger on this R1? As I mentioned earlier, I've been with Alienware for probably 8 years. I never really checked out other companies but a lot of time has passed. Is there any other companies that offer anything competitive as far as price point with no huge draw backs?

 

There are only drawbacks in latest soldered AW. Trade-in is often lower though!
There are too many compromises in today's BGA which can't be compared to your older AWs.

 

Disappointingly, it's literally just the screen/laptop size, not 100% sure but even the KB is probably the same.

 

Surely there is a difference in thermal performance given the larger chassis of the m17.

 

Gigabyte Aero is the best alternative. It is expensive but offers same display choices, same CPU choices and a good cooling.
If you want to save some money - you can try Dell G7. It has same exact hardware as Alienware m15 and m17 models but slightly worse cooling system (no top air intake and slightly smaller side heatsinks) and has no second m.2 slot.

 

Not necessarily a significant one, if they used the same heatsink to save cost. A quick look into service manuals should verify this, I'm relying on generally very accurate info from brother @Papusan that internals are the same.

The Aero was indeed my second choice. The missing amplifier port should be noted though, as is the lack of onsite support (in fact the Internet seems to agree that Gigabyte support is pretty bad), not to mention the idiotic Gigabyte warranty void if open sticker.

The G7 also lacks the AGA port, and also comes with worse screen and GPU options. Not sure if RAM isn't soldered in the G7 too (or could have been the XPS). The price difference between the G5 and the m15 seemed too small to justify the downgrade.

HTH

 

Hey guys,
Thanks so much for all your suggestions. I'm pulling the trigger soon on the Alienware M17. I'm looking at the $1550 build that comes with:

9th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2060 6GB GDDR6 (OC Ready)
16GB, 2x8GB, DDR4, 2666MHz
256GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive

Is there anything you guys suggest I absolutely should upgrade with Dell or move around?
When going through the customization of that build they offer another 16GB of ram for $200 I believe. How much am I saving by buying that from some 3rd party place and installing myself? Also would it be much cheaper to buy a larger internal harddrive myself and install?

Let me know your thoughts on the CPU and GPU. Will these function well with programs like Adobe Premiere Pro, Davinci Resolve? My priority is definitely being able to edit 4K footage smoothly as this is what most of my clients have me doing. And second to that I'd love to be able to play some graphic intensive video games with solid settings and frame rates. Let me know your thoughts!

 

Buy aftermarket SSD and RAM. Do check with @etern4l @Papusan and others to verify if Dell throttles GPU performance when CPU+GPU usage is above 95%. I've seen this artificial limit on XPS,Inspiron, HP Omen, Lenovo X1 etc...