Need a bit of help with new Alienware 17

I'm looking into buying an Alienware 17 but need help with the best screen for purely gaming. I won't be doing anything else on it at all - other stuff can be done on my mac.

I was thinking of the 1070 GPU - any opinions?

Also, I'm a bit concerned about what I read on here about the CPU overheating issue. Firstly I do not want a noisy laptop, and secondly I would expect for the price that the thing would be built properly. I will not be repasting the CPU or any of that. Should I steer clear of Alienware in that case? What else should I buy?

 

Only option you have (atleast in america) for the 1070 in the r4 is 1080p at 60 or 4K at 60. I would personally go with the 4K. The 1070 is powerful enough that you should be able to run some games in 4K with decent frame with some settings turned down. If not you can play in 1080p with native scaling. The 4K panel is supposed to way better colors too.

If you go with the 15 inch then you have the option for 1080p 120hz which the 1070 will take full advantage of. So it might be worth looking into that model if that interests you.

Temp wise, with everything stock you should get decent temps. There are lemons out there, so its kind of hit or miss but if you get a good one your fine. If not just be willing to exchange it if need be. The only real need for a repaste is if you get the 7820hk and overclock. If you dont plan on doing that you should be fine.

Even with the hit or miss temps on alienware i still wouldnt buy anything else. It will tick all your boxes aslong as you get solid temps. You can take a look at sager if you want a desktop CPU in your laptop, but thats going to need a repaste too. Then there is MSI but you loose out on the build quality. If you look at iunlocks review of the MSI you can get an idea of what you can expect if you go that route.

 

Thanks for this Neal, can you tell me if the 17 is noisy when you are playing games - I have a real fear that as I start playing the thing will sound like a hovercraft! Also, is the 1080 card worth thinking about - it adds a lot to the computer and the only screen option seems to be the TN screen. Just so many options to work through I find it all rather confusing. I'm in the UK - not sure how that makes a difference to what's on offer...

 

Its quiet during idle, but can get loud during gameplay. Every gaming laptop has loud fans, its just something that comes with putting all this hardware into a small area. The main thing is the actually noise profile it makes which i think alienware nailed. Some laptops sound like blow dryers while some just have a audible "swoosh". Alienware is more of just a audible swoosh that generally sounds the same even on different speeds. If you look at the MSI review along with his sager review unlock did, you can kind of get an idea of what im talking about. His sager review sounds like a full on hair dyer, while the MSI is inbetween hair dryer and swoosh. I personally use headphones with mine and i think most people who game on laptops do the same.

The 1080 version is definitely more powerful and worth it if you can get a deal like i did. I actually bought my 1080 for cheaper then there offering the 1070 now. But this really isnt the time to buy the 1080. As far as i know dell isnt making the 1080 model they have on there website right now. Rumors are they are replacing it with a 7820hk version coming out sometime in the end of feb/ beginning of march. Most people who ordered it have been waiting around or had there order cancelled while only a few have actually received there laptop. So if your thinking about ordering before then, or actually want you laptop in your hands sooner than later i would stick to the 1070.

 

Some good advice there Neal. FYI I'm based in the UK and bought mine in the black Friday sale. This machine is awesome. I received mine in January after they fixed the CPU and temps were very acceptable. If you want to overclock past 4GHz though then you'll have to repaste just tho ensure long term that your temps are good. in the UK for the 1080 we have the option for the 120Hz QHD G-SYNC 4ms display panel which is by far the best for games. It's super bright to at 400cd/m2

To give some guidance on price:

I got mine for 2456 in the black Friday sale with 12% off plus another £100. However it turned out to be 2256 in the end because Dell gave me 200 off for lack of updates on it's status after I moaned! Very impressed!
It's a 17 GTX1080 32GB 512SSD

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

Another thing to consider is never buying the 6700/7700HQ option.

 

That about the price i paid for mine during the black friday deal. Ended up getting it for $3004 with the 4 year warranty, then got $400 back in ebates then another 250 in dell credit, plus $200 off for complaining. So all said and done i paid about $2400 not counting the dell credit. Its the whole reason i grabbed the 1080 version to begin with it, it was too good of a deal. The only downside is i didnt get the CPU fix in time, so i had to deal with it myself. I put in for an exchange because of the temps, but ive been waiting like a month and a half so far to get it. Only real reason i still have the exchange going is im just hoping to jump on the 7820hk version if they come out with one.

 

Thanks for your advice all. Neal - the update on the 1080 explains why so many of the 1080s are in the Factory outlet! What do you all think of that option? Should I buy a refurbished 1080? I was thinking that might be a better option as it will have been back to Dell and had its problems fixed!!

 

If you can get a good deal on the 1080 and its not much more then a new 1070 I would go for it especially if you get the extended warranty. It's a good 20 to 25% faster. Mine had 25c+ core differentials out of box but I manage to fix it with a repaste and copper shim. So worse comes to worse and you get a returned unit with high Temps it should be fixable. If not you can always return it within 30 days.

 

Out of curiosity, why not? I have the 7700HQ and don't have any problems. I also don't overclock.

 

The HQ will bottleneck any pascal card, in the future you will not only see the GPU being utilized in games but also the CPU.

Buying a HQ now is just committing performance suicide, sooner you'll need the extra performance and not able to get it.



My advice? Pay up extra to avoid any sadness in the future.

 

this would have been nice to know before I got mine

 

Where did you buy the system? Take advantage of the 30 day return policy and order another with a 7820HK.


Also take a look at HIDevolution, for a small discount of NBR member + cash payment plus you will get prema bios which will enhance the 7820HK OC capability.

 

I'm over the 30 days unfortunately. I think I will be fine. I don't do a whole lot of hardcore gaming. I only play COD type games and that's here or there now that I'm back at school. I'll remember this for my next purchase 5 or 6 years down the road. But thank you for the advise.

 

I've been looking at this exact option. They come with NBD warranty so even if there are temp problems the unit can just keep being sent back until they sort it or replace it for a brand new one.
Is there much difference between the 7820 chips and 6820's? Enough to wait for?
Saying that though i'm setting my budget around £2k (10% student discount) so it would be outlet models only (as it HAS to be 1080 g/card as it'll be running a htc vive)

 

For me this is pure BS and consumerism.
A 6700HQ/7700 or even any QC i5 is more than enough for the next years, at least 2-3.

 

If your job is only to troll on the forums like that it's definitely enough.

 

before you pull the trigger, see my review: MSI GT73VR 7RF Titan Pro-425 Review By Phoenix

If you want a laptop that works out of the box, has excellent cooling, performance, and very low fan noise, go with the laptop that you see in my signature

 

Your laptop is also $8,000...

 

No its around $2500 USD. The rest comes from the SSDs that I bought with it

 

@Phoenix: My alienware had an heartache after seeing your MSI GT Titan. I'm clearing the browser cache and doing a SSD TRIM and probably a restart to make my AW happy again. You've a desktop on your lap. Watch out for those temps.