-->*OFFICIAL: Dell XPS M1730 Owner's Lounge*<--

Well two channels producing lows and highs certainly can't compare with two channels AND an integrated subwoofer.

 

But I still think the whole thing's irrelevant on a notebook.

 

Actually I like the mini woofer, I doubt the XPS can achieve the sound quality I'm getting if it doesn't have one, of all the laptops in my school only the Macbook Pro comes close, and even that sounds tinny... I dunno about the Clevo though haven't seen one in life yet

 

I had an Inspiron 9400; The mini-woofer was great while it lasted but their was so much pressure on such a small speaker that it blew within 2 months.

 

wowha blew?

 

Not like the massive subwoofer explosions you see on YouTube, but rather a small "pop" during a bass heavy song. After that it always gives distorted feedback.

 

Well if the wire of the speaker isn' soldered on you can just unplug/cut it to escape the distorted noise?

 

Well I can just escape the escape the distortion by turning off the subwoofer w/software. But anyways, my Inspiron 9400 is now a relica with its single core processor and... Oh dear God: A Radeon X1400 *shudder*

 

I'm with you... but I believe the pictures 'don't do it justice' i.e. it actually looks half-decent in reality. I just wish the keyboard was black, not light coloured.

I don't: I've gotten sore neck & shoulders carrying my XPS Gen 2 around... but I don't mind. I LURRVE my XPS Gen 2.

Well said, Billy V: I wish I could upgrade my XPS Gen 2 with a new mobo / cpu / video card, as most of the other components are fine, and not really upgraded in the M1730: 7200 RPM HD, DVD+RW D/L burner, 2 gig 667 MHz ram (but on a 533 bus) 17 TrueLife screen, WiFi b/g, bluetooth... but to get better performance i also have to replace all those parts.

But as a high-tech pro, I need / want the fastest machine... and... I like toys... more on that later...

There is a serious problem with the CPU prices on dell.ca... which leads me to my shameful confession:

On M1730 launch day (on dell.ca, at least), Sept 27th, 2007, I was poking around with a M1730 config. Upgrade to X7900 2.8 GHz CPU was... only $300 above that of the T7700? That can't be right.

On the US site, it's almost $700 more.

Well, I'm a suspicious guy, so I thought "Dell's lowered the cost on the CPU upgrade, but built-in the higher price elsewhere".

So I configured a machine, thus:

X7900
2 Gig ram
120 Gig single 7200 RPM HD
Dual 8700 GT SLI 512 Meg
DVD+/-RW drive
Bluetooth
WiFi b/g/n
AEGIA PHYSX CARD (Couldn't remove it)
Vista Premium
Backpack
3 year in home + complete care warranty

~$3850 before tax? Wait a minute:

(Configures similarly equipped but inferior Precision M6300) ~$4800 (yes, that's crazy expensive, again something wrong with dell.ca pricing)

Ok, so that's out.

Goes to dell.com (US) and configures similar machine here:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DYCWM92&s=dhs

And even though I couldn't remove the blu-ray drive, the if you subtract the ~$625 it adds to other configs, it was coming out at 4300 US.

So, in a moment of weakness (and having a Dell account) I ordered the thing.

(hangs head in shame after complaining about how ugly it was!)

But the machine is easily double the speed of my XPS Gen 2 Pentium M 2.13 + 6800 Ultra. So I thought this was a sign from the Universe that I should purchase this machine with the $500 or so savings I was seeing before me.

Now, I get home from work the next day (today: Friday) and I have a message from the Dell Sales rep. I'm thinking that they've realized the pricing error in the X7900 CPU, and have called to tell me the order is cancelled, with their profound apologies. It turns out it was a bluetooth module compatibility issue: I intend to wipe Vista and install XP Pro for the foreseeable future, but would like to purchase the Vista-compatible bluetooth module for the bundle price of $20 for when I inevitably upgrade the M1730 to Vista.

So, I guess they will honour that price. If you configure a machine on dell.ca now, instead of the X7900 being a $300 upgrade, it's now $650. So, the machine I paid $3,824 on Thursday is $4,269 on Saturday, and mine includes an XPS Backpack, where the $4,269 does not.

Thank GOD work is paying for half of it. Re: the ugly white keyboard: I'll purchase the inevitable black backlit keyboard and faster video card when they're available as spare parts: i'll certainly wrangle the best deal possible on the trade-ins... maybe I'll just get a black Vostro 17" keyboard that lacks the backlighting. I bet they're compatible.

edit: based on what I read at dcse.dell.com, the vostro and m1730 keyboards are not compatible.

 

Wow... That took a while to read

 

Seriously? Have we been looking at the same site? I once considered Voodoo till I saw their pricing. Most of their gaming laptops go well north of $5000. In fact, I think one of their laptops at base price was $5000...

 

Wow lorax, you are right. I just went back on to dell.ca and reconfigured the machine i bought and its now about an extra $450 pre-tax. And also no mention of the backpack that was included with my order.

I seriously hope that my order does not get screwed up because of this... currently i have only received the "Order Acknowledged" email and am going crazy waiting on the order confirmed email which is supposed to contain final pricing and an estimated ship date.

Did you get that confirmation email? It says up to 2 business days and has been 1 and a half so far... (i have a patience problem once i have ordered something)

Thanks for the info, also glad to know i am not the only one that thought a massive price increase for the 6300 seemed odd.

 

One other thing i have noticed on the Canadian site is it still has an option for: RAID Performance: 500GB (2x250GB) 7200RPM at the same price as the (2x200GB) 7200RPM which is a mistake. I remember seeing this on the US site during the prelaunch sale and it has since been removed from that site, and i would assume it is just a matter of time before it is corrected on the Canadian site. If I am not mistaken the 250GB 7200RPM drives don't exist.

 

Played around with it today at Digital Life not a bad choice a very pretty laptop with all the bells and whistles turned on.

 

Its still overpriced, gaming wise its slower than the Alienware and Clevo which are cheaper and in the AWs case, old tech. As for the HDDs, the 250GB 5400RPM drive is the same $ as the 200GB 7200RPM on the AW site so I think it's a typo...

 

I got my email confirming both the order with the cost, etc. the next day.

I tried it on a number of configurations and on Dell's US site, with the Precision M6300 they're bundling in a 19" LCD and docking station for far less than the bare CDN price.

By the way, I also wrote to my sales rep and asked to be 'put in the queue' for any video card upgrades and hopefully (please gods!) a black keyboard 'crossgrade'.

 

Review in PC mag .Very favorable.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2186645,00.asp

 

another review

http://laptopmag.com/Review/Dell-XPS-M1730.htm

 

People keep saying that the Alienware is cheaper. While it does start at $1799, that is nowhere near the configuration of the basic 1730 configuration.

--------------- XPS 1730@ $2999 --------------- AW 9750@ $1799
Processor ----- 2.4G/800MHz ------------------- 1.66G/667
Graphics ------ Dual 256M 8700GT -------------- Single 512M 7950GTX
Memory ------- 2GB ---------------------------- 1GB
LCD ----------- 1920x1200 --------------------- 1440x900
HardDrive ----- 200GB 7200rpm ----------------- 80GB 7200rpm
Optical Drive -- Dual Layer DVD +/-RW ---------- DVD-ROM/CD RW

If you make the adjustments to bring it up to the same specs as the XPS:

--------------- XPS 1730@ $2999 --------------- AW 9750@ $3749
Processor ----- 2.4G/800MHz ------------------- 2.33G/667
Graphics ------ Dual 256M 8700GT -------------- Dual 512M 7950GTX
Memory ------- 2GB ---------------------------- 2GB
LCD ----------- 1920x1200 --------------------- 1920x1200
HardDrive ----- 200GB 7200rpm ----------------- 200GB 7200rpm
Optical Drive -- Dual Layer DVD +/-RW ----------- Dual Layer DVD +/-RW

You end up with a notebook that is $750 more than the XPS. So while there is no argument that the dual 7950s are more powerful than the 8700s, the AW is not a less expensive system.

 

Thanks, jcaulley!

Maybe that will shut up some of the AW fanboys

 

You can get a 7950 GTX for $1799?! Sick!

 

Just ordered the dell xps 1730 for 2699 .Was down to the dell or the sager 9261.In the end was not sure wife would go for me spending over 3000 on a brand she never heard off .Plus showed her the flashing lights and she thought they were cool I think if you order any of the 3 sli note books sager 9291 alienware 9750 or dell xps 1730 you will be happy.

 

You made the decision because of... The flashing lights? To each his/her own I guess!

 

Looks can be a big thing to people now adays

 

Me I dont really care about looks.I was kind of surprised at how big a deal peoble make about the looks of the xps 1730 .I have learned one thing if my wife likes something I get to spend more money on it .I like the specs on the xps 1730 my wife like the looks perfect for me .Also design is becoming more important excepicaily with more woman buying laptops.

 

@caulley - The mistake you made is trying to match the numbers on paper, there's no processor that can get the 256mb 8700M-GT even close to the performance of the 7950GTX. My setup, with its measly 2.0GHz C2D, which is around 3200, already outperforms the XPS with the X7900 and 512mb 8700M-GT.

 

Just ordered the dell xps 1730 for 2699 .Was down to the dell or the sager 9261.In the end was not sure wife would go for me spending over 3000 on a brand she never heard off .Plus showed her the flashing lights and she thought they were cool I think if you order any of the 3 sli note books sager 9291 alienware 9750 or dell xps 1730 you will be happy.


What eta did dell give u for the xps m1730 ?

u made a great choice...imo...

 

Not to knock on your purchase but $2700 for a non SLi setup seems a bit steep since the two Clevos (m571RU, D901C), the Toshiba X205 and Alienware m9750 are all ~$2200 non SLi... What's your setup?

 

ROFL!!!

 

congrats to all those people who bot 1730.it is off the budget for me, but i am happy with my 1720!

 

I got a chance to view the system at a display over the weekend. Really nice "system" - I can't call it a laptop because the thing is huge!

They had it overclocked to 3.2 ghz, and went through a quick demo of doing it through the bios which was pretty cool. The whole finish looks really nice and I like the LCD above the keyboard, nice touch. Lots of lights flashing off the system. The screen also looked very crisp.

I kinda liked it, although to use it for anything other than gaming didn't seem appropriate. Like it has been mentioned, you definitely don't want to be bringing this rig to a meeting, especially a presentation, unless you need some psychedelic lighting effects.

 

I honestly don't understand this: How in the world does standard fan cooling suffice to keep an overclocked Core 2 Extreme processor and a dual-graphics solution running cool? Why didn't they just put in liquid cooling like in Alienware's M9750?

 

I'd rather have an affordable system like the X205....

 

My set up is as below .I also thought that all xps 1730 ares sli .

---------------XPS 1730@ $2699
--------------- Processor -----
processor Duo T7700 processor at 2.4GHz
Graphics ------ Dual 256M 8700GT sli
Memory ------- 2GB
LCD ----------- 1920x1200
HardDrive ----- 200GB 7200rpm
Optical Drive -- Dual Layer DVD +/-RW

 

Ship date 10 04 07 .estimated date of arrival 10 09 07 .Due to the fact there are no real options the systems ship pretty quick.Hopefully

 

Why does no one ever respond when I say this? ... So here goes again: I honestly don't understand this: How in the world does standard fan cooling suffice to keep an overclocked Core 2 Extreme processor and a dual-graphics solution running cool? Why didn't they just put in liquid cooling like in Alienware's M9750?

 

Uhh... The m9750 uses copper heat pipes... please think about it: Liquid Cooling in a laptop? who told you that bull****...

 

It's nice to speculate about how the cooling works, but why complain that no one else in the "Owners Lounge" will not participate in the speculation? Why not wait until some of the owners actually have the machine in their possession for a while, and can actually tell you how quiet the fans run or how cool the GPU and CPU run under load.

I respectfully suggest you move the speculation to one of the other threads, or maybe just be patient, and someone may answer your question. Wait until you see postings along the line of "I got my rig today and I wet myself with joy" etc.

 

Hey all, I've always been a stalker of these forums, and decided to finally register. I post in a number of other related forums under the same SN.

Regardless, I've been waiting forever for the XPS M1730. I wanted something DX 10 that was somewhat future proof, and cost was of no concern.

Here's my configuration:
1 223-3102 Dell XPS M1730, Mobile Intel 2.8GHz,EX, 4MB, 800 FSB Merom $5460
1 310-9525 PERSONALIZATION SHIELD, LCD COLOR WING OPTION,GRAY $0.00
1 311-7447 4GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm for XPS M1730 $0.00
1 320-5788 17 UltraSharp TrueLife Wide screen WUXGA for XPS M1730 $0.00
1 320-5790 NVIDIA G84 in SLI, for XPS M17 $0.00
1 341-5482 Serial ATA RAID 0 with Dual 200GB Hard Drives $0.00
1 313-5592 Blu-ray Disc Drive (BD/DVD/CD burner w/double layer BD write capability) $0.00
1 430-2655 Dell Wirless 355 Bluetooth Module (2.0+EDR) $20
1 430-2316 Dell BH200 Bluetooth 2.0 EDR Stereo Headset $79

Sub-Total : $5609
Shipping : $90
Tax : $433.12
Order Total : $6132.12

I've read a lot of the discussion centering on the lack of an HDMI port. Honestly, the argument for having HDMI versus DVI-D is irrelevant. DVI-D with HDCP is gonna provide the same HD video (with DRM protection) as HDMI would, just sans the audio component. At the same time, I'd rather not have to purchase/carry around an expensive HDMI to DVI cable or dongle. Since my 24" BenQ has DVI-D and HDMI, both with HDCP, it really doesn't matter to me.

As for it being third fastest... time will tell. I'm pretty sure Nvidia's SLI driver binaries in Vista are still very very immature. Nvidia is focusing their attention on the newer GPU chipsets right now, and I'd rather have a card they're working on improving than something they've already marked for obsolescence. That, and I'd rather have two DX 10 GPUs than the DX 9 7950 GTXes, but that's just a personal preference.

There's also been a lot of dialog online about the XPS looking ugly (hence the Beast monkier). Perhaps I've got weird tastes, but I think the thing looks pretty damn sexy with the grey cover on it. The last thing I wanna see is yet another MBP-style PC clone going for the off-white solid aluminum look.

 

Well, my order has gone into production, but I'm getting quite the run-around on getting a second power adaptor: the M1730 adaptor puts out 230 Watts, and when I asked to get a second one, they put through a separate order (thank god, so it won't hold up the system) for a 90 W "universal" adaptor.

So, I call my rep and am put through to the supervisor. I explain to them that I already have 90 W adaptors, and do not need another one. I need a 230 W adaptor that will work with the M1730.

The supervisor goes on to explain that the power adaptor is designed for worldwide use and supports 90 volts up to 230 volts.

So, I gently repeat that the specs for the M1730 say that the Output Power of the adaptor that comes with the machine is a 230 WATT adaptor, not VOLT, and that the 230 WATT part is new and unique to the M1730.

Then he says he'll go check and get back to me in an hour.

The worst part is the long-distance lag: I am accustomed to working with folks from India, it's not the fact that the call center is in India: it's the fact that it is a BPO ("business process outsourcing") operation that can NOT cope with anything that's not in the playbook (which would be true no matter whether it was in US or in India) and the 'digital delay' due to the long distance connection, probably over satellite or VOIP.

The thing was $139 for the 90W, too. On the Accessories site, the same part id $59. They're going to get an earful from me on that.

 

Nice set up. Although price is no object, I figure some of the parts in your rig may not be 'necessary' right now, and when they are, the price will have dropped substantially.

Like the BD Burner: a year from now, when the 'dust has settled' maybe an HD / BD hybrid drive might be available... and by then, the blank media might have dropped substantially, which may be when it's most likely to be useful, when you could probably get the drive for half the price as an 'accessory'.

Also, the 2 x 2 gig ram modules are available at retail for much less than dell charges: you could just pop 'em in yourself and sell the 2 x 1 gig modules on EBAY for ~80 bucks or so. Even if you just put the 1 gig modules in the microwave on high to "see what happens", the after-market memory price would still save you money.

Same with the hard drives: I got the 120 Gig 7200, and when that starts to get 'cramped', maybe 6 months from now, maybe the SSD drives will have dropped to a reasonable price and I'll pop one in and make it the boot drive.

I'm just sayin' that it's great when price is no object, but you could probably shave $1k or more off that price and have what is essentially the same machine, with less 'unused capacity', and add capacity as needed.

 

Oh yes, definitely. I certainly acknowledge that.

The only reason that I configured everything maximum on the dell page was because I want their accidental damage coverage, and I figure they'd be loath to honor that if I changed a lot inside, despite the fact that I'm more than capable of doing those modifications.

I should have included this in my first post, but here's the shipping information I have as of now. I ordered pretty early too.

Shipping Method: Next Business Day
Est. Ship Date: 10/19/2007
Est. Delivery Date: 10/22/2007
Carrier: Not Shipped
Tracking Number: Not Shipped

Calling the dell order status system (1-800-433-9014) tells me the order is in "Pre-Production," so I don't think they've even started physically building it yet.

 

May I ask when you placed your order? Thanks.

Sigh, finally. I'm glad to hear there's someone out there who has his/her own opinion and is not just jumping on the calling-it-fugly bandwagon.

 

I placed my order:

Order Date: 9/27/2007

Yeah, I think it actually looks good. Engadget, where I think news of the XPS M1730 broke, is just full of mac fanboys, and yet I read it habitually.

 

I'm placing my order for a 1730 tomorrow after 2 weeks of reading coments on here( I came very close to getting a d900)
My question is has anyone gone for the ssd, I read the review for one of the other dell laptops and they where very happy with its performance.
As the 1730 can fit 2 hdd's I find it strange there is no option for a ssd+hdd combination is this because fitting a ssd means you cannot fit another hdd in the cradle?

Edit: Just went to look at the Dell US site and there is an option for 62Gb ssd with a 200Gb standard. An option not available on dell's uk site will ask about it on the phone.

One thing that has always bugged me about the m9750 v 1730 arguement is the processor, can you get the 9750 with anything faster than 2.3 cos that was one of the features that put me off.

 

DellFan24 here.

After months of reading the forums and waiting patiently for the new Dell XPS M1730 to be released, I have finally decided to get one! And, becuase I ordered through Dell (obviously), my order has already been placed, cancelled, and placed again! ETA Ship Date is 10/23 (it was 10/19).

I will post pictures and reactions as soon as it arrives.

 

I like this line here. "Hold your head high even when walking with Clevo 900 and Alienware m9750 owners, because what I'm trying to say (in the nicest way possible!) is that they're better then you!"


Anyway, unlike most people I do like the look of the new 1730, I just love all its flashiness. Unfortunately 17" is a bit too big for me, I was among the people hoping for a 15" XPS. Still a bit expensive though, I'd probably go with Toshiba instead, but at least it's not as overpriced as Alienware.

 

So guys I'd like to ask what are your ESDs?

 

Yeah, I saw that option pop up on the dell site after I had already ordered my M1730 with dual 200 GB 7200 RPM drives.

I think having the 64GB SSD for the Windows partition and the pagefile is a great idea. I almost wish I would've configured it that way, but dell's configuration is really ambiguous when it comes to which disk they're gonna park the preconfigured Vista image on.

Just for those that lost it in my other posts:

Est. Ship Date: 10/19/2007
Est. Delivery Date: 10/22/2007
Order Date: 9/27/2007

 

In the case of Clevo vs. Arima vs. Dell:
This all about the GPU, while the processor of the 8700M-GT can run circles around the proc of the Go 7950GTX in shading power when you couple it with a 128 mem bus you've effectively crippled so much that it's slower (so much that my setup with a 2.0GHz C2D still gets better 3DMark/fps)... Don't forget that the lower priced models use 256mb 8700's. If you're looking to buy a laptop with DX10 futureproofing the 8700M-GT is not the way to go, wait for a 256bit card.