AW 15" R2 or AW 17" R3? Buy now or wait it out?

I currently have a MACBOOK Pro w/ Retina display, fully maxed out and am wanting to buy the latest 15" R2 or 17" R3 AW with these configurations:

• Intel i7-6820HK,
• Base RAM 8GB,
• Base HD 128GB M.2 + 1TB Spinner,
• UHD 4K Display,
• 980M w/ 8GB...

I was going to wait for the skylake MBP'S, but it'll still be limited to a mediocre GPU offering, which is common as Macs are not gaming machines. I'm running bootcamp now to game and it's getting depressing not being able to play at max settings.

I need 32GB of RAM for work and a solid desktop replacement for gaming....AW looks to fit that bill.

My usage:
• Heavy rendering,
• Video editing 4K content,
• Gaming -> Daily

Few questions:

1. I was originally curious what the best AW laptop variant would be to buy in terms of upgradability (cpu, ram, and gpu), since the newer/latest variants have soldered cpu's, gpu? etc...but since I want a 4k display on a 15" or 17" AW, I'm only left with one choice, the newest 15" R2 or 17" R3, yes?

2. Is it possible to upgrade the 15" R2 with 2x 16GB DDR4 to achieve 32GB? How about the 17" R3?

3. At the moment the 17" R3 that I want to order is $2,299 US. (It has a $319 discount already applied). What would be considered a good deal with a discount code or offer from Dell? On the phone the rep only offered me 2% off. Jerk. Just curious what others have been able to get as for deals....

4. Is it worth the extra $100 for the 16GB upgrade? I was going to get the 8GB config on purpose so that I can sell the 8gb's to put toward my own aftermarket 16GB, for now until a laptop 16GB DDR4 RAM stick comes into existence so that I can go 32GB. Maybe they are now....

5. As for the HD I already have a 1TB Samsung PRO SSD that I'll put in the new AW so all good there. Hence, going with the base HD configuration to safe some change.

6. Good time to buy? Is it worth waiting it out to see what AW has to offer in 2016? I've seen the 13" OLED and am curious if there will be a 15" or 17" with OLED??? Price drop in the near horizon with the new variants coming out?

7. The i7-6820HK should be pretty darn future proof eh? Since it is unlocked....any stable OC action in the works with current owners? I've seen a few..but at OVC3 level almost all the owners were stating that it wasn't stable. The 6700HQ is locked yes? I've noticed that the 6700HQ beats the 6820HK in some cpu bench tests...had me thinking if I'd be content with the 6700HQ or to go all out and just max it out with the 6820HK....hmm ...thoughts?

8. Does the 17" have any perks over the 15" aside to the obvious screen size? Do they have different motherboards?

a.) So far according to the website the 17" 4K display is 400-nits vs the 15" 4K that is 300-nits. Is this accurate?

9. Does the 17" have a longer heatsink, thus making it stay cooler?

10. Is there a website where it lists all the pros and cons of the different AW laptop builds to date? ie...A comparison website for AW laptops....I'm particularity curious about what models are upgradable: cpu and gpu.


Thanks in advance. Oh and as you can probably tell I'm majorly OCD =P

 

I don't have an answer to most of your questions but I can point you to places like xoticpc. You can't haggle with them but prices are overall lower. They don't have the 8gb version of the 980 though, but everything else is obtainable. Plus no tax in CA (dunno where you're from). One review I read said when they measured the nits on the 4k it was around 350. As for the 6820 cpu, seems a lot of people have luck overclocking through bios to hit the 4.0ghz mark. Cooling is pretty nice in this system so heat isn't a huge issue.

As for waiting, its like any tech. Get a 970/980/980ti or wait for pascal? The wait never ends. I also had a macbook pro 15 (2014 with the geforce 750) and got rid of it and will be getting the aw17 next. I'll miss the gestures on trackpad and the light/slim form. But I'll welcome the super high res 17 screen.

 

Definitely appreciate your input. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a 17" R3 w/ UHD + 6820 + 980M@8GB + 16GB RAM + 128SSD/1TB combo ...

Pretty excited about the new venture as I've been a Mac guy since day one, although I have been running bootcamp.

Now that I've settled on the 17", I'm crossing my fingers the screen is a LG screen with minimal to no light screen bleed.



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I've been reading some high praise on the 4k screen (not as much with the 1080 one). Even if you get screen bleed at first, I do notice they go away with use, unless it's really terrible. Generally you don't notice those things in use, unless you like staring at nothing displayed on your screen all the time. Either that or I'm not very picky. You're going to be floored by how deprived of horse power you are with the MacBooks in the past.

 

Indeed. I've been seeing a lot of unhappy people with the 1080p screens. Having gamed on a new 15" R2 w/ a 1080p over the Holidays (cousins laptop), I was surprised how dim the screen was. Also my main monitor is a 4k and there is some light bleeding on there which doesn't bother me too much and like you've mentioned, it's not an issue when the screen is on. I'm just hoping for the best screen condition as possible, however that turns out to be upon arrival. It should be all good eh...

As for the horsepower I'm really looking forward to stepping up the game. I was really depressed (gaming realm depression) when I couldn't play my fps games on the highest setting on the MBPr lol. My MBPr only has a whopping 1GB 650M lol which was max for a macbook pro back in 2012. Hilarious...

Now I'm debating on what Windows version to go with. It comes stock with Windows 10 Home.

I'm a bit of a security junkie so I try to shy away from as much intrusive stuff as possible. I have a windows laptop (HP Spectre x360, i7, 512gb sad, 8gb ram, qhd display) on 8.1 and have it as locked down as possible. There's a script that I've ran that blocks all the unecessary ports/updates that phone home along with urls and anything that doesn't need to be there. Including any Windows 10 upgrade related stuff. It's pretty neat.

Anti Virus wise: BitDefender and malwarebytes

I'm also always connected using VPN with some other goodies..firewall etc...

Therefore, is there anything you can enlighten me about the different versions of Windows? I'm aware of windows 10 and DirectX 12...however, is having Directx 12 on Windows 8, 8.1 or 7 (if even possible for 7) the same in terms of it being as fluid?

I'm curious about a lot of things as you can see haha....I appreciate any input you're able to offer.

Fun stuff....looking forward to the new toy.



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If you want maximum lock down I'm not sure if Windows 10 is what you should stay on as there's still a lot of questions surrounding that. I believe one of the big differences between Win 10 home vs pro is that on the pro you can defer updates, whereas home you automatically accept them all. Don't quote me on that. I think the other difference is something to do with VPN or some sort of network feature, I forget. As for directx 12, it's nice to be future proofing and all, but I am not aware of any game utilizing it in the near future.

+1 to the malwarebytes, one of the few times I actually paid for some sort of virus/spyware scanner. More than once.

If you want to maximize your performance make sure to overclock, you may need to grab the vbios from another thread here, but no confirmation if they have one for the 8gb 980 version yet. And I'd recommend a repaste if you're gutsy enough.

 

I just bought the same version just with with the 254sad instead. Also have an amp with 980ti. First alienware I have had. Never o'clock ed before any suggestions. Getting it today. Will post my thoughts as I use it.

 

Update bios, you can o/c the cpu in there. As for the 980ti, should easily be able to o/c with afterburner. Keyword on should.

 

Thanks for the responce.
What do you mean by updating the bios? Don't want crash a new computer and not familiar with that. Are there guide pages on how to properly don both of your suggestions?

 

I haven't even gotten my AW17 yet, but from what I've read, people who got theirs earlier couldn't find a place to overclock their 6820 cpu, turns out you had to update your bios to latest versoin to see the options. You can download the bios from the driver page. Hopefully has instructions included.

 

Awesome. Great stuff. You're correct about Home...it's controless...

As for Directx 12, if it can be ported to 7 or even 8...I'm on it as I prefer the less intrusivness of the older OS's.

Malwarebytes...awesome indeed.

As for repasting, absolutely will do....I'm the type to repaste everything that I can lol. Just debating if I should use coollabs liquid ultra, pro or GeLid....I know the CLLP or Ultra is risky, but I think it should be okay.

Some have used electrical tape during the spreading of the liquid pro or ultra....



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I just heard about the liquid ultra today. Something about having to delid the cpu (no idea what that is) but it voids warranty. Not sure if that's something you want to void early on in your laptop life. You might be better off using the traditional diamond, mx4, or as5.

 

I've delidded for years, but since our skylake is soldered onto the motherboard it's a no go there.

The gunk they put underneath the IHS is astonishing. Delidding is very refreshing, especially when you reap the benefits from substantial temp drops.

I'm curious how many fellow AW owners have used CLLP or CLLU....

It's the best stuff and proven over and over again. Next is Gelid. Stuffs awesome.


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Oh, sounds interesting. I'd like to try it except we can't so, it's back to the traditional paste.

 

I think I'm going to dive in the deep end and just go with CLLU. The Ultra is a lot easier to work with than the Pro formula. Depending on what I come across while researching what others have reported, I'll also be content with going with the Gelid paste, which is excellent. I've used Gelid on a lot of my i7-4790K CPU's and they have walked circles around other pastes, other than the ones mentioned here.

The top 3 pastes IMO are CLLU, CLLP and GeLid....I haven't seen anything that comes close to their performance and consistency (results).

 

These pastes you mentioned, do you apply them like any regular as5/diamond paste? Or are there extra steps required like delidding (which we can't do)?

 

(Excuse the typos/grammer, I'm typing from my phone...spell check LOL..)

They are all regular, well kind of.....however, the application is a little different.

Most of the time with traditional paste, most people use the dot method. (Dot in the middle of the die and let the heatsink pressure spread it out.)

However, with the Gelid it comes with a small rubbery/plastic applicator you use to spread the paste. I've tested temps with Gelid using the dot method and the spread method using the applicator tool that it comes with....verdict....the spread method got me more -C drops by and average of minus 1-2C...so I've been using the tool to apply Gelid based on my own findings.

As with Cool Lab Liquid Pro, this stuff is liquid metal and a little goes a long way. CLLP needs to be spread out evenly to create a thin glass like finish on the IHS. Most use the Q-Tip that comes with the CLLP, but I like to use the small brush that comes in the Cool Labs Liquid Ultra kit as it doesn't shed cotton lint onto the IHS.

Cool Lab Liquid Ultra, is easier to work with than CLLP as it is a little 'thicker?' Yet it is still liquid. It spreads nicer and is a newer formula. However, newer doesn't mean better. Both the Pro and Ultra are #1 and #2 in the ranks, but to me they are both #1. It just depends on how you feel that day. My tests have all been a give and take with only a degree or two in difference, both ways between the two. (CLLU comes with a nice little brush x2)

The bottom line is that both CLLP and CLLU will work the best and provide you the best results in temp drop. However, CLLP/U is very conductive so it's important to take your time. It's also kind of a one shot one kill method. It's tedious to remove this stuff and requires a lot of work to remove it all correctly. So unless you never plan to repaste again...look at CLLP/U as a one way road. However, it isn't impossible to turn back. Just a little more work to clean it properly.

*** CLLP and CLLU are mainly used for delids, for under the IHS, between the die and IHS....usually desktop gamers use CLLP/U for both under and on top of the IHS -> heatsink. Also, CLLP/U can NOT be used on any aluminum, so if your heatsink is aluminum, don't use it.****

[Tip: Use electrical tape to tape around the cpu while applying. Once finished remove the tape. Think of it like painters tape, that blue stuff....]

Next is Gelid #2 in my books, which isn't far behind. I really like this stuff and it's easy to apply/spread. A lot of gamers use Gelid as their go to choice. One big reason is that it's easier to clean than CLLP/U, which can be a nightmare to remove properly, unless you sand it down, which is extra work and tedious. I'm using Gelid at the moment and it's excellent.

I'd stick with Gelid. You can't go wrong and never mind the old school stuff like AS5 etc....the older pastes are not even written in extreme gamers books anymore. Think, video cassette and tapes....remember those?

Hope this helps mate...

Cheers.

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Alright, I'll check out gelid then! Was wanting to replace the mx4 of mine anyways. The liquid pro stuff sounds scary, don't even know if the Alienware 17 has an aluminum heatsink or not.

 

Sounds great. You can get the Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme Thermal Compound TC-GC-03-A, off of Amazon and it is very inexpensive.

The AW uses a copper heatsink, however, I'd still go with Gelid