Best cpu for 1730?

I'm not sure, but what exactly is the best cpu for the xps 1730? Can it use the t9800? Or is that a different chipset? And if possible can you list both the dual and quad (if such exist) that's the best for the laptop?

And on a side question, I'm coming from a MSI gt725 that has the radeon 4850. If both are non overclocked with theoreticaly same speed cpu, which would perform better overall on a real life situation, the radeon 4850 or the sli 9800m gt?

Thanks! Been a while since I owned a dell. Loved my xps gen 1. Disco comp ftw.

 

The Core 2 Extreme X9000 will be the best processor for the m1730. The T9800 will not work as it is a newer Montevina chip, the m1730 only takes the older Penrym's.

9800m GT SLI > HD4850

 

With X9000, you can overclock to 3.4 Ghz on 1730, while the P9500 maxes out at about 3Ghz. Provided that 9800m GT is still very powerful, X9000+9800m GT should beat 725 by quite a bit.

However, 725 leaves you with quad upgradibility, so you can upgrade eventually to QX9300, etc. Where as Bob said, X9000 is the glass celling for m1730. Other than X9000, there are:

T8100
T8300
T9300
T9500
BTW, the most performance/watt is offered by T9300. While also runs 10W cooler at maximum load.


I think M1730 will hold general performance over 725, since the GPU driver is already more mature, while NV throws in extras like Phyix. Having 2 drive slots nice bonus, you can even do RAID 0.

Beside, pure performance aside, M1730 packs handy extras. Like backlit keypad, and a Logitech gaming LCD. Its screen is also much better than 725, due to higher brightness and contrast ratio.

One big minus:

M1730 in a backpack is almost twice as heavy though.

 

i was just looking at dell us the x9000 isnt available anymore and apparently they added an option to the video cards to have tv tuners. i guess im one of the last to get this processor in america..

 

Combined with recent price drops, having the likes of X9000 and Nvidia 9800m GTX were probably comprimising the next of AW flagship. (M17x refresh?)

 

Thanks for all the informative responses. Indeed the dell will be twice as heavy overall including ac adapter, but meh, after using a macbook pro, I REALLY miss the backlit keyboard, something I always thought was a useless feature.

Based on what's given, it seems the t9300 is the best bang for buck, and I should just overclock that considering there's a lower wattage and lower temp.

One thing though, someone with the gt725 managed to get over 12k in 3dmark06 with the cpu and gpu overclocked (using stock cpu turbo overclock). Is this Dell capable of coming close if it used the t9300 o/c and SLI 9800? (I limited it to the t9300 because the gt725 uses a similar speed cpu)

Edit: And since when did the xps 1730 have 9800 gtxs? o.o

 

M1730 has backlit keypad, which is awesome...

Normal CPUs do not OC at all on M1730. Up to now, no pll has been supported it. The only way to OC is, to get a extreme CPU, and OC through Bios.

T9300+9800m GT gets you about 11.2-11.4k stock. And 11.5-11.8k in 3Dmark06 bu OC'ing the GPUs.

Having the extra power of that X9000 will get you about 15k in 3Dmark06; just goes to show how that benchmark is useless.

Too much CPU weighing in a GPU benchmark = fail. 3Dmark vantage is the next best thing. M1730 should do much better than 725 in that.

 

Ah. I guess x9000 is the way to go then. Question is, where's a good place to get it? It seems that ebay has some for 300ish but they're ES chips. I don't suppose there's a cheaper place to buy these cpus that are previous gen stuff?

Oh, and at the left palm rest area, does it get hot/warm there while gaming? MSI did a good job with the gt725 by having the gpu positioned at the top middle of the keyboard, so the palm feels cool.

 

i bought a nzxt cryo cooler and durring gaming i never hear the fans kick up into higher gear. she gets warm but not uncomfortably on lower left palm reast but the gpus are in upper left hand corner so that area gets pretty warm still not uncomfortably though

 

No! there's no hot or warm spots on your palm rest! Both GPU's are located at the top left corner. This laptop is around 2 inches thick and the dual fans do a great job cooling them. If you put your hand on the top left corner where the XPS red logo is you might feel a little heat but nothing major to worry about. The machine is a true gammer rig! Built to run games and run them hard. So far just like everyone stated only crysis is the only one that would give you problem if you try to max it out. Other than that it's a real gaming machine, especially the new price now vs how much they used to cost! Oh! and by the way Don't even mention the WOW edition XPS is a total RIP!!! OFFF!!! unless your a WOW crazed fan with lots of money!!!!!! (No offense to WOW Fans)

 

Lol, I love WoW. In fact I was looking at the wow edition for sale on ebay. But I don't think I can use that at school without feeling self conscious. And nice to know heat isn't much of an issue.