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

ROFL

Just went a bit crazy on eBay, and bought (all new/sealed):

Gears of War (£14.50)
BioShock (£12.50)
Doom 3 (old, but a great game I really enjoyed!) (£2.50)
XBox 360 Wireless Receiver for Windows (I have a wireless controller) (£12.99)

Currently bidding on.......
Company of Heroes (Currently at £4.00)
NFS Pro Street (Currently at £4.50)

Think I got em pretty cheap.....
Im gonna be busy for a while once my 8800's are in

Was gonna get Crysis, but think I'll leave that for a while now.....

 

The specs of the second XPS you mean?
Nah its the lowest possible spec - lower then whats on the site! I really only got it for the card. Not sure how much the card is in the upgrade program, but i picked this up for just under a grand, so really not too much more then what the card will be anyways....

2.2GHz processor
1GB RAM
80GB HDD
No carry case (which I really should have got TBH)

The only higher spec thing in it is the card.
I got a low spec since its only gonna be used for basic stuff at work, and it'll be fine for that.

 

Thanks ifty for your quick reply!
Do you know if The XPS 1730 with two 8800M GTX is noisy or quiet?
Thanks very much!

 

I dont find the laptop itself very noisy to be honest - even during gameplay when the fans are running at high speed. Although I dont have the 8800's just yet to comment on them, but with the 8700's the laptop, during normal use - Internet browsing etc - nothing too intensive, the fans are mostly idle and quiet.
During gameplay they speed up as the GPUs temperature increase, but I dont ever stop and think, wow thats real noisy. It really doesnt bother me much, and i really dont think its a noisy machine at all, not considering the amount of power in it.
Sayng that, Ive never overclocked the CPU. I hear overclocking the CPU puts the CPU fan on at high speed all the time, not sure of the validity of this though.....maybe someone else who has overclocked the CPU can confirm?

 

Good News for me: Dell just confrimed a swap of my 8700M GT SLi for 8800M GTX Sli. Direct card swap no MB change needed.

 

I've got my insider looking into swapping my 8700's for the 8800's so I'll let everyone know how it goes.

 

Come on guys! You cant just say that and not tell us on how you pulled it off!!!!
lol

 

lol, well I've been buying Dell machines for a good 5 years or so, so I have a kinda special relationship with the company. Also order business machines. Hoping for the swapout to take place sometime in the next few weeks!

 

That is so unfair... I am getting more or less the same stuff and just now i appear in production...

Lucky you, Congrats!

 

I also order only business machines. Are they swapping your laptop, or just the card??
I didnt even try blagging thet one TBH, but now I think of it I should have. I just tried to buy the card, which I obviously couldnt, then my boss came and said he wanted a new laptop, so I just took the chance and ordered another M1730!! lol

Production goes through pretty quick - if you have just entered production today, expect to see it dispatched by Tuesdays/Wednesday......

 

gadgetboi and hardtimes have you tired my method that i posted earlier ?

 

Hey again Ifti, just got back from work and chekced my order status and it has gone to Production, it says Been on Production as of 13th Feb, any idea how long production takes, or well how long your first one took?

 

Production doesnt take very long. The longest wait is uaually pre-production, since thats when they are waiting for, and getting together, the stock of parts for your particular order. The lengthy wait for most M1730 orders has been the lack of 8800 cards, which they seem to now have.

When your order goes into production, its just being built, which understandably doesnt take very long. It also includes a testing phase after the product is built to your requirements.

Your order usually stays on production for typically around 1-3 days, depending on how testing goes. Usually this goes through fine and with most order production lasts around 2 days or so. Ive ordered a hell of a lot from Dell, all different types of business laptops with different specs, and production has always been around 2 days or so.

Its then dispatched and once it reaches this stage it should be with you in another 2 or 3 days, depending on the carrier, which is usually Walsh Western for me. The carrier usually has detailed tracking information on their site (you'll get a link on the Dell order status page), so you can see exactly where the item is, which depot it has arrived in, and so on.

Once you see the status as 'Out For Delivery' on the carriers site - well thats when you stay in all day, and look out of the window every 10 minutes waiting for a delivery van, even hold in your pee in case you miss the delivery by going to the loo (sods law and all), and generally get well excited

 

Wow, this is insane.

So I got frustrated and called XPS Premium Support myself, and spoke with the tech for a long time. Really just a common-sense chat about what I want and what my current situation is (I've got the balls-to-the-walls best configuration possible for the early adopters, aka 2.8 GHz Extreme Edition, 4 GB RAM, BluRay, 8700s in SLi, e.t.c.).

After convincing him that I am in fact qualified to install the card, and that I'm completely willing to do so, he volunteered to look up the part number for the 8800s and get some pricing information.

So here's the skinny:
1. As of yet, they don't have anything official upgrade-path wise as they advertised here: http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/01/29/43163.aspx a few weeks ago.
2. He wasn't sure when that information will become live or when there will be further news.
3. The dual 8800 SLI 1 GB card part number is: XM888 (I had him read the description to me and it includes the G92 monkier which corresponds to the 8800GT core, whereas the 8700GTs have the G84 monkier which corresponds to the 8600 cores)
4. The XM888 part is currently out of stock in the sales tool inventory system. He advised calling Dell Spare Parts, but said they are also likely out of stock. I agreed, seeing as the online configuration wizard predicts a delay as well.
5. This is the insane part... the cost of the XM888 part is $2,000!!! AHHAHAH!

I don't know what's crazier, the cost, or the fact that I'm seriously contemplating putting down 2K to have the dual 8800s.... I seriously hope the upgrade path involves shipping the 8700 part back and getting some sort of refund and a number closer to the $700 that new customers pay, because for 2K I could almost build a shuttle box with whatever stuff I wanted and come away with a faster machine...

 

The part price may have increased just to make upgrade unavailable for the time being. That's what happened with previous generation XPS upgrades when demand was too high.

 

Yeah, I'd say that price will change once they have the part available in spare parts. Don't think that'll be for at least another month though.

Also, I wouldn't hold out on Dell giving you money for sending your 8700's back to them in exchange for the 8800's. Be patient, if you wait a little longer, you should be able to get the 8800's for a fair price. Well at least a lot cheaper than $2000?!

 

Thanks Ifty, Hope Penryn Processors will be available soon in France!

 

Bro is late feb. now any info. on xps m1730 in india???

 

This is crazy, I just went into the order status to check if there was any progress, and I went from 3.Production to 2.Pre-Production... WTF?

 

The point of my post is that the X9000 does make a lot of difference due to. I didn't post the link for people not to read the article ;-)

Taking Crysis as an example:

Without the X9000, people in this thread have been reporting FPS at high level of detail between 10 and 16 at the 1920x1200 resolution.

26 FPS with the X9000 CPU is a nice improvement. This is due both to the significantly larger Cache of the CPU and the higher clock frequency.

When it will come out the X9000 will cost the same as the previous high end CPU option from 2 weeks ago, so personally I will wait!!

 

This is the first test of the Peryyn Core 2 Extreme X9000 processor combined with 8800 GTX SLI:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2260174,00.asp

 

The only possible explanation I can think of is that the laptop developed a fault during the testing phase, and has gone back to pre-production as they await a part to be replaced??

 

rofl, that link has popped up about 5 time in the last 7 pages! lol

 

Does anyone have a link to a side by side comparision of the current Core 2 Extreme X7900, and the Penryn Extreme X9000?

I know it runs cooler due to the 45nm core that doesnt need as much power etc, and it has a 6MB Cache, rather then the 4MB in the X7900. But apart from that, what are the other differences?

As I said before, Im in no hurry to upgrade the processor, not like I want the GPU upgraded anyway. I may upgrade a few months or year down the line, but its no way near as important as the GPU upgrade.

 

On another note.........

Ive downloaded and installed Nvidia's nTune just to monitor my GPU temperatures. However, I cant seem to view the temperature info in the Logitech LCD screen, is there any way of doing this?

 

I just hope is not that... The lady from the US tech support said to expect the computer this week, but if it went back to the preproduction stage I dont think it will happen... nice :S

 

Hi, I have my XPX 1730 2 days ago, with a 8700gt sli, I download the NFS pro street demo and the only setting I get to make it running smooth is in 1024x768 in low med settings. Is that normal? I'm running with 167 update, thanks

 

yeh I couldnt run Pro Street all that great either.
I got it to high settings, but the frame rates made it playable, but not enjoyable!
Hoping it will run nice with the 8800's

 

When idle, or doing basic tasks like browsing the net, etc, nTune logs show that my GPUs like to be around 50-55c. As soon as the temp goes up to around 67c the fans kick in and bring the temps back down again pretty quick.

So basically, my GPU temps fluctuate during idle between 53-67c. Is this normal?

Ive removed the games from my system as Im selling them, while I wait for my new ones to be delivered, which I will install after Ive go tthe 8800 card in later this week, so will check out the GPU temps when idle and when gaming with that card later, but I was just wondering, what kind of temps should i expect? Both during normal operation, and during gaming??

Is there any other software which will show the CPU temps as well as the GPU?

 

ifti. Theres a great utility called I8KFanGui. Available here: http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/index.html

Its specifically designed for Dell laptops. You should check it out.Ive used it for years.

 

Hi, sorry if this has been asked already (omg 4000+ posts!)

I'm looking at buying either the Clevo M57RU (with 1 8700 512MB) or the M1730. I was told that a single 8700 512MB "slays" (salesperson's words not mine) dual 8700 256MB SLI. Is that correct?

 

No. a 512mb 8700m GT will not slay an 8700m 256m SLI setup.Only cos it has 256mb more mem doesnt mean it will "slay" a dual setup.

Your best option is to go for the m1730 with 8800m GTX SLI if you got the funds.You will not be dissapointed.

Or the m1730 with 8700M SLI if you dont have the available funds. The m1730 has more options available to spec it out aswell.

 

Thanks dazzy, I thought it sounded a little odd. Needed to hear some straight talk.

I'm looking at the Clevo M57RU over the Dell (I'm being told it's much higher quality overall which is important for me). However, the Dell is amazingly competitive in price, about AU$600 less than the Clevo equivalent here.
http://www.p4laptops.com.au/order-m57ru-8800.htm

Hard to make a decision on that basis, but I guess paying extra for quality is always positive in the long run.

 

Dell's complete care warranty just can't be beaten by others. I would go w/ Dell.

 

A single 8800GTX is faster then dual 8700mGT's - well from the research I have done anyways.

The 8700m is just like a mobile version of the 8600. Its clock speed is 128bit while the 8800's clock speed is 256. This is where the main performance boost for the 8800 comes from IMO.

The 8800 also has 512MB onboard memory, while the 8700 has half that.

IMO a single 8800mGTX is probably on par with a dual 8700mGT in SLI - and thats saying a lot. 3DMark06 scores posted up (browse back a few pages) show that the 8700mGT typically gets around 8700 3DMarks's, whereas a single 8800mGTX gets around 9000+ 3DMarks. The dual 8800mGTX in SLI should easily get around 12-13000 3DMarks with no overclocking involved.

Nevertheless, I agree with dazzy in the sense that I would still go with the M1730 if I had the choice. Not only is it more flexible in terms of options etc, but I think it looks better as well, and when the drivers start gettin gbetter for the 8800 SLI, its gonna perform awesome for a laptop....

 

Cool, I'll check that out, cheers.

What do you think of the 53-67c temps though at idle? Are they as expected?
What should I expect it to increase to when gaming?

 

67?

for me right now is 55/53...

anyways ifti, can you check on your order status page and check if you machine is allready in ups's hands? Because im getting more and more worried about all this BS...

 

This is my nTune log..................

Doesnt paste here very well, but just look at the last number down the list for the temp. Looks like the GPUs like to be kept at around 53, and as they rise the fans kick in at around 61-63c, and pull the temp back down again, and then rinse and repeat! Bear in mind my lappy is propped up half an inch from the back.

Looks pretty normal I guess. Just wondering what the temps will be like for the 8800's and what gaming temps will be.....


On my order status page, it still states that the item has been dispatched as of the 16th. The carrier is 'Walsh Western', which they usually tend to use for me.

Its just come up with my ETA on the couriers site - the 19th!!!!!! Should have it on Tuesday, so will be busy swaping the cards over Tuesday evening! Cant wait!

 

Im currently on BIOs version A03, since Ive never had any need to update it.

Once I stick the 8800 card in, do you think I should update my BIOs? Im just wondering if there have been any additions for the 8800, such as when the fans should kick in to cool the card, etc?

 

Welldone ifti. Dont forget to make a 8800M Upgrade video on youtube. Would be great to see that. Look forward to getting my card next week aswell. All i need now is the PhysX PPU and the laptop is one of the quickest on the planet.

 

Im aon A03 too... But im gyessing the replacement will come with the new one... I remmeber my m90 came with the a02 and i updated to a03 and it was all problems so i went back to a02... new doesnt allways mean better...

 

ifti i suggest u get A06 BIOS has it has thermal updates and updates for the penryn CPU aswell. Possibly might need A06 for the 8800M gtx card.

 

Is the 6MB Penryn upgrade worth it?

 

@ dazzy
true, thats what I was thinking also.
I may try the card with A03 first and monitor the temps etc. If all seems similar to the temps I got with the 8700 in idle, then its cool. If not I'll stick A06 on.
Like Sergiop said, I dont like updating the BIOs unless I have to, and I really have no interest in Penryn either....well not for a while anyways....

 

Also, which color is the BEST looking? Can anyone post pictures of the top of the machine? I'd like to see it in action.

 

I have it in Grey. Check though my videos here..........

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=206068

I think the first video has the laptop switched on showing the lights etc on the top lid also.

Its really down to personal preference. they all look pretty cool IMO.

 

@ ifti. the A06 update includes thermal updates. This controls the fans and makes sure your system doesnt overheat and keeps the temp down alot more.There must of been problems with the thermal system or else they wouldnt of released the updated bios. Penryn is a nice upgrade if you can afford it.

 

Hi. Personally i think the "Bone White" is the best out of all 4 colours but i suppose its what you prefer tbh.

 

Bone white!

 

I have bone white and its just really simply stunning finish.