Alienware FREE UPGRADE..but..

So on the http://alienware.com/ website the front page popup states:

“Our new notebooks launched last week. If you buy one & a new CPU launches within the next 30 days, you get a free upgrade ; ) Badass.”
- via @AzorFrank
Frank Azor
Alienware - GENERAL MANAGER


My Alienware 17 R3 came with the - Intel(R) i7- 4710HQ [4th Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4710HQ Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.50 GHz)]

The new one comes with the - Intel® Core™ i7- 4720HQ (Quad-Core, 6MB Cache, up to 3.6GHz w/ Turbo Boost)

The Dell rep stated that all they do is ship me a brand new laptop and then I ship my old one back to them. They also stated that the new CPU is about a 10% performance gain.

Do you guys think going through all of this for an extra 10% worth it? or even noticeable?

 

It will be. The new Skylake models have a Thunderbolt / USB3.1 C port, PCIe m.2 slots for super fast SSDs AND can take 16GB SO-DIMMS for up to 32GB of RAM.

 

Actually i'm confused on which Alienware 17 i have now because the R3/R4 look like the 2014 models. The one i have looks like the R2 which i bought last month new from dell.

 

I have the model that looks identical to the brand new one. Model - 210-ADRH. The person from Dell said it's identical except for the CPU.

The one i have has a thunderbolt. Idk about the USB 3.1C port though.

 

How you got the i7-4710HQ with an R3 boggles my mind. And how you got it now puzzles me even more.
Are you sure you have the R3 and not the R2 that came out earlier this year? What's the speed of your RAM?

 

Go for it for sure. You get the new one while you still have use of your old PC while it ships. Win-win.

 

Something is definitely not adding up here....

 

I think i have the R2, it look identical to the one thats out now. I'm confused because i think the R3 is the older model.


Update: Yep, i have the R2.. sorry for the confusion. It's weird that the R3 is an older model.

 

The 17 R3 is the newer, not yet shipped model. The R3 has Skylake Mobile CPUs. The R2 only has Haswell, which is older.

 

What i'm confused about is that their website says that for the Alienware 13/15 the offer is valid for the R2 but for the Alienware 17 the offer is valid for the R3.

"Valid on new Alienware 13 R2, Alienware 15 R2, and Alienware 17 R3 systems ordered between 8/27/15 - 6AM CST and 9/28/15"

I think i'm going to be ****ed over and won't be eligible for the upgrade.

 

You could just return your current 17 R2. Oh, and there's no TB on the 17 R2. That's a mini DP port. The newest lineup is the first Alienware lineup to have Thunderbolt support.
The AW 17 line of laptops started in 2013, with the 17 R1. The 17 R2 came out earlier this year, and now the 17 R3 will be shipping soon. The AW 13 started last year, and the AW 15 started earlier this year. Despite 2/3rds being R2s, it doesn't change the fact that the promotion only includes the newest lineup.

 

But if the Alienware 17 thats about to be released the R3 then i wonder why it says that people that already have an AW17 R3 is eligible for the upgrade.

Idk if its worth the huge hassle with going through the refund process, shipping it back, and then waiting 20 business days just to get a barley better CPU and a USB C type/Thunderbolt port.

Something else that does suck though:

Alienware 17 R2:
AlienFX Lighting Zones
8 unique programmable zones with up to 20 distinct colors providing over 25.6 billion lighting combinations

Alienware 17 R3
AlienFX Lighting Zones
10 unique programmable zones with up to 20 distinct colors providing over 10 trillion lighting combinations

I wonder what the other two zones would be?

 

Wow, look at this.

http://www.alienwarefxthemes.com/page/2/

What model is this AW? i've never seen the neons on the sides before.

 

No one should have the 17 R3 yet. Maybe reviewers, but that would be it. Not sure who you know has a 17 R3 already. If they do, we probably would have noticed (through benchmarks). The promotion says anyone who has ordered a 17 R3 recently and until late this month will get the upgrade, even though the upgraded has already been done (the invoice tells you the CPU you'll get).
The ones with the sides are the 17 R1 and 14, both from 2013.
You can put in your service tag into the Dell Support Site to find out which model you have if you're still in doubt. There's nothing ambiguous about the promotion.

 

I'll try to clear it up.

Systems purchased during the dates listed will get an upgraded (skylake) CPU. Yours was ordered before that (and was not the R3) therefore, it will not apply for the upgrade.

There's a new line coming out, the Alienware 17 R3, Alienware 15 R2 and Alienware 13 R2. Those are the ones that are getting the offer.

The one you have is likely the Alienware 17 R2 which was on the site until a couple weeks ago.