With ir without G-Sync?

I will be buying a gaming laptop in a couple of days and I still can't make up my mibd in between two models, where the difference is mostly the GPU... One is the Alienware 17 with GTX 980m 8GB and the other one is the MSi Gt72 Dominator Pro G with GTX 980m 4GB and G-Sync technology

The specs are basicaly the same, the difference would be, that Alienware has a GTX 980m 8GB instead of 4GB (on the MSi model) and no G-Sync technology... Would it be a big difference to trade a G-Sync panel with a 980m 4GB to a 980m 8GB option without G-Sync? Cuz I never had a machine with G-Sync, so I am curious if it makes a big difference here...
The price is basicaly the same for both models and their config.

 

I would go MSI, not because of GSYNC, but because it uses a MXM card and can be upgraded in the future. If you absolutely wont upgrade in the future, then 8GB is a little more futureproof as many games today use more than 4GB even at 1080P. GSYNC is nice, but I can live without it. Plus we have the new sync technology NVidia just released coming with future drivers

 

Don't Alienware laptops have the same MXM 3.0 slot for gpu upgrades? Because I had an Alienware 17 from 2013, but that one died... But it had the same MXM slot though...
And I won't be upgrading the GPU for at least 2 years probably, so would that affect a lot of performance while having a 4GB Vram limit?

 

no, alienware switched to soldered a while back. Its all one motherboard with a soldered cpu and gpu. 4GB, IMO, is not enough. Some games wont allow you to max them with only 4GB

 

Well that's some unpleasant news... Can't understand the decision making in making the gamers hands tied without providing any kind of abilities to upgrade the most important components... That's why I bought the Alienware back in 2013...

Thanks for the info then, won't even consider the Alienware machine just because of the soldered parts...

 

Some limited Alienware 18s came with GTX 970M SLI and GTX 980M SLI, but no g-sync

 

Also, keep in mind the MSI cpu's are also soldered, the only thing that isn't is the GPU, RAM, ETC. If you want everything to be removable, you need to look into clevo/sager/etc

 

Well, I think if I would get at least a 6th generatio processor, it would still do it's work regardless if it is soldered or not... The more important part is the GPU for me.

The problem with the Clevo/Sager machines is that they are available in the US market and I live in Denmark, so it's not an option for me, since the taxation would be insane, as I tried to calculate it and then machines prices rocket to sky high prices...

 

I recommend the MSI for sure. G-Sync really is a great feature. After having used it on my 144hz 1440p monitor for the last few months I can say that I won't be going back. It's like when you go 144hz or higher, you just hate using anything lesser. What I have noticed from G-Sync is that even when getting lower FPS the games feels much much much smoother. In addition when you get huge fps spikes up or down you don't feel those like you do with a non g-sync monitor. The game just feels smooth and transitions nicely between frames. Hope that helps. I loved my MSI laptops, and even though the CPU is soldered the GPU is still MXM. Alienware has gone down hill, they soldered both CPU and GPU, and I don't even think they offer a MUX anymore. That means you're stuck with freaking optimus on a very expensive laptop and therefore you cannot even overclock the monitor a bit. No thanks. MSI all day baby.

 

It helps for sure! Since I never saw G-Sync performance with my own eyes, so it kind a didn't had a lot of influence before reading what it exactly as and if for real it makes such a big difference...

What comes to the cpu, I think it might take a while until a 6th gen processor would start bottlenecking the whole system, if it is soldered to the motherboard... As I said, the most important part is the gpu, since I did an upgrade for my previous Alienware and it helped a lot.

I think I will go then with the G-Sync model, since everyone has such positive responses on it! T.Y for the answer, @Talon !

 

I concur, I don't ever wanna lose GSync again, its freakin epic. The lack of stuttering to me is even bigger than the lack of tearing. Either go MSI or if you want a GSync laptop with a desktop cpu go with the Clevo P770DM-G. Check it out at least, its another great option, a ton of users here own Clevo's because they are awesome.

Either way as long as its Clevo or MSI its a beastly laptop.