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

Hey,

Doesn't it drive you nuts though when using the keyboard to have it lifting up non-stop!?! I've had a D800 years before and its as solid as a rock. I don't get how their quality control is missing this! Its the first thing I noticed.

Thanks for the head's up about the norton anti-virus... its always been AVG Free for me

As a solution for the rocking in your laptop - do you think shaving a few millimeters off one of the pads might help? Or maybe Dell would send out ones of different high to fix the problem....

I know there would be issues with taking the milli's off yourself with heat build up and possibly running problems with it being off perfectly horizontal.

Also how many other M1730 owners have this rocking / seesaw effect when they put the laptop on a level surface???

 

I think I heard of another person with an uneven base, I have raised mine at the back with a roll of masking tape on its side lol until I get a cooler and it doesn't rock now, so I think one of the back feet must be the problem on mine.

Anyone who has this 'beast' raise the back off the table with something when you use it, it is much easier to type with and it stays much cooler now that it has some room to suck in cool air through the bottom.

And Norton Internet Security has given me problems before, back in their 2003-2004 versions, I read good reviews of the 2007 version and it was either that or Mcafee, so I thought I would give them a second chance and I am beginning to regret that.

 

is this norton 360 you are talking about i was thinking of putting 360 on mine because of the good reviews i use one called avast on my pc and had no problems with it

 

No, I'm talking about Norton Internet Security 2007.
I have seen good reviews of Norton 360 as well but I don't know about it's performance.

 

Hey wogstaa,

I've come across your youtube videos, - how do you get the m1730 to do that with music. In the brief time that my M1730 was outta the box I enabled it for itunes and played a song but it just stayed static red, or strobed all the time with no relation to the music.

I've heard of WinAmp and the iTunes plug'in, but to be honest I've no clue how to get it to work...

 

I spoke to the sales guy dealing with my order just now, asked for clarification on the 8800 issue, and also the price drop......

Got told they have no information about an impending launch, and wait for it....that there could be up to a 1 YEAR delay in getting the Extreme processor - and that the order will be changed to a lesser processor - I said no - actually the order will be changed to "cancelled" thanks very much....

Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous in your life...what a waste of space. I'll be back when the 8800 comes out and I can get it with the CPU I want.

 

My system is now in production with Extreme Processor, Bluray, Next Gen Wireless n, so I think those components are now available.

 

mr greenfingers guess what, mine has suddenly gone from pre-production (last night) to being dispatched! So I might have something to then ask to re-order, yoo hoo!

 

I did it using windows media player, when you choose visualizations, there are three options there from the Dell plugin which have different light effects. The same should apply to iTunes and winamp because they have the plugin as well. I
can't wait till I get the LED fixed in my speaker so I can have the speaker LEDs on as well, It should look awesome. I'm a sucker for colourful lights

I also ordered a Logitech G15 keyboard, the one that Dell got the little LCD from, now I can have two little LCDs lol

 

Cheers man for the info.

 

lol whats happening with dell mine will be hear 8:30 tomoro

 

keep a level head mate dont be taken in by the flashy lights and the shineyness lol

 

Awesome mate, not long now then?

 

Will be interesting to see if the Next Gen Wireless card works okay mate, for whatever reason it wouldn't let you specify it with the extreme processor for me?!

 

yip ill not sleep tonight ill be like a little kid tomoro waiting for the delivery guy at the top of the stairs

 

1 and a 1/2 hrs only left for them to deliver it here today. really wanted it today, but not looking good. Also they don't give you a tracking number with the Shipping Company here, so u can't track it. 2 working days may pass since it was shipped. Damn Interlink in Ireland.

 

Well...

Dell gave me the refund, so i just re-placed an order. So back to waiting again ...

Gone with the 2.4Ghz + 320GB RAID0 this time. Hopefully it will be here soon and problem free!

 

Anyone have any idea that if I get the Blu-ray/CD/DVD burner drive in the M1730, will it come preinstalled with software (like Roxio or Nero) that will let me burn to a Blu-ray disc (and obviously to a CD or DVD as well)? Or will I just get the standard stripped down version of Roxio/Nero that will only burn to CD/DVD? And if it does come with Blu-ray burning software, will the software upconvert my DVD-quality videos into the higher res Blu-ray format? Or will the only advantage of burning to a Blu-ray disc be the larger capacity (and no resolution improvement in the video)?

On a related question does anyone know of good software to convert and burn to Blu-ray? I'm assuming Roxio and Nero have versions of their software that can do this but has anyone used them?

 

Roxio does come pre-installed and with disc for reinstallation.

 

Yeah, I was the same!

 

Today I had my 1730's lid casing replaced as it wasn't sealed properly at the top, that is now fixed, but instead I have...

A slight bulge on the panel behind the keyboard
A small scratch exposing metal above one of the hinges
and a webcam that isn't detected and looks like it has a protective sticker over it still.

Obviously I should have checked it much more thoroughly before the engineer left!

 

Its just a Blu-Ray reader isnt it? It only burns DVD/CD.

 

i was told when i orderd that it burns blu-ray hardtimes can you confirm this?

 

it IS a Bluray Burner

 

Not really very clear, it just says...

On the UK site.

Anyone confirm that they got an 8x drive with their M1730 btw? The one i returned seemed to only go to 4x MAX. Even though i had 8x media. Maybe it was just the included software being lame?

 

HardTimesUK, Thanks..

I know that you can use the DVI to HDMI coverter... I think it comes included with the computer, but I "like the idea" of being able to use ONE cable for both audio and video...

 

Hi everyone.

I have been lurking around this forum for a while, as I am looking to buy a luggable developer machine and in some respects the XPS DELL M1730 seems to fit the bill in terms of power.

If I buy, I will go for 4GB, 2x(MAX 7200) RAID 0, and the extreme processor.

However, there following issues are a bit unclear to me.

Is it correct that there is no docking station (or port replicator) for this machine?

Anyone has experience with connecting two (or more) 1920 x 1200 external displays to this thing?

I want to run 64bit Vista, anyone has experience with that on this machine? (The primary reason for this, if anyone was wondering, is that I need to juggle a number of virtual machines, and in my experience, these perform a lot better with 64bitV/4GB RAM)

Apparently, DELL is unable to deliver 64Bit Vista for some reason, so I will need to scrap whatever they put on the machine.

 

No docking station on the m1730.

Sli will have to be disabled to support more than one screen, sli can only work with one output.

I am just about to reinstall using vista x64 as I'm about to order 4gb of ram from my local (£110), will give a full analysis, I use it on other machines and my experience there has been perfect, hope it's the same on the m1730.

 

Puremind, as I plan to send mine back as soon as I get it so I can change the config, can you supply a sales number as I only seem to be able to find customer services. I want to take your advice and just deal with the sales team to get this all sorted.

 

mate they will ring you to make sure you have your order just bring it up with them see what happens ill let you know how i get on 2moro

 

Just for informational purposes, i thought id point out some changes to the basic config on the M1730 since their refresh. Incase no one noticed.

1. Obvious Major Price Drops. But the base spec droped by £50.
2. 200GB Hard Drive is now 7200RPM as standard. Like on the US site.
3. The 8x DVD-RW now appears to be a SLOT LOADING drive.
4. Bluetooh Module appears to be included at no extra cost as standard.
5. You cannot select the Wireless N anymore from the options.
6. Hard Drive options have been updated. Prices are more reasonable and varied.

Unfortunatly they still show that "Integrated SB Audigy ADVANCED HD" with no clear explination indicating its £25 for a Driver CD. Not hardware.

 

i was told the Integrated SB Audigy ADVANCED HD was a card see email reply

The item number 510-10173 relates an intergrated sound card compatible with vista.

 

Yeah good one... hope there are no marks or scratches on the plastic bag containing the power supply lead - or you'll get really angry and send the whole thing back for a refund huh?

 

I am based in Germany, so I can only give you a number of sales in German...

But it should be easy: just call the toll free XPS number on their web site, when you get to switch board they will ask you if you are already a client, sa yes but you would like to place a new order and need to be connected with sales. That should work...

 

For once, you will get a refund or exchange from Kingson if their Dell-tested RAM failed on a Dell. If the value RAM fails, you won't.

Also the value RAM is not optimized to work on the Dell, overheats faster and is not as fast (I know because I was able to compare both on my system).

 

I used Windows Life OneCare. They improved it a lot since the initial release and it is free to use (you just need to reinstal every 3 months). IT is quite light on resources.

I didn't like the new Vista CA and Zone Alarm packages. They were buggy. Shame, cause I liked them on XP.

I always hated MCafee (except under DOS) and Norton, because their interface is so clunky and resource-intensive.

 

Well Dell list it as 'Optional:
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD sound processing software for enhanced gaming, music, and movie experiences' on their XPS Tech Specs Section of the Dell Uk Website. See Link Below

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1730?c=uk&l=en&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1

Click on Tech Specs Tab and Look under sound.

I had one ordered - But when I saw that it had dropped £300 in Price for the Spec I had configured I canceled the order and re-ordered.

I decided to pay the same amount I had before - And use that £300 price drop to cover upgraded components.

Overall my Dell Sales Experience has been good so far - Lets just see how long it lasts based upon the tales of people here.

Currently due to arrive on 22/11/07 - Currently still in Pre-Production.

Looking forward to giving this beast a test drive.

Frag. Out.

 

1- Bluray uses a different resolution (1900x1080) so upconverting doesn't make sense. What you can do is change the encoding codec to H264 which offers a better compression for equal quality. The advantage of Bluray is the extra capacity, which allows you to store HD films (those have a size of between 5GB and 30GB, depending on whether they are 720i/p or 1080i/p).

2- Nero does a lot of things but I don't like the modular interface. I like Ashampoo Burning Studio. It has a great interface and is simple to use. Most Ashampoo products are good.

 

Well I'm not having any luck with vista x64, I get an instant bsod after the install and it begins to boot into the os desktop for the first time.

Not happy, going to work on it and see if i can get around the problem but if I can't run x64 on this machine then I will probably return it.

 

1- Yes, I remember reading about this. The reason was that it increases the cost for the motherboard.

2- The dual DVi allows the connection of two screens on the XPS M1710. I haven't tested myself.

3- I used Windows Premium 64 on the XPS M1710, worked fast and without any issues.

4- You can get an upgrade from 32 to 64 from Microsoft for just 17 EUR (if I remember well). Check their Web Site. Because your version of Vista will be a System Builder version you may not be able to upgrade directly on their web site. Just write them an email (email was indicated on that page if I remember well).

 

Does Dual link DVI acutally function for 2 monitors? I thought that dual link DVI was only to support 2560 x 1600 30" monitor resolutions?

I know you CAN connect 2 screens using 1 dvi and 1 component SPDIF adapter, but one would have to have component inputs.

Im not sure about multi-monitors, disabling SLI would not create more outputs for video, in a desktop SLI when you break SLI you can use 4 monitors because there are 4 DVI ports that are enabled when SLI is off. But i think if i had connected a Component adapter to my SLI desktop in SLI mode that it would still run my TV and my monitor.

On the M1710 it doesnt have Dual-link or Dual DVI, the m1710 has both VGA and DVI so yes 2 monitors would work (slowly) But

the m1730 has Dual link DVI and S video/component out So i beleive that the only way to use 2 external screens is to use a Component to VGA adapter OR just connecting a multi-function monitor with component inputs or an HDTV

 

Also,

If I bought the Blu-ray burner now, When the blu-ray format is advanced to hold 250gb on one disc will i be able to take advantage of new storage discs? Or will i need a new burner? I shouldn't need a new drive just to play them right?

 

Dual link dvi supports high resolutions such as 2560x1600 that you get on a 30" tft, it does not support two individual screens, where are people getting that one from?

To get two outputs to screens, yes, you will have to use one on the dvi connector and another through the svid/comp output.

 

Well, Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!

Just got an email telling me my new XPS 1730 would NOT be shipped today, but would instead be "shipped on 11/13/07."

Why am I NOT surprised?

 

What was the previous status? Pre-production? Was it the first time you got delayed?

I got my email telling my it will be delayed by 1 week 10 days before estimated delivery date. This was the first time and now the date is 13th November., so I am hopful.

 

Don't hold any store in the status of your order. As I posted earlier last night I was still in pre-production with a delivery date of the 16th Nov. Lunchtime today it went straight to despatch. The unit is being delivered at 5pm this Thursday.

 

You never can tell about the order status of these M1730 laptops. My order date was 10/06/2007 for a M1730 with all the bells and whistles with an original esd of 10/29/2007. Revised esd was 11/05/2007; 2nd revised esd took it to 12/03/2007; today it was cancelled by the system. I was hot! Got an e-mail last night and a recording phone message to continue the order. I pressed 1 on the phone to continue the order and found out today it was cancelled. I got on the phone with my sales rep and we reordered, at a lower price, with a new esd of 11/21/2007.

Go figure! We'll see if this date holds.

 

who knows eh it may just tip me over the edge

 

Hi

Ive been visting this forum for a while now since I ordered my XPS M1730. I recieved the machine and have the SEC5443 Samsung screen. The screen has light bleeding from the bottom of the screen . The display is grainy and blotchy when viewed from different angles. Its a bit like looking into the sky on an overcast day with the bright spots filtering through. You dont notice it much while viewing graphics or playing games but the light is noticeable that bleeds from the bottom of the display.
I also have the problem with the left speaker LED randomly flashing to not working at all and at times turns to a faint red colour. The machine wouldnt run a SLI config with the drivers provided. I updated the drivers to the 167.359 version and it now is enabled with stability. Ghost Recon has problems and starts crashing when you get into about the fourth level. Apart from the above problems I am satisfied with the performance of the machine.

I'll contact dell shortly and see if the screen can be replaced and fix the LED.

I'll let you know how I get on.

 

Your screen is definately a bad one because the only problems the Samsung screen is known to have is the light leakage. What framerate does GRAW2 run at, becuase it runs like absolute crap on my system. Did you get the PhysX card with yours?