Upgrade Plan [CPU/GPU/RAM/SSD]

I've noticed in the last few months that new games chugg on my ancient but reliable beasty!

Have been checking what a new M14x can do and not impressed.

I feel that upgrading is my best option right now, here are the components that I am 90% decided on, I would like to confirm a couple of points first before purchasing

Item	Price Approx.	Spec.	Replacing	Notes
Memory	£100	Corsair 16GB(2x8GB) DDR 1333Mhz SODIMM	Corsair 8GB(2x4GB) DDR 1333Mhz SODIMM
CPU	£270	Intel i7 920XM 3.2Ghz	Intel Core i7 740QM 1.73Ghz, 6MB, 4C	System chipset: Mobile Intel PM55
Hard Disk	£110	2.5" 500GB Momentus XT Hybrid SSD	2.5" Stock 250GB 7200 RPM HD	9.5mm height
GPU	£300	7970M 2GB GDDR5	Nvidia GTX 460M 1.5GB GDDR5

This seems like a significant boost that will last my laptop another 1-2 yrs at less than a grand, which is money well spent in my book.

Specifics I need to understand before purchasing:

1. Will the Power adapter I have (150W) be sufficient, or do I need to upgrade it? Does "upgrading the PSU" literally mean just buying a new power adapter with increased wattage?
2. What do I need to do to prepare for switching from an Nvidia card to an AMD? Obviously I should clean the old Nvidia drivers first, but I'm more concerned about the card fitting snugly enough (something about x-bracket compatibility issues?) for efficient cooling to take place - what parts do I need to have ready on build night (other than thermal paste obviously)

*edit* No solicitations, thankyou! *edit*

Thanks!

 

Sent you a PM!

 

with no offense intended, but on planet earth for under £935 you could of gotten a m18x r2 as of yesterday afternoon from dell outlet uk..... slightly more expensive than your list of upgrades but a considerable more powerful system all together.
ps it also had dual 7970m cards !

m18xr2 is gone

there is a m17x r4 for £940 inc vat on there now, if I wasn't being forced by my wife to sell my own m15xr2 before buying another I would of already purchased it

 

That is a lot for those components. The NBR marketplace is a great place to pick up used and cheap equipment.
I bought all my upgrades there.

I suggest you try to pay the following:
920xm - £200
7970M - £250
Don't upgrade RAM if you are just gaming.
Also that drive is expensive. Buy an SSD and then put a cheap HDD in your optical bay drive using a caddy.

Batfinks is totally right. For the prices you list you aren't far off buying a more powerful refurbished model from dell outlet.
150W PSU is fine. I'm still using my original one despite having 940xm and 7970M. Easily able to draw 175W from the wall with that.
You will need an AMD x-bracket from either 6990M or 7970M (as its the same one). Any other one won't fit.
You'll also need to buy some new screws and remove the c-clips from the heatsink. There is a thread about it on this forum http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...5x-7970m-no-grinding-copper-shims-needed.html

 

Sorry about the unwanted email--I will say I have to disagree about the PSU though. I experienced as much as a 10C increase in gaming temps when using the 150 adapter due to the fans not having enough juice to run. The power brick will also get EXTREMELY hot, as in I was legitimately concerned that it was going to catch fire after gaming

Edit: that's with a GTX 460, not a radeon

 

"with no offense intended, but on planet earth for under £935 you could of gotten a m18x r2 as of yesterday afternoon from dell outlet uk"

Interesting idea, but I am an IT consultant and don't fancy flying with anything bigger than the m15x at the moment!

 

Good idea, I will check for sellers on NBR. Any idea where I can purchase the screws and x-bracket I need?

Don't see any M15x/M14x on sale in dell outlet UK, the M11x is underpowered and the others are too bulky to travel with so I really would prefer to upgrade the existing frame which suits my purposes.

I need the optical drive and am not very keen on dragging an external one around with me, so the hybrid disk offers me the best compromise and at £100 I'm happy to pay for it.

16GB of RAM isn't to support gaming but is work related, I would've upgraded that sooner but didn't realise there was hidden support for 16GB up to now.

Thanks for your help mate.

 

when it comes to dell outlet you have to keep checking couple times a day, as quick as they come up they sell due to the very cheap prices over the same retail model. I believe/been told, the m17x is more or less the same size as the m15x ?
but just keep an eye on dell outlet, theres always m14x and m17x showing up almost daily.
good luck with whichever decision you decide

 

Why not swing for the 680m instead of the 7970m. Less trouble, easier install, more stability...

 

I wish I'd got a 680M but there is no way around it, it costs ~£200 more than a 7970M even used!
GTX 770M also a good option and has similar gaming performance to 7970M but obviously not as much compute power!
Also 75W rated card so should run cooler and not experience throttling.

 

Yep, this seems to be part of the problem in upgrading the M15x actually.

The components themselves are hard to get hold of, it seems there are plenty of unscrupulous sellers trying to price gouge from people who either don't know any better or are desperate for a replacement because their components have failed.

And in fact this is the crux of the issue for me right now. I got the M15x originally because of the notion that the total cost of ownership was lower, given the upgradability, but due to lack of component availability this seems actually to be a false economy.

Buying a new top-flight M14x is around 2K, compared to an equivalent non-upgradable non-Alienware model with similar (even superior) specs for between 1.3-1.5K (or as others have said, from Dell outlet even)

If you can actually manage to stay current with an Alienware for 1-2 more years, with off the shelf components (similar to a desktop system) for another 500-700 then economically it makes sense, but in this case my TCO is going to end up around 3k which puts me slightly over what I'd get if I just got 2x "budget" gaming laptops.

It's a disappointing situation but I have to face facts; the proposition doesn't make sense from a TCO point of view any longer, and whilst flashy lights are cool and stuff, I'm leaning more towards the second option now.

 

Don't lose hope. These components do popup, just keep checking the computer components sub-section of the NBR marketplace.
I know at least 3 people who've all bought x2 7970Ms recently for their Xfire M17x R2s. GTX 770Ms are available on eBay but not sure how good the price is.

Have patience and then join the owners club of almost an 4 year-old laptop that is faster than current regeneration AW 14s (as far as gaming performance)....
My total expenditure has been below £1600 for the entire 4 years I've had it.

 

This may help you. I'm thinking on selling my i7-940xm and replace it with a 840qm, I think I 'won't see any big difference in games.
And I 've got an additional X-bracket for 7970M. Will have to search through some old materiel but I definitely have one that I'm not using.

And if you want to buy a 7970m, buy a Dell card. Fan control with Clevo 7970m doesn't work, it'll become very annoying in a short term period.

 

Thanks for all your comments and help but I've come to the conclusion it's best overall to buy a new rig.

My Dad needs a new computer so I'll be donating the Alienware to him so it can live out it's autumn years being useful to somebody!

I've found something that's in the 1.3-1.5K range, has far superior power to the M15x, is the same size but lighter and comes with 3 year warranty...