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

perhaps that's the only use for it....i was figuring to sell it. i went and bought the new video card for $ 500, which is as much as i'm willing to spend on a laptop for repair purposes -- and that's just because i really like the overall design and experience of using an m1730.

i figure when when another piece of hardware on it fails....i'll just go grab a new machine.....

i'm pretty sure that by then, there will be lighter and more powerful desktop replacements to choose from.

 

I`m curios, what is the lowest CPU offered in the m17x?

I`m contemplating the idea that if it will be replaced, my unit with a 2.4CPU should get a better one

 

I have checked the prices and found it is double the cost for the x9000 over the x7900 which in benchmark results is extremly quick and can be overclock to 3.4 ish, (which i am not that interested in doing)

 

On the Dell UK website the lowest CPU to,

Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo P8600 (3MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo P8700 (3MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo T9600 (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo T9800 (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Intel® CoreTM 2 Quad Q9000, (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Intel® CoreTM 2 Quad Q9100 (12MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Intel® CoreTM 2 Extreme Quad QX9300 (12MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)

Hope this helps

 

Yea, thanks.

 

TBH, the M1730 can have some pretty nasty overheating issues, especially at idle if you have 8800M or 9800M cards. Having an X7900 or X9000 overclocked(although I'd highly suggest an undervolt to keep processor temps decent) makes all the system fans run at maximum speed... which greatly helps temps. I've been running my M1730 this way for nearly eight months and haven't had any issues with it.

If you're not looking to run overclocked, there's not much reason to shell out the cash for an X7900 or X9000. At least a little while ago you could get ES X9000s out of China for high, but not exorbitant prices. IIRC, you want Q174 chips as they are the most stable.

 

complete care warranty

 

The only reason i was going for a X7900 as the price difference i have found between that and a T9400 is about £20.

 

As you recall, I had a t8300 like you. They bumped me up to a t9600 (2.8) without asking and I've had it OC'ed to 3.33 within the BIOS (no software to download or reset everytime you restart) since I've had it.

 

my video card dies today chatted with dell support told me they will send tech in 2 days to replace video card. do they have video cards?

 

Hi Everyone, has anyone notice Dell UK have now removed the XPS M1730 and a funny thing the Alienware M17x is now not found when you try to customize

 

they do lol

 

So Guys, I just got an email from Dell and they are going to replace my M1730 with a brand new Alienware M17X!!!

Specs are:
T9600 CPU
4GB 1333MHZ RAM
2x 260m SLi
500GB RAID 0

Now I had the 8800mGTX Sli setup in my M1730. Is the 260m SLi are fair swap for that or do you think I could push for the 280m Sli? I saw the other thread where the guy named F@int got the 280m's.

What are your guys thoughts??

 

Honestly, it's not that big of a difference, but technically you should push for the 280m's, since they're better, and at the time, the 8800s were the best option for the m1730 at the time you got it.

 

Does anybody know which countries(factories) are related with replacement of XPS m1730 to AW m17x???

 

Hi, everyone so far that i know has had replacements within the USA, I so far dont know anyone who has had a Alienware replacement from the UK. My original XPS M1730 was a refub, but Dell replaced with a brand new XPS M1730 when it overheated, so now i am down as having a XPS direct from Dell. fingers crossed no issues so far.

 

Hi there,

I bought an XPS M1730 from EBAY almost brand new back around the end of November and beginning of December of 2008. The laptop originated from the UK and the Service Tag shows it was constructed October 22, 2008.

So anyways, the person I bought the laptop from never actually returned messages to me when I tried getting them to help transfer the 1 year warranty on the laptop over to me.

Thankfully nothing has happened with the laptop, it works just fine and as far as gaming performance goes I can use a special set of tweaked drivers that I have to play games like Crysis at all high settings with native resolution with a smooth 40 frames.

So okay.. my question is this..

Before my warranty expired I had tried getting the warranty ownership transfered over to me by myself when i tried contacting Dell.

However the system originated from the UK and I live in the US.

So through email I contacted UK support and they told me to contact the US support. But US support doesnt recognize my service tag at all. So I was left in a bind... and ultimately never got the Warranty transfered to myself.

Now...since its been expired Im trying to figure out, being that I purchased this through EBAY, am I even able to purchase a Warranty at this current state in time to cover my laptop?

I used to do Dell Warranty work, and for the most part Im sure Ill be able to keep this laptop nice and clean and working for a long time. But sometimes things just happen and I want to be covered.

Presuming also, that Dell would allow me to purchase a Warranty, would it even be beneficial given the fact that a lot of people have had problems getting parts sent to repair the laptops?

I used to be on the other end of things, being that tech that came to peoples homes after they've waited months for a part that was not available, only to have it installed and not work right... or have a wrong part sent..

I understand full well the agravations that Dell can put their customers through. Im just wondering since Ive been out of the loop for a year in Dell servicing, that even if I can get a new warranty, is there a point?

Btw I paid 1600 shipped for this laptop and it came with a nice XPS backpack. So I dont think it was a terrible investment.

 

I was thinking about purchasing my friends Dell XPS 1730
His specs are:
xps 1730 laptop with 8800m gtx in sli 512 ram each
T9300
160GB HD
DVDRW

Crimson Red
About a year old.
I don't think there is a warranty on it.
Whats a good offer I should send his way?

A few questions
1. Can I upgrade the CPU?
2. Can i put 2 hard drives in it and run them in Raid 0
3. Will this take DDR3 Ram? 1066 or 1333 ?
4. Should I hold out for an i7 laptop like the Asus G51jx-A1 with an i7 720QM processor, GTX 360M DDR5 1GB Video Card, 6GB DDR3 1920x1200 res monitor for $1400 ???


Whats a good offer for this machine?

 

1. no 2.yes 3.no 4. yes

 

well I should be getting my replacement laptop within the next week, so fingers crosseded for alienware now!

Or at least 9800's

 

Anand - good offer would be $1k-$1.1k. Do a double-check on the price-check subforum.

 

Your getting a replacement but they didnt tell you what it is??

 

If my friends M1730 configuration is the following
T9300
8800 GTX SLI
4GB 667 Mhz RAM

What is the fastest Core 2 duo he can upgrade the computer to?
Will it accept a T9800, T9900 X9000 ?

 

X9000.

T9800, T9900, and other 1066Mhz FSB processors don't work with it.

 

No they said it would be same or better, and would be here in about 3 weeks. If its not its going back forsure.

 

I got upgraded in the UK, even though they mowed me down for 170GBP (Still worth it, got 3year warranty extention too)

 

Welcome
I have a question for users M8700GTSLI. What is the temperature in iddle mode? Is it as high as the 8800GTX ?
I should be grateful for the info about gaming performance of 8700GT SLI in games like Dirt , Gird , Shift , Dragon Age , Mass Effect , The Witcher .
Regards
Pit

 

You know, come to think about it, you did get a good deal; I stand corrected. I'd say that the 170 GBP is almost a perfect match for a 3-year-warranty extension, which is always good! I myself will be getting one soon for the M17x.

Steve,
Try to find out what you're getting, because they might--might--give you less.

DemolitionManHD,
I also have a UK story here. The funny thing about my M17x is its history. The previous owner had an M1730 with 8800s, which went bust. Dell gave him a replacement as a fresh new order, brand new condition, and he got 280s with whatever remained of his warranty along with a few extra months to round it off to a year. See: Luck of the draw. Quite a few UK residents are now getting these are replacements. And now, officially, the M1730 is no longer being retailed by Dell, so the chances of an M17x are even higher.

 

I received a email saying its being built blah blah blah. So I emailed asking for a build sheet and a ETA on it.

 

Does this mean that any XPS M1730 (i.e. GPU issues) will they replace or if no replacement available will it be replaced with a Alienware?

 

So the only options I have are the T9300, T9500 and the X9000 ?

And I can upgrade the ram to 800mhz

Also in the raid 0 configuration has anyone tried doing 2 SSD's in raid 0

What is your current max Windows Experience Score for your CPU, GPU and Hard Drive? Please let me know your config accordingly.

 

x7900. 8GB Ram is the max at 800Mhz. Raid 0 or 1 SSD drivers support, to my knowledge

 

The Ram will donwclock to 667Mhz.

 

T8100, T830, T9300, T9500 and X9000 for the 45nm Penryn CPUs to be fitted into the M1730.

Your RAM will be downclocked to 667MHz effective, due to chipset support.

Yep, it's possible. It was offered as an option last time when it was on sale, if I recalled; 256GB SSDs RAID 0. (512GB total) Any 2.5" HDD/SSD drive will fit into it.

It's all in my sig.

6.7 X9000
6.7 8GB 667MHz RAM
7.1 8800M GTX SLI (Aero)
7.1 8800M GTX SLI (Gaming)
5.9 Seagate 7200.4 500GB RAID 0

And I find WEI is just not good enough to judge the performance of a machine, but rather a general performance overview.

Vantage: ~9315
3DMark06: 14,350

X9000 @ 3.4GHz highest temperature recorded: 65*C (rendering a 3ds Max scene for 4 hours)
8800M GTX SLI highest temperature recorded: 68*C (played crysis for 5 hours)

Seagate ST9500420AS 500GB 7200.4 RAID 0 (1TB Setup)
Transfer Rate Minimum: 78.4mb/s
Maximum: 168.3mb/s
Average: 143.3mb/s

Hey, hope its' detailed enough for ya. Good luck.

 

So I am officially getting a replacement for my M1730 and it is a Brand New Alienware M17X!!! Yay.

The Specs are:

-Silver (They let me choose the color and I like the Silver)
-Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T9600 (2.80 1GHz/ 1066 FSB/ 6MB Cache)
-4GB Dual-channel 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 2GB)
-SLI(TM) Dual 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 260M
-500GB 7200RPM SATA RAID 0 (2 x 250GB)

I tried to push for the 280m SLi but he replied saying that the 260m SLi are at least equal to the 8800m GTX and I would have to pay for the upgrade to the 280m Cards. So I didnt push any further because I couldnt be bothered and I figured that he had a good point and didnt feel like arguing it. So all in all Im happy with the replacement and just hope the Laptop itself is good.

So its good news for any M1730 owners who have warranty and want to eventually upgrade to the M17X. I didnt even have to request the Alienware it was the default system they offered as the replacement.

Im Happy.

 

Im curious to know how the highest temp recorded on your 8800m GTX's was 68*c!!!

Im baffled by this, but then im sure you added something onto the card to keep it cool, right?

Mind telling me what it was that you did? I mean... if it was just a simple... adding some arctic silver thermal paste or something on the gpu's or whatever... thats easy enough for me to do.

 

You see the trick is, when the X9000 is OC'ed to 3.4GHz, all 3 fans including the GPU and CPU will go at full blast. Regardless whether the machine is idling or in use, the fan speed remains constant. This will help to keep the components cool and nice. And vice versa, once your components are running cool your hardware lifespan generally increases.

Yes, I have also added MX2 on both CPU and GPU, and also a raised back. But the fans does the drastic cooling job.

Really... Hmm, they want to charge extra for the 280M SLI? Well you see cos' at my end, the technician offered my friend a single 260M setup, I "argued" for a 280M SLI setup and agreed with no additional costs.

I guess probably varies from the people you speak with, and whether they're nice.

 

in all reality the 260's are better im sure. But yes it doesnt hurt to push for the best.

Did he tell you how much more it would cost to bump up to the 280's?

 

YOu should demand the 280m SLI while making the argument that the 280m SLI is equal in price to what the 8800m GTX SLI once were. And just because its now old tech, doesnt make the 8800m GTX that you paid for any cheaper now does it?

See what you should do is demand a refund if they do not give you the price equivilant of what you originally paid for your M1730.

If you paid for a 5000 dollar system, then you should get a 5000 dollar system replacement.

Errr, granted you probably didnt actually pay that much but you get the idea i think.

Also... remmebering now that the x9000 CPU has the added benefit of turning all fans to high while overclocking makes it all the more tempting to purchase one for upgrade over my T9300.

Though I doubt I will see too much of an improvement even if it were overclocked to 3.4 or 3.2Ghz. Currently theres at least 2 on Ebay going for less than 400, one is under 300 currently. Ehhhh... Ill open up my system and see if I can get my temps down first before thinking about buying an x9000 or x7900 chip off Ebay.

 

Im selling whatever i get from dell...but i want it now damnit...while its still worth some change!

 

No he didnt tell me how much it would be to upgrade I just assumed that it would be the same price as to upgrade it when buying the system brand new (I think it's $500 odd).

Dell's Policy is to make the replacement system of equal or higher spec. I guess it depends on what you consider the definition of "spec" Is it the Price of the component or is the performance???

Like I said, when I asked for an upgrade to the 280m SLi setup he said it was extra because the 260m are better than the 8800m GTX Sli....

I didnt see an arguing point there but do you think I could still push for the 280's? Is it too late now that the system is being built? Im sad if I could have got the 280's but didnt try hard enough. Im too impatient... I really just want to get the damn thing so I have a laptop to use....

 

Sry about the memory speed, just realized now regarding the chipset support is only 667Mhz. Don't forget the X7900 CPU

 

The big question is, what was the price of your M1730 that you bought direct from dell (presuming this is the case) along with the price for the 8800m GTX SLI cards.

Then compare that price to the configuration they are presenting to you now.

Because the argument you could have made was simply this... "If I dont get a high end laptop to replace my high end laptop that you (the company) are incapable of fixing then I should see no reason to continue this cherade further and demand a refund of my money as my warranty entitles me to do so. I paid good money for my laptop and I paid even more good money for my warranty I don't see how recieving a middle of the line laptop, that is not priced equally to the laptop which I purchased and bought warranty for, as being a fair trade when I bought the highest end configuration possible at time of purchase."

So lets say you turned out to pay 4000 dollars on your laptop. Not saying you did, just figuratively thats what you paid. And they in turn are trying to give you a system that is at a pricepoint of 3000 dollars... do you find that to be a fair trade? Even if said replacement is technically better? Because what you can also do is demand a refund, then they turn out to pay you back all of your money and if you really wanted to could turn around and buy an even better laptop. And by them giving you a full refund, they lose out on even more money than if they just sent you a replacement laptop. We all know how overpriced these things are, its cheaper for them to give you a brand new replacement system than to give you back all your money.

So yeah... I hope the argument Im trying to make for you actually makes sense to you. Because it makes perfect sense to me.

Though if said laptop they are giving you is actually in price a lot more than what you paid for your m1730... then well I guess maybe you could try pushing for the upgrade still, but probably shouldnt.

 

Also, people, if you can argue, especially you UK folks, try to get the ATi 4870.

Currently, many of us Nvidia users are having stuttering issues with the M17x.

The new A03 bios has done well to tame the DPC/latency issue, but mostly for ATi users.

Once again, in UK, the Crossfire Radeon 4870 (£340) is cheaper than the 280m SLi (£590), and about the same price as the 260m SLi (£300), which is no longer offered on Dell.co.uk. So when pushing for dual GPUs, if they leave you with just 260s as an option, tell 'em to give you the Radeons, and argue that on their own website, it is significantly cheaper than the 280s and virtually the same price as 260s.

In reality, you'll be getting cards that are in the same side of the performance chart as the 280s, and possibly better with certain applications. Also, you'll get much more stability.

 

good to know...so this is what dell tells me when i asked for some details on my system build.

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for your reply,

From your email I understand that you wanted to be updated about the specifications of your replacement computer, I will be happy to assist you with this. I have checked the order details of your computer, I see that your system is being built at our factory however, the configuration of your system has not been updated in the records although, I will not be able to provide you the configuration of your replacement system. Let me assure you that you will be receiving a system with the better configuration or equal configuration.

Thank you for giving me a opportunity to assist you.

Regards,
Bhavani.
Dell Technical Support.

lol so looks like I will be waiting to see what hits the door step..hopefully soon. Its being awhile already.

 

The hell is that supposed to mean?

Yeah, I bet you're getting an Alienware.

Eight times out of ten (8/10), if they don't give you a build-sheet or discuss the build with you before proceeding, you are most likely receiving a new system.

Also, Dell often keep the specifications of potential M17x replacements very clandestine.

Steve, you will know what you're getting, soon. I am going to be optimistic and say that it'll be a good M17x configuration with at least 260m SLi, and hopefully a QX9300.

 

they told me they were looking for a m1730 to replace mine 4 days ago. then today they said i will get equal or better replacement

 

Session Started with Agent (S1)
01/14/2010 12:34:59PM Agent (S******): "Thank you for contacting Dell XPS Experience. My name is S*** and my rep

ID number is ***** . How may I help you today?"
01/14/2010 12:36:07PM eric c: "just trying to get the status of my system replacment and a case num"
01/14/2010 12:36:59PM Agent (S1): "Sure. I will be glad to assist you with the issue."
01/14/2010 12:37:11PM Agent (S1): "Please allow me 2-3 minutes to pull up the system information."
01/14/2010 12:38:22PM eric c: "no problem"
01/14/2010 12:40:42PM Agent (S): "Thank you for staying connected Eric."
01/14/2010 12:42:07PM Agent (S1): "The system exchange have been approved and it will take 7-10 business days to

reach you. The dispatch number is 1*****."
01/14/2010 12:42:34PM e: "can you email me the specs of the replacment"
01/14/2010 12:43:03PM Agent (S): "Sure. Let me check that for you."
01/14/2010 12:45:57PM Agent (S): "Thank you for being online."
01/14/2010 12:47:15PM Agent (S1): "The request have been made for the same xps M1730 system. Depending on the

system availability, I have given you the approximate time frame."
01/14/2010 12:48:13PM e: "if you dont have a video card to fix mine how are you gonna get me a new 1730?"
01/14/2010 12:48:41PM e: "ino for a fact there are no video cards avalable"
01/14/2010 12:48:46PM e: "for"
01/14/2010 12:49:48PM Agent (S): "I understand your concern. As per your request we are working on it because you

refused to get it exchanged with 1640 system."
01/14/2010 12:50:29PM e: "1640 is not same or better no sli no wuxga no 17 inch screen"
01/14/2010 12:50:40PM e: "not a gaming laptop"
01/14/2010 12:50:51PM Agent (S1): "I agree. You will be notified about the system specifications."
01/14/2010 12:51:04PM e: "the m1730 is not in production anymore how are you gonna get a new one"
01/14/2010 12:53:14PM Agent (S): "We will not disappoint you. You will get a system with similar specifications or

higher but not the lower one."
01/14/2010 12:54:01PM e: "i dont want a refubished system"
01/14/2010 12:54:26PM Agent (S): "I will make a note of it too."
01/14/2010 12:55:27PM e: "when should i know what i am going to get"
01/14/2010 12:56:23PM Agent (S): "You will get an email in couple of days Eric."
01/14/2010 12:56:39PM e: "thankyou"
01/14/2010 12:56:42PM Agent (S): "l*********net is this a good email id?"
01/14/2010 12:56:47PM e: "yes"
01/14/2010 12:57:15PM Agent (S): "Is there anything else I may assist you with?"
01/14/2010 12:57:31PM e: "no thanks"
01/14/2010 12:57:35PM Agent (S): "Thank you for choosing Dell.We value your business with us."
01/14/2010 12:57:44PM Session Ended
If you require further assistance, please visit us at support.dell.com

 

That is exactly thesame process in the UK, they will build a new system if parts are not available, no alienware replacement. Strange thing, if there is no replacement parts how can they build a new one, Oh thats right Dell will tell you that the replacement department/refeb is separate to the new build side of Dell.

Hope it goes will, push them for a higher specification for wasting your time and if you had extended warrenty say they will need to part exactly the same warrenty teams on the new laptop.

My experiance make sure they get the graphics card correct, i.e. Sli as they tried to miss these with mine but i noticed before it was built.

 

Is anyone playing ArmA II and actually enjoying it?

I loaded it up again today, after months on the shelf, and it still bugs the hell out of me. Which is such a huge shame, I loved the OFP series.

Finally got the FPS OK, but now some other things have shown themselves to be problems. The most recent one being that the enemy solders don't die for 3-4 seconds after you hit them no matter what it it. For example I set up a little mission on the editor with one guy 100m's from me. Then I spawned a tank, proceeded to hit the guy about 20 time with M2 fire (not exaggerating), waited for 2 seconds and THEN he falls over dead. What the hell is that about. He should have been in several pieces with M2 fire but instead the game has granted him life for 3 seconds after the first bullet hits. Its the same for tank rounds, they hit directly and the guy is still alive for 3 seconds. Argh! . They've destroyed a good game series, (probably the best ever military FPS stim), between this and the b*stardised console-isk OFP2.