Alienware 15R3 i5-7300HQ or 17R4 i7-6700HQ

[AS91]

I am getting a massive discount on an Alienware 17R4 older Gen i7 which is putting it at the exact same final price as a newer Gen i5 15R3 (after discounts).
All specs same except the specs I am mentioning, screen size and added weight not an issue, both having GTX1060 6GB-

17R4 with specs: i7-6700HQ(6th Gen), 16GB DDR4-2400Mhz, 128GB M.2 SATA SSD + 1TB HDD, 68 Whr battery on bigger screen, 17.3 inch FHD IPS Screen (No GSync mentioned but I'm guessing it is there as a standard)

vs

15R3 with specs: i5-7300HQ(7th Gen), 8GB DDR4-2667Mhz(Might add 8GB later), 180GB M.2 SATA SSD only (Choosing this over other standalone 1TB HDD option. Will add 500 GB 2.5' SATA SSD later), 68 Whr on smaller screen, 15.6 inch FHD 60Hz IPS Screen (GSync explicitly mentioned)

Obviously, the discount on the 17R4 is almost double that on 15R3 so I'm wondering if for the 17R4, the older Gen. i7 > newer Gen i5, slower freq but greater memory RAM, and the slightly lesser capacity SSD but additional HDD (VERY reluctant to have a slow, battery hogging HDD living in my computer but unavoidable here) would be a deal maker or deal breaker? Or the 15R3 is better here?

Thank you.

 

[Tech_TTT]

go for the 17 inch one ... i7 is much faster , and the extra screen size is better for gaming. as for Gsync , it is not a big deal to waste i7 and 17 inch screen for it.

 

[AS91]

go for the 17 inch one ... i7 is much faster , and the extra screen size is better for gaming. as for Gsync , it is not a big deal to waste i7 and 17 inch screen for it.

What about the i7 being older gen, slower freq RAM, lesser capacity SSD + that abhorrent 1TB HDD though?

 

[Tech_TTT]

go for the 17 inch one ... i7 is much faster , and the extra screen size is better for gaming. as for Gsync , it is not a big deal to waste i7 and 17 inch screen for it.

What about the i7 being older gen, slower freq RAM, lesser capacity SSD + that abhorrent 1TB HDD though?

Actually the i7-6700HQ runs at 2.6 Ghz and has 8 threads , and turbos to 3.5ghz while the i5-7300Hq runs at 2.5 ghz turbos at 3.5 Ghz and no HT , only 4 threads .. the i5 is SLOWER.

Ram frequency difference is not noticeable at all ..the lesse capacity SSD ? well 16GB RAM is more expensive than that difference ...

get the 17 inch ..

and dont worry about Gsync much ...

 

[g-unit1111]

go for the 17 inch one ... i7 is much faster , and the extra screen size is better for gaming. as for Gsync , it is not a big deal to waste i7 and 17 inch screen for it.

What about the i7 being older gen, slower freq RAM, lesser capacity SSD + that abhorrent 1TB HDD though?

You're talking about a ~.1GHz difference in performance. There really won't be any difference in the long run. I personally like having the extra storage so I'd take the 1TB hard drive. It won't slow down performance at all if you have an M2. The 6700HQ and the 7700HQ are pretty identical processors. The only difference is that the 7700HQ is slightly better on battery life but that's about it, really.

 

[AS91]

go for the 17 inch one ... i7 is much faster , and the extra screen size is better for gaming. as for Gsync , it is not a big deal to waste i7 and 17 inch screen for it.

What about the i7 being older gen, slower freq RAM, lesser capacity SSD + that abhorrent 1TB HDD though?

You're talking about a ~.1GHz difference in performance. There really won't be any difference in the long run. I personally like having the extra storage so I'd take the 1TB hard drive. It won't slow down performance at all if you have an M2. The 6700HQ and the 7700HQ are pretty identical processors. The only difference is that the 7700HQ is slightly better on battery life but that's about it, really.

What about heat? I could imagine the newer Gen to be more efficient that way? But then the 17" laptop would cool better. Does the 17R4 make more sense to you at the end of it?

 

[Tech_TTT]

go for the 17 inch one ... i7 is much faster , and the extra screen size is better for gaming. as for Gsync , it is not a big deal to waste i7 and 17 inch screen for it.

What about the i7 being older gen, slower freq RAM, lesser capacity SSD + that abhorrent 1TB HDD though?

You're talking about a ~.1GHz difference in performance. There really won't be any difference in the long run. I personally like having the extra storage so I'd take the 1TB hard drive. It won't slow down performance at all if you have an M2. The 6700HQ and the 7700HQ are pretty identical processors. The only difference is that the 7700HQ is slightly better on battery life but that's about it, really.

What about heat? I could imagine the newer Gen to be more efficient that way? But then the 17" laptop would cool better. Does the 17R4 make more sense to you at the end of it?

Actually the 17 inch will run cooler. it has more space.

 

[AS91]

go for the 17 inch one ... i7 is much faster , and the extra screen size is better for gaming. as for Gsync , it is not a big deal to waste i7 and 17 inch screen for it.

What about the i7 being older gen, slower freq RAM, lesser capacity SSD + that abhorrent 1TB HDD though?

You're talking about a ~.1GHz difference in performance. There really won't be any difference in the long run. I personally like having the extra storage so I'd take the 1TB hard drive. It won't slow down performance at all if you have an M2. The 6700HQ and the 7700HQ are pretty identical processors. The only difference is that the 7700HQ is slightly better on battery life but that's about it, really.

Turned out that they had problems fulfilling the i7 6th Gen- 17 R4, and stopped the ability to order this particular model after I did. So Dell upgraded it to 7th Gen and also ended up upgrading the RAM to 2667 Mhz. All for the same price. Well I guess my choice was made better for me.

 

[g-unit1111]

Actually the 17 inch will run cooler. it has more space.

That is totally wrong, the size of the laptop will not guarantee that it will run cooler because "it has more space". Just like desktops, laptops have to have proper circulation and fan setup in order to guarantee that they run cooler. But unlike desktops - the laptop has a part that they don't have that will overheat no matter how much cooling you have, and that's the battery. Doesn't matter what the screen size is - an 11" can run cooler if it has the proper circulation and air flow. Some companies like MSI and Gigabyte get crap all the time because their laptops overheat thanks to improper cooling.

Turned out that they had problems fulfilling the i7 6th Gen- 17 R4, and stopped the ability to order this particular model after I did. So Dell upgraded it to 7th Gen and also ended up upgrading the RAM to 2667 Mhz. All for the same price. Well I guess my choice was made better for me.

Nice. I'm in the market for a similar laptop and I'm about to buy within the next couple of weeks. The MSI is at the top of my list but I'm open to other brands.

 

[AS91]

Actually the 17 inch will run cooler. it has more space.

That is totally wrong, the size of the laptop will not guarantee that it will run cooler because "it has more space". Just like desktops, laptops have to have proper circulation and fan setup in order to guarantee that they run cooler. But unlike desktops - the laptop has a part that they don't have that will overheat no matter how much cooling you have, and that's the battery. Doesn't matter what the screen size is - an 11" can run cooler if it has the proper circulation and air flow. Some companies like MSI and Gigabyte get crap all the time because their laptops overheat thanks to improper cooling.

Turned out that they had problems fulfilling the i7 6th Gen- 17 R4, and stopped the ability to order this particular model after I did. So Dell upgraded it to 7th Gen and also ended up upgrading the RAM to 2667 Mhz. All for the same price. Well I guess my choice was made better for me.

Nice. I'm in the market for a similar laptop and I'm about to buy within the next couple of weeks. The MSI is at the top of my list but I'm open to other brands.

I'd say definitely consider the 17 R4 if size, price and weight are not issues for you (I know. Too many ifs). But the build quality is supreme in class and they've addressed the major heating issues with the newer models. Might seem overpriced at first but the build quality, less relevant but still a minor factor - the brand name, and the ability to future proof with the amplifier and open stuff up without voiding warranty unlike MSI are worth it.

 

[g-unit1111]

I'd say definitely consider the 17 R4 if size, price and weight are not issues for you (I know. Too many ifs). But the build quality is supreme in class and they've addressed the major heating issues with the newer models. Might seem overpriced at first but the build quality, less relevant but still a minor factor - the brand name, and the ability to future proof with the amplifier and open stuff up without voiding warranty unlike MSI are worth it.

I've never been an Alienware fan. For one thing their laptops are too big and heavy for most uses. But what do you mean by "future proof"? You can't really "future proof" a laptop.

 

[AS91]

I'd say definitely consider the 17 R4 if size, price and weight are not issues for you (I know. Too many ifs). But the build quality is supreme in class and they've addressed the major heating issues with the newer models. Might seem overpriced at first but the build quality, less relevant but still a minor factor - the brand name, and the ability to future proof with the amplifier and open stuff up without voiding warranty unlike MSI are worth it.

I've never been an Alienware fan. For one thing their laptops are too big and heavy for most uses. But what do you mean by "future proof"? You can't really "future proof" a laptop.

You can if you have upgrade options to the point where you can upgrade everything except the CPU since it lives on the motherboard. GPU does too but that's where the Amp comes in. The Amplifier gives you the ability to directly connect an external Desktop GPU to the laptop (Amplifier has a PCIe and a PSU living in it and attaches directly to a specific Alienware Amplifier port behind the laptop to run). Since the GPU out-dates the fastest among all the specs and considering how slow the Intel processors have been evolving recently, you could buy the latest i5,i7 7th Gen now and be good for 4+ years. Then simply attach the latest external GPU using the Amp and you'll be golden instead of upgrading the whole laptop for it. Granted that's not a portable upgrade but it's still better than buying a whole new machine for it when your existing machine is running just fine minus the graphics power.

Razer's Amp costs 500 bucks. Alienware costs 200. MSI like everything about MSI restricts upgrading that way by not giving you the option to do so.

 

[g-unit1111]

You can if you have upgrade options to the point where you can upgrade everything except the CPU since it lives on the motherboard. GPU does too but that's where the Amp comes in. The Amplifier gives you the ability to directly connect an external Desktop GPU to the laptop (Amplifier has a PCIe and a PSU living in it and attaches directly to a specific Alienware Amplifier port behind the laptop to run). Since the GPU out-dates the fastest among all the specs and considering how slow the Intel processors have been evolving recently, you could buy the latest i5,i7 7th Gen now and be good for 4+ years. Then simply attach the latest external GPU using the Amp and you'll be golden instead of upgrading the whole laptop for it. Granted that's not a portable upgrade but it's still better than buying a whole new machine for it when your existing machine is running just fine minus the graphics power.

Razer's Amp costs 500 bucks. Alienware costs 200. MSI like everything about MSI restricts upgrading that way by not giving you the option to do so.

You're talking about this right?

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2907954/laptop-computers/reviewed-alienwares-amplifier-turbo-boosts-a-laptop-with-titan-x-graphics.html

That might be one of the most ridiculous pieces of hardware I've ever seen. It kind of defeats the purpose of having a laptop. You need a desktop power supply to power it anyways, so you can't really take your laptop with you. I don't really game on my laptops so to me purchasing a device like that kind of defeats the purpose. I see why they exist but if you're going to do something like that, just buy a desktop. I don't really care about having a desktop GPU on my laptop. I have two desktops so that's not really something that I'm in the market for. I am looking for portability which is why the MSI GS73VR Stealth is looking the most attractive to me.