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

@phoenon your cpu score 2557 (1st run) is great an 2488(2nd run) is not bad only if x9000 was stock 2.8Ghz . Did you oc both gpu's to 640/950/1600 during runs? was SLI enabled?

for 3.2ghz should be getting cpu score about 2880

 

Yeah, both GPU's enabled in SLI, and both OCed the same thing.
I was using forceware 195,16 now downgraded to 189,74 and reached 13300.
And CPU scored 2596 at 3,00GHz. But GPU-Z shows Physix, Direct Compute and OpenGL disabled...
Time to try forceware releases.
Thank you mate.

 

wont notice difference if physx enabled or disabled for 3dmark06

if ya like, could disable some settings in OS to get more for cpu score - is the way to get about 2880 on 3.2Ghz HERE

setting on performance in nvidia control panel will give bit better overall scores

EDIT: that link is for vista, not sure if windows 7 is same way?

 

For the highest possible score you also have to overclock your CPU @ 3.4 GHz.

Windows 7 works a little different. Not all none nVidia services you can't disable, cause 3DMark06 won't work. If I only remembered what services...

 

I know that, but I'm now specting some overheating CPU - core2. and that's the main reason why I'm scoring higher on @3Ghz than 3,4...
thank you.

 

This is common for extreme CPUs on the M1730. My CPU would throttle at 3.4Ghz as well. The reason for that is that the voltage of the CPU on default os too high. You need to undervolt the CPU. Here is a guide on how to do that.

 

hikkoo, @ ur earlier post, thats interesting! but no i dont think im going to build water cooling

has anyone taken the heatsink of their gpu? if the main die just have that cooling pad, im replacing that crap with a copper sheet. has no one thought of copper modding the 8800 sli gtx? what are we all afraid of torx screws?

guys, there are way too many cooling pads all over the m1730.
if you replaced all of them with copper it seems inevitable that there would be a drop in temps. there are especially a ton on the physics card which is directly on the other side of the cpu. maybe i dont know what im talking about, but cooling pads just seem so cheap.

in other (old) news, my drivers are incredibly screwed up
...and still looking for fans for the gpu because desktop fans are meant for up and down airflow, i dont think they would help.

 

I'm not afraid of torx screws. I replaced already two times the cooling paste with AS5. I'm more afraid of loosing my warranty if I screw things up.

About the PhysX card, don't worry about it anymore and take it out to put it somewhere in a drawer or so. Cause of the current nVidia drivers these days, this card is completely useless now. So you'll have a less power consumption card inside this rig.

 

@niffcreature, I think replacing them all with copper instead of pad won't help alot.

I've replaced the original Dell paste on the GPU with ICD7 and it helps by around an 8*C drop.

 

you should download this and run it prior to a benchmark, it disables non critical processes (for gaming & benchies) so you get more juice (works on all windows versions)

@niff : I opened up my gpu's as well, just replaced the cooling paste with AS5, no copper mods

 

Hi again,
I already used RMClock and GameBooster. Anyway I'm still socring CPU low. I noticed some ramdom shuttering, causing abaut 15 fps drop. Perhaps CPU is damaged...
Thank you all.

 

phoenon is it possible to do a couple benchy runs on stock gpu's an 2.8ghz .
First disable Gamebooster and RM-clock then "very important" to do a reboot. wait about 10 minutes after reboot making sure no "Applications" are running in "Task Manager" and check "Processes" also, then open pro 3dmark06 an set to run cpu 1 an 2 tests only ( by clicking on "Select" tab an unchecking all Graphic tests > click "okay". please let us know what cpu score you get ..... hoping not your cpu .
EDIT:sorry, stock gpu's also

@niffcreature
woow!! very interesting copper mod idea , wondering if ya have to get the size an thickness of copper spot on for replacing gpu pads?

about fans , suppose ya considered (if get lucky an find fans) may have to mod plug on new fans to fit to xps fan sockets soldered on mobo. GOODLUCK!

 

I`d much more prefer a modder who can change the temp when the fans kick in

 

mine was doing this and i got dell to replace the 8800's and all is back to normal, idle was at 75c and now 50c, under load 95+ now 75c, the vents where clear, the where simply faulty, perhaps the conductive paste had lost it's properties or something, when it was under load the clocks all dropped way down because of the temp....................couldn't touch the DVI socket it was so hot

 

Hi again,
The tip of voltage helped pretty well. Now I'm just finding forceware version performance...
Thank you

 

ya cpu score of 2975 is good for 3.4 . mine with RM-clock gets about 3015

it just takes time to get use to ya beasty rig

 

@hikkoo
anyway I scored 8k in 3dmark vantage, a mountain diference from yours, and in the CPU field in particular.

Cheers

 

me score was with PhysX GPU acceleration enabled in Nvidia control panel . Also "Test Options" in Vantage Benchy> "Disable PPU" box was Unchecked.

Check when run vantage for "CPU TEST2//PHYSICS" if see 5 life saver circles an 10 witches hats =Physx is working....yea!!!!! see 2 life saver circles an 4 witches hats = Physx not working

when disable Physx me Rig gets about 9200 an cpu test 2 about 10 Goodluck!

 

i wish there was something like an mxm heatsink that wasnt in an L shape with the spreader like the one the m1730 gpu uses.

if i get some copper i might try it instead of the pads, just to see if there is a difference.

its the vbios that controls the fan speed though, i could get one of those fanspeed controllers but that might be a bad idea... they are for desktops.

 

btw, i got an x7900 recently, installed it, and the laptop started up so i went to the bois and overclocked it. when i restarted, the screen wouldnt come on and the fans turned on all the way... when i put my t7700 back it worked
so i dunno what the deal with that is...
should i try it again before i send it back to the person i bought it from?

 

When you over-clock your CPU it's normal your fans start to run at max speed all the time. The black screen worries me.

 

What is the best Nvidia driver for Vista 32bit, it it v186.24?
I would prefer something that runs cool and stable if there is one.

 

Why don't you take the official 197.16 WHQL drivers from nVidia. For me they run ok without issues. Cool and stable that's for sure.

 

What bios do you have?
Normally, if the CPU is ok, should OC without issues.
It`s not an ES (engineering sample), is it?

 

Well my dead M1730 just came in and has been fixed.
They've replaced the motherboard, GPUs, speakers, bluetooth card and even the DVD drive.
The only thing they didn't replaced is the battery, because it's warranty has expired (it has 40% wear level so I though it'll be good to have a new one).
Anyway, now I'm testing it with some 3D Marks, Fur and wPrime. I'll see how it works.

 

It's all ok, temps are fine, everything works good.
Now I'm reinstalling Vista because they installed it with all they'r crap in it.
I'm pretty satisfied with this. They've fixed it within 2 weeks.

 

First good news in a long time. They'll finally start to repair our rigs properly, without replacing them for a 'crappy' M17x.

@ eleron911:
Happy Birthday to you!!

 

Glad you are happy, but i would not have been happy, 2 long weeks !!! and they claim you have next buisness day warranty on it (I assume you have dell XPS warranty) If i was you, i would have asked for some compensation !!!

(you know, when my M1710 died and they could not live up to the next buisness day warranty, i complained so much that they gave me an m1730 as compensation )

 

Yeah, a M17x would have been nice, but the M1730 is cool too, when it works.

Here where I live less than two weeks is a good term for fixing a dead machine.
I have two years left of warranty, I don't think that my XPS will survive that long so in the end maybe I'll get a M17x or even something newer.

 

Awesome, pretty fast service right there

Dang, thanks man! Totally unexpected

 

Actually personally I don´t want an M17x, it seems like they have that stuttering problem and what´s that use to a powerful rig when you can´t play games in SLI or Crossfire properly without constant stuttering?

 

As far as I heard, that issue has been fixed with the R2.

 

I agree. I like my rig the way it's running. Still no big performance issues for me.

Only I tried Settlers 7 with it's crappy engine last week. It uses only one GPU. Everything max, frame-rates op to 19 fps.
My desktop with single HD5870 runs @ 54 fps.

 

The original M17x had this latency problem big time.
Then Alienware released M17x R2 with Bios restricting power consumption which also caused the stuttering. Alienware has released new firmware which addressed that and added the VM support in the Bios. The M17x R2 is pretty good now with the only exception of installing Ati CCC. This seems to be a hit or miss for people. What I mean is some people have no problem installing Ati CCC but the others have nothing but trouble (have to go through the back door to install the driver).

 

Sounds great the stuttering issue if fixed on the M17x.

 

Ughh I really screwed up. I bought the M1730 last July and the warranty expires today. I waited today til renew it, and they told me it is 279 for a 1 year extension because they would have to replace it with a M17x. That is just way too much to spend on a warranty.

I was going to purchase an extension last July and I really should've. The price would've been alot cheaper I assume.

Now, I just have to hope it doesn't break down on me or else I'm screwed. The thing is, I don't game with it at all and there hasn't been anything wrong with it yet.

Damn, I didn't anticipate them raising the price of the warranty.

 

I always thought I pay for warranty to be sure they'll repair my notebook on their own costs and if they can't they have to replace it. If it has to be the M17x is their problem.
Now that they're in a situation they have to replace them a lot for M17x's they use this as an argument to raise their warranty prices. This is like turning the world upside down. I pay for a warranty to keep my beast alive, not a purchase of a M17x. It's just a principle.

 

is that $, but even so, its still way too much ? I paid 112 € last week in Belgium for a one year extention ... seems there policies aren't global...

 

Yeah its USD. Makes no sense of why it is 279. I even called twice and made sure they understood me correctly. 279 for 1 year, or 579 for 4 years.

 

i could give you a copy of my invoice (stripped of name and order/clientnumbers) but not the date, which is 5/5/2010 or so ..
Maybe if you wave it in their face they will give you the same price ...
Its outrageous !!! Now i probably regret taking only one year instead of 3 ...

 

So now they don´t repair them anymore, just replace them with a M17x? Well I will extend my warranty it´s worth it considering you get a new system if they can´t repair your system.

 

They fixed mine...

 

I have still 2 years warranty left. So I feel comfortable what will happen in the future.

 

even if they charge $270 its still worth it imo (its only $2800 less than a m17x)

 

Sorry for my bad english.I came from Germany.I have bought a M1730 with a T9300,4gb Ram and 8800m gtx Sli.Is this a good Notebook for Bad Company 2?What is the best Graphics Driver,the 197.15 or 197.16?Thanks for Reply!!!

 

Magnus72,your Vids are awesome!!!!

 

I got until March 2011. So I`m still good for a while, but I`m considering extending it further...I really love this beast, and would like to have an awesome unit under the same warranty for a lot of time

 

I have been thinking about downgrading to a m1730 i originally was going to buy one with 9800gtx sli, 512 each right? I bought a precision m6400 instead anyway, the R1 has so much stuttering, Its going to get fixed very soon anyway, three week vacation from my home to a facility in Texas to work on it lol, that is how bad the damage the machine is in and i wonder if the issue will ever be fixed. Meaning also because it is a collectors item and the last true dell gaming machine made by dell.

 

SLI 9800M GTX means 1Gb Vream each if I remember correctly.

 

Indeed, SLI 9800GTX have 1Gb of VRAM each.