Is Alienware Mx17 R4 outdated for gaming?

Hi, I'm just trying to work out whether I need to sell/upgrade my laptop.

Haven't gamed in a while so tried running it through the website: can I run it.

Didn't meet the minimum for a lot of games which surprised me.

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM CPU @ 2.30GHz

Video card: AMD Radeon HD 7970M

Memory: 6.2 GB

Sorry for vagueness I am uneducated in IT.

Thanks for your time,

Brad.

 

I have a 3630 cpu in my alienware m17 r4 laptop and just upgraded the video card from a 7970 to a nvidia 970 and now I can play all the newest games with no problem.

 

As always, it depends on what games 'you' want to run. And how fast at what quality level and resolution of your display too.

I would suggest to check that memory again. Nobody runs 6.2GB of RAM. Do you have 8GB total or 16GB SoDimms?

The cpu you have is still pretty powerful, if your chassis design isn't throttling it significantly.

Does uneducated in IT mean you won't look into upgrading your gpu yourself (or see how much $$$ to pay someone to do it)?

 

No it isn't outdated. Yours specs aren't high end but that can easily be changed! 3940/20xm and a modern gpu will bring it up to date nicely.

 

^ What he said

 

i7-3920XM + GTX 980M + 330W AC adapter - $1000 and you're golden

 

I personally wouldn't worry about it, I still have my old R3 and it still better than half the crap that is out there today. Like others have said you can upgrade it. Like you said you really don't know to much, then why bother. 7970M is still a nice card, it is basically exactly the same as a AMD R9 M290X and a 8970M which are just re-branded 7970M GPU

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-R9-M290X.108643.0.html

 

What they said. I just very recently bought my ZM and was gaming with an HM with 7970M until then. That card still packs some punch, generally medium-high settings without AA in modern titles.

Then of course, if you do upgrade the difference will be noticeable. I had turn the settings down in Dying light and now I can run Ultra. And I suspect Witcher 3 will be tough on your current machine.

 

Look at my signature about what you can do your M17x R4.. My M17x beats many of these BGA laptops like MSI GT72, Asus G751 with 970Ms and has a way better CPU... You can easily put a 3940XM, 970M/980M, 12GB/16GB RAM and be sorted

 

M17x R4 is not outdated at all. No, its not Haswell or Broadwell new, but the improvements are marginal at best. The 3610QM is still capable of any gaming task. If you NEED more, you can always upgrade to the 3920XM or 3940XM. 7970M should also still play some games on ultra, and all games on high. When/if you need more power, you can upgrade to a GTX 970M or GTX 980M. All in all, still a very capable laptop today even though it is 3 years old. The only superior rigs I can think of are some Clevo rigs and the M18x R2. The new haswell computers have lower clocks, run hotter, consume more power, all for a maximum 10% increase in inherent performance.

 

No, not outdated at all. You can play just about all games at 1080p resolution with a lot of graphical details cranked up, without issue.

If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, you COULD upgrade or buy a new laptop. You will get some improvement in graphics performance, but the difference will certainly not be worth the amount of money you pay.

 

With his specs, he's currently sitting at the lower "midrange" spectrum. A 7970M doesn't even match a 660Ti. The last year or so of games weren't kind to that class of card. I would say an upgrade (or new machine) is definitely necessary to keep enjoying games at higher settings, unless he plays a lot of older games.

 

Have to agree here. The 7970M is still viable but in the latest games I had to lower settings more and more. You will see a noticeable difference with the 970M and above, especially in newer games.

 

Agreed... The 7970M was a massive upgrade from the 5870M however it still wasn't enough... It looks like with time passing, last years GPU's aren't able to keep up with games... My 970M is a bit futureproof in the sense as I can OC to 980M speeds if needed so I should be fine even till end of 2016..

 

I agree with what many have said. You're got a machine that can actually be upgraded and be every bit more potent than new soldered gimmicks being released.
Grab a 3920xm, 980m and a 330watt psu and even enjoy the beauty and ownership of non-soldered parts.

 

It is still a nice laptop, I would suggest changing (selling) 7970M just to be on a safe side, cause it might fail - these cards are quite unreliable - go for 970M\980M GTX or 680M GTX \ 780M GTX