Alienware R3 - 15 - did I get a good deal?

ramirez · 4 May 2017 at 08:41

Hi folks.

I ordered the following refurbished Alienware R3 15 when drunk the other night, and I'm now wondering whether it was a good deal or not - can someone reassure, correct me as I have time to cancel if it's not the sweet deal I thought it was. I'm not sure how it compares to a brand new one I could get and whether impulse made me do it.

Alienware 15 - R3 Windows 10 Home (64bit)

£1,662.25 inc VAT/ Del

Alienware 15 - R3

Killer 1535 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1

1 TB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)

Software

Info Mod

Software Drivers (No Media)

Label

Info Mod

Primary 6-cell 99W/HR Battery

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ (4 Core,6M Cache, up to 3.5GHz, 45W)

Internal Qwerty Backlit Keyboard

Label

Placemats

256GB PCIe M.2 Solid State Drive

Label

Additional Software

Software

Info Mod

Software Driver

32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 SDRAM 2400MHz Non-ECC

Software Driver

Info Mod

Info Mod

NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB

240W A/C Adapter

Info Mod

Software

Software

15.6 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) 120Hz TN+WVA Anti-Glare 400-nits Display

Power Cord : 250V

Shipping Material

Internal Qwerty Backlit Keyboard

Software

Windows 10 Home (64bit)

LCD FHD cover Non Touch with Cam

Certified Refurbished

MrFunex · 4 May 2017 at 08:47

I paid about £100 more and got the 17 R4, with a i7-6820HK, 512Gb M.2 SSD and a GTX1080 a few weeks ago...

ramirez · 4 May 2017 at 08:58

ok I think in that case I should lay off the whiskey! I'll cancel the order

waldaize · 4 May 2017 at 10:32

Same as MrFunex. I recommend the 17 R4 btw if you are looking for one. Keep an eye out for the 15% or 20% vouchers. FYI I got a 6820 1080 32Gb DDR4 512Gb .m2 SSD 120hz Gsync QHD for £1800 inc VAT and delivery.

internetuser · 4 May 2017 at 10:58

I got a 17R4 with 6820 1080 16Gb DDR4 1tb .m2 SSD, 1TB HDD, 120hz Gsync QHD for £1605 inc VAT and delivery from the outlet.

The 15r3, for the above spec can be got cheaper, it was a higher spec and cheaper yeterday. I would keep an eye on the outlet. If you want new they normally have clearance deals or random discounts under the gaming deals section.

All prices seem to be £50 more than yesterday. However they have a 10% off vouchers, also dont forget 4% quidco.

Teknobry · 7 May 2017 at 12:35

yep, if you're savvy a top spec 17r4 can be had for 1600 - 1800 quid.

spikerules · 7 May 2017 at 16:00

Teknobry said:
yep, if you're savvy a top spec 17r4 can be had for 1600 - 1800 quid.

Mind helping people to be "savvy"?

internetuser · 7 May 2017 at 16:22

spikerules said:
Mind helping people to be "savvy"?

Wait for when the outlet has vouchers on the go.

last bank holiday it was up to 20% off. However the good stuff goes quickly then. I bite at 15% discount. However sometimes they don't do vouchers so it's total game of chance

Also work out what you wanted from main site first as sometimes the deals they have is better than the outlet. The current 15r3 deal is good vs anything on the outlet.

Mine was army £1000 cheaper than buying the current gen processor version.

Also work out ram costs and storage costs. It can be better to buy a lower spec one and buy your own memory and storage.

spikerules · 7 May 2017 at 16:30

internetuser said:
Wait for when the outlet has vouchers on the go.

last bank holiday it was up to 20% off. However the good stuff goes quickly then. I bite at 15% discount. However sometimes they don't do vouchers so it's total game of chance

Also work out what you wanted from main site first as sometimes the deals they have is better than the outlet. The current 15r3 deal is good vs anything on the outlet.

Mine was army £1000 cheaper than buying the current gen processor version.

Also work out ram costs and storage costs. It can be better to buy a lower spec one and buy your own memory and storage.

Well they have a discount on R3 as well as 10% off at the moment. Think for a R3 1070 it was around 1450

internetuser · 7 May 2017 at 16:34

spikerules said:
Well they have a discount on R3 as well as 10% off at the moment. Think for a R3 1070 it was around 1450

Yea. It's the last gen processor. It has about £600 off doesn't it. I was going to get that but wanted a 1440p screen and the 17r4 for £150 was to tempting.

So compare that to what's on the outlet. And I don't think anything will come close.

spikerules · 7 May 2017 at 16:44

internetuser said:
Yea. It's the last gen processor. It has about £600 off doesn't it. I was going to get that but wanted a 1440p screen and the 17r4 for £150 was to tempting.

So compare that to what's on the outlet. And I don't think anything will come close.

Well it's all a moot point for me anyways! I'm looking for something lightweight, portable and powerful.

internetuser · 7 May 2017 at 16:46

These are not that light or portable but extremely powerful.

Check when the deal runs out as they are end of life with that processor so price will jump up soon.

Don't forget Quidco for another 4% off.

JimboJet · 7 May 2017 at 20:13

Worth mentioning that sometimes further discount can be achieved by speaking directly to outlet sales reps even when the 15% or 20% offers aren't available.

ramirez · 8 May 2017 at 08:50

Got this instead for £1700 (with 10% discount). Seems a better deal for not much more money.

Alienware 17 - R4

17.3 inch QHD (2560 x 1440) 120Hz TN+WVA Anti-Glare 400-nits

1 TB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)

Software

Info Mod

Power Supply : 330W AC Adapter

Software Drivers (No Media)

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-6820HK (4 Core, Dynamically Overclocked up to 4.1GHz,8M Cache, 45W)

Label

Info Mod

Primary 6-cell 99W/HR Battery

Internal Qwerty Backlit Keyboard

NVIDIA GTX 1080 8GB

Software Driver

256GB PCIe M.2 Solid State Drive

Label

Placemats

Internal Qwerty Backlit Keyboard

Additional Software

Software

Info Mod

Scratch and Dent

32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 SDRAM 2400MHz Non-ECC

Shipping Material

Software Driver

Info Mod

Info Mod

Killer 1435 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1

Info Mod

LCD Cover with Tobii IR Eye-tracking

Software

Software

Power Cord : 250V

Label

Software

Windows 10 Home (64bit)

MrFunex · 8 May 2017 at 11:37

Far better! Exactly the same as mine, apart from I have a 512Gb M.2. Its a great machine - turn all the special effects up to ultra and enjoy!

Note - the "dynamic overclock" bit - as standard the 6820HK is 2.7GHz with turbo boost to 3.6. In the BIOS, you can enable 3 factory stages of preset overclock - L1 to 3.9, L2 to 4.0 and L3 to 4.1GHz, or 'go it alone' with the settings you choose yourself.

There's also a BIOS update for the GPU on Dell's site to increase speed a bit.

internetuser · 8 May 2017 at 15:12

Good choice. I have just returned mine.
It had a dead pixel dead centre of the screen, and the bezel on the front was coming away were the alienware text is.

Worth changing the scaling from 150% when you receive it as well, as windows scaling is pants and it makes the screen fuzzy.

ramirez · 9 May 2017 at 08:27

thanks guys, excited now... I might try that 10% off return trick as well

Genoma · 10 May 2017 at 08:49

I got a 1070 16GB RAM 256 SSD 15 R3 from the outlet for around 1200 a few weeks ago, was a scratch and dent one (had a tiny scratch on the lid that was hard to find). It's going back though as the fans are far too loud for me as I wanted to game in the living room with the wife watching TV.

Going down the Nintendo Switch route instead

spikerules · 11 May 2017 at 12:34

I'm trying to find a refurb alienware 13 with OLED and 1060 for less than £1100 but no joy so far even with discount code

Also when they say scratch AND dent does that mean both or one or the other?