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

I have a good quote from Dell's website which sounds nice but I does not seem like they live up to it.

"The Dell badge is a symbol of quality and reliability. When we develop a new product we put it through the rigors of true-to-life use and then some, helping ensure it meets our strict quality guidelines."

Then why the hell do our systems crash all the time and still have problems?

 

hey fellas see dell still aint got there act together i gave up in the end and im going to wait till all the bugs are worked out or get the alienware m17x but in the meanwhile i baught a road legal quad £2800 happy days my friends happy days lol

 

I am now getting 7605 in 3d mark 06, and with the same drivers just before was getting 8200+. I have reinstalled the drivers but still the same? I've contacted Dell and I want a replacement as the technicians who have worked on mine have lost screws etc and it still doesnt work properly after it was 'fixed', twice.

 

Finally I got it today (too early at about 8:00 AM ) for your records (from Ireland to Spain):

Ordered: Nov 7th
Bank Transfer Confirmed: Nov 9th
Sent by Dell: Nov 14th
Acnoledgement by UPS: Nov 15th
Received: Nov 21st
Original ESD: Dec 5th

I realized that UPS tracking was unsatisfactory, yesterday it still was in the first step and in transit, so I couldn't expect to receive it today.

My LCD it is a Sharp (SHP13D9) it has good contrast but like some people have commented about the Samsung, it also has light leakage (not very strong). The two HDDs are from different brands (hitachi & Fujitsu) 160 GB Each, RAID 0, a bit strange

I have a good first impression about the machine, also the M1730 Backpack is solid and very useful.

 

So from what you all know... are the drivers (video) being written by Dell or NVIDIA? Reason I ask is both should be responsible for testing if it is NVIDIA. I can't imagine both companies neglecting this so badly. As for the LightFX... these are LED lights... Does anyone know what size LEDs they are? Just want to look up the specs on these and see if speed is really an issue or just Tech Support pumping sunshine.

I have seen some of the LED's with rates from 1 hz to 10 hz depending on size. I bet it is the drivers that are the issue and not the LED's. I could be wrong.

 

More about the hardisks (2x160 GB, RAID 0 configuration):

- Fujitsu MHW2160BJ http://www.fujitsu.com/us/services/computing/storage/hdd/mobile/mhw2160bj-sata.html

- Hitachi 7k200-160 http://www.hitachigst.com/portal/site/en/menuitem.9958814a08a37d75797ecae2eac4f0a0/


Here you have my first HDTACH test, not bad for 2.5" disks:

 

Are those 7200 rpm drives? I got the 5400's at RAID 1. I hope they are ok. I wonder how hard it will be to upgrade the drives over the next few years.

 

Yes, both disks are 7200 rpm, as you can see in the links (also in the label attached to the hdds). Don't worry it's very easy to substitute the disks, and in a few years 10k, 2.5" disks will be afordable (or SSD may be) or 7200 rpm from Seagate (very fast drive, I had one as SATA removable disk on a desktop).

 

Yes, I was lazy when I wrote that post. I did later click on the links and glanced at the specs. I still wonder if we void the warranty if we replace the HDD's ourselves. Once they come out with bigger and faster I know I will want a pair.

 

Yes I love Seagate products.

 

Tried your settings w/ my computer outlined in my sig (even though the link to 3dmarks says otherwise for the processor, my guess is because it is overlocked and 3dmarks is confused)...ended up getting 9368. Thanks for the settings!

I ran the same test as yours but got much different results (see attachments for 8mb and 32mb tests).

The drives I have are:
-Hitachi HTS722020K9A300
-ST9200420A2 (no clue who this is made by)

 

Yes last one is a Seagate momentus, a great 2.5" drive, I had one in other PC as I said and it gets better results like you have posted. The other disk (Hitachi) is the same I own.

 

I know the M1730 has a DVI port but can anyone in the U.S. who has received their M1730 let me know if it comes with a DVI to HDMI and DVI to VGA adapter cables? The Dell website mentions the adapters but doesn't quite say if they are included or if they are an extra purchase...and if they aren't included can I buy just any cable or does it have to be from Dell? Is the DVI port only an output port or can I use it as an input as well?

Also did anyone get the M1730 with the Blu-ray burner? If so, does the laptop come with appropriate software (Nero? Roxio?) that allows you to convert "regular" videos into the Blu-ray HD format and then also allow you to burn them to Blu-ray?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

I got mine without the cable. Some people (not from US if I recall correctly) reported here that the cable was included with the XPS 1730. My package came without a note what should be included in the box. That is why it is difficult to say if the cable is missing or comes as accessories at an extra cost.

I would also be interested in getting the adapter cable since it is essential and should have been in the box. Could you tell me where are the adapters mentioned on the Dell site? A link?

 

I did see this on my order status page. However I am not sure yet what it is.

310-9519 Multi-Media Cables for Inspiron Systems

Go here for the packing slips

 

What the hell?? http://www.notebookforums.com/thread207910.html

Either this rep has NO clue about the laptop or the company he is working for, or I'm 1 second away from getting a full refund for my system! Dell needs to let us know NOW what their plans are. It's just not fair to let us speculate so much.

 

Hi Elganja,

nice 3dmark score. Hey, did u customize your 3dmark tests (e.g. choose a lower resolution)? Your score is way better than mine!

 

Elganja,

I see in your 3dmark configuration, it says "NBF MobileForce Enhanced". What is this?

Thanks!

 

NBF mobileforce enhanced is not the same as the laptopvideo2go right?

Is this it - http://www.notebookforums.com/thread207696.html

Installed and seems stable but not improving my score over the laptopvideo2go version. I'm itching to find out how Elganja got over 9300 3dmark score !

 

I checked my order page and this item is not there. If it comes standard it should be added automatically like other accessories (i.e. restore disks). And sales person should include it manually if it was omitted for some reason. How can we know if these cables come standard with our M1730 purchase? Toshiba has a specification sheet for every machine they sell. These include all the specs and list the accessories, so there is no ambiguity about anything. Dell is much more chaotic.

Btw, what is included in the Multi-Media Cables package you received? Is the DVI to HDMI adapter there?

Interestingly, on US web site for new XPS 1730, RAM upgrade from 2GB to 4GB costs $375, while 2 x 2GB Dell modules are $332 when purchased through accessories. And you keep 2 x 1GB, which came with the computer. These could be sold on eBay. Over the phone I was quoted $400 for 2 x 2GB memory modules!!! It seems that pricing at Dell is not very consistent if they want to charge for the same thing prices, which are more than 20% apart.

 

Hi to all, I have found the first "trouble", sometimes the system freeze and all I can do is to shut down the laptop and start again. I think that it's a combination of the video drivers (NVidia), vista and 3D Graphics, because I already experimented this behaviour on my desktop (with an 8800GTS) with some version of NVidia drivers (solved with another drivers, even I have seen that there is a Windows patch).

Someone have the same problem? I guess that the solution it's to install new drivers, if so, what version do you recommend me?

I'll continue testing, but thanks in advance.

 

If you want better sound quality uninstall all of the audio related software that is installed, including the driver and let windows install a generic driver ffor "high definition audio device" the sigmatel driver and any other driver I have tried all result in distorted sound. I am listening to music right now with lightFX on and the sound is very close to perfect

 

I am not sure what is included. It may be part of the additional TV tuner. I will not know until I get the rig. I ordered on Nov 18th and have a delivery date of Dec 13. I wish I could get a part by part packing list already.

 

Or buiy the Alienware which has 192Khz 24 bit sound instead of 96Khz...

 

Well, I finally gave up! Orignal order date 10/06/2007, esd 10/29/2007; Delayed with new esd 11/05/2007; order was cancelled by Dell 11/05/2007; re-ordered 11/06/2007, esd 11/21/2007; Delayed today with new esd 11/30/2007; Cancelled by me, tired of waiting with no communication as to reason for delays. I did order the whole enchilada with every option available and the order was $7100 US. I originally received 10% discount. 2nd order price dropped to $6900 and I received $500 discount with $200 gift card on top of that.

I had the Extreme processor with 4 gb mem, blu-ray burner, etc. etc. I guess I will wait for next quarter and see if parts are more available then. Of course if the 8800m gtx cards are out, I will probably be on some wait list then too. Just bummed!

I'll keep reading the forum, this is a great site. I am sure that all the bugs will be worked out and the drivers will be updated and life will be great! Good luck to all!

 

oh dang. overclocking the GPU... 3dmark06 score: 9703 !

 

try this, but make sure to follow the instructions for properly uninstalling current drivers.

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread207696.html

 

Yes, I've got this problem, but only when I'm on battery. I'm thinking it's graphics driver related, based solely on a hunch. Going to try version 167.45 drivers now.

 

I have noticed they are very vague via Chat and Email concerning their progress on our orders. All I ever want is for them to just be honest. I don't care if it takes a few weeks longer to get the rig, just be honest. So far they have not extended the ESD for me.

 

Unfortunately, the delay to extend the ESD does not come until the original ESD day. I asked my sales rep to look at the order each day for the 3 days leading up to the ESD and he said that it looked ok. He did say that some code on his screen showed a different number yesterday that he took to mean it might be in testing. No such luck! This was my third delay and each one came on the day of the ESD. I still don't know what it was that was delaying it. I didn't care about the delay in the beginning either. I just think that going on 2 months without an explanation is inexusable.

I am not angry or bitter and will order again. I think I just learned a valuable lesson about ordering the "newest, latest, greatest" technology. I also learned a little about myself. I hope that yours is not delayed.

 

zerg,

I'm using the mobileforce drivers, overclocking with riva tuner, your 3d settings, and the same msconfig modifications (this alone gave me 300 pts!)... Processor running at 3.0Ghz. Anymore then that the performance (video) does not get any better for me (though the cpu marks go up by ~500)

I was able to get 9803 stable (ran it 20 times w/o crashing... my own stability test...lol)

 

very nice! what did you use for your overclock and memory clock settings in rivatuner? I got 9703 at 750/800 (OC / MC)

 

Alright, well Im just fed up with getting 5 fps 1920 1200 on crysis, so im doing some reaserch

Im going to pit My M1730, Against my 450$ Inspiron 531 With 2gb 667 and an 8600 GT 256, Desktop, Along with my old M1710 with a 7950GTX, If My inspiron can run crysis at 1680 x 1050 on medium/high settings... im going to be mad.

Ill also do the CSS stress test on all of them and report the fps.

I just cant beleive that they wouldnt release a 3000$ notebook with proper drivers! Just like my m1710, Came with compatability errors right out-of-the-box. First thing that popped up... grr.

Anyone have a Desktop 8700 gt? Comare 1 desktop 8700 to dual 8700m's? Because with these drivers im guessing it will rape our notebooks.

 

same... anything more it was unstable (it would crash after a couple times past 750, and anything above 760 it would crash the first time).

 

Hello again folks.

Done all the detective work I can in regard to the intermittent crashes in 3dmark and aside from the solution from a few pages back - changing desktop theme from vista to classic - I've also discovered that version 1.0.2 runs without the lockups irrespective of tampering with the desktop themes.

The splash screen bug is there, as this is only corrected in the 1.1.0 patch, but all else seems fully stable.

However, as soon as I install the 1.1.0 patch, the occasional lockups return...unless I alter the themes. BTW, I'm still using drivers 169.09.

Think that's as close as I'm getting to a complete remedy for the time being.

 

HD Tach results

 

I cant even get 3dmark to run now, time for another clean vista install. As soon as I change drivers, performance keeps getting worse each time I install new ones and I am uninstalling them properly as well but my FPS in games and 3dmark score always goes down. I managed to run the Counter strike source stress test and I was at 200FPS with 169.06 and now has gone down to less than 160FPS. Anyone know how to fix this?

 

Good morning,

I have been reading you for long but never actually registered, till now.

My precision M90 died a couple of weeks ago and so im gettint an xps replacement.

t7500
120gb 7200
2gb ram...

Nothing really hardcore but for me its the same thing im having but with the new 800mhz bus...

So the thing is that I want to buy 2x250 but i dont know if the second hd bay will come prepared for a plug and play or if i will need some kind of addapter, i would really apreciate if someone could clarify that bc for vostro and inspiron you need an special sata to dell "plug".

Other point is that, it has been in preproduction since the 8/11 and today 22/11 its still on that stage.

Its been said to be delivered on the 28/11 or earlier... Should i expect a delay on that?

Thanks a lot in advanced!

 

What resolution where you guys running in?

I got 9383 with no windows tweaks which is pretty damn good. Same OC and drivers @ 1280 x 1024

That'll do me for now

 

I am using the default setting (1280 x 1024)

 

I got 9311 @ 1280 x 1024, same OC, again with no windows tweaks, none of the bloatware taken off, anti virus software on, looking good!

 

In more interesting news though I've just spoken to my mate at Dell. He's just told me there is a graphics card upgrade coming for UK afterall but we will have to pay for it (as expected though).

Trying to find out when this will be

 

what driver are you guys using?

 

Using 169.09 from MobileForce

http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?p=2781867

 

I'm also using the latest version of Riva Tune to OC it

 

Whoops meant to say mine finally arrived. Been using it all week. Call of Duty 4 looks great and Pro evo runs great to.

What a machine is all i can say. Worth the two month wait, unsure, but still. Looks amazing.

 

Could someone answer this for me?

Thanks.

 

Please do post an official price when you get one - Cheers!

 

Will do. I'm just waiting for him to find out the exact details

 

169.09 from laptopvideo2go, also using riva tuner to OC.