A little help for a fellow Alienware 17r3 owner - Concept artist in need of a slight boost

Hello dear Alienware owners, I'm wondering who of you has installed more than the stock 8GB or 16GB of ram in your machines.

I just got my Alienware 17R3 yesterday and MAN am I in love. I had most of the common problems people are mentioning here and in forums, and did the common driver updates, now she runs like a dream.

I use Photoshop cs6 and Maya to create concept art. With the current 16GB, photoshop files above 6"x6"@ 300dpi start to stutter and lag when I make brush strokes with my Wacom pen. I've always had 24-32GB ram and I've never had that problem until now.

I called Dell today, and according to two different customer service reps, I cannot install more than 16GB of ram into this machine (Alienware AW17R3-8342SLV, i7-6700HQ 2.6 GHz Processor, 16 GB DDR4, 2 TB Samsung 850 PRO + 256 GB SSD Storage, 17.3 Inch UHD, Windows 10 Home) without: 1. Voiding the 3 year premium warranty (purchased for $550) 2. the different frequencies of ram could ruin the motherboard.

Has anyone learned otherwise?

Crucial's website says plain-as-day that this 32GB kit is compatible with the 17R3: http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/alienware-17-r3/CT7892000
I called the Crucial rep and was told that they test these extensively, and that most likely Dell is covering their butts. He also said to only buy one 16GB of Crucial ram just in case it got too hot... not cool? Not sure what to do here.

Any input or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated!!

 

16GB is all they officially support, but 32GB works.

 

Hi altecX, thanks for your response. Will you please share how you confirmed this? Have you installed 32GB in your machine?
I really don't want to insult you but I've asked this question on a few alienware forums now and I'm getting a LOT of opinions and maybes, but not much verified fact.

Thanks!

 

Well obviously they now "officially" support 32gb. Go to the highest end 17 model and configure it. Drop down on the memory, you will see 32gb as an option. 32 is fine.

 

Sure enough, my model with the UHD, i7-6700HQ and 980M has a frikkin 32GB option. Why in the HELL would those Dell reps be telling me it caps off at 16GB?

Thanks for all your input. I've purchased this 32GB kit from crucial: http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/alienware-17-r3/CT7892028
and I'll report back once I've tested it out.

 

Anytime! It will do fine. What always amazes me is that the reps are simply looking at the same web page that you are. You would think they would have some inside information into the product, but they do not seem to. Makes you wonder why anyone bothers to even order through them.

 

I installed this 32GB Crucial RAM Kit in my Alienware 17r3 with an i7 6700HQ, 980M, etc.. It runs like a charm!

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/alienware-17-r3/CT7892028

So that confirms it. Dell says this laptop wont work with 32GB, this (and many other posts on Notebook review) disprove that.

 

Good job!

 

Some say that they do crack while talking with the customers...

Some say that titty twisters are a required part of their work contract...

All we know is, they're Dell reps!

 

Here is a thread with a confirmed list...

32GB works great. Dell cs are idiots.