So will the AW 17 R3 mobo work with AW 15 R1?

I currently have an Alienware 15 R1 with Core i5 4210H and GTX 970m and 1080P IPS Matte Screen.

I just ordered an Alienware 17 R3 motherboard with Core i7 6700HQ and GTX 980m.

I heard that AW 15 & 17 uses the same motherboard.

I also know that the port layout on the R3 is slightly different due to USB Type-C on the right side.


Any ideas if the AW 17 R3 is just plug and play or do I have to do some modding ?

 

Hi,
Indeed both motherboards are different. The Alienware 15 R1 has a different design from the R2 and Alienware 17 R3 since these two were released under the same designed. You can check the system's manuals in our support site for more information.

 

Not going to fit. Different heatsink, slightly different internal chassis.

But you can get the bottom chassis and heatsink on chinese auction sites for fairly cheap and thus making it work.

 

From what I`ve seen, they are very similar (same mounting holes, same dimension,etc...).

I know I need to change the bottom chassis due to the USB type-c Port and relocation of HDMI and removal of MINI-DP on the AW15R2/AW17R3.

Are you 100% sure about the heatsink? From what I`ve read AW15 and AW17 uses the same motherboard layout so the heatsink mounting points should be the same.

I just double check and I think you are right about the heatsink.

Do you know any specific good source I can get the bottom base and heatsink for cheap?
I saw parts-people.com selling bottom base (Y5FKV) for $34.95 and heatsink fan assembly (W8RW9) for $34.95


AW 15 R1 Heatsink


AW 15 R2 Heatsink


AW 15 R1 Heatsink


AW 15 R2 Heatsink

 

The AW17R3 motherboard is indeed the same as the AW15R2. If you buy those 2 parts you can retrofit the rest of the parts you have onto the chassis and make it work. Taobao has some of those parts, you can use the part numbers of parts people to search on taobao. But if you live in or near the US there is no reason nto to buy from parts-people. Those prices are pretty good.