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    Alienware M17X R4 Upgrade help

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by chaungo, Jun 21, 2013.

  1. chaungo

    chaungo Notebook Enthusiast

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    I currently own a Alienware M17x R4.

    I'm wanting to upgrade to the following components, can someone let me know if it's worth the upgrade, and if it's compatible?


    GTX 680M ----> GTX 780M (Ordering from Eurocom)


    3740QM ------> 3940XM (Ordering from Eurocom)


    Please note that my laptop is 3D 120HZ.

    Thanks.
     
    chaungo, Jun 21, 2013
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  2. maverick1989

    maverick1989 Notebook Deity

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    Upgrading both these components needs the correct bios. The CPU should be no problem as it has already been out for a while. However, the upgrade is in no way worth it unless you do some very CPU intensive tasks. If you are only going to play video games, you will see no difference. The difference will be there, but it will be difficult to notice a jump of 4-5 fps, which is the best it would do in most cases.

    With the 780m you would need a modded bios. I don't think anyone has come up with a modded bios for it. The hardware is compatible though. The MXM and CPU sockets are the same so you shouldn't have a problem there.
     
    maverick1989, Jun 21, 2013
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  3. chaungo

    chaungo Notebook Enthusiast

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    So only the 780M would do? I don`t want to throw 1300$ for a 5fps boost....anything else I would notice a increase in? if nothing else, I'll just get the GTX 780M, I was planning on selling my M17x R4 and using the money towards the new Alienware 17, so I don't have to go through the modded BIOS stuff.
     
    chaungo, Jun 21, 2013
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  4. maverick1989

    maverick1989 Notebook Deity

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    I would not get a CPU upgrade. In games, you will not see a big jump. I have yet to see a game that becomes playable simply because the laptop had the higher of the i7 CPUs. Note that I am not comparing across architectures. I am comparing across the i7 architecture for a given generation. Sure people go from 50 to may be 55 or 58 fps. But you probably won't see that. I don't think you can go from a game that stutters along at 10fps and suddenly because of the X series i7 goes up to 35.

    The 780m upgrade, on the other hand, is very wise.
     
    maverick1989, Jun 21, 2013
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  5. chaungo

    chaungo Notebook Enthusiast

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    Now the question is, will the 3740QM bottleneck the 780M?, that's probably what I'm worried about.
     
    chaungo, Jun 21, 2013
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  6. maverick1989

    maverick1989 Notebook Deity

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    I'm sorry I don't understand. I thought you said you were going to purchase the Alienware 17? If you are talking about simply upgrading your current laptop with only the GPU, no it will not bottleneck the 780m.
     
    maverick1989, Jun 22, 2013
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