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

Oh right - I'll check it out. Thanks

 

167.51 resolved my cold boot issue and has been more stable than other drivers I have tried for gameplay. I never had any stability issues with vista other than the cold boot problem. If your not going to use the laptop for gaming than the Dell 156.61 default drivers are the way to go. Of the 3 versions I have logged the most time using this is how they stack up

156.61 - very stable; poor game perfomance
167.45 - Best game performance; BSOD on cold boot and some lockups/crashes in game
167.51 - Near 167.45 performance, very stable thus far

169.xx Flavors - BSOD on cold boot, lockups/crashes and in one instance high temp errors

The other thing I would mention is make sure you have applied MS hotfixes for 167.xx and above

 

On cold boot up with Sli enabled screen goes black right before vista logo and requires a manaul power down. If you cold boot on battery than no problem.

 

Many thanks for the info.
I think I may try 169.51 tonight and see how that goes. I wont really be using it for gaming etc, so if its stable I'll keep that. If not I'll probably just go back to the 156.61 drivers from Dell

Ah right Ive heard of that, but luckily thats one issue I dont seem to have! lol

 

You know what irks me about this is, I have called/online-chat with Dell several times about this issue and they tell me no one else has reported the same issue. You would think they would keep better track of the issues for XPS systems.

 

Anyone using I8kfan to monitor temps?

After updating the driver to 167.45, I have to offset 7C to match the ATItool.

GPU temp sensor in I8kfan is #4 btw.

 

How do you intall it? I've been looking for a way of monitoring temp's, but laptop support seems weak enough.

Thanks in advance.

 

So DELL techguy came and replaced the display and the videocard. No change .... BSOD on cold start using 169.XX and 167.45.

So guys no need to get anything replaced - go with the 167.51 from the Nvidia website. So far it is a beta driver, but I think that Nvidia have faced the music from DELL/Alienware and will release mobile drivers in the future.

Here is the deal:

1) Have the Samsung or the latest Sharp display and get BSOD with some drivers.

1) Have and LG or older Sharp and use any driver. But after having seen the LG and older Sharp "I LOVE MY SAMSUNG" the LG and Sharp looks like crap in regards to contrast and brightness and color. The reason for no light leaks is that it has no light compared to the Samsung.

The 8800M GTX card
Anybody have any news on the monster cards?

 

DELL have told me 5 times that they have not heard about the BSOD with the Sharp and Samsung displays. A joke - I mean what about my own 4 times The last time I spoke VERY calm and just insisted on them replacing the display - but like I wrote - replacing the parts will not do anything.

 

This post is in Response to Gears of War Crashing Try this it has worked eveytime for me and Ive been chopping Almost Crash free. Gears of war Folder>Binarys>Startup>right click>Run as Administrator. Hope this works for eveyone!! Good Luck PS. I want the 8800 M !!!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks for the update. I have the samsung display myself. 167.51 drivers have been working great so I will keep the current config.
I for one am glad NVIDIA is stepping up with mobile GPU drivers, they seem to have done some indepth testing from the release notes. I hope is carries froward.

 

I cant wait for the 8800GTX to be released for this bloody laptop.
I would be happy with a single card TBH, since a single 512MB 8800GTX would be better then both the 8700m cards together!

 

Hi, thanks this worked. No more crashes. But the performance isnt what I expected. Even with all settings at medium its not as smooth as I'd like. Its playable still, but I would have expected more.
As I said before, looks like I'll keep gaming to my 360!
Thanks anyways.

 

1. What BIOS version is everyone on? I've heard of A01, A02, and possibly A03. Does anyone know what's the difference between them? Also, why doesn't Dell put up the newer BIOS for download? (Or maybe they do but I'm not seeing it. All I see is A01.)

2. In the manual for the M1730, there's something about the keyboard illumination being set to 'auto', as opposed to just 'on' or 'off'. Has anyone seen this on their M1730?

Thanks.

 

Well, I think I'm jumping ship. Thanks for all the useful info everyone!

I've decided to switch to buying the Sager NP5793 from Xotic PC. The single 8800m card is faster than Dell's Dual 8700's, and shouldn't come with the associated driver problems. The Penryn processor is newer.

Overall cost is $800 cheaper at my configs, and is much smaller and doesn't have a monster power adapter. I was looking forward to the backlit keyboard, but I can live without it.

Best of luck with your laptops!

 

Can someone lead some way on how to install 169.28 drivers?

167.51 installed w/o any problem and I keep getting the common error screen with 169.28

I would appreciate if someone can add a replaceable INF file on this.

Thanks.

 

I cant find anything on the net about the 8800mGTX coming ot the M1730? The card is already in other laptops, whats the delay with Dell?

Does anyone have any further info?

Ive asked my account manager at Dell for some info, and he states he will find out what he can and get back to me - I'll keep you guys informed if I get any useful info.....

 

Does anyone know that why the 8800m is available in newly released laptops, but isnt available to buy as a part from a supplier yet??...i agree with ifti, this unit will be far more "a beast" when that card is fitted, the 8700's just cant seem to handle the high settings, which is what we really want if were all honest. Also iam guessing but will be be able to fit in a single 8800m and not use the SLI or is this unit SLI only??

 

Personally, after all the ongoing issues with SLI etc, Im hoping they release it as a single 512MB card, since the GTX will be much more powerful then both the 8700m's in SLI anyways.
Its just a matter of when, and Im getting impatient!

 

For others with the freezing and poor performance issues with SLI enabled - I hear that within the Manage 3D options in Nvidia control panel, where we set the SLI to 'Force frame rendering 2', it helps to just set it to 'single GPU' (it will still be using SLI).
I cant try this until I get in tonight - but can someone else with freezing or poor performance issues try it and report back?

 

ifti, when trying different configs to play crysis, i set Nvidia cp to "Force frame 2 rendering" and it made crysis run awful, set it straight back to "single GPU" and has been there ever since, it does still use both cards and u can confirm this by setting the cp to show the sli visulization bars when in a game... i havent tried the FF2 rendering in anyother game to be fair.

Would be nice to know exactly what single GPU mode is doing..

 

Ahhhh, Im hoping and praying thats what keeps making my laptop crash and games run rubbish! I'll enable SLI and chang ethe setting to single GPU tonight.
Thanks for that.

Also, which driver are you using?

 

still on 167.45

 

same here

 

I have never had any luck changing these settings, mine is defaulted to "custom" single GPU. In fact with some of the 169.xx versions when I changed the settings it put my game performance in the tank and I could not recover the perfomance even by setting back to single GPU. I ended uninstalling and reinstalling drivers to recover.
Here's a link to a Sli guide in the Alienware Froum: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=202449&highlight=Sli
Although it is for the 7 series card the setup may be useful for us 8700m users.
If anyone tries this or has already tried this can you relpy with some feedback?

 

Have you tried 167.51 from Nvidia.com?

It should install without any problem.

It's the only driver that I'm able to play games, and watch BR so far.

Give it a try.

 

What performance do you get from the games?...med or high textures and resolution etc??

 

I only have 2 games installed right now.

COH runs VERY WELL @ 1900x1200 mostly high settings (one in Ultra, but forgot which one)...

It doesn't have any chance with DX10 though.

If SLI is at work(correctly atleast), it does out perform my M90 (identical to M1710 w/ 7900GTX).

I'm pretty impressed with COH, and STALKER(just ran around so far though @ 1900x1200, mostly high settings) so far.

I wish there was way to check the SLI is at work though.

Only way I check for now is I run 3dmark05, and see frame rates in 70+ so far.

 

I was running the 167.45 without any problems, stable and fast. They gave really good performance.

I loaded up the 167.51 today, these are also stable and as fast as 167.45. They gave about the same 3dmark06 score. What I have noticed though is that these run hotter than 167.45. The average temp has risen by about 5 - 10 degrees.

I may reinstall 167.45 as they give the same performance and stability.

 

"The F work" this crappy laptop .... Add another to the returned pile - I am sending this Beast back - after 3 months and a replacement ... I have had it.

I have not enjoy a single game yet - tweaking and foxing around all the time!

Problems like BSOD, bad display, driver/SLI issues, hours on the phone with "premium" support ..... and even when it works medium performance ... medium settings and low FPS in demanding games like DIRT, CRYSIS and SEGA rally ... no way! Not acceptable in a 5000$ rig.... all the DELL promises so NOT TRUE!

I had all specs. x7900, 4 g ram, blu-ray, raid etc. "The Beast" NOT .... more like a beaver.

I REALLY think that the M1730 is the biggest mistake DELL have ever made.

So sad for the people working at DELL because they really try to fix the problems - but they are not skilled enough and most of them have never seen the M1730.


SAD SAD SAD ...good luck to you all - I really hope DELL will give you the damm 8800M GTX cards for free ... and a bottle of Dom Perignon with A GREAT WE ARE SORRY LETTER.

I willl order the Alienware M15X insted NO SLI and all the crap that comes along SLI.

 

A03 Bios update is out now.

 

HURRA - but that will not do anything MAJOR for The Beaver - mine came with A03.

 

SLI support for laptop has been poor since.... it came out.

I do understand the frustrations though.

XPS support is not as bright when it comes down to support, and you may find answers faster if you ask around in forums/google.

I think the machine itself is pretty good, but definately not worth 5-6k, and also have to say that the hardware power is there, it's just matter of how painful it is to make it work as it should.

Dell isn't to blame for all the driver issues though, it's Nvidia.

 

It might be that M1730 is not compatible with 8800, Sager had to make motherboard changes to accomodate it. Dell must be having some problems, otherwise I they would have announced an 8800 upgrade by now.

 

I doubt M1730 will require mobo change. Other models prolly didn't have the room to put one in, but you know we got penty of rooms lol.

 

I love how some of us M1730 owners will net accept that we bought a MISTAKE of a laptop

 

I'm pretty happy w/ it-I wouldn't be if I had spent as much as you did though.

Try Sagers quad w/ 8800GTX SLI and report back dude!

 

I will go for the M15X from Alienware insted - I am sure it will skull f*** the M1730.

 

Does that come w/ SLI? If you want to avoid problems, just go with single card because SLI problem will be there no matter what.

Like I said, laptop SLI support been worst and it started with Aliienware.

I've read alot of compaints from their forum, and that's why I'm pretty happy with what I have now. I always go back to Dell since warranty support is pretty good as long as you what you are ask of. Heck, I seen a guy w/ E1705 getting a replacement for M730.

Here's alien forum : http://www.notebookforums.com/forum27.html

 

I will go for 1 card - SLI is great on paper but in reality ... to many problems.

 

So the build date was 10/30/07, A03 was on shipped on mine in mid-November and here they are releasing it 2 1/2 months after build date.

As a general statement; I work in the semiconductor manufacturing sector and if I was not consistently/constantly exceeding customer satisfaction I would be out of a job. I never understood why that same level or a portion of that customer support never seems to make it to the end-user.

 

Yah, I feel the power of hardware is there, it's just lacks software support.

I stopped benchmarking due to freeze in 3dmarks lol, but actual games I do have for now does play heck of alot better than the M90. (biggest reason I got it was due to good price, and dual DVI for 3007wfp LCD)

So far, I love the hardware, but software, and XPS support really blew my mind w/ lack of knowledge and willingness to help out.

 

It is nothing to do with room to put it in, the 8800 is no larger than 7950 and consumes the same amount of power. nVidia has made changes between 8700 and 8800 which means that some Sager notebooks would not work with it, while others had problems going to sleep. You can read about it on Sager forums.

I am not saying that 1730 is not compatible with 8800 - but it is strange that Dell has not announced anything yet while Alienware, who is owned by Dell, is selling new models with 8800.

 

Yup you're right. It did nothing whatsoever, still got the crashes when I enabled SLI.

Yup, tried it. Im on it now. Exactly the same issue. As a single card it is very stable, but put SLI on and its a different story.

I share your frustration. Really I do. I think its great hardware wise, but would have been better with a single card. I like the other features of the laptop, its just the driver support thats majorly lacking.
If the 8800GTX comes out as a single GPu for the M1730, I'll be very happy!

Ive had my laptop for a few weeks, and it came with A03.....

Agreed 100%!

Exactly. I also find it strange that other laptops have it, yet this 'Beast' that is meant to be the most powerful, still doesnt have it?!

 

It's probably because they are working on a way to get it in without changing everything, so people can upgrade. The others are just new notebooks, so it's simple to do.

I think some people should have done some research before buying this laptop. Just expected way too much in terms of playing games in max settings. Sure it's frustrating when you're trying to get it running stable (It's possible, i spent a couple of days being frustrated until i got the right mix), but SLI has always been known to have some problems.

There is a valuable lesson to be learnt from this.... never name yourself after a laptop!

 

I've had a chance to read through a lot of the posts. I ordered my 1730 last week. One thing no one has mentioned, is absolutely my fav laptop accessory, a stand. I have using an XPS m710 for two years, and it was always waaay too hot. I expect the same from this one. Targus makes a simple stand that folds up and fits easily in your bag, and it is superior!



I highly recommend adding one of these to your bag, you will not regret it. It gives some breathing room to the bottom of the laptop, keeping heat from getting trapped. It also puts the keyboard at a slight angle to make it more enjoyable to use. I give it 5/5 stars, and I think you will too.

No, I do not sell them, but great products are worth owning.

 

nice. i've been waiting for this for a long time. reading through this thread just now, it was ho hum till i saw #2783... downloaded and installed... sweet.

 

I'm using this machine as a development machine, and for that it is top notch. I figured I'd get into the graphics and gaming performance enthusiast side, and it's been interesting so far. I'm keeping mine LOL.

 

Zerg, what's direct update on your driver?

How/where to get it installed?

I've been trying to install 169.25 but failed too many times.

Thanks.

 

direct update is when you do not run the setup program. Rather, go to your device manager, select the card (right click), and perform the driver update which will ask you for the location of your driver, so locate the inf (after unpacking the driver package - e.g. from laptopvideo2go)

After doing so, you can reboot and then install to the other card as well.

I uninstalled the previous drivers first, ran ccleaner, and driver sweeper, deleted prefetch, all that jazz.