Do you really want to sink $900 into used parts for a system this old? For that sum you'll get at best a 90-day parts warranty. Further, you will also need to replace the display panel to upgrade to the 3D version of the system, and you'll also need the wiring harness for the 3D display panel -- the 3D mainboard won't work with other than the 3D screen (and the wiring harness would also need to be replaced).
That'll push your budget to well over half what a new Alienware would cost -- and there is the Inspiron 17 7000 series, which slots below the Alienware in price but is a more direct successor to your XPS system -- fully decked out with 16G RAM, 512G NVme drive, etc. it's about $1250 -- not much more than your parts spend, and WITH a full year (minimum) warranty.
It's your call - but spending more than $1,000 on parts for a system that's 6-7 years old is a losing proposition from a value standpoint.
All the parts that I manage to find are all brand new parts and does included the new 3D screen gear. So 900$ for all "old" brand new parts. Important to note that this 900$ includes 200$ for additionnal RAM and 250$ for CPU. I never experienced issues with my current XPS, so the warranty "issue" doesn't scare me.
I didn't think about the Inspiron 17, I though the performance couldn't match the XPS. I've look into it and yes for about 1300$ I could get something not that bad. I could upgrade to 32GB RAM for an additionnal 200$ for a total of about 1500$.
I'll look forward to compare the XPS 17 Video GT555M vs the Inspiron MX150 and the i7-2960XM vs the Inspiron i7-8550U.
Since warranties issues is not really a concern for me, I still need to analyse deeper for fully compare to pimped XPS option at 900$ vs a new Inspiron 17 at 1300$ + 200$ (for RAM).
The Inspiron still 600$ more expensive than my pimped XPS proposal, I need to push the analysis deeper, because from now I think the pimped XPS performances still higher than a new Inspiron 17.
The Inspiron 17 with an NVMe drive (which the old XPS can't take) will outperform the XPS by every measure.
The NVMe drive alone makes the argument for buying new vs. upgrading old. And that's before you realize you're buying 6-7 year old parts to upgrade your 6-7 year old system.
ejn63
9 Legend
•
87.5K Posts
0
December 15th, 2017 07:00
Do you really want to sink $900 into used parts for a system this old? For that sum you'll get at best a 90-day parts warranty. Further, you will also need to replace the display panel to upgrade to the 3D version of the system, and you'll also need the wiring harness for the 3D display panel -- the 3D mainboard won't work with other than the 3D screen (and the wiring harness would also need to be replaced).
That'll push your budget to well over half what a new Alienware would cost -- and there is the Inspiron 17 7000 series, which slots below the Alienware in price but is a more direct successor to your XPS system -- fully decked out with 16G RAM, 512G NVme drive, etc. it's about $1250 -- not much more than your parts spend, and WITH a full year (minimum) warranty.
It's your call - but spending more than $1,000 on parts for a system that's 6-7 years old is a losing proposition from a value standpoint.
HunterOfShadow
2 Posts
0
December 15th, 2017 09:00
All the parts that I manage to find are all brand new parts and does included the new 3D screen gear. So 900$ for all "old" brand new parts. Important to note that this 900$ includes 200$ for additionnal RAM and 250$ for CPU. I never experienced issues with my current XPS, so the warranty "issue" doesn't scare me.
I didn't think about the Inspiron 17, I though the performance couldn't match the XPS. I've look into it and yes for about 1300$ I could get something not that bad. I could upgrade to 32GB RAM for an additionnal 200$ for a total of about 1500$.
I'll look forward to compare the XPS 17 Video GT555M vs the Inspiron MX150 and the i7-2960XM vs the Inspiron i7-8550U.
Since warranties issues is not really a concern for me, I still need to analyse deeper for fully compare to pimped XPS option at 900$ vs a new Inspiron 17 at 1300$ + 200$ (for RAM).
The Inspiron still 600$ more expensive than my pimped XPS proposal, I need to push the analysis deeper, because from now I think the pimped XPS performances still higher than a new Inspiron 17.
Thank you for your input.
ejn63
9 Legend
•
87.5K Posts
0
December 15th, 2017 10:00
The Inspiron 17 with an NVMe drive (which the old XPS can't take) will outperform the XPS by every measure.
The NVMe drive alone makes the argument for buying new vs. upgrading old. And that's before you realize you're buying 6-7 year old parts to upgrade your 6-7 year old system.