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17 R1, upgrades for a novice
Hi, I've got a 2014 Alienware 17 R1 and would like to do any upgrades that whould be easy for a novice to undertake. The details of my system follows;
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4700MQ CPU @ 2.40GHz
338-BCHU : 4th Generation Intel Core i7-4 700MQ processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.4GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
490-BBGS : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M with 3 GB GDDR5
400-ACMY : 1.5TB RAID 0 (2x750GB 7200RPM) + 80GB mSATA SSD Caching
370-AANN : 16GB Dual Channel DDR3L 1600MH z (4x4GB)
I was thinking that I would like to increase the RAM to 32GB or even 64GB if possible.
Add an SSD or 2 if that is easy. The fan seems to run a lot too. I don't know if this is normal or it is something that can be improved.
I have never even opened up a laptop, let alone have a go at upgrading one before. Any advice or assistance would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance........ Scott
john7789
2 Posts
1
May 31st, 2020 01:00
Yup It is Possible check this out
Phaze1975
2 Posts
1
May 31st, 2020 02:00
I think the only upgrade that's worth is is the SSD upgrade. That is relatively simple to do. The troublesome part is backing up and reinstalling Windows.
There is a Youtube video on how to upgrade the SSD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsj50dc7aSU
You have to use an older mSATA SSD. Still it will be a whole world of difference compared to a HDD.
CPU and GPU upgrade is not worth it - even if it can be done. You are held back by the rest of the system and this upgrade will only get you marginal improvements.
RAM I believe you can upgrade to a max of 32GB. However, if you ask me, this is also not worth it. 16GB RAM is already more than enough in most cases. You only need more than 16GB if you are doing video or photo editing of really large files, maybe running a lot of VMs. However, if you are doing those things, you would be better served by getting a new desktop or laptop which will net you way more performance for the same amount of money.
Stido
4 Posts
0
May 31st, 2020 17:00
Thank you for your reply.
mattyb3
5 Practitioner
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1.5K Posts
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May 31st, 2020 23:00
You can also upgrade your GPU to a GTX 1070 and CPU up to a 4930/4940MX. You may need to upgrade your heatsinks for sufficient cooling.
Stido
4 Posts
0
June 5th, 2020 19:00
Thanks for your reply.