Dell XPS M1730 Owner's Lounge, *Part 3*

is the gt550M comparable to gtx 8800m?

 

It is somewhat weaker. And the 9800M GTX is significantly better than the 8800M GTX, so anything below 280M is not satisfactory.

 

I styill have my m1730 though I just ordered a new xps 17 3d. It turns on but nothing shows up on the screen, i think its the graphics card, is it worth buying one on ebay or should i just chuck the computer out?

 

I don't know if it's the website but i can't downlaod any drivers from that site.

edit: nevermind, site is working again, downloading drivers..
edit2: damn crysis 2 is sweet now

 

I'm having such bad luck with my m1730! The new gpu arrived today and its not working properly (yes i could send it back for a refund but wana check i havent missed something first). Basically, I get weird fuzzy lines accross the screen, mainly when blue (the dell logo at post, the bios background, the windows 7 logon screen etc) is displayed and the odd artifacts, but if I plug an external display in, the picture is completely fine, has my laptop's lcd suddenly gone or is it the gpu?

 

I suppose its your lcd or inverter if going external results in a perfect picture.
If you want to be sure of it, run a benchmark or a game with SLI enabled and monitor the gpu behaviour (using OSD's like EVGA Precision or MSI Afterburner) just to make sure that SLI is working.

 

I just ran Need For Speed Hot pursuit with SLI enabled and it ran perfectly apart from the fact that blues were all messed up, like when you chose the colour of the car, when it was green, the picture looked great, change it to blue and I get weird lines all around it. Thing is though I had no display issues with the old gpu, but I can't try that one in it now as I've bricked it. And typically my M1710's lcd panel has a ever so slightly smaller connector.

 

@xps_m1710: You l know it can be as simple as the GPU is not seated properly. I have experienced the fuzzy lines when the GPU is not pressed down firmly enough. If you are capable, open your laptop and try it.

 

I'll give it a try, I know how to do it as I just installed the new gpu about an hour ago haha!

 

Press really hard

 

Didn't fix it sadly

 

Can you provide a screenshot/photo/video of the problem you're getting?

 

Ok, I've just about managed to pick it up on my camera (took ages to capture them), I opened up paint and realised it happens worse on this purple pink colour (also happens on blues and reds and I guess this is a mix of the two!). It's worse than the photos make it look, theres thousands of these lines and they move really quick all over the affected coloured area:





I did notice if I push on the cable from the screen to the gpu, these lines get worse/better, so could be the cable or maybe the connection on the gpu?

EDIT: I can get the problem to nearly stop if i hold the lcd cable up in the air near the end where it connects to the gpu, so the questions is whether its the cable of the connection on the new gpu, hmmm

EDIT 2:

By folding the cable over as pictured below, this stops the worst of the lines although they aren't completely gone, really wish I could work out of its the screen or GPU as if It's the gpu, I need to send it back!

 

Have you made all those same tests on an external display without a problem?
If so, then it does look like you've identified the problem.
maybe you pinched the cable while replacing the gpu.
In any case, yeah i'd give dell a call.

 

Too bad, at least it was free If you are still under the replacement parts warranty just call them and do not let time pass. Have them worry about it. They will probably end up changing more parts then they really need to so you you may end up a winner.

 

Try with an external monitor mate.
I meant that in my previous post but i forget to write it lol.

 

Thanks guys for all the help, unfortunately I have no warranty at all. In terms of the external display it doesn't have any of these problems, works flawlessly the whole time. I have re-bent the cable again and this time touch wood its been working flawlessly too on the laptop's display. It does seem like its the cable rather than the actual connector on the gpu but I guess I can't really find out which without spending more money!

 

Anyone have a link to this? My searches keep turning up the wrong version. Thanks.

 

I don't have a direct link, but goto logitech.com, Support -> product Support, Gaming (Looks like a G15 KB), Click on the G15 Keyboard, Click Download, then Choose OS, Select Download and choose "GamePanel Software (Legacy).. Thats the one the XPS uses... Latest is 3.06..

 

G19 Keyboard for Gaming

You need to choose legacy software from the drop down list.

 

how much difference does the CPU make on the m1730? I saw magnus was able to max out NFS Hot Pursuit with the x9000, I have the T9300 @ 2.5GHz and NFS lags slightly when the game isnt even fully maxed out. I'm running the 267.76 drivers, is it the cpu bottlenecking the graphics?

 

The CPU makes huge difference. OC x9000 (mine is running at 4.0 GHz) and non-OC (2.8 GHz) makes another huge difference

 

I am not a heavy gamer like others and I do additional graphic/3D work. After seeing NFPHP on my system a one console gamer told me is a better experience than his Xbox360. Personally, I run all games on high graphic options and the games have no lag whatsoever. I experienced lag with Arkham Asylum before the card and my 1028p MKV files. I finished Arkham before the card/processor upgrade but the MKV just flow. I did the processor and card at the same time so I could not accurately comment on the processor on its own. One tip if you are over clocking it from the BIOS settings is to prop up the back of the laptop with some erasers so it is about 1"-1.5" higher. So you have a slight incline from the back where the fans are and the front. This should allow adequate breathing room while your card is screaming

 

Maybe someone here can help my weeeird problem:
I have an m1730 that will not display anything on the LCD. It displays on an external fine. It DOES however work when starting the dell diagnostics (using the external to boot). Nothing else I can do seems to get it going.. an m1710 inverter didn't work. Once when trying to boot into the diagnostics blind on the laptop's lcd, it would display, so I plugged into the external and it gave me an "LCD not detected" error. I'm at a loss.

I'm thinking either: try different video bios or tear down to check GPU board's connection (already checked LCD's).

 

@clone63: I do not know about that. It seems a replacement video card would do it. I found this page:

Dell XPS M1730 display issue troubleshooting guide | laptoprepairguide.us

 

I am thinking about going a step further is speed on my beast with an SSD for the primary drive which only the OS will be installed and a hybrid for the secondary drive which will keep all the data files. Please comment on them if you can. Thanks.

Primary Drive

Secondary Drive

 

Good choices, I thought SSD prices would be lower at this point, but oh well... I`d go for a bigger SSD still.

 

Hey guys I have a question,

My 8800m GTX's died on me last year around April, and it wasn't til sometime around November that I decided to bake the card for the first time.

After baking the card and putting my laptop back together everything worked well for about a week. After the card died again I didnt bother touching my laptop until yesterday.

Ripped it apart and baked the cards once more.

Currently my idle temps are at 50c, and I haven't bothered enabling SLI or do much gaming as I don't want to stress the cards.

I have left the computer running for almost a full day though, hoping that the AS5 compound I put on the GPU's would set in nicely. Seems like it may have. Is 50c a good idle temp to have? Mind you SLI isnt enabled so its possible they would be higher with SLI on.

My hope is that as long as I can keep temp's below 60c my card's wont die on me again. Is this feasible for me to think? Or is it inevitable regardless if the temp's get too high or not?

I did some research in regards to reballing and it seems like that would offer a permanent fix but does anyone know someone that offers such a service? As I can't seem to find anyone that does.

Lastly, would it be a poor investment at this point to purchase an x9000 cpu from flea bay? Since they seem to run at 300 or less in some cases, I figured the ability to have my fan's running at all times would only help my cause to keep temps down on the GPU's and would hopefully extend the life of this now 2 time baked graphics card.

 

They will eventually die, sooner or later...

As for the X9000, it is the only that allows SLI to actually show its potential, at at least 3.2 Ghz... Definitely worth the upgrade.

 

I've recently done that same upgrade myself. I chose a bit different hardware though.
I have quite a lot of research when I was choosing an SSD. There is no one best SSD unfortunately. Some SSDs are better in scenarios than the others. Crucial c300 (which I ended up getting) seems to me like the most universal performer out there. It may not be the best in all tests, but performance always stays on acceptable levels.
The drive you are looking at should be good for an OS drive. Crucial C300 is cheaper though, and the performance won't disappoint you. Just keep in mind that 64gb version of the crucial drive is slower than 128/256gb versions.

As for the secondary drive, unless you have specific requirements for a fast drive, I'd personally go with ordinary 7200 rpm drive. You can get 750gb seagate drive for exact the same price as 500gb hybrid drive.

P.S. Don't forget to update motherboard drivers when you'll get an SSD. They make HUGE difference.

@PIN360
As eleron already said, the GPU will fail sooner or later. There have been a couple of people on this forum successfully baking their GPUs a few times. They don't tend to last for more than a 1-2 weeks after a bake though. I don't think thermals have much to do with it.

 

I'm running a Hybrid drive as my primary and I love it. It feels much faster loading programs than two conventional drives with RAID-0.

As far as a hybrid drive for your secondary however, it's my understanding that it wouldn't help much - though it depends on how you use it. The main thing hybrids are good for is keeping often-used files on deck in the NAND memory module for quick access. There is only 4 GB of NAND however, so if you're going to be storing a few hundred GBs and accessing a fair range of it, the drive isn't going to working any faster than a quick conventional drive. Though I guess if you're planning on running programs off it it would be worth it. But if I were you I'd be tempted to install my games on the SSD.

When used as a primary though, Hybrids are great because windows system files are put onto the NAND as well as things such as frequently played games.

 

Alright, well I'll continue to monitor my temps, and if anything pushes it above 60c at any point in time I will terminate said program.

Clearly "baking" a graphics card is quite literally a half-"baked" solution. And isn't very precise or effective.

Which brings me back to the hope that I could find someone capable of reballing graphics cards. Seems like an actual "fix", if only I could find a company that offered it. I wouldnt mind paying for something like that.

Still though, being in the situation that I am in, if any of you were in my shoes, would you try investing in an x9000 cpu at this point in the M1730's life, particularly with the case of my graphics card current fragile state being kept in mind. I do want the CPU... but if my cards are going to keep failing on me as predicted maybe I should cut my losses and move on?

 

Personally, I`d advise moving on to newer tech. The XPS is around 4 years tech, so you`d be stuck in the past.

 

I agree with eleron. M1730 at this point is an outdated product. I'd personally invest my money into a new laptop or desktop. There are rumors of Alienware M18x going around. The only reason I see for them to make such a huge laptop is to pack 2 current gen GPUs in there. Now that would be a monster!

 

That would be the bomb !

 

Just found this thread and I am thrilled! HELP!
Just got my M1730 back from Dell Depot. After 5 motherboards, 3 video cards(9800GT) and 2 hard drives, Dell has returned it to me with ANOTHER motherboard and a 8700 video card (isn't this a lower card than I had?).

Started it this morning and it ran great!

Until 10 minutes ago.... now, the power light is flashing and it wont turn on at all... battery or plugged in. I have over a year left on my warranty, and I am DONE with these repairs..... any advice?

Reading up and seeing that the blue light on the power brick(?) goes off, sounds like it must be the motherboard..... again.

Thank you all in advance
scott

 

Hello hsrdmd.
Yes, 8700 is a HUGE downgrade from 9800GT. M1730 is known for its issues. There are quite a few people on this forum who went through the same hell as you. Most of them are happy owners of Alienware M17x now .
In short, if you have next business day warranty from Dell do not send them your laptop for repairs. Demand them to send in the tech to your house to repair the laptop. Dell depots are known for downgrading and damaging hardware.
I personally haven't dealt with Dell that much, and my experience has mostly been positive, but there is a whole thread on this forum dedicated to M1730 issues. http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...s-m1730-problems-dell-replacement-issues.html
I think at this point you can ask them for a replacement system. Reading that thread should give you an idea of how to deal with Dell.

 

Thank you! I'll head over there now.

 

... Does Dell sell 9800m's GT/GTX graphic cards for the m1730 if you call them up directly? Curious... since I keep reading ebay listings about how they just got these "new" cards in from dell direct. And Im like ... If thats the case I'd like to see what they charge instead of the grand that these guys are asking for these days...

 

When my 8800M GTX failed, and Dell agreed to replace them with another 8800M GTX and I argued that these cards are flawed, the rep offered me to buy 9800 GT for around €250, or 9800 GTX for over €800. Obviously I told him politely to f off. 3 8800M GTX replacements later (over a month) I got a brand new 9800M GTX for free, when I warned the supervisor that if next GPU replacement fails I'll be pushing for a system replacement.

 

So am I just the luckiest beast owner in the world? My original 8800 GTX's just keep on tickin'...

 

Mine ran for around 2.5 years before they started acting up.

 

Are those alienware owners experiencing the same issues?
Or are there new problems related to the alienware laptops?

 

There always be problems with gaming laptops no doubt, and alienware isnt out of this, they have issues as well.
But comparably, speaking as an imaginary percentage, i would say that AW failure rate is like 5% (if not lesser) compared to our xps m1730.
As long as mine keeps up im game, the moment my gpu dies the xps will see the bay.

 

Update - just finished talking to Dell after repair #6 and breakdown again- they are going to send me a new computer. I will receive an email in the next few days listing the specs. Can I post those here(or if you know where to post them) for someone who knows better than I to give me a yea or nay?

Thanks again for the help
scott

 

Sadly, I must agree. I've had the Nvidia-based system for over a year and a half, and in this time, not one GPU failure in comparison to the 6 breakdowns over the course of 3 months on the XPS M1730.

Good system is good? This is also one of those moments where I'm enjoying having the alternative option of an Nvidia graphics solution for certain games that can still take advantage of the driver set.

 

Congrats on making progress with your query. Yeah, sure, you can post replacement system specs here, we'll do our best to help.

 

I've had a look at some heavy benchmarks for the m17x r3 with 460m
The nice addition is the 3d screen and integrated emitter.
Problem is, when 3d is enabled well fps drops heavily (around 20 fps) with current games.
I'm wondering if it already drops that low well how can this system hope to run future games which will only be more and more demanding.
Is it already outdated somehow?

 

Hmm maybe if they add SLI 460's then it may be future proofed better but with those results, seems like a bit of a waste atm personally although I'd guess it runs normal (non 3d) games great. On another note, is it possible to get the Ageia PhysX card working in Windows 7? Mine is installed fine but doesn't appear in Nvidia Control Panel. Im running the latest beta drivers 270.51.

 

Tbh I find it very weird that AW would put such an underpowered GPU into their flagman system. From what I can tell 460m performs on the same level as SLI 9800m gtx (if the game is SLI optimised that is ). AMD card offered on that system should be much faster than nvidia one. Of cause u don't get 3d then. I haven't looked at the benchmarks, so could be wrong about AMD card, but on the paper it looks that way.

@XPSM1710
I removed my card ages ago. Now that I'm trying to think of the reason, it was cause Nvidia dropped the support for it in their new drivers a while back. Starting with 2xx.xx series if I remember correctly.