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    Alienware 17 R2 vs. Alienware 17 R2 (different parts)

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by Lava6000, Jan 31, 2015.

  1. Lava6000

    Lava6000 Notebook Consultant

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    I received the replacement R2 in the mail. Disappointingly, the replacement arrived with, AGAIN, the OS installed on the incorrect drive. However, now all drivers and software are availabl.e for the R2 on dell's website.

    Interestingly, the parts used in the replacement R2 are different than in the original R2. To highlight,

    SSD:
    Replacement R2: Samsung SSD PM851
    Original R2: Lite-On L8T-256:9G.

    The Lite-On has slightly lower max read (520 vs. 540), but significant higher writes (480 vs. 280).

    Memory:
    Replacement R2: Samsung memory
    Original R2: Hyundai Electronics memory

    The Samsung memory has a slight performance advantage over the Hyundai.

    Edit: CPU max turbo clock seems to vary depending on "high performance" or "balanced"
     
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2015
    Lava6000, Jan 31, 2015
    #1
  2. MogRules

    MogRules Notebook Deity

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    The CPU is odd , was the original factory OCed?

    The drives and memory could just be due to supply, they may be using different brands in an attempt to keep up with the demand :) although I think that the memory has always come in different flavours as people used to get different brands in the same models.
     
    MogRules, Jan 31, 2015
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  3. MickyD1234

    MickyD1234 Notebook Prophet

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    Nooo, that's just madness!

    Dell never state models of ram or drives since they will use whatever is available at the right price from a tier 1 supplier. I have still to get mine but the parts list I found gave the same as you got...

    Did you get a chance to use CPU-Z and see if there is some sort of revision causing it to run slower?
     
    MickyD1234, Jan 31, 2015
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  4. Lava6000

    Lava6000 Notebook Consultant

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    Looked at CPU-Z and the two look identical.
     
    Lava6000, Feb 1, 2015
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  5. MickyD1234

    MickyD1234 Notebook Prophet

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    Not that then, I thought it worth a look though.

    I think the turbo clock is working as designed as far as 'balanced' or 'high-performance' goes?
     
    MickyD1234, Feb 1, 2015
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  6. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

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    We usually change the brand of the parts depending on the availability. Would you mind PM'ing me both of the service tags that you received with the O.S on the wrong drive so I can escalate it?
     
    Alienware-L_Porras, Feb 3, 2015
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    MickyD1234 likes this.
  7. Zero989

    Zero989 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Yup, it's luck of the draw on SSDs and memory. The Samsung 851's strength is random read/write 4k.
     
    Zero989, Feb 3, 2015
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