17 R4 upgrade roadmap

My Alienware 17 R4,

8GB 2400MHz DDR4

GTX 1070

i7-6820HK

1TB SATA drive


Is arriving soon and am planning on upgrading to the m.2 2280 PCIe drive and ram.


Here are my choices and would like some input on what people have done. I’m in Canada and the choices are slim.

SSD

I’m looking at the 512 but might get the 1TB if the price is reasonable. I’m looking for the best bang for the buck, but I want to make sure I get quality (read – write) speeds.

I’ve dropped the Intel 600p from the list as the TBW is low and the read only wall is ludicrous.

I’ve also dropped the Samsung 960 and it is unavailable.

I’m considering Toshiba OCZ but the power consumption is high and heat might be an issue.

Also considering the Samsung 950 Pro and it’s a direct competitor of the OCZ and a little more price wise.


Ram

This is a lot easier and I am looking into 2x16. I have decided the G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 32GB (2 x 16G) 260-Pin DDR4 SO-DIMM DDR4 and it only the speed(2666, 2800 or 3000) that I have to pick. I have read the forums here and I think the highest tested has been the 2666 and am wondering if it’s worth it to get the 3000 as the cost is minimal.


Hopefully someone has some input on what they have done.


Thanks

 

I'd recommend checking your workload. If you game and don't video edit I'd strongly recommend a Sandisk X400, Ultra II or Samsung 850 Evo over the ssds your looking at. NVMe ssds do almost nothing for boot times and game load times.

 

I recommend the 1TB 960 EVO that will release next year. It's an improved version of the 950 PRO and is better in every way.


You can also opt for the cheaper 850 EVO / PRO in M.2 format for cheaper storage if you do not need the NVME speeds.