Need Help With Alienware Laptop

[Moddy]

Hey guys. I am in sort of a unique situation. I have a credit line with Sams Club and recently tried to qualify for financing with Alienware, or something similar.
After some issues, my only option at the moment is going with Sams Club, which actually offers some 'decent' laptops.

This is currently the most expensive laptop Sams Club offers:

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/alienwa...navAction=push

Its not exactly what I wanted, but it is decent.
My question is does any other Alienware owners know if I will be able to send this in, or upgrade myself to better hard drives and video cards?
Can I upgrade it to 32gbs of ram later on?

Its a big purchase and I don't want to have to buy a whole new laptop later on because the hardware cannot keep up with 2014's titles.

I plan to game @ 1080p on ultra with over 40+ fps at all times.

[chazus]

My first thought is: Don't buy an Alienware laptop.

Unfortunately, if you MUST buy from Sams Club, and you MUST get an Alienware laptop, my second thought is: Don't buy an Alienware laptop.

Seriously though, do you have to buy through there? Why do you need 32gb ram? Hard drives you can upgrade, video cards you cannot. For 2 grand that thing is a ripoff.

[Samitsu]

Yes you can upgrade your videocard in an alienware laptop, but it takes a little bit of knowhow.

[chazus]

I Looked at that specific laptop, and it seems it's one of the rare ones that can be upgraded (those kind of laptops are quite rare, hence my previous statement)

Keep in mind, having an upgradeable video card does not mean you can get whatever you want. two years down the road, if theres a newer card, it may not be compatible. Keep that in mind that "Upgradeable" includes current upgrades. Not necessarily future ones.

[Moddy]

I am honestly seriously confused. I just want to buy this M 18x laptop but don't know what revision it is. I also want to upgrade the CPU - Ram - Video cards - Hard drives in the future. Is it possible with the laptop I linked from sam's club?

[cuafpr]

if you want to be able to upgrade parts why a laptop??? while it maybe possible it won't be cheap....

[Moddy]

I am always on the move and work on the road, a desktop is just not an option for me. I am okay with picking up the m 18x if I can upgrade it later, but if not I would rather not buy it. I've been told upgrading the ram and hard drive is fairly easy. But upgrading the 2 765ms to 2x 780ms isnt an option?

[Deleted]

That's the new AW18 laptop. It's a great machine, and I'd recommend it.

You can upgrade the CPU to any other 4XXXMQ or 4930MX, but future generations are unlikely.

The video card can also be upgraded, and typically upgrading to the new generation is possible, but never guaranteed. Upgrading to 2x780m is no issue.

The RAM is easily upgraded, but note that unless you're doing very specific and intensive tasks, you'll most likely never use more than 8gb of RAM. 16gb is what I usually recommend for gamers that like to dual monitor and heavily multi-task. 32gb is typically only necessary if you're doing drafting/modelling/heavy video rendering.

The hard drives are easily upgradable. There are two standard 2.5inch bays, a single mSATA bay, and you can order a conversion kit from Dell to take out the optical drive, and put another 2.5inch (slim/9.5mm) in it's place.

[Deleted]

Not to troll but, i honestly thought people didn't buy Alienware anymore. They where overpriced before dell took them over now they are just crazily over priced, your only paying for a fancy logo. They just aren't worth it imo. A sincere good luck if your really want it go for it.

[cuafpr]

ok makes sense then.. ram and HD are easy... video card is a maybe, and CPU is unlikely. at this point i would say your best bet would be to go dell/alienware and do a live chat and ask them. Just act like you want to buy then say you need to think on it that way you have strait from them.

[Deleted]

Not to troll but, i honestly thought people didn't buy Alienware anymore. They where overpriced before dell took them over now they are just crazily over priced, your only paying for a fancy logo. They just aren't worth it imo. A sincere good luck if your really want it go for it.

Alienware is one of two super-high end laptop makers left. (Super-high end would be SLI graphics in this case. MSI has recently started offering single GPU machines with Extreme class processors.) People buy them or Sager/Clevo if they need extreme power on the move. AW has the better build quality and better warranty, and Sager has the better screens and pricepoint.

ok makes sense then.. ram and HD are easy... video card is a maybe, and CPU is unlikely. at this point i would say your best bet would be to go dell/alienware and do a live chat and ask them. Just act like you want to buy then say you need to think on it that way you have strait from them.

Well, I know these things as fact. RAM/HDD are easy, video cards take some work, but is possible, and the CPU is easy (but will only work in the 4xxx mobile generation.)

[Moddy]

That's the new AW18 laptop. It's a great machine, and I'd recommend it.

You can upgrade the CPU to any other 4XXXMQ or 4930MX, but future generations are unlikely.

The video card can also be upgraded, and typically upgrading to the new generation is possible, but never guaranteed. Upgrading to 2x780m is no issue.

The RAM is easily upgraded, but note that unless you're doing very specific and intensive tasks, you'll most likely never use more than 8gb of RAM. 16gb is what I usually recommend for gamers that like to dual monitor and heavily multi-task. 32gb is typically only necessary if you're doing drafting/modelling/heavy video rendering.

The hard drives are easily upgradable. There are two standard 2.5inch bays, a single mSATA bay, and you can order a conversion kit from Dell to take out the optical drive, and put another 2.5inch (slim/9.5mm) in it's place.

Thank you so much for this post. I got off chat with Dell and apparently it's the new 18 model, and not the older m 18x. I just want the ability to upgrade to 780m sli LATER ON, since the Sam's Club build does not include that option.

So I can upgrade all the 4 core components of the new 18 without the worry of having to buy another laptop in the future with 780m SLI? And I can also upgrade the CPU? I understand the later generations is unlikely, but maxing out THIS generation is what I would like to do when I can.

That's all possible?

[Deleted]

1st thing to do is get a proper Windows install disc and fresh install Windows without all the crapware and AIDS Alienware clogs their systems with.

[chazus]

You ought to be able to upgrade anything that's available right now... However the BEST thing to do for these answers is... Ask Dell/AW. But yes, you ought to be able to.

I still feel you're better off looking elsewhere for laptops, but if this is the path that has to be taken, yes, you can upgrade those parts.

[Deleted]

Thank you so much for this post. I got off chat with Dell and apparently it's the new 18 model, and not the older m 18x. I just want the ability to upgrade to 780m sli LATER ON, since the Sam's Club build does not include that option.

So I can upgrade all the 4 core components of the new 18 without the worry of having to buy another laptop in the future with 780m SLI? And I can also upgrade the CPU? I understand the later generations is unlikely, but maxing out THIS generation is what I would like to do when I can.

That's all possible?

Yes, absolutely. When you have enough money, you can install a 4930MX CPU and 2x780m video cards. You can also 4xRAID0 every SATA port in the thing (AW calls it their 'QuadPlay' setup), and max out the RAM at 32gb @ 2133mhz if you wanted to.

If you need any help along your way, you can always check out the notebookreview forums for a helping hand. I'm a member there aswell.

[Moddy]

Okay so here is the situation. I got off the phone with dell parts center and they so not sell the processor directly. Also they do not sell the 780m as they are reserved for people who customize at checkout. Where can I buy these parts from?

- - - Updated - - -

Also how do I find out if my processor is unlocked or not? It didn't come pre-overclocked.

[Deleted]

You're unlikely to get an unlocked CPU for notebooks, due to the massive heat contraints within a particular casing.

For the same price as that notebook, you can get this, which comes with a native GTX780M, an expandable SSD slot, and the same other specs.