AW 18 R3 Possible Upgrades?

Hello there,

So guys I've finally got my warranty knocked out and decided to improve the thermal past, changed my hdd to an ssd and that's it but I want more and I want to know what are the best upgrades that I can do in my laptop since it's the last of his kind of upgradebality.

My specs are very simple
i7 4800 MQ
770M sli
16 gb of ram stock (samsung brand)
1TB ssd 850 evo
wifi card broadcom I guess intel not sure but it's not killer

I was thinking of a i7 4930 or 4940 and dual 970 sli but I've been reading they have issues
Also there is the 3 heatpipe heatsink that may do a difference and kingston impact 2133mhz ram

So what do you think upgrade or save it to buy another laptop, I don't have any problems with clevo except their design, I know they have been more likeable in this recent years but idk I m used to alienware design/msi/asus/gigabyte

 

1. There is no Alienware 18 R3, only the Alienware 18
2. upgrade to 4930MX or 4940MX for bragging rights, in reality the 4800mq is still more than enough for gaming
3. upgrade to single 980M, add a second 980M later if need be
4. 16GB is enough ram unless you have specific applications that need more
5. your ssd is great
6. broadcom is junk, stick to 7260 or 8260

pretty sure all haswell alienware 18 had triple pipe CPU heatsink. i think you will need upgraded GPU heatsinks if you want to run 980m/970M. Don't bother with 2133mhz ram, way too expensive and really no return.

 

Just figured out that the wifi card broadcom isnt intel that explains a lot, I never had the idea of adding only a single gpu since it was sli. I know its possible but at the same time it just didnt passed me as an idea. The only place I know for gpu upgrades is Eu€com, you thing a single 980M will suffice ?

 

Single 980M is pretty good at handling 1080P games at max or near max settings 60fps. Eurocom....overpriced in my opinion. ebay is also acceptable for a used 980M if you buy from a reputable seller.

@woodzstack is our resident new MXM card dealer, he may be able to save you a few dollars if you want to go the new card route.

Here is a used 980M pulled from a later release Alienware 18 with the appropriate heatsink included if you just want something really plug and play
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Alienw...710632?hash=item3af0e60928:g:0dYAAOSwLmZZuA5m

 

Thanks so much for you help I will talk with woodzstack to see if I can make my upgrade be possible. [edit] if I change the wifi card for a superior to 8260 will I be blocked by the drivers or can I just go get them from intel?

 

sorry i forgot 8260 is m2 form factor, only 7260 will work since you have mini pci e form factor wifi card. Get the intel 6300 or 7260, those are the best cards, and you don't need special drivers, i use the ones directly from intel's website

 

Is there an edp panel? Is there optimus?

 

Optimus yes edp no

 

if optiumus is in that system, pascal cards could be compatible

 

I thought optimus wasnt enabled in AW 18 and what is edp? I found out that intel 8265 is pcie also so it might work too in AW18 in fact 8260 is also pcie

 

aw 18 can run optimus with only 1 graphics card in the slot and the unlocked BIOS set to SG mode instead of IGFX or PEG.

Intel 8260/8265 is not possible, form factor is only NGFF M.2 2230, 1216

Highest intel card you can get is 7260. My recommendation is the 6300 because the range is superior

 

Anyone have an idea if the AW18 can be upgraded to the newer precision trackpads with gestures? The multitouch doesnt seem to work with windows 10 gestures and i assume this is because it is not a precision trackpad. Since they are all the same size on different models i wonder if they are interchangeable


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

It's not so much as the size as it is the ribbon connector. I would think that a more featured trackpad would have a wider ribbon, and might not fit, but you have to have both laptops and tear them down to check and see.