Hello,
I purchased a Dell XPS 17 L702X back in 2011 with the following build:
Motherboard: JJVYM - non-3D 1G (integrated GT 550M GPU) VRAM with 2 DIMM slot
CPU: i7-2620M (2Cores 2.7GHz, boots 3.4GHz, 4MB)
RAM: 2x4GB 1333MHz (Dell OEM)
C: drive: HDD 750GB (WD 7200rpm))
D: drive: HDD 750GB (WD 7200rpm)
WLAN: Intel Centrino 1000 (WiFi)
LCD: 1080p 17.3"
Over the years I made few upgrades has following:
RAM: 2x8GB DDR3 1600MHz (Corsair Vengeance)
C: drive: SSD 1TO (Samsung 850 PRO)
D: drive: HDD 2TB (Seagate BarraCuda 5400rpm)
WLAN: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 (WiFi + Bluetooth)
I'm was wondering if it's possible to make the following upgrades:
Motherboard: TXP27 - 3D 3G VRAM (integrated GT 555M GPU) with 4 DIMM slots - 300$
RAM: 4x8GB DDR3 1600MHz (add 2x Corsair Vengeance to the 2x8GB existing ones) - 200$
CPU: i7-2960XM (4cores 2.70GHz, boots 3.70GHz, 8MB) - 250$ (or any CPU that can handle 32GB RAM)
LCD: 1080p 17.3" 3D - 100$
LCD bezel: 3D - 25$
LCD cable: 3D - 35$
So total cost should be about 900$, I know this is alot, but it's still cheaper than a whole new laptop. Since they don't make XPS 17 anymore, my option would be an Alienware 17 with the following build:
CPU: i7-7700HQ (4cores, 2.80GHz, boots 3.8GHz, 6MB)
Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti 2GB
RAM: 2x16GB 2400MHz
M2: 180GB (would reuse my 1TO SSD + 2TB HDD)
Total price of near 1900$
Of course the Alienware would be more powerfull than my "pimped XPS 17", but still 1000$ more expensive.
Any recommandations / GO/NO-GO about this ?