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

You know you've been with out your computer too long when you spend Computer lab looking at alienware m17x specs.

 

You've gotta be kidding! The XPS line is being dropped. Any links to Dell or AW with the same image?

 

check the date and calm down bro.

 

Really yea?

 

Anybody know how to optimise GTA IV , except for the latest patch?

 

A question about the m1730, is the GPU from a Clevo d901c swappable with the m1730?

 

eleron I have got GTA IV to run really well on my XPS M1730 at 1920x1200 all options on High except Water, benchmarking 32 fps average and has around 30-40 fps when driving and running around

I will tweak it even more to see if I can get out more fps out of it. I´ll let you know.

 

No.



Is not:

 

Allright Eleron.

I am running GTA IV in Win XP SP3 and with GPU driver 197.15, these GPU drivers is really good. Also I use these chipset drivers intel_chipset_9.1.1.1019

You have to force install them in System and the Express PCI Express Root Port and Express Processor to DRAM controller. Now when installing choose the 965g.inf in the folder. I hope this helps, this has given me a boost to even play Bad Company 2 1920x1200 in DX10, all options High and with HSAO with very good framerates now

I have provided the Nhancer profile too. With this config GTA IV runs really good for me with High textures, not much stuttering at all at 1920x1200.

Put a shortcut to the LaunchGTAIV.exe" and put this line in front:

%comspec% /c start "" /high

Mine looks like this:

%comspec% /c start "" /high "C:\Spel\Grand Theft Auto IV\LaunchGTAIV.exe"

My settings in GTA IV Graphics is:

Video Mode 1920x1200
Texture Quality High
Reflection Resolution High
Water Quality Medium
Shadow Quality High
Texture Filter Quality High
View Distance 25
Detail Distance 15
Veihicle Density 22
Shadow Density 1
Definition On (Crisper graphics)

If you choose Definition Off the game feels even smoother and there is speed blur


Try this tweak and see if it helps.

Be sure to backup the old files first. Nhancer profile is attached to this post and the tweak is downloadable below.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OCOGE553

 

Oh...Well, didn't hurt to ask. How much would an 8800m/9800m GTX SLI go for the m1730? around 6~800 USD?

 

No, the GPU in the XPS is a double GPU.

You the man!

 

Would the Intel Chipset 9.1.1.1020 be just as good as these you are referring to?

 

I have just installed nhancer, do i need to start it everytime before i launch a game? or does it store the settings in registry and are they automatically applied if you run a coupled exe

 

Psyloid you have to have it autostart everytime.

Pin360. Actually I installed the 9.1.1.1020 before reverting back to the ones I mentioned above. The performance in Bad Company 2 and Crysis for instance were worse than the 9.1.1.1019.

 

I think once its installed it runs a service in the background all the time. So you don't need to start it each time.

nHancerService.exe is running on my M1730 the whole time so I guess its doing its job.

EDIT: Yea, it does run a service "NHancer" PID 2052 on mine.

 

Hi folks! Long time no see... Today, my beloved M1730 just died (almost).
First, my left speaker stopped working.
Now, one of the GPUs is dead.
This morning, I woke up my laptop from stand by and 10 minutes later I see the display flickering (it was playing some music with AIMP2). The system was frozen, so I shut it down by long pressing the power button. I press the button again to power it up and the display is black, the backlit is on, the operating system boots (I can hear the log-in song), but the display is all black
But, if I turn it on with the Dell Media Direct button (it boots with only one GPU in this way), it works fine (without the 2nd GPU, of course).
It's strange because I always keep my temps low (they never exceeded 83* in load).
This week my computer got it's 1 year-old birthday and now it died.
Sweet one, Dell.

My english is bad, I know.

 

Ah crap dude, sorry to hear that.

 

Your English is perfect, actually. Sorry to hear that. You're not on warranty anymore, are you?

 

Sorry to hear about your situation, TimeWriter. You do have warranty, so you should be good.

I am really starting to believe that the M1730 line is also a case of 'hit or miss'. The older units from 2008 (early 2008) generally seem to last longer in the GPU department, even if the user is neglectful of keeping the system cool and clean.

 

kinda agree mines from may 08 and its still going well.

 

Actually I have 2 years left from it. I'll throw it to warranty next week after the holidays, hope I get a refund with the money I want.
I had only problems with this machine (left speaker broken, high DPC latency and audio shuttering issues, battery loosing capacity too fast and so on).

L.E.: So my machine is one year old, I've never overclocked anything, always keeped the temps low, cleaned the fans with vacuum everytime, I even keeped my back up with a half of inch with a DVD case and it still died.

 

Sad to hear your system let you down. It's a good thing you've still warranty left.

I bought my system in may 2008 and it's still going strong. I always clean my system too to prevent it from dying. Every 2nd month I totaly take apart my system for cleaning. I also use AS5 paste and keep the back raised a little while gaming.

What more can you do? I'm happy I've also more than 2 years warranty left, so I'm not worried that much. But hell, I like this system and don't want to change it.

I hope Dell will come with a solution that will satisfy you.

 

Actually I bought my laptop from a store which is partener with Dell. Hope it'll work as I live in Romania and here are no Dell stores or services.

LE: By the way, the computer works really BAD, I can't even listed a song properly.
Few minutes ago I took this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU86HqJ-H5I
That's how it works with the GPU left...

 

In the same boat as you, though im a ways through the wait for dell to do somthing process. GL with what ever happens.

And hank, when did you get an m17x? damn nice one too. How does she run?

 

Being from the same country, I`m very interested how you`ll deal with this. Dell uses international warranty, but I don`t know the policy on this one. Probably going to Germany for fixing up or the UK.

 

November. Not nearly as bad as the m1730. Only bug problems are Win7 related. Am switching slowly from my platter drives to two Intel SSD's so it will be as fast as money can buy at the moment soon

Good luck on teh R2. I wish I had an Intel chipset and i7. That's the way of the future!

 

I have tweaked GTA IV even more now, I will post some videos soon of how smooth it now runs on my XPS M1730

Here are two clips of GTA IV running on the XPS M1730.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbLH9I4h2ck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz6lixdQsJM

By the way new clip of Bad Company 2 running on my super tweaked XPS M1730

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOVGSv14TZg

 

Allright using this tweak along with the Nhancer profile provide and driver version 197.15 I get 34 fps average in the benchmark test and the game is really smooth now.

Eleron this one should work just fine for you. I adjusted the commandfile now too.

The only thing you need to probably change is the VehicleDensity which I have set to 35. All other options is on High. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you eleron. For me at least it´s super smooth now.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=60FBKZGL

 

Any chance anyone could do one for Bad Company 2? I have tried to do this myself but failed miserably.

Thanks.

 

Cool, I`ll give this one a go also.
Thing is, last one I tried, didn`t change the settings at all. It just left my settings. Maybe I didn`t add the command line correctly...

 

Well after more tweaking this is what I got with my newest tweaks in the benchmark test:

Statistics
Average FPS: 38.47
Duration: 37.45 sec
CPU Usage: 89%
System memory usage: 61%
Video memory usage: 96%

Graphics Settings
Video Mode: 1920 x 1200 (60 Hz)
Texture Quality: High
Texture Filter Quality: High
View Distance: 1
Detail Distance: 30

Hardware
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Service Pack 3
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX
Video Driver version: 197.15
Audio Adapter: SigmaTel Audio
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7700 @ 2.40GHz

Well what can I say, my former two uploads of GTA IV tweaks I did have stuttering, now I have finally got rid of stuttering meanwhile getting far higher average fps than my former tweaks. This should be the final one eleron911. Also note use the included Nhancer Profile instead of the former one, this one works better too.

Almost 40 fps average in GTA IV for a Core2Duo @ 2.4GHz along with 8800m GTX SLI at 1920x1200 is pretty damn good.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FD8JFIJF

 

thanks, from what ive read and heard around the way dell matches up parts is not based on side by side performance but characteristics.

example.

I had an extreme cpu they most likely will replace it with an extreme cpu same with 1920x1200 screen and dual vcards 260m SLI or 4870 x2's

Its good news but i wont know for sure untill they let me know which i am told is either going to be Mon, Tues or Wed. Been waiting so long to find out what im getting i just want to see what im waiting for.

 

Lets hope it'll be worth waiting for. It looks like Dell won't repair our M1730's in the near future. I don't understand their policy when they deside to repair or replace the system.

 

Dont think even dell understand their own policy

Great to hear about ya rig . Wise move Ernstig, wish clean out like you did....im bad didnt listen, hope havnt damaged rig look what i found hidden inbetween gpu fan an heat sink grills after about 1 year from new an more about it Here notice high temp cpu core spike fixed after clean an getting much lower gpu an cpu temps but didnt put thermo paste (going to take apart again to do undervolt wire mod an apply paste)

 

Magnus, let me run this by you.
I`ve installed nhancer, double clicked on the profile you uploaded to have it installed, replaced the folders with the tweaks that you made, and added that comstart thingy at the GTA IV shortcut, before the game location.

When I go into the game, I still have my settings, medium all around, etc etc.
What am I doing wrong ?

 

Hmm the commandline should set the settings automatically to High, however change them to high manually in the video options instead.

 

Wow, your system was extremely dusty.

I've to clean it often. My two cats at home like the heat coming out of my rig. I never game alone!:laugh:
Cat hair is a real killer inside your cooling system.

About the cooling paste... I cleaned the 2 GPU chips and the CPU chip and both heatsinks and put a little ArcticSilver5 between. Dell used some inferior paste and far too much!
I never disconnect the heatsinks anymore when cleaning. AS5 is superb. I don't know what to do more to prevent my beast from dying.

I also often repair Xbox 360's and use AS5.:rolleyes2: It works like a charm.

 

Done.
All in all, the game runs superbly. Once again the Yoda Master outdone himself

 

Only one can be the best.

 

Glad to hear it runs superbly for you

 

Yea, ive been told by the reps ive spoken too that its definately going to be an m17x, and that for them to send me the 8800m GTX part would require a long backup order which they estimated would be filled around june 25, because of this delay they decided for the system replacement instead. Since they dont make the actual m1730 model anymore its m17x and away. Its been about a month since my card went and about 10-11 buisness days since they decided to do a replacement. The guaranteed time is 21 days for a system replacement so im hoping i get the details on the system by this wed, and a machine will be shipped within the next few weeks.

 

D_Sage44,

I was told on Thursday April 1, that i would be getting a replacement. They told me the PC stats on Friday. They are beating around the bush with you. They can speed up the process. Call and speak to a supervisor.

 

I am glad you got conf on an AW, thats awesome man. The more and more people post about these AW replacement keeps getting my hopes up.... Can't wait for my call tomorrow to see what I get!

 

i have spoken to higher ups i am being told over and over that they do not have an order nunber and have no info on the specs, and that its been 10 of the 21 day period and they can not make things go any faster. If i am not told by tues i will be giving a call to dell asking to talk to the head guy again. See what i can get out of him. Did you have to speak to a supervisor to get your stats by friday? or did they just call you up with them.

 

D_Sage44,
I wouldn't worry about the situation too much. I hope you do get an R2 since it is increasingly becoming the norm. However, worst case: You'll get a very souped up R1 with dual 260s, which is about as good as the best R1 and R2 configs when it comes to real-world gaming; completely ignoring the hair-splitting 'my card is 2 FPS faster than yours, and is therefore superior new-age tech' nonsense. You'll still have a very powerful machine in your hands.

 

Magnus, you got a nhancer profiles for Bad Company 2. Currently i can only play it on low settings as medium gets a little jerky.

Thanks

 

Third tweak for GTA IV now, even better framerate

Statistics
Average FPS: 41.13
Duration: 37.44 sec
CPU Usage: 88%
System memory usage: 61%
Video memory usage: 96%

Graphics Settings
Video Mode: 1920 x 1200 (60 Hz)
Texture Quality: High
Texture Filter Quality: High
View Distance: 1
Detail Distance: 30

Hardware
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Service Pack 3
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX
Video Driver version: 197.15
Audio Adapter: SigmaTel Audio
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7700 @ 2.40GHz

File ID: benchmark.cli

Download included below.

http://www.easy-share.com/1909758074

Also download the contig.zip that I have attached, copy the contig.exe to your GTA IV folder. Put a shortcut to the contig.exe with the switch -s.

Should look like contig.exe -s.

What does contig do?

Well it defrags all files within just that folder, this helps when using modded files and such, highly recommended.

 

Mezza try this one. Note I am using the 197.15 drivers in Win XP which runs the game really good.

I also included settings.ini for you with resolution set at 1440x900, you can change that if you want. I set all to medium considering you have 8700m GT in SLI and I keep it write protected.

 

Thanks Magnus, ill try these when i get home. Will it be an issue if im using win7?

 

No it should work even better in Win7.