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

Just in case what is the return policy on this computer? Can you even return it if you want too and how long do you have?

 

How can you turn vertical sync on this graphcis card thats why its spiking in game? and my fps isnt 200 like that guy.........

 

Out here in Australia Dell have a 15 day total satisfaction policy, it states if you're not happy with your machine you can return for a refund minus the shipping cost (about $150AU I think?).

In the US I think its 7 days? Someone from the states can advise you better on that one! Go on to the Dell website and look it up.

My dealing's with Dell out here have been great up till now. Called up to enquire on delivery delays, they said they could have the laptop delivered within 10 - 15 days. Plus they gave me a defence force discount. Got a call advising delivery for about 4 - 5 days later! Laptop arrived on the day they said. Can't wait to get back to Sydney tomorrow for leave and have a play with it!

So far im happy with Dell! I'll reserve final judgement till I've played with the machine...

 

Hell everyone I ordered my XPS M1730 a few days ago. I am a little nervous now after reading about the SLI problems some are having. I was thinking about just installing the 156.61 drivers for vista on the dell.com site. I ordered my xps with vista home premium. With these drivers or the 167.45, have you guys had any problems with games like World of Warcraft, Bioshock, or HL 2 EP 2, on vista. Iam realy hoping i am not disappointed with this laptop, this is the most expensive laptop I' ve bought by far.

 

Hey guys! Got it a week ago. Loving it. My only complaint is, I cannot overclock it. What happened to that? Also how can I confirm, that the file located at the Intel website, would be clearly ok to install on my system? Any help with that would be great. Guys, this forum is VERY intuitive, keep up the great work! James

 

James - Intel's drivers only update inf files so if your system doesn't have or use the infs - no big deal... if it uses them - it'll update them.

Overclocking the CPU can only be done if you have the extreme chip. The GPU can be overclocked with rivatuner or nTune(IMHO had bad experiences with nTune - but good with Riva) - but depending on your drivers apparently could potentially shut off the ability to overclock the GPU too - get different drivers.

 

Hehe mine has a wobbly base too, but it doesn't bother me that much. I just sit there and look at the bottom of the laptop and wonder how it could be off-center sitting flat...

So, I just take an empty Orbit gum pack or a stickynote pad and put it under the rubber pad to make it sit flat without any wobble, no biggy for me!

My XPS as of now...
I've had my XPS since 10/26 and everything is working great!

- I had to replace my CD-ROM drive because it was really loud and occasionally, it wouldn't open when I would press the button. It also would randomly open for no reason. One time, I turned my XPS on, left it to boot and left the room. Came back, the drive was open! I hadn't TOUCHED the darn thing! Hehe. So, I got a new one, which is now Sony\NEC brand. My old one was a Samsung\Toshiba.

- For those who haven't purchased Unreal Tournament 3, GO BUY IT! I am playing it on highest settings, at about 1440x900 without any lag on SLI. It runs pretty nicely on 1920x1200, but occasionally I get a few annoying lag spikes. But I'm just picky like that. Most people would just deal with it.

- As far as everything else goes, my XPS is running like a charm! Not one problem with it! Boots fast, always will.

Now I'm just waiting for Dell to spill on the 8800 upgrade...

 

Thanks for the info. Preesh! What is that program that you can install on the 1730, that allows you to do some programming control of the LED's?
Anyone?

 

James - you are looking for QUICKSET - Dell's BIOS interactive program

 

OK... so I hit yet another snag.... I've been battleing the HDCP crap for a while now trying to get my M1730 to have good gaming drivers with the possibility of bluray playback using the DVI port. All of my hardware is HDCP compliant - only the drivers appear not to be.

I had bluray working through the DVI port for a short while, but made no changes - it just stopped working. now when I switch to the DVI port, or even boot up with only the DVI enabled it stills says one thing or another about not letting bluray playback.

I originally got fed up with 64bit as I was unable to obtain ANY drivers for the 8700m that were bluray compatible even on the builtin monitor, let alone the DVI output.

I wanted to use 64bit because I have 4GB of RAM - and it's what I use on my main desktop computer.

However, I got tired of 32bit not working with drivers just as inconviently as 64bit so now I'm headed back to 64bit. I know the games and programs I play work fine in 64bit...

Does anyone know of a way to bypass HDCP checks (even though I am fully compliant) to allow bluray playback on the DVI port? I've heard of a program called AnyDVD HD which will bypass the encryption and allow playback.... Is this program legal or will I go to jail actually spending money on it? If I could get bluray to playback in 64bit - I'd be the happiest clam there is... but I truly want to stay absolutely legal with everything I do... Any pointers?

I have downloaded the 21 day trial and plan to try it on 64bit - but I'm worried more about the legality issues if it does work... I know - probably sounds really weird - but that's me!

Thanks all!

 

On another note - today after I unplugged my power adapter from the computer, when I plugged it back in - Vista warned me it was not a Dell 230watt AC adapter and I should try reseating it and/or replacing it with a Dell 230watt unit. I am only using the one that came with my computer which is the 230watt unit that has worked for the past week and a half that I've owned my laptop.

However, upon first getting the laptop the power connector has always been really finicky. I had to unplug it and replug it three times the first time I tried to plug it in... everytime I move it with it plugged in, the connect is lost to the AC adapter and I have to reseat it or push really hard.

In my past line of techie experience, it was the systemboard that is defective when this happens - but since the bios, the bootup screen, and vista all report that it is not a full 230watt.... does that mean that perhaps it is just the brick and not the systemboard? Just looking for feedback.

Dell has dispatched a systemboard and power supply just to be cautious... but I was wondering if anyone else had this problem in the past 200+ pages?

Thanks in advance!

 

I didnt have that exact problem, i was getting flickering and extreme lag when unplugging and plugging in, And the plug seemed a bit loose at times, they sent me a new power adapter and a new motherboard, the new board seemed to reduce the flicker by alot, and lag by a little, but i would think the problem you are having would deifnitely be solved by a new mobo and new power supply, covering all bases really. Good luck with it, BTW vista 32bit uses an effective 3.3gb about i beleive, really not a huge difirence in 64bit with 4gbs, anything beyond that it is, and xp mce and home it is. I would rather have 3.3gb and not have any incompatability issues then have 4gb and have to run apps in 32bit mode etc. but thats just me

 

My power plug was temperamental when I first received the machine. Any movement would cause the system to drop to battery power. It seemed that the plug was not fully seated when it was. I took out a hobby knife and trimmed a sliver of rubber from the tip of the plug where it meets with the machine. The amount removed was about the thickness of a pierce of paper..maybe a tad bit more. That fixed my problems. It looks like when the rubber was molded over the metal plug they were off a little.

 

Thanks for the comments - I tried trimming the plastic back - no luck.... think there is something seriously wrong with the wattage draw... maybe the systemboard isn't allowing more of a pull I don't know for sure. I know the system crawls right now and it says not using a 230watt power supply will cause the system to underperform.

In vista my CPU rating fell from a 5.3 to a 2.9.... Memory from 4.8 to 2.8.

Now if I unplug the power adapter - the system goes at normal speed again... but sadly the power adapter won't charge the battery, and thus, it won't last for long. *sighs*

 

Sounds like you have a hardware issue. Hopefully, the parts that Dell is sending takes care of your problems.

 

this thread is starting to slow down lol. I am getting pretty fed up with all of the problems and I am definately going to ask for a replacement. I am just going to wait and see what happens with the 8800m next year so I can seee if I can get a replacement with 8800m GPUs ...

 

I noticed no one replied to my HDCP post... does that mean no one uses their laptop with any HDCP equipment or does that mean no one has the same problems I have? Or does everyone just use AnyDVD and that's that?

On my other problem - I finally shut the machine off - even powered off it won't charge the flippin battery. GRRRR... so I only have 45% battery life left... hope the tech gets their butt out here soon!

 

Are there really that many problems with this system??
Im getting put-off....

Is it all down to driver support??
Has anyone tried that latest drivers for their SLI from laptopvideo2go?? Do they work well??

Will I be able to play games like Gears of War, Assassins Creed, COD4, UT3, etc at full settings on the M1730?

Thanks

 

For the most part the hardware seems fine, besides some little problems as reported througout this thread and also it is kind of annoying that Dell has given no official word on whether out graphics cards will be upgradeable. When it comes right down to it, system stability issues are probably being caused by crappy drivers from Dell and Dell seems to be very slow at releasing drivers for this thing. Otherwise Dell's support is pretty top-notch as other people have said and they will look after you. As soon as I get a replacement with 8800m gpus (hopefully) then I will be happy with both Dell and the money I spent on this system

 

I second that. As long as you don't expect this to be a supermachine you are OK. At this time, however, I would wait for 8800M GT (Sli or not) in the system. It will be less expensive than getting M1730 now with 8700M GT Sli and then upgrading - if possible at all.

 

Would the M1730 with 8800M GTX's not be a supermachine - I certainly think it would !

 

It definately would be, as long as Dell has good drivers for the thing, but compared to a desktop it would still be lacking

 

Yes, this is what we all hope for. But in current incarnation it surely is not. Let's hope that Dell has plans to upgrade 8700M GT Sli graphics in already sold M1730s to truly incredible 8800M GT or better. And that this time Dell also includes decent drivers...

 

It will still be some time before any laptop can deliver performance of a well equipped desktop. Form factor is the issue: heat, weight, battery life, etc. But even now laptops can play all the games decently enough. That does not mean we should settle for 8700M GT if we can get 8800M GT, 9800M GT, 10800M GT ...

 

Unfortunately I cant wait any longer since the laptop is being purchased through work as part of a deal.
Basically, Ive placed a very large order with dell and am getting this XPS with maxed out spec for a few hundred pounds extra. I need to place the order now, so cant wait for the 8800GT!
Nevertheless, Im hoping its upgradable, and I should have an expected delivery date by the end of today!!!!

 

Well, i've been reading this discussion for the past 2 weeks and i've got to say it's by far the best source of information about this laptop!

I just got mine today. Ordered it Tuesday last week, got it Tuesday this week. That's pretty impressive by my standards to build, ship and deliver in 7 days

Just so you all know, i got the 2.4 w/ 4gb ram, 2x160gb etc. etc.

Work is paying for a large chunk of it (hence the reason i didn't wait for the 8800). Had to be finalised before christmas.

All i can say is WOW. The screen is absolutly amazing. And the headphones!
Those tiny little noise cancelling headphones are awesome. The sound quality is incredible and the ranges are aswell.

I can't pick any faults with this yet. I've seen you all discuss and complain about the graphics drivers and im sure in time i will, but i have no negative comments to say at the moment about this machine. I saw the size of it and was a little shocked, but i just bought a nice 17" notebook backpack with room for 2 (the other is the power supply lol )

Anyways, just thought i'd say HI to everyone, you've got another 1730 user to talk with!

By the way, im in Melbourne (AUS)

 

Just got the new drivers from laptopvideotogo and also added ntune.
Scored 9734 in 3dmark06. Wohoo.
Fingerscrossed on the 8800's everyone. I hope we can upgrade.
Do you thin a dual version will be available or just single?

 

The 1730s graphics card is upgradeable, the main problem is whether Dell will allow us to either send it to them and have the GPU upgraded or send a tech to upgrade the GPU for you. At a reasonable price we hope, if at all.

What drivers are they? and are you running 3dmark at 1280 x 1024 resolution?

 

This is a great thread, very helpful.
Got my 1730 last week and did a fresh install of vista just to get rid of the bloat.
Overall very impressed, got the lastest drivers from laptopvideotogo and its flying, just need to try the 3dmark06 score, will post this when complete.
So far no problems with the SLI, running GRAW and Crysis at a decent res and med-high textures.
Keep up the posts!

_______________
Dell XPS m1730
Smoke Grey
T7700 2.4GHz
2Gb Ram
200Gb 7200rpm HD
AGEIA physics accelerator
Windows Vista Premium

 

It has been more than 1 week since my replacement was ordered and I still have no news from dell... Ups showed on my doorstep on friday, yesterday and today looking for a laptop to pick up... Of course I didnt send anything.

Funny part is that the laptop which was supposed to be sent during this week has a EDD for the 3rd of january... and I wont be here until the 8th.. thats 5 days that the computer will have to stay in the ups WareHouse... I contacted UPS and they said that after 5 days it gets returned to dell.... so if it is made before time it will have to be returned...

Besides that, my multicare, aka complete care + antitheft, is also missing and noone cares just enough to give me a call... im so unimpressed at the moment...

UPDATE: My Order number has dissapeared from the online tracking system... How cool is that?? Im so calling right now...

 

sergiop - let me know what happens for you.

My power supply and systemboard appear to be bad - and I have an order in to have them fixed. Dell did not offer to send me a replacement (only 1.5 weeks old) - they told me a tech would come out and install the systemboard. I had to ask about the replacement and they told me that would take 3-6 days. :| I was like, REALLY?? Since I totally did not believe that statement at all - I went the tech route - after all, my extra 4 year accidental damage is 24x7 with next day support right?

Well that was Saturday before 5pm, and now it's tuesday almost 5pm - no call - no show - no help. I called Dell yesterday and asked them where the tech is - and how I can schedule an appointment - they said they would call me when they got the part - and I asked when they should get the part - they said 3-5 days after the order is created. !!!!!!! WHAT?!?!!!!!!!!!!

So after biting my tongue for too long, I asked why I paid the large extra amount of money for next day support only to have to wait a week to get it fixed and the guy's response was "Uhhh I didn't make you buy the warranty - that was your choice." (Name is Michael, rep ID 01168479).

Now don't get me wrong, I'm usually a patient guy, but for a laptop over four grand - I expect the service I pay for... even if it's not 24 hours later, it should be rather soon... Needless to say I hung up on Michael and he sent me an email with the usual "It was a pleasure working with you to resolve the issue you had with your system."

So far I've had to pull teeth just to get them to send me the SPDIF adapter that they told me the laptop had with it, but it didn't.... now I have faulty hardware and obviously horrible support as my system is broken still.

Does anyone have a direct email or phone number that I can call that they have gotten good resolve with? I'm not a picky guy - I didn't even ask for anything free - I'd just like my system to work and get that fixed in a timely fashion. The guy I spoke to on the phone after Michael told me at first that the techs will still be working around Christmas time, just not Christmas day... I asked why in the world I would need to know that if the tech is supposed to call me in the next 24 hours (he told me that first). So now I'm guessing there was a mix up in the shipping and I have to waste my time for their accident - the phone rep said hang on while he pulled that up - then he said "Here we go... <slight pause> oh well uhm, I'm not able to pull that information up - sorry" As if to say "I don't want to give you more bad news"... *sighs*

Any help outside of Dell is appreciated. I asked if they'd just overnight me the systemboard and I'd put it in myself as the service manual is online and very detailed... but he said they couldn't do that. GAAAA...

OK I'm done ranting now... I sure hope I'm a solid isolated case with Dell... bad hardware and bad customer service - *SIGHS* - why can't I just get it to be fixed and stay working?

 

Well so that you know my computer didnt come with the spdif adaptor, besides that, I will be calling this morning to talk with the customer service as yesterday in technical support they couldnt provide any help.

If i was in your situation I wouldnt change the motherboard, the computer is sooo new that in my opinion its not worth it. To exchange the mother board you have to put your whole computer appart, it will never be the same again. I would force them to exchange the sistem or, and because is >21 days, return it and get a new one.

 

This is the email i have sent to dell:

Now they say that bc my client number is Spanish they cannot help me in NL where I live...

 

After Talking to multiple supervisors explaining my situations to literally over 15 people with no results, I found the email [email protected] I emailed them about my issue and after a while of emailing my issue was mostly resolved. I would only use this if normal customer service channels have failed.

hope this helps!

 

Well a Dell technician called me last night at 9:30PM - this morning he stopped out to replace the motherboard. His service order stated to replace the motherboard - nothing about a power supply... so he opens the box, only to find a powersupply NO motherboard. So we try the powersupply and it looks like it MIGHT charge, but it's very loose and only stays connected for a little while, then I have to readjust the plug to get the charge light to stay on. He told me he'll call dell and find out what happened to the systemboard he was supposed to replace this morning. *sighs*

He also recommended I just tell Dell to send me a new one. I suppose I will take that route if I don't hear back something soon from the repair tech who is going to look into what is going wrong.

Thanks for reading

 

Ahhhh fantastic - the new power supply already burned out to the same state the other one was in... super low power mode. It must be my systemboard.

Now if only I can get Dell to actually ship one.

 

I just found out that my order has been cancelled because there was no GHOST RECON GAME DVD anymore being offered... I seriously cannot believe this... for real, are they like retards or what?

 

yes, some of them are...!

 

Same here mate, I politely asked customer service to just send the machine with a different game or a discount, and I just got a reply saying to 'go ahead and make a new order'. Now, I've been waiting for a month for this laptop, it was due to arrive on Friday and they're telling me NOW, that they can't give me a 2 grand laptop because the free bloody game isn't available?

I checked the website and it seems that M1730's aren't even listed anymore..? What the hell kind of company messes customers around who want to spend 2000 quid on one of their products?

 

I've just gone and looked as well, the M1730 is no longer listed on the UK website, it is still on the US website, what's going on?????

 

Here is a copy of a chat session I have just had via Dell UK's website:

18:45:42 Stewart Davison Initial Question/Comment: What has happened to the M1730?
18:45:58 System You are now being connected to an agent. Thank you for using Dell Chat
18:45:58 System Connected with Shirish_Gokhale
18:46:08 Shirish_Gokhale Thank you for contacting Dell Sales Chat. My name is Shirish, your Sales Advisor. Please give me a moment while I review your query.
18:46:28 Shirish_Gokhale Hi Stewart, the XPS 1730 is not available on home section however, you can get it from the business section.
18:46:47 Shirish_Gokhale Shirish_Gokhale pushes page, http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/xps_nb?c=uk&cs=ukbsdt1&l=en&s=bsd&~ck=mn
18:46:55 Shirish_Gokhale Check the above link.
18:47:21 Stewart Davison out of interest why is this? The M1730 has been marketed as a games machine, have Dell changed their mind?
18:49:03 Shirish_Gokhale We do not have any information regarding the same however, it might be advertised again.
18:49:18 Shirish_Gokhale There is certain lead time on home section I think.
18:51:07 Stewart Davison Will Dell be planning on putting the M1730 back in the Home section? It seems very strange that they would move what is meant to be their flagship notebook to the business section, how will buyers know where to look??
18:51:33 Shirish_Gokhale I understand
18:51:43 Shirish_Gokhale However, we do not have any information regarding the same.
18:51:53 Shirish_Gokhale You may check the same on Thursday.
18:52:00 Stewart Davison okay
18:52:08 Shirish_Gokhale My email address is [email protected] if you want to contact me in future.
18:52:22 Stewart Davison thanks goodbye
18:52:38 Shirish_Gokhale Thank you for contacting Dell Sales Chat. Have a great day ahead.

I don't understand the logic here, is Dell UK stating that something that has been out 2 months, heavily promoted as a gaming 'Beast' is now not aimed at the home market. I want to know from Dell if they now don't consider the M1730 a beast and that it is destined to be a used as a server class notebook or graphic design machine! I feel that I have been wrongly sold and spent over 2.5K on a redundant machine. What the HELL is ging on!!!!!!!!!

 

I sent Dell another email, basically asking them what they are playing at, as I don't believe for one second that they would turn down an order for a £2000 machine because the free game supplied with it is not available.

I'll keep you updated with any reply I get. (Which I doubt will be the truth anyway)

EDIT: Just tried configuring the system in the business section and it seems the Ageia PhysX card has been removed. As far as I can tell, the price is the same though.. What the hell is that about???

 

the driver is 167.45 from laptopvideotogo
I also went into bios and clocked up to 3ghz although that didnt make much difference. I also OC the cards today a little with Ntune and scored 10,576 with no artifacting or anything. I ran the test a few times with the same results and no crashing or problems. Oh and yes i do run it at 1276 x 1024 or whatever it is lmao.

My 1730 is:
x7900 2.8ghz @ 3ghz
4gb ram
dual 8700 gt
2 x 200gb 7200 rpm drives
ageia card
top 3d mark 06 score 10,576

 

Right now and allways believing what dell says, my case is on excalations Ireland(where the computer was ordered), Netherlands(where i live) and in Spain(client number)... Still It would have been funny if I had returned my computer to dell bc i will be facing a vacation without my computer... This is just crazy.

Oh and btw the system is still showing on both the NL and ES site... but in the ES site the base systems comes with SINGLE 256mb and without aegya... who would buy an m1730 with single 8700gt???

 

There is no way in the world that the 1730 could be considered a business machine, unless you want your production to go down from all the crashes and driver problems,

 

I dont know what you guys are talking about

I have checked a few times since you post

Each time it has still been there, and in the same place from the main website under home

Where can you configure it with ONE GRAPHICS CARD?! A rep mentioned while looking through parts he saw he could order just 1.. but i thought it was to replace 1 of the 2....

 

Hi Fellas,
Just off at a tangent, now we all have our 1730's can anyone tell me what case is the best for lugging this around? Is it best to go for a backpack style to make sure you can fit in the laptop and its power adaptor?

 

Just on the Irish dell site and now the M1730 now comes configured with single 8700M card, Sli is an extra €290!

 

Last night it was in the business section and not in home, there was no Ageia PhysX card in the configurator, now its back in home with an option for single or dual 8700's. Screwy!!

 

ok news from my end, the lady from Spanish Scalations has contacted me, saying she will look into it and then get to me... Its a first step...

Have you also consider that if by going from single to dual is 300 euros, the 8700SLi is 600 euros, and that the 8800GTX sli is 1000 euros more, being then 1600 euros, or 800 euros per card??? Dell is just crazy in their head...