I would need a little advice

[pmarmotte]

Hello,
My trusty 3 years old Alienware has had a graphic card failure. As they are unable to fix it because they do not have the parts anymore (3 years old only, come on Dell, you can do better) I have decided to make a custom replacement one here as my insurance is going to repay me back the cost of the alienware so that I can buy a new laptop.

I use the laptop for gaming, and video editing (premiere, after effects, etc)

My main concern is, will I really see the difference between the 4K and the HD screen on a 17.3"?
(Lack of memory and Hardrive is normal as I am keeping my 16 gb of memory and my 500 go SSD from my old laptop and will add those to the rig)

Chassis & Display
Octane Series: 17.3" Matte 4K IPS LED Widescreen (3840x2160) (115 €)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700k (4.0GHz) 8MB Cache
Memory (RAM)
4GB HyperX IMPACT 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 - 6.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1, G-SYNC
Memory - Hard Disk
NOT REQUIRED
M.2 SSD Drive
256GB INTEL® 600p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (upto 1570MB/sR | 540MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 330W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
2 x 1 Metre European Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (11 €)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8260 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 PORTS (1 x POWERED) + 1 e-SATA/USB 3.0 PORT COMBINED
Battery
2 x Octane Series Battery Pack, 82WH (One Spare) (69 €)
Keyboard Language
OCTANE SERIES BACKLIT FRENCH KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
France/République Française - French Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MP FULL HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (92 €)
Delivery
2 DAY DELIVERY TO FRANCE (22 €)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: 1 957,00 € including TVA and delivery.

 

[Stephen M]

I think you will be OK with your old RAM but I would check to be sure. There were initially some issues with RAM and the newer laptops, that was about a year ago so probably OK now but worth checking. I cannot comment on the screen as have not used a 4K one but as an Octane owner (older version) am very pleased with it.

 

[pmarmotte]

I think you will be OK with your old RAM but I would check to be sure. There were initially some issues with RAM and the newer laptops, that was about a year ago so probably OK now but worth checking. I cannot comment on the screen as have not used a 4K one but as an Octane owner (older version) am very pleased with it.

Thanks for the advice, I guess as my memory is equivalent that will not be an issue (DDR4 and 2133 mhz)
So what you say is that you have a Full HD computer and are happy with the display , then maybe I don't need to go 4K on it?

 

[Tony1044]

I have a 4k screen.

I see more issues than benefits, I am afraid to say.

90% of the time, it's fine, though I couldn't tell you it was 4k.

But Windows 10 still doesn't handle high DPI fabulously well and many apps will have stupidly small elements (text, controls, graphics etc). Most, so far, I've found a workaround for, but it's just an extra headache not really needed.

Personally, I'd stick with a 1080p screen in retrospect.

 

[pmarmotte]

I have a 4k screen.

I see more issues than benefits, I am afraid to say.

90% of the time, it's fine, though I couldn't tell you it was 4k.

But Windows 10 still doesn't handle high DPI fabulously well and many apps will have stupidly small elements (text, controls, graphics etc). Most, so far, I've found a workaround for, but it's just an extra headache not really needed.

Personally, I'd stick with a 1080p screen in retrospect.

Thanks a lot Tony, this was exactly what I was expecting to hear. Windows 10 apps issue would be a "No go" for me, so i will stick to a 1080p as well

 

[Stephen M]

Yes, Octane Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080) and am very happy with it. I am on the Octane I, so with a fourth gen CPU i4790 (3.6GHz) but with similar specs to yours apart from the GPU, am only using the 970M, so would expect your Octane to be excellent.

 

[Oussebon]

3 years old only

Memory (RAM)
4GB HyperX IMPACT 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 4GB)

Thanks for the advice, I guess as my memory is equivalent that will not be an issue (DDR4 and 2133 MHz)

Just to ask, does your 3 year old laptop really have DDR4? I would have thought something 3 years old would have DDR3. Maybe DDR3 2133MHz, but still DDR3. I can't think what CPU/chipset it would have shipped with from 2013 that would have supported DDR4.

If it does have DDR3,it won't be compatible with the Octane as the motherboard wants DDR4. They are physically different so I don't think you could even plug it in.

 

[pmarmotte]

Just to ask, does your 3 year old laptop really have DDR4? I would have thought something 3 years old would have DDR3. Maybe DDR3 2133MHz, but still DDR3. I can't think what CPU/chipset it would have shipped with from 2013 that would have supported DDR4.

If it does have DDR3,it won't be compatible with the Octane as the motherboard wants DDR4. They are physically different so I don't think you could even plug it in.

Yes indeed they are DDR3, thanks for the HUGE advice.
I guess I am putting the money of the 4K screen towards RAM

Thanks to all of you that gave me advice, just waiting for the insurance to give me the money and I am ordering, I can't wait

 

[Stephen M]

I am sure you will like it but now is the worst time, waiting for the order to be completed. The model number for the Octane III is Clevo P775DM3-G and if you log on to the Clevo site: http://www.clevo.com.tw/clevo_down.asp?lang=en you can download the user manual, at least that will give you something to read while waiting for the laptop.

 

[pmarmotte]

I am sure you will like it but now is the worst time, waiting for the order to be completed. The model number for the Octane III is Clevo P775DM3-G and if you log on to the Clevo site: http://www.clevo.com.tw/clevo_down.asp?lang=en you can download the user manual, at least that will give you something to read while waiting for the laptop.

Worst thing is I still have to wait for the insurance to give me back the money. They are crying because it is an alienware. Usually I guess they deal with people having ASUS or ACER computers that they (the insurance) can easily replace with an identical device for half the price due to the rig being 2 years old. The problem with alienware is that they do not sell the M17X R4 anymore and an alienware equivalent cost the same as mine costed 3 years ago. So they will have to give my money back

So thanks Stephen for the user manual. It will indeed give something to chew onto until I get the computer. I have been waiting for 2 months for this insurance issue to be solved and we are getting to the finish line. Guess I will pay for the order to be fulfilled within 2/3 days now that I don't need the 4K screen

 

[pmarmotte]

Ok i must be doomed. Now that the insurance is sending the money there is no more gtx 1060 in stock?
Configurator says i have to wait until next month......
I just cant believe it, there is no work around?

 

[Oussebon]

Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ when combined with 6GB GeForce GTX 1060. Stock is due: 26-10-2016.

If they say they don't have the stock, I guess they don't have the stock It's always possible it will arrive ahead of schedule, though obviously that's not something you should plan around.

 

[pmarmotte]

If they say they don't have the stock, I guess they don't have the stock It's always possible it will arrive ahead of schedule, though obviously that's not something you should plan around.

Then i fear i will go and buy somewhere else, i have been without gaming rig for nearly 3 months now and lots of projects are in standby that cannot be delayed one month more