Should I buy now?

I've decided to get the 17R3 with GTX 970M and 1080p display as it's perfect for my needs. However, I'm trying to figure out the answer to two questions before I buy:

1. I'm buying this for a certain game that's coming out in October. Is there any chance that an updated version of the laptop will be released by then, or will it almost certainly be the same hardware that's available now? I'm not that familiar with Alienware's release schedule. I don't want to wait until, say, January, as I'll have a window of time between October and December that I'd like to take advantage of, but I could wait until October.

2. I'm going to be moving in about a month and ideally I'd like to wait the month before getting the laptop so I don't have one more expensive piece of delicate hardware to lug across the country. Right now, there are some discounts such that I can get the 17R3 with GTX 970M, 16 GB of RAM and 128 GB SSD for $1439.99, which seems like a good deal, but what I don't know is if that's a really really great deal or if there's more or less always some combination of discounts such that the price will be knocked down to about there. If I'm only going to be saving $100 or $200 I'd just as well wait until after my move.

Any thoughts are much appreciated.

 

alienware is recognized to be one of the last companies that update the specs when new hardware arrive. so, you will see new gpus on alienware on december or next year.

 

It's a trade off. The longer you wait the prices will drop, meanwhile that's time you could be with a laptop. If the AW specs you've listed is all that you need, then there really is no need to wait it out. Heck you can even get a 980M and it would be an upgrade in your situation.

A good deal is a good deal so if you can score a bargain, I'd say go for it. Have you seen the FHD and UHD in person? You may want to before settling on the FHD. (I'd recommend the UHD ) I may or may not be biased haha...both of my AW's are UHD screens.

Of course you can change you FHD panel out with a better screen, but that may be a hassle you may not want to deal with.

 

I have investigated both. I think the main thing I'm trying to figure out now is how good a deal 1439 really is for that configuration.

 

You do realize that 970M is a GPU's of 2014 right?
And the 1000 desktop series are about to release. So 1000M announcement/release should be really soon. I would personally wait as the GTX 1080 performance reviews did release, and it looks very promising

 

This is definitely what I'm doing, just trying to figure out whether to buy now or later.

 

I'd wait. The new GPUs have historically been added to our machines within months. I do not have any specific info at the moment, but as soon as I have anything, I'll make sure to share it her eon the forum.

 

That will be lovely mate, thanks for your input.

You can probably read that most of the Alienware enthusiasts here have abandoned ship because of the "BGA crap" AWs have been selling these days. Could you please let your manufacturing dept know that we need an "upgrade-able" system and not a machine wherein the only solution for any part failure is to replace the whole motherboard itself. It's just sad really.

I still own a M15x and a M17x R3 and I rate these machine as one of the most amazing laptops ever built. For that reason alone, I waiting since months for AW to do the right thing and built a laptop that is truly for enthusiasts. The moment Pascal drops into AWs, I'll be the first in line to buy them and give them another shot with a 4 year premium warranty.

It's make or break time for Alienware as a high end gaming pc manufacturer and it's hanging by a thread here and as a fanboy of AW, I pray *you* do the right thing.

Peace.

 

To try to not turn this into a philosophical debate about the future of Alienware as a company....
How good a deal is 1439 for this?

 

I'd say wait till pascal.

 

Again, how likely is that before October?

 

they can't publicly say anything about a release date, it's not allowed under nda or sales agreement

 

Given the age so far, it's highly likely we'll at least hear about the new refresh with a launch in either Q4 or 2016 and/or Q1 of 2017. However, I have a feeling that it will be sooner IMO. Who knows...