DianneDSC Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Alienware 17 R3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 980M with 8GB GDDR5 Intel® Core™ i76820HK (QuadCore, 8MB Cache, Dynamically Overclocked up to 4.1GHz) Windows 10 Pro, 64bit, English 17.3 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPSPanel AntiGlare 300nits Display 16GB Dual Channel DDR4 at 2133MHz; up to 32GB (additional memory sold separately) 256GB PCIe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage) Killer 1535 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1 Price $ 2,150 Good specs for the price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidJPotter Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Good specs, reasonable price. My laptop has a NVIDIA 965 and is quite good. Had I gotten a laptop with a NVIDIA 980, I would have expected to pay more than I did pay but my laptop is a second PC and not my main machine. My desktop is beginning to age a little, I intend to upgrade it to an NVIDIA 1070 when I do upgrade. DJP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianneDSC Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 Good specs, reasonable price. My laptop has a NVIDIA 965 and is quite good. DJP Thank you David. This will be a good upgrade from what I'm using now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidJPotter Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 The more performance you get the higher the price, so in the end it is you and your budget that will decide. DJP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRAWZILLA Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Can't go wrong with Alienware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkMc Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 The 980m runs Chief well, cpu has an integrated chip so be sure to configure Chief to use the 980. Price is what I'd expect If there's an option to switch the Killer card to Intel I'd do that unless you do online gaming and stay wired. Usually only $15-20 bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRAWZILLA Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 I run the killer card without any problems, but I am wired using 300mbs, virtual reality baby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkMc Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 Wired it has advantages, I'm most often wireless where it's reputation is spotty. I started upping to Intel cards 4 machines ago, no regrets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianneDSC Posted July 9, 2016 Author Share Posted July 9, 2016 Thanks all for the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinLMI Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Dianne -- I don't know if you plan to use your laptop for client presentations ... but, something I learned the hard way after I purchased a gaming laptop, is that they can be incredibly heavy. Especially the transformer. Also, the cord on the one I purchased (not the Alien - it was a Sager) is very short and continually falls out. So, it made it difficult to find suitable outlets (when I was at a client's) that would reach. I then ended up carrying an orange, heavy duty, colossal extension cord as well. Felt like I needed a moving van just to transport everything. lol I ended up buying a lightweight laptop (MSI) that works perfectly for me. I now use the Sager to watch TV, although the sound is not great -- on either one. I take my MSI everywhere. I especially love the long, lightweight cord. Just wanted to share about the portability issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJSpud Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 If you ever intend to add some extra software in the near future, especially some that takes up some space, you might consider a bigger SSD. I started with a 128 GB SSD on my desktop and fairly quickly outgrew that one and now have a 250 GB SSD. I think I would opt for a 512 GB SSD vs the 256 GB if it didn't kick the price up too much. Keep in mind that the published value (GB's) isn't the same as what you can actually put on an SSD (or HD) ... it is always less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianneDSC Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 Dianne -- I don't know if you plan to use your laptop for client presentations ... but, something I learned the hard way after I purchased a gaming laptop, is that they can be incredibly heavy. Especially the transformer. Also, the cord on the one I purchased (not the Alien - it was a Sager) is very short and continually falls out. So, it made it difficult to find suitable outlets (when I was at a client's) that would reach. I then ended up carrying an orange, heavy duty, colossal extension cord as well. Felt like I needed a moving van just to transport everything. lol I ended up buying a lightweight laptop (MSI) that works perfectly for me. I now use the Sager to watch TV, although the sound is not great -- on either one. I take my MSI everywhere. I especially love the long, lightweight cord. Just wanted to share about the portability issue. The XPS I have now is heavy but transport it when needed with a rolling laptop bag. I checked out the AW17 R3 at Best Buy today. Different specs though. It's heavy but impressive. I've placed my order from Dell,so excited! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianneDSC Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 If you ever intend to add some extra software in the near future, especially some that takes up some space, you might consider a bigger SSD. I started with a 128 GB SSD on my desktop and fairly quickly outgrew that one and now have a 250 GB SSD. I think I would opt for a 512 GB SSD vs the 256 GB if it didn't kick the price up too much. Keep in mind that the published value (GB's) isn't the same as what you can actually put on an SSD (or HD) ... it is always less.The 512 adds a few hundred. Other than Chief and Bluebeam, not much additional software. We're using cloud based accounting and crm. Thanks for the feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianneDSC Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 Order has been placed and will arrive later this month. Excited! We've been needing new laptops for awhile and these should last us several years. The XPS 17 I have now has served me well for 5+ years. It was top of the line at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidJames Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I think that computer will be more than enough Solid choice. Congrats on the purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJSpud Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 My first laptop years ago (Dell Inspiron) was sort of a pretty good computer at the time but compared to today's cell phones and all sorts of other devices and computers, it is minuscule. Still use it once in awhile for other things but not Chief. I think 12 is the last version I put on it and have a dongle for it. Some day I would like to get one similar to your pick ... probably not too soon though. Hope you have fun with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianneDSC Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 I think that computer will be more than enough Solid choice. Congrats on the purchase. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianneDSC Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 My first laptop years ago (Dell Inspiron) was sort of a pretty good computer at the time but compared to today's cell phones and all sorts of other devices and ncomputers, it is minuscule. Still use it once in awhile for other things but not Chief. I think 12 is the last version I put on it and have a dongle for it. Some day I would like to get one similar to your pick ... probably not too soon though. Hope you have fun with it.Technology changes so fast doesn't it? I had thought about going a step down in processor and video card to save a few $ but figure going this configuration maybe will be happy for longer. Better specs available but didn't really want to spend more so feel this is a good choice for me. Actually have 2 ordered...one for me and one for the designer that works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrscott Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Alienware 17 R3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 980M with 8GB GDDR5 Intel® Core™ i76820HK (QuadCore, 8MB Cache, Dynamically Overclocked up to 4.1GHz) Windows 10 Pro, 64bit, English 17.3 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPSPanel AntiGlare 300nits Display 16GB Dual Channel DDR4 at 2133MHz; up to 32GB (additional memory sold separately) 256GB PCIe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage) Killer 1535 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1 Price $ 2,150 Good specs for the price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrscott Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Where did you pick this up at such a low price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianneDSC Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 I ordered from Dell when they had a promo on Alienware. Also received some Dell rewards that went towards a new TV. Very pleased with our purchases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrscott Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Outstanding! Sounds like you got one heck of great deal! I decided against the refurb 17" and am going with a new 15" 4K screen Inspiron with the i7 6700HQ CPU for portability and onsite presentations. Hope I made the right choice. Thanks for the feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRAWZILLA Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Dell has very nice deals a couple times a year, so its worth it to wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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