Interested in purchasing AW 15 r3...have ???'s

So I am looking to buy a gaming laptop. I have been a console gamer for a long time but really want to make the jump to pc gaming. So i was interested in buying an Alienware. Started roaming boards and the Alienware subreddit and couldnt beleive how many complaints i see about the thermal issues. Poor paste, repadding, poorly designed heat sinks etc etc. Ive always wanted an alienware laptop but now i feel like maybe i shouldnt get one. Is repasting going to solve these issues??? I was going to order the laptop through HIDevoultion and they provide a service to repaste and repad and check temps and all that. Is this going to alleviate the common thermal issues?? What is your advice?

The model i am interested in is the 15r3 with 7820hk and gtx 1080 max q.

Also i have another question...i may wait until next year to purchase my gaming laptop. What are the chances alienware will have a new model out with a redesigned heat sink in 2018?? Am i better off waiting?? Thanks for you help.

 

I don't understand this maxQ stuff, getting a maxQ GTX 1080 isn't going to slim down the laptop for Alienware.
I'd advise going for a 1070, it's nearly the same performance, and honestly it's probably just a better buy.

 

Well to be honest i could care less if slims the laptop down. I want it because it produces less heat and has less power draw. And has the same shaders cuda cores and 8gb ddr5x as a full 1080. Plus it comes with the unlocked k cpu for overclocking. And im sure the 1080 max q can be overclocked as well. I dont want the massive alienware 17. And i didnt ask about which other option u think i should get. I asked about thermals and what can be done to rectify them. No offense.

 

Heatsinks should be fine on all new models now. Just the paste and pads may be **** but mine were perfect out of the box and mine was manufactured in April. If you wait you might get a coffee lake cpu. I don't think Alienware plans on redesigning the current models until the next gen of GPUs.

 

Thanks for the repsonse. Whatever i decide to get im going to get it through HIDevolution and have them repaste and repad to help keep the temps down. Ive just wanted an alienware for years now and imo i think theyre the best looking gaming laptops around.

 

The 15 R3 is now shipping with an OCed 1070 that beats the 1080MQ.

 

If you're getting it from HID then you shouldn't worry about heat at all. I agree with the others that you should look at the benchmark comparisons between the 1080 Max-Q and the 1070 OC. You can probably save money and get better performance with 1070. Check out the video stickied at the top of the Alienware subreddit.

 

Honestly i have no clue what to get lol. HIDevolution also has a badass little 15 inch you can get thats custom built w a desktop cpu and a full gtx 1080. But im kinda new to pc gaming and i just dont know if i need all that for overclocking cuz honestly i dont really know what i am doing. But i would love to learn. I just want something i can game on 1080p max settings for most AAA rpgs and games for at least a few years. Ive also been looking at desktops too. But i love the whole portability of a gaming laptop and ive wanted one for a really really long time. I might just wait until next year because whatever i get is going to be my main gaming rig for at least a few years and the Volta gpus are going to be out sometime next year. Too many choices lol but i aporeciate the responses.

 

Yeah man the 1070 I think I read only draws about 5-10 watts of power more, so I'd imagine that it would not be louder/hotter either.

These maxQ GPU's were made to draw less power and I think should be paired with ultrabooks. Since you said you're in the market for the 15 R3, it's not like the size shrinks so it completely nullifies the reasoning to pay for the extra cost. If you are searching for a gtx 1080 maxQ there are some laptops engineered for it and are significantly thinner and more portable. Just trying to help you out here.

Since you're waiting till' next year, who knows what can happen. Volta might be announced and might be coming out for laptops winter 18 so I'd just wait for that. I heard that the difference between Volta and Pascal will be the same, if not greater than the difference between Maxwell and Pascal, and that is a freaking massive jump and why I haven't bought a new laptop for over 5 years. My last laptop was an Alienware m17x R4 with a gtx 680m, and it was cool for like 6 months. The PS4 came out shortly after -_-

If not, Dell offers financing with 0% APR (so the entire payment goes straight to principal), for the first year at least. Which is one of the reasons why I opted for the Alienware over other laptops, I didn't want to do any sort of damage to the savings account all at once.

Make sure to get what you want, and be smart with the financials sometimes it's smarter to get less options if you're planning to upgrade a couple years after your initial purchase (there is no such thing as future proofing).

 

A nice thing about Alienware is the long warranty and the graphics amplifier. Both can extend the life of your system.

I know which laptop you're talking about and it's also a good choice. I would shop around and compare prices. You can get Alienware direct from Dell, Amazon, Best Buy, HID, and Newegg.

You're going to get a lot of people telling you what you should buy and that everything else is trash but only you really know what you need. Google some gaming benchmarks for the different CPUs and GPUs and watch YouTube videos - that should give you an idea of the real world performance of different components and will hopefully help you decide.