Dated Alienwares - Do they bother you?

Hello forum.

Long time no speak

I've been using my M17x R3 for just over a year now and after seeing many users continually upgrade and even overclock the likes of the new Gtx 880m in their Alienware 17's I'm beginning to wonder if my system is considered "old hat" nowadays.

I'm running a M17x R3
1080p Screen
i7 2860Qm
8GB Ram
250 GB hard drive
Intel 1500 wifi card
HD6990m Graphics Card

The thing is I still feel the system is perfectly adequate for my needs with many of my games still running on Maximum settings with very few exceptions (And even in those cases the games still look amazing).

Should I plan on upgrading the graphics card in the next few months or should I just use the system right up until the end of the warranty (2 years Approximately) and just get whatever fancy new system replacement is available then?

 

If you are perfectly happy with the system then I don't see why you should feel any pressure to upgrade components or buy a new laptop. I don't plan on upgrading mine until it gets the point my last laptop was at and I actually can't run the games I want to play or it dies.

Upgrading the GPU can breath in new life but the cost is so steep (shudders)

Thats just my 2 cents

 

Man, if you're satisfied there is no reason to rush out and spend money. That is still as powerful than many much newer systems that are being peddled as "gaming notebooks" and it's a nice machine. You're in a good position, without any pressure since you're not feeling cramped on performance.

Since you posted, it's obvious you are thinking about it. I would definitely upgrade what you have now rather than buy a new Haswell machine. Prices on 780M should be coming down and 680M prices will likely go lower, too. 2920XM and 2960XM CPUs are very affordable now as well. If you dropped an XM CPU and 780M in what you have it would certainly be more affordable, and it will run as well as a newer machine. If you want to get really fancy you could even make yourself a 330W AC adapter dongle as Nospheratu did... very clean-looking mod.

 

If you are perfectly happy now, tolerate the itch till next year and then get a huge boost with a next gen gpu and keep going for another few years

 

Will the Maxwell GPUs be compatible with the current motherboard?

 

No guarantees but alienware systems have been going from the 5 series from amd and 4 series from nvidia up to the 880m and 290m.

There may be hdmi sound issues though.

 

You've answered your own question above. If it *bothers* you NOT owning the "latest or greatest", then by all means, go and upgrade it or add your current machine to the growing list of SOLD ones in your signature. I'm not quite sure why you needed a thread for something like this, as it's pure personal preference. If you're happy, be happy......you don't need other people to reason with you to upgrade or whatever, right?

Sorry, but this thread is a bit like me asking if I should have chicken or steak for dinner......if you have chicken and you like chicken and your happy with chicken, stick with chicken. If you fancy a bit of steak, go out and buy some and get the griddle pan ready.....

 

I would say if it works why mess with it..... I have an antique M9750 ( Pre Dellienware M17xr1 ) that I still play a bunch of Command and Conquer on

 

A lot of good points being made by everyone.
I believe it's a phase because I'm looking at laptops differently these days in that I just don't feel the need to continually upgrade unless I really am missing out.

For example if I were to throw in the latest GPU once my warranty is over, would there be any difference gaming wise against the latest revision of Alienware at that time?

I see quite a few M15x users still running the latest games due to GPU upgrade capability and as such begs the question that aside from the GPU have we reached a stage where processors & most other components are now fit for at least 5 to 10 years use?

Would it be even worth my while to upgrade the wifi card or Ram?

 

Let's say you tossed in a 780m ( M17x R3 GPU upgrade to gtx 780m) when your warranty is over, that's gonna be more than twice as potent as your current 6990m. Any games that you might find your 6990m struggling with are going to be easily more playable with a 780m - probably even a 680m, which isn't too far off a 780m. Most games are gpu dependant and not so much reliant on processor power....there are the few exceptions, such as the Crysis saga, Metro Saga and some others that do take advantage of a more potent processor. I think you would be fine with the Sandybridge 2860qm, but you could always look to drop in a 2920/60xm if you felt like it.

Fit for 5-10 years? - I guess that depends on how much you want from your machine. If you NEED a super-fast cpu for a specific purpose, then maybe older technology is not going to provide you with the best possible performance. I guess it is one of those things where it's down to the individual again.....it costs a lot of cash to sit on the bleeding edge of computer technology ALL the time. As you mentioned, your happy with the performance you have now, so why change it if it's doing everything you want it to do?

The good thing is that you CAN upgrade the gpu, and that's probably where the most benefit to be had lies with gaming notebooks. Upgrading memory from 8gb is not really going to have much impact on gaming...it would if you were using the machine for running VM's etc. Upgrading the Wireless card might provide you with better coverage and/or stronger signals and faster performance....the latest 802.11ac routers and cards will offer that, but again ask yourself, do you really need to or are you happy with the wireless performance you have right now?

If you have an itch to upgrade something on your current machine, I'd be considering (i) gpu as the most important (i) larger SSD, if you need more space. Other than that, I'd be tempted to avoid the urge, stash the cash in a fund for a new machine in the future when you can have everything "upgraded" in one hit by building a new machine whenever you feel the itch again....

Just my thoughts on it.....

 

My perception is that; a minute and a half after I get the latest greatest whatever....there is a newer version out with updated, faster, fancier, ....you know the drill...
So...I get the latest greatest at that minute in time, with the longest warranty, run it till the warranty is up....rinse and repeat.

Seems to work well for me for "things".......not so sure that I would apply the premise to "relationships"

 

Also remember that buying a newer machine is not necessarily going to be an upgrade in terms of performance. While it has some characteristics that represent improvements in certain tasks, a Haswell powered machine is a performance downgrade in many respects. You cannot buy a new Alienware laptop with all of the features the M17xR3/R4, M18xR1/R2 have to offer. They are stripped down in comparison. The Alienware 18 is not able to keep pace with my M18xR2 in most things.

 

I usually upgrade every 18 - 24 months and that is not so much as for the performance upgrade but for the reliability. Don't get me wrong because if performance was not important I would not be buying an Alienware but I am a long way from any computer shop and if I do get a problem it is up to me to fix it.

To answer your question; if you are happy with it, keep it and wait until you are no longer happy; but you already know that

 

Sandy bridge is still very good! Since sandy bridge I don't think there have been vast improvements to speed (efficiency yes). Drop in an XM as advised and you are up there with very powerful machines. Considering the R3 isn't SLI capable you don't even need the most powerful CPU perhaps unless you do encoding work etc.

I have an even older M15x with 7970M and apparently even the 880M works so I am sure maxwell will function in both machines. You have far better CPU potential though!

Bottom line keep it.

 

Be proud of your old system!

The only reason why I am now seriously rather than idly considering buying a new system is because I am coming to the end of my extended (and extended again) warranty life. After five years, you can't prolong the warranty any more, so after October, I will be flying unprotected. Experience has taught me that unprotected Alienwares are frighteningly expensive Alienwares very quickly, so I'll see what's offered then. I have an old R1 with only one 260M GTX card and you know what? I love the crap out of that thing. UT3 runs butter-smooth on max settings, people are always in awe of its video capabilities (especially the HDMI out to the 55" 3-D TV to stream a live Internet event in HD trick), and it looks great.

Plus, anodized aluminum Nebula Red really needs to make a comeback on the available colors. So, so good.

 

Do R4's qualify as being dated?

Apart from the annoying SB card/drivers issue I can't really complain

 

If it works anything like the M18xR2 does, the M17xR4 with an XM CPU and 780M will outperform the equivalent in the new Alienware 17. On top of that the M17xR4 has more features. The Alienware 17 beats the R4 in build quality.

 

What mr fox says is very true. I loved my r4 due to all the ports, buttons, and extras it had. My new 17 is great, the quality is 10 times better. Its solid, no keyboard flex, everything in it is better.... but my r4 ran games so much better despite the fact that I had a 680 and now have a 780.

 

Having an old system doesn't bother me the slightest as long as it's getting the job done. I tell you these 2 years since I've had my m18x R2 have gone by mighty quick and I still have some of that day 1 excitement every time I use it. I see some of these users with m17 r2's and think "geez what a buy!".. they are still the business after all this time.

 

Right on there, Bro - if ANY machine is still floating your boat after a few years AND getting the job done with ease, I'd be happy as a pig

 

They won't bother me because in a few years I'll have one!

But seriously, one of the reasons I went with Alienware was how easy it is to upgrade.

Sent from Tapatalk from an increasingly expensive smartphone

 

That's a logic because we're human dude..... and Human will never reach a point of satisfied.....

I have a same system like you, just went update into 680m because my 6990m is dead for unknown reason. it's my 4th years with this bad and I'm happy with it. have considering before for updating into the new Alienware, but the "Lamborghini" Version is not as cool as the "UFO" Version..... in the way I see it.... ^^

 

.....and the new M17 does not have the media buttons. I really miss those media buttons :cry:

 

Necroing a thread? sorta? anyway, I agree with the rest, If it still does what you want it to, Keep it going!, I ran with 9600GT Sli for some 5 years because they had all the grunt that was needed for 1080p, Sure i did a processor upgrade and a ram upgrade on my desktop but those 9600Gt's weren't replaced till 2012 simply because they weren't being maxed out in the games i played bar 1-2, Then everything went woosh and i ended up with 7970 quadfire

 

I feel the R3 that I got entering college in 2011 will be more than capable to push through at least another 2 years. The R4 I feel like could go for another 4 (if the annoying sound problem doesn't cause me to throw it out the window first)

Aside from capability, I think the new alienwares are fugly (just my opinion, not to offend anybody) and will keep my machine running as long as possible.

 

If I'm not mistaken, the M15x was released in 2009 and I'm fully aware of those whom have managed to install the HD7970m card.
That's nearly 5 years of good gaming performance 'survival' from that laptop, which in the world of increasingly advanced technology, is very impressive.
Any idea on how long the HD7970m will remain a 'relevant' card?

 

I would say easily for the next 2 years... Its insane,,,

 

I think the 7970M will be good another 2-3 years easily.

 

the 7970m aughta last a few more years, Hell the 6990m still has alot of grunt left in her, Though mine is damaged :<

 

Buy a high end card at the start of a generation should remain usable for the full generation after.

 

Totally agree I wish they would've kept some variant of the r4-r2 design with aluminum and I would've laid off my upgrade to the r4 by Dell

And lol on the recon3di issues