So with the memory I saw what you were looking at and I am not sure I understand what Dell is trying to sell you. It looks like either a single channel or dual channel config but they do not specify. You should just get the 4GB single channel and then buy another 4GB stick, or get the 8GB i3 version as 8GB will be better performance wise. Also in terms of the wireless card, the 2x2 is going to be better then the 1x1 as it gives you 2 'paths' of traffic from the router vs just the one. I have teh i5 with 8GB ram and 2x2 wireless and its a beast for what its worth. Yes you will need to save your pennies for an SSD as the HDD installed is horrid.
Thanks beamermt79, yeah the description Dell are using for the options is puzzling. Their upgraded price for the 8GB of RAM and bigger HD is not good value otherwise I would have gone for that model.
Plus I'd rather upgrade to more than 8GB, or have the option to at least.
It would be handy if someone from Dell/Alienware could actually clarify the RAM question in my first post............. [*-)]
Hey no problem. this is generally a user to user forum but sometimes an Alienware associate will pop in and out. My reply will bump up this thread to the top so hopefully that helps. I would definitely upgrade the wireless card to a 2x2 just for better throughput. As for the RAM, 8GB should be plenty for gaming etc., unless you are going to be doing heavy movie or photo editing? If thats the case, I would think about something else outside of an alpha imho. Either way get the most you can afford and upgrade the RAM via a vendor like Crucial or whomever you prefer.
You certainly would want to select the "4GB Single Channel DDR3". Since there is only 2 SODIMM slots, there are only two option to achieve 4GB: 1x 4GB, or 2x 2GB. I believe the latter option is 2x2GB. Yes, that gives you dual channel on the memory bus, but the performance gain is negligible. Plus, you'll add more RAM, so say you buy a 8GB stick, that gives you 12GB of RAM in total.
"4GB Single Channel DDR3 1600MHz SDRAM (1X4GB) - Included in Price or 4G DDR3 SODIMM Memory - +£23.40"
Regard to the Wifi card, unless your router support multiple stream ( MIMO, 3x3 ), you may not see a big gain in performance compare to a 1x1. I personally have a 2x2 AC7260 with a Netgear AC1750 class router, the downlink max out at 26mb/s. I just use the LAN wire.
beamermt79
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September 30th, 2015 11:00
So with the memory I saw what you were looking at and I am not sure I understand what Dell is trying to sell you. It looks like either a single channel or dual channel config but they do not specify. You should just get the 4GB single channel and then buy another 4GB stick, or get the 8GB i3 version as 8GB will be better performance wise. Also in terms of the wireless card, the 2x2 is going to be better then the 1x1 as it gives you 2 'paths' of traffic from the router vs just the one. I have teh i5 with 8GB ram and 2x2 wireless and its a beast for what its worth. Yes you will need to save your pennies for an SSD as the HDD installed is horrid.
Tino11
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October 1st, 2015 12:00
beamermt79
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2.3K Posts
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October 1st, 2015 13:00
Hey no problem. this is generally a user to user forum but sometimes an Alienware associate will pop in and out. My reply will bump up this thread to the top so hopefully that helps. I would definitely upgrade the wireless card to a 2x2 just for better throughput. As for the RAM, 8GB should be plenty for gaming etc., unless you are going to be doing heavy movie or photo editing? If thats the case, I would think about something else outside of an alpha imho. Either way get the most you can afford and upgrade the RAM via a vendor like Crucial or whomever you prefer.
Tino11
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October 5th, 2015 06:00
I'm hoping Alienware-Rodrigo or one of the other technical support staff will be able to help answer my question.
wenlezcn
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October 5th, 2015 15:00
You certainly would want to select the "4GB Single Channel DDR3". Since there is only 2 SODIMM slots, there are only two option to achieve 4GB: 1x 4GB, or 2x 2GB. I believe the latter option is 2x2GB. Yes, that gives you dual channel on the memory bus, but the performance gain is negligible. Plus, you'll add more RAM, so say you buy a 8GB stick, that gives you 12GB of RAM in total.
"4GB Single Channel DDR3 1600MHz SDRAM (1X4GB) - Included in Price
or
4G DDR3 SODIMM Memory - +£23.40"
Regard to the Wifi card, unless your router support multiple stream ( MIMO, 3x3 ), you may not see a big gain in performance compare to a 1x1. I personally have a 2x2 AC7260 with a Netgear AC1750 class router, the downlink max out at 26mb/s. I just use the LAN wire.