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

actually, X models are designed for overclocking. T models can be overclocked if the BIOS supports it. I had a T version in my m1710 and dell's BIOS allowed overclocking - although in both the T and X case, it said it was not recommended to run above the default clock speed ... although all of us do

 

I'm assumng you had 7600G cpu which was the only OC'able CPU with XPS M1710.

 

What happens if you run the CPU above its default speed? I mean, do the fans kick in continuously? Also, does it reduce the life of your CPU?

 

uh i think at 3.0 the fans would kick in awhile and then slows down. not sure though.

 

I uninstalled the old drivers first through the device manager and then installed the new ones through the update driver option in the device manager.

 

Just moved back down from 171.16 beta to 169.25. With 171.16, screen capture failed to work (just using print screen). This is on Vista 32 bit SP1 RC v.744

 

Yup, only in game screen would work, but no desktop screen shots etc.

 

Screen capture and the snipping tool dont work... that's a strange problem. I dont use screen capture much anyway. These are by far the best drivers I have used, and I have tried heaps of them

 

Hey guys,

Been reading this post since the first page, just got done reading page 296 today after 2 weeks lol.

Anyways, I've purchased the XPS M1730 w/ 64GB SSD. I'm really not impressed with the performance measurements people are finding with the samsung SSD's that Dell and Alienware are supplying.

It's my understanding that the SSD dell supplies is a 1.8" PATA drive. I was wondering if someone here with the standard drives could tell me if they have a similar drive size/connection or if all of the other Dell drives (i.e. 5400RPM and 7200RPM disk style) in the XPS are the standard 2.5" SATA.

My reasoning is that I'm considering returning the Dell supplied SSD for a refund and purchasing the MTron SSD which is cheaper (currently $700 for 64BG) and more then double the speed of the Samsung (Dell) SSD.

Before I go ahead with this I need to know if it will be able to fit and connect to the XPS.

Any replies welcomed. Thanks in Advanced.


Kind Regards,

Kermit

 

Hey, you are the first I've heard from with an SSD as primary.

I'm very curious about the performance characteristics of SSD in general. Conventional wisdom says that general random read is faster on SSD but that fast spinning disks win out at sequential access.... but perhaps SSD technology has improved. I've also heard that SSD write speeds tend to fare lower than high speed rotational disks.

If SSD can deliver better performance, I wouldn't mind paying a premium for an external SSD over USB, but frankly, I have a Lexar 16GB Expresscard SSD, and it's pretty pitiful... don't know if that's just due to the Expresscard interface or if it's the card itself.

Of course, we'd all like to see blazingly fast solid state read/write, but so far, my experiments with Expresscard SSD and USB NAND flash have proven disappointing.

Anyone else?

 

Hey Zerg,

Can you confirm the standard drive size in these XPS notebooks, are they indeed 2.5" SATA? Is it just the SSD's that deviate from the norm?

With regards to performance, I've read every single article on the net regarding SSD benchmarks. The MTron SSD beats the pants of the raptor 150GB, it's officially the fastest drive on the market today. There is 1 issue with the SSD's on intel platforms right now though that is currently bottlenecking the high performing SSD's to an 80 rd/wr. I expect this to be resolved in due time. Even with this cap on the intel system it still performs better then anything the XPS can be equiped with. SSD's tested by supertalent memoright and Mtron have shown blazing fast speeds on AMD platforms.

Not too sure what the bug is witht he ICH8/9 intel chipsets, but they're bound to find the issue and provide a fix via updated drivers in the future.

Check out the prices/benchmarks on http://www.dvnation.com/benchmarks.html

also www.neostore.com provides even better prices on the Mtron SSD's. I'm seriously considering the MTron Pro.

 

Yes. it is 2.5 SATA.

The Mtron looks pretty good. I guess the proof is in the pudding. My usage scenario is to run large software builds that perform a great deal of read/write compiling, zipping, copying, etc, so the faster the better.

I will check it out again mid 2008 and see if the 32GB reaches $200.

 

I would not purchase any SSD unless its a Mtron at the mo. The Samsung Dell supply are rubbish - a 7200rpm drive is around the same, if not faster (with write speeds anyway). Have two 7200rpm's in RAID 0 and you are looking at better performance over the Sammy anyways.

Other then that, they are still way overpriced since they are new technology, well relatively new anyways. I would wait for the price to come down much more then where they are now.

For now, I'll stick to my 7200rpm's in RAID 0.....

 

how do i go about adding a second hardrive to the laptop ?, i have a 200gb seagate that i want to install as a storage idea, do i need to change anyhting in the bios etc, Help

cheers

 

^^^
Take a look at my video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6g2ZQwKMYI

It goes on to a RAID setup, but if you dont want to do that you only need to watch the first half of the video

Once the HDD is in, the BIOs will automatically recognise it. You dont need to do anything further in the BIOs (unless you want to set up RAID of course).

In Windows, you will need to go into Disk Management, and just activate the disc, so Windows recognises it and then you can create your partitions etc.

Hope the video helps with the installation.

 

cool , thx mate, how do i activate it in disk managment ?

 

- Right click My Computer
- Go to 'Manage'
- When the window opens, select 'Disc Management' in the left pane
- This will show a graph of your disc.
- Both discs and your optical drive should be displayed.
- If the second disc is not displayed, go into Device Manager (also in the left pane), right click on Hard Disks, and select Search for new devices. This should show your new disc in Disc Management.
- Right click on the new disc and activate.
- Once this is done the disc is ready to be partitioned and formatted - right click on the 'Unallocated Space' on teh new disc to create partitions and format etc.

 

Gateway P-6831FX with 8800GTS priced at less than half the price of our M1730. Friggin thing comes with single 8800M! 1350 @ bestbuy is what I've read on other forums.

Thanks Dell. I feel really great about my XPS now.

Link to best buy.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...=product&tab=1&id=1195599780039#productdetail

 

Im getting pissed off with the fact that Dell continue to ignore the question on almost every 1730's owners lips - Where the hell is the 8800??!!!
They could at least give us some kind of announcement!

 

Even when it comes, it will cost about 1k for SLI upgrade.

Feels like a j a c k a s s right about now though.

 

1K???? Even for an upgrade?

Bloody hell, I was thinking much lower then that - maybe around half that!

You could buy a decent laptop for that extra 1K!

 

I'm saying it from past experience.

When XPS gen1 was released, the GPU upgrade program was 450 + taxes.

I'm pretty sure it be atleast x2 that amount if they even consider the upgrade for us.

It does cost alot more to upgrade from Dell, but if they do have such program, I heard the part upgraded becomes part of the system, getting system's warranty coverage.

All we can do is wait.

 

I just recently bought an XPS, with the raid performance 400BG drives (2x200 GB), and I was wondering if it's worth it to downgrade to the XP option. I'd
eventually plan on coming back to Vista once the benifits outway the negatives, but for now, it's fairly pointless.

-Would I contact Dell about getting a XP key to replace my Vista one?
-Would I use the drivers that came with the recovery disks, or have to do some digging to find the right ones for XP?
-Are there even XP drivers for the LCD display (time/usage/countdown) and other features, or would I be missing some of them once I downgraded?
-I also have the 4 year hardware support agreement with them. Would doing it myself void that?
-And where would I find the RAID drivers for XP to install it?

Thanks guys

 

I wouldnt bother with XP to be honest. Ive been using Vista for a long while now and never had any problems. For me, games etc run about the same anyways, and Vista gets DX10

Anyways, in answer to your questions.....

1. You can contat Dell to buy XP, or you can buy it yourself, doesnt matter either way. Not sure which way is cheaper - Dell may be since they will sell you an OEM.

2. The drivers can be found quite easily on the Dell website for XP - they should all be available for the M1730.

3. Warrenty will remain intact. Its a HARDWARE warrenty, not a software one. You can install anything you want on the system - they will cover any physical breakdown on the system.

4. RAID drivers also on the Dell website alongside all others.

 

I Have the Solid State Memory but I dont have anything on it other than the OS I keep all my programs on an External Iomega GoDrive! As far as Performance I dont know much about it?? and IM with eveyone Else How can we Force Dell into Saying SOmething?? Or atliest Get the Ball rolling on the 8800M !! If Friggen Gateways Have it.... I would think That the "Beast" of the Dells XPS Line aught to be getting it as well!

 

sager has it as well
http://www.sagernotebook.com/product_customed.php?pid=29186&action=customize

 

How can it be a 'beast' without having the highest spec?!
rofl! Even Gateways have it! lol

 

Wow, if that is the pic of the gateway it is hidious. Also have you checked the spec? Its not exactly cutting edge apart from the vid card, and comes with 3GB of ram? very odd. Also remember the warranty? I don't know any other company that will send a chap out the next day to fix a problem with a laptop. All the others I know of are return to base and its normally a week+ before you see it again, more than likely over two.

Sooner or later you will be able to pick up the 8800m outside of Dell and just install it yourself if you're ok to do that. You could probably get one now actually if you approach the right people.

tom

 

Yah, but it's 1350 bucks equipped w/ 8800.

My guess is it can perform just as good or better than our SLI system at like 1/3 of the cost?

 

Depends on what spec you bought Also, look at the native res 1200x800 ??!?!?, loada crap not even 1650x1080, not to mention the lowest cpu in the range. And the warranty is a HUGE issue to me if no one else and worth the extra £££ it cost.

tom

 

My second M1730 is going back in a few days - refund.

It has been fun - good luck to you all..... I really hope you get the 8800 GPU.

 

So XPSM1730 returned his XPS M1730 ?

 

Yep …. This has been the worst PC experience EVER! Waiting for the Alienware M15X

I really agree with this test.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/review/2007/12/12/Dell-XPS-M1730/p1

 

I dont think the system is all that bad, not that SLI isnt crashing every 2 minutes! I just need to remember to disable SLI when I do anything in Movie Maker!
Apart from that Im getting better performance from games now.
I do like the laptop overall, its pretty awesome. The only thing letting it down is the SLI issues - cant wait for the 8800GTX, since even if I run it as a single GPU the performance should still be better then the current 8700 SLI setup. Thats gonna be awesome

 

I am absolutely desperate. I purchased a Dell Dimension and had to return it due to frequent nv4 disp dll crashes so I upgraded to an XPS M1730 as I'm interested in gaming anyway. I had to exchange it due to frequent nv4 crashes. I have a 2 week old new XPS M1730 which is crashing 3 times/day. SLI is not enabled. Have spent countless hours on the phone with tech support reinstalling drivers and everything else they could think of. Am running XP. I LOVE this machine except for the crashes. My driver version is R167604. Also using the AGEIA driver off the dell support site. Latest BIOS and chipset. Interesting thing is it doesn't crash during CRYSIS or Steam games but when it's on desktop. HELP HELP!!!

 

I'm sure most of the SLI issues will be fixed eventually, with a combination of new drivers and Vista Service Pack 1. The 171.16 is the first set of drivers in the 170 series and they are the least buggy ones I have used and never crash for me, so lets hope that future drivers will be like the 171.16 but with improvements

This quote is totally misleading "A brief look at the results of the automated benchmarks demonstrates this. In Counter-Strike: Source, with all tests being run at 1,920 x 1,200, the M1730 was as much as 20 frames per second slower than even a machine using a single 8700M GT and though this result is skewed somewhat due to software issues, that these issues exist is worrying enough." from http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebo...l-XPS-M1730/p1

I get over well double the framerate when running Counterstrike source in SLI mode... The reveiwer is doing something seriously wrong

 

Sorry XPS, but this is a terrible article that inflates the rock laptop's ego. i checked the rock site and an equivalent laptop is 1500 dollars more, you can't take advantage of their onsite tech support (if you live in NA), and you get a lot less features.

Those benchmarks I'm sure were done with driver issues on the XPS M1730 (the reviewer even complained about the crappy drivers).

The difference in performance between the 8800 and sli 8700 is negligible (more pronounced at higher resolutions), as can be seen on the 1 benchmark that actually used sli correctly. Sorry, but to spend 1500 more on laptop with crappy support and less features sounds pretty stupid if you ask me. I'll stick with my XPS M1730 and upgrade to sli 8800's when it becomes available.

I've done a ton of research on this laptop and dell customer support. You simply aren't going to find any more value in a gaming laptop then the XPS M1730.

 

Yup, that's a bad slanderous review towards the XPS M1730 trying to make the rock laptop look good. I won't be suckered into it.

 

There's no way the upgrade would be that high. For 300-400 you could buy an aftermarket card and install it yourself.

Dell performing the upgrade means they could recover some costs by keeping the old 8700's.

I would expect the upgrade to be in the range of 300-500. Any higher and you're better off doing it yourself.

 

Yes, that's precisely why I'm going to have my SSD refunded (it's an $840 upgrade) and replaced with RAID 0 7200RPM drives.

As zerg said, mid '08 the prices will drop significantly (I don't believe they'll be $200, but $350 for a 64GB would be more likely). Once prices are down I'll swap out the HDD's for the SSD's.

 

Get the 320 Gig. I don't think I'll ever run out of space for games.

 

Only problem is that you need to get a dell 8800 card becuase each laptop manufacturer uses a different interface to connect the card to the motherboard and Dell uses a proprietary card format, therefore you will need to get a card from them

 

Yup, I'm aware of that but that doesn't mean you won't be able to find the card's for sale with online merchants and ebay. The samsung 64GB SSD that came straight out of the XPS M1730 with IDE interface is for sale in this fashion.

As long as there's a market out there needing a product someone will be there to sell and make a profit.

 

The new GameInformer rates the m1730 the best with dual 8800gtx cards listed in the specs and 3dMark scores in the 12,000's. Maybe it won't be too much longer.

 

For me the extra 4,000 points isn't worth an extra $1,000. I'll stay with what I have and keep my M1730 for the next 3-4 years before I upgrade the whole thing. Otherwise the upgrades may be an unwanted contraceptive! :wink:

 

I would guess that within the next 2 weeks Dell will offer the 8800's in the M1730.

I'll probably be returning my laptop if that's the case and getting the 8800's since i'll still be in the refund window.

 

SLI drivers for the 8800M GTX won't be available until the middle or end of February.

 

Dell is not going buy/take back the 8700. All the upgrade programs on XPS gen 1, and 2 were strickly upgrade purchase, and users ended keeping/ebaying the cards they used to have on the system.

 

Can anyone provide a link to that game informer article. I went to the site but couldnt find anything relating to the XPS M1730.

 

When I Discussed the 8800M with a rep around dec 27th is they told me March...... Just thought Id Pass that on