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

Hmm August now where was I .... I can't remember seeing that Batboy but I have been barely home this year. Regardless I'll vote now. Either option would be better than this waiting game.

Could you put the link to these votes in your blogs?

Also it would be good to get some comments on personal GPU failures in that vote too. Maybe a bit of shame may motivate Dell.

 

Also,I think all XPS 1730 users should post that link in their sig for future reference.

 

That was fast

 

Gud thinking! (BTW I had it in before your post )

 

First post here...

My M1730 just died. It will no longer power on. The system is 8 months out of warranty. When I dissected the beast, I saw what appears to be a burn mark on the connection between the mother board and the SLI video card.

Is there any way to test either of these components before I have to pay to replace both (if that is even worth it any longer).

If I do replace the video card (DELL wanted $874.99 CDN for this) - am I going to get a refurbished one or one cannibalized from another machine?

If I replace the MB ($296 CDN) - will the video card short this one out as well?

If anyone has good quality pictures of what these connections look like in their healthy state, it would be much appreciated. The burn mark appears on both the male and female connection between the MB and the SLI video card.

I am uncertain if you can assist me in the diagnosis - the alternative is to put a bullet in the old beast and move on.

 

there is no surefire way to test anything if it wont even turn on. you might be able to get some cheaper parts from somewhere else but yeah, it might not be worth it anymore. you can get a new one for just a bit more than what it will cost to replace the mb and gpu, and the gpu will fail again especially if it is a used or refurbished.

i would never own a 1730 without a warranty, even with a warranty it is a nightmare

 

Sorry to see your first post is on such a downer note.

What might be helpful, would be to post images of all what you're talking about online, so we can see exactly what you're talking about.

 

Eleron, that is a bloody good idea. Thank you! I'd give you reputation points, but the forum won't let me since I gave you one a few pages back. You'll get it, soon.

*Adding links to signature.

 

After going through 3 GPU's, heat sinks, fans, motherboards, processors, etc... Dell is finally going to replace my M1710. On the e-chat Dell said the replacement would be an Alienware M17x but now it looks like its going to be a XPS M1730. Is that a fair replacement? Should I still try for the Alienware M17x or just be happy with the M1730. It looks like a lot of people are having problems with the 8800 GTX SLI GPU's, the same issue I was having with my M1710. Also, my warranty runs out at the end of this month, should I extend it. Below are the specs, I have no idea what they mean.

M1710
1 NK819 Processor, T7600G, 2.33, 4MB, NapaRefresh Merom, Burn 2
1 NG409 Kit, Cable, S-VID, Component, SonyPhillips Digital Interface Format, West
1 MN331 KIT..., SOFTWARE..., DELL MEDIA DIRECT..., 3, DIGITAL VIDEO DISK DRIVE...
1 X9366 Assembly, Adapter, Alternating Current, 130W, Lead Free, LTON World Wide
1 K2490 Cord, Power, 110V, 6F, AlternatingCurrent, 3W, PROPOSITION 65..., United States
1 WG343 Keyboard, 87, United States ENG, SINGLE POINTING..., M1710
1 CF456 ASSEMBLY..., BASE (ASSEMBLY OR GROUP)..., GIGABIT..., M1710
1 GU067 Card, Graphics, 512MB, IUPGA4B Mid-Life Kicker
1 RJ421 Card, Wireless, Lead Free, Internal, Bluetooth, 355
1 UT879 Kit, Software, Overpack, WXPPSP2 Compact Diskette W/documentation, English
1 RC449 Hard Drive, 100G, 9.5, 7.2, SerialAta, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, Moraga Plus
1 DY654 Kit, Software, Works, 8.5, Office TRIAL, English
1 NC293 Card, Network, Minicard, 3945ULD Dell Americas Organization
1 YC640 Assembly, Dvd+/-rw, 8X, Sony Sullivan/tobago
1 HH258 Liquid Crystal Display, 17, WU Video Elec. Stds. Assoc., GlareWide Viewing Angle, LG PHILIPS LCD..., V2
1 XU670 Assembly, Cable, Coaxial, Liquid Crystal Display, 17 Zanzibar/rikers/suva, V2
2 Y9530 Dual In-line Memory Module 1GB, 667, 128X64, 8K, 200
1 XP115 Battery, Primary, 11.1V, 9C Lithium, Sony, 2
1 CF199 Assembly, Bezel, Liquid Crystal Display, Notebook, 9400/M1710
1 CK047 Heatsink, Central Processor Unit, Notebook, M1710/M90
1 PD608 PLACEMAT..., GETTING STARTED..., EXTREME PERFORMANCE SYSTEM..., M1710, DAO/EMEA
1 RG723 Assembly, Cover, Liquid Crystal Display, Black, Notebook, M1710
1 CF426 Assembly, Cover, Hinge, Plastic M1710
0 01323 INFORMATION..., NO ITEM
6 J7841 Bumper, Liquid Crystal Display Rubber, Small, Notebook
4 2864D Screw, M3X3, K SCREW HEAD..., MICROSOFT..., BLACK OXIDE...
1 X4474 Guide, Product, Information Portable, AMF/BCC
1 CW851 TECHNICAL SHEET..., MICROSOFT..., MESSAGE..., VISC, PERSONAL COMPUTER..., WORLD WIDE...
1 RD117 Guide, Owner, Extreme Performance System, M1710 England/english

M1730
1 G461C Base,Notebook,CPEN,T9300,M1730 $336.16
1 0293D Module,Cord,Power,120V,6 Ft $.00
1 0797C Customer Kit,Documentation, Airborne $1.99
1 5T445 Module,Cable,Video, Digital Video Interface, Video Graphics Adapter, Dimension $2.94
1 C912C Module,Label,Intel,Notebook Core Merom,Core Penryn $.00
1 CW774 Service Install Module Software,Inspiron,M1730 $.00
1 CY416 Module,Software,Dell Media Direct,3.5,Operating System $4.97
1 DP434 Module,Card(Circuit),Network DW1395,Inspiron,Dell Americas Organization $7.58
1 DR146 Module,Software,VU32,Inspiron English,Dell Americas Organization,No Docs/diskettes $.31
1 FK244 Module,Software,DT-ICLNR Dell Americas Organization $.00
1 FT348 Module,Assembly,Base,M1730 $165.87
1 GT655 Module,Liquid Crystal Display 17WU,W/CMRA,M1730,SHAR $261.41
1 GW010 Module,Cable,Video,Digital Video Interface,HDMI,INSP $3.25
1 GX251 Module,Insert,Plastic,WHITE Liquid Crystal Display,M1730 $6.08
1 HU144 Module,Card,Graphics Physics Processing Unit,128MB,Notebook $127.00
1 J206C Module,Software,Dell Connect 2.1,Dell Americas OrganizationEMEA,Brazil Customer Center $.00
1 JN197 Ship Group,Notebook,United States,M1730,DAO-MDS $5.24
1 K174C Module,Dual In-line Memory Module,4GB,800MHZ,DDR2,2X2G $82.80
1 KJ999 MOD,INFO,MSOFT,VAL $.00
1 KX954 Module,Card,Graphics,IUPGA5C G92,Scalable Link Interface $800.00
1 N537F Module,Software,VU32SP1 Digital Video Disk Drive,MUL5 Dao/bcc $.44
1 NW220 Module,Dvd+/-rw,8X,Ide (integrated Drive Electronics),M1730,TSST $36.50
1 PR117 Module,Card,Network Bluetooth 355,Windows Vista Os $2.80
1 T013C Module,Software,Works,9 English $9.95
1 UW429 Module,Keyboard,101,United States,M1730,Dell Americas Organization $23.70
1 UY392 Module,Information,Liquid Crystal Display,Cover,WCMRA Corsica/Gilligan/Sapporo/Yebis $.00
1 W001F Module,Hard Drive,320,7.2,FreeFall Sensor,SGT-CAS,INS $64.00
1 W871N Module,Software,WINDOWS-LIVE Consumer $.00
1 WJ380 Module,Information,NO RAID Inspiron $.00
1 WP008 Module,Accessory,Binder,M1730 England/english,Dell Americas Organization $14.82
1 WW439 Module,Label,Microsoft,WindowsVista Os,Premium,Small $.02
1 WX695 Module,Adapter,Alternating Current,230W,Delta - Ac Adapt World Wide $34.00
1 XG487 Module,Battery,Primary,80WHR 9C,SANYO $50.05
1 XM544 Module,Software,PC-RESTORE Transactional Line Of Business $.00
1 XP118 Ship Group,Notebook,United States,English,1521,DAO-MDS $3.12
1 Y573C Module,Software,Roxio,10.2 Dell Edition $.45
1 YJ372 Module,Cable,S-VID,Sony Phillips Digital Interface Format,Mobile 2007,West $1.62

I think I found some info on the specs but I don't know if its right.

M1710
Core 2 Duo T7600G @ 2.33 GHz, 4mb, 677 MHz.p
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX
100G Hard Drive
1GB Memory

M1730
Core 2 Duo T9300 @ 2.5 GHz, 6mb, 800 MHz.m
8800GTX SLI
320G Hard Drive
4GB Memory

 

Its a hell of an upgrade already, theres no REAL concern in pushing for the M17x. that being said, some people have some serious issues with the Vid cards. Myself, I never have with the vid cards, but I do have some other minor issues. Just make sure the 1730 has a warrenty of at least 2 years, because the problems will usually start after a year.

 

I would say he's got a good deal. Take care of the machine, and make sure you got warranty.

Also, while using the machine for full-on gaming, raise the back by a few inches. Such a move will help you in the long run.

 

I for one am still good till March 2011 , but I might consider extending that if say in 1 year I`ll see something wrong. Anyways, a new BIOS and I will settle for that...

 

I've seen some people here suggest that you set the speed to 3.2 or 3.4 to force the fans to run on high all the time, but there is something that many seem to be missing.

At 3.2, Dell's default BIOS voltage is 1.525v, and at 3.4, it's 1.575v. These are insanely high values that will cause a lot of excess heat and make any heat problem much worse. You will have more heat, more noise, and more dust, and could easily damage your CPU or surrounding components over time.

So don't forget to lower the voltage to a safe level (the lowest stable level, usually between 1.3 and 1.4v), with RMClock at these speeds.

I've overclocked mine for a year and a half at 3.4, using RMClock to lower the voltage to a safe and stable 1.3875v, and i8kfangui to force the fans to low (~2000 rpm) for quiet operation. Everything runs cool and stable now.

 

Hmm Nibitor might work with the fan thresholds. Have anyone looked into this? Also this means you have to flash the GPU´s of course.

 

Mine still works and it was built in May 2009.

 

Magnus, if you have any experience with this, you should try it.. I would, but I`m a|| with nibitor

 

First time poster here. Dell have been driving me mad by constantly pushing back the date for replacement cards. My 8800M GTXs have been fried for over a month now. First it was 2 business days. Then a further 3. Then another 2 weeks. And yet another 2 weeks...

When I called up Dell support last week, they mentioned they ordered a replacement set of 8800Ms which I found very odd as in the UK at least, they had until recently been offering the 9800M models (though it now looks like they're clearing any stock by offering 8700M models with the M1730). When I mentioned that I was under the impression that the 8800Ms were no longer in production the rep claimed otherwise.

I'll call them again tomorrow to press the issue and try and get the cards upgraded to a model they actually have in stock. This entire situation is a joke. You'd expect "premium support" to actually answer any queries in emails instead of just ignoring them as well.

 

I called Dell back and for $500 they are going to fix up the system with "new" components. I do not trust that this will actually happen effectively, or in the timeframe promised judging from the reading in this forum. That said, I am not about to walk away from this laptop without a fight.

I tore down the M1730 and rebuilt it 4 times now and I have confirmed it is the connection between the MB and the video card that is the cause of the short... the last attempt had a distinctive whiff of ozone (aka. oh crap!) when I had rebuilt the unit and powered up... which prompted me to cease amateur repair night and call for help here.

Although I informed Dell that I would no longer be interested in their product offerings due to the lack of support/ help with this issue, I do recommend, particularly with laptops, to invest in the longest warranty period you can get. The laptop performed extremely well - until it didn't...

 

My warranty is going to expire at the end of the month and Dell wants almost $400 to extend it another two years. I was thinking of selling the M1730 when I get it and buying a new Alienware M17x. Any idea what I could get for the M1730?

 

can someone upload the vbios to me. Both cards.

 

Good point undervolting is and has been suggested a number of times and agreed to be a good thing but advice to only use 2 fans via i8kfangui is a potential for far more insane damage than running at the set voltages. Yes it might be wqorking fine for you but consider the implications of your advice to turn off 1 fan entirely......

 

Yes, the voltage is high, but the overall impact such as heat etc. is not that signficant. I have known people to run their X9000s at maximum overclocks without issues.

I remember one guy used these on his Toshiba X205-SLi, and what with all the GPU problems in the 8600m design, the machine did great. Of course, the risk is there, and the concerns are very valid, but I'd take certain risks in order to prevent other problems.

The ideal approach would be undervolting, but is that possible with the overclock?

 

well what i can do is tune your gpu bios for lower voltage and lower clocks so it can idle more in 2d, 3d mode and extra can stay the same.... what i can also do is see if i can control the fans to run full. i of course don't have the m1730 to test it on before i can give it to someone but i have done this on my sager np9262 with my 9800m gtx.

if someone is willing to try this PM me and we can continue there. remember to try at your own risk.

 

Voted support for a new BIOS update that remedies the fans at earlier temperatures I agree with it, and I feel for you guys.

I have once tried UV'ing my GPUs before but in the end I reverted it back, I don't know why, I just felt my temps are reasonably cool, so I think I could just skip the process.

Yesterday at my school's library, the air-conditioning ran at full blast, and my GPUs hit a lowest of 35*C on idling - powermizers disabled. LOL.

 

nope, it won't. All 3 fans are controlled by the Dell MB Bios, not the video card's bios...

 

ok but you can still undervolt them and set it to lower clocks for idle...

 

Powermizer downclocks the cards. Mine yesterday was;

GPU1, 275/550/301
GPU2, 383/767/301
Temp 60c

 

Does anybody have any recommendations on what settings Red Faction Guerrilla works best on our M1730 beasts?
Currently I am running all settings on max except shadows and particles.
Ambient Occlussion is turned off entirely.
The resolution I run it at is 1680x1080 or whatever it is. 2x FSAA.

Also... I am running the 191 driver from nVidia. But I am not too impressed.
Has anyone played around (as I don't spend too much time trying each new driver that comes out) a bit so I can get a recommendation of what driver I should be running at?
The 191 seems slower then the 186 series driver (which you now can also download from the nVidia website for the 8800m series.)
This is the driver I ran prior to the new 191 WHQL certified ones from laptopvideo2go.

 

There was a new nvida bios update on the dell website which came out the end of july 2009. However from what i have seen it dosent bring the fans on any quicker

 

The consensus was it just added support for 9800 series cards.

@Darkwolf I have had a good run from 190.40 which I got from a Japanese(?) link from Batboys blog.

 

Dell are making me wait yet another week because they keep insisting that the 8800M is still being made.

Even when it was pointed out that there were several reports of it no longer being made, and customers getting upgraded to parts they have in stock, they didn't help at all.

This is stupid.

 

i`ve been waiting since september the 2nd they wont replace or refund me . I`ve been lied to on at least 3 occasions by the escalation department.
They even said it was my fault because i wouldn`t accept a system with 8700`s in it .

 

FWIW I would demand my warranty be extended for whatever period you are without a system. I did.

 

hey guys,
So I have XPS M1730 with 8800GTX SLI

I installed both XP and VISTA. And I changed the CPU from T7700 to X7900, overlock the CPU from 2.8GHz to 3.4 GHz, then I can hit 13795 marks on 3D mark 2006 on VISTA.
But, the problem is, no matter what NVDIA display drive I choose and used on the 8800GTX SLI, I can only hit approx 6000—7700 mark on XP. This is so weird. You see that even single 8800GTX should hit approx 10000marks.
I absolutely have no idea what is wrong with the performance of 8800GTX SLI in XP. Do you know why? You see that even single 8800GTX could be able to hit more than 7700 mark.
So, I am a ＦＰＳgamer, and most games like ARMA2 run more smoothly in XP rather than in VISTA. So I really want to use XP for games. And I really want to play ARMA2 well.

much thanks in advance!

 

The thing is, I appreciate stuff happens and sometimes they do have supply issues. I don't mind waiting as such, but I detest being lied to, and given non-answers, when I know others with the same problem are being helped. If Dell wanted, they could send a tech around with some 260Ms or something and fix it in a few days. They've got the parts in stock because they're shipping systems with them in.

I paid good money for the system like everyone else. I even extended the warranty by 2 years (at a very good price). You'd imagine they would do everything they can to help their premium customers, but they just don't seem to give a damn. I find that amazing; this isn't a budget system they sell at almost no profit either.

The sad thing is, I've had a few problems before and Dell did an excellent job of solving them. Faulty power supply? Replaced in about 10 hours from reporting it. Monitor defect? Replaced in a few days. I couldn't fault them before.

 

260m`s do not fit in a m1730

 

Hmm, must have misread earlier then. Doh.

Still terrible though.

 

Guys, I have to give you a fair word of warning. Escalation department are, to put it very bluntly, scummy in their tactics.

They will make you wait, and wait, and wait even more. Refer to the comments exchanged between myself and Stig regarding Manjunath Hossatti. The man was rude, persistant, and aggressive. His approach doesn't involve considering the customer's time or effort. I believe in our entire conversation, he has only said 'sorry' about once and then tried to insist that Dell have been 'cooperative' in how they're offering me other alternatives to a downgraded replacement.

What? Was he speaking of the refund? The refund that he said I am not entitled to because while I am the 'end user', I am not 'original purchaser'. Anyway, I overcame that bone-of-contention, and I gave them their 'consent letter' signed with company letterhead, from 'their customer'. The real deal, straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Now one-week-later, my case is still under 'consideration and review'. Frankly, I am surprised that with all those big-heads, it takes them so bloody long to read and comprehend a letter that is roughly two-hundred-words in length. What else is there to review? They asked for the letter, and they got the letter stating exactly what they wanted the letter to state in a very clear and concise manner. You have individual academics who can review the entire American constitution in lesser time.

I hate getting cultural about this, but if you tell a typical English person this story, they'll laugh and be quick to say, "Ah, the w*ankers are taking the p*ss!"

This example, is a key-note in the kind of tone and approach the escalation department take, in general. I am certain that some of them are nice, and some of them are actually polite and eager to help--my last rep. was quite an okay lady and had a pro-customer attitude, unfortunately, she couldn't overcome the massive hurdles the finance team kept throwing at her. This was clearly the kind of job better suited to a Company Cog like Hossatti, because whille all of them have their hands tied to the same dogma of figuratively spitting on the customer, only a few joyfully and passionately act out the spirit of this dogma.

I hate to say this, but Dell have screwed the European customers by outsourcing something as poignant as 'escalation department' to bloody U.A.E. and India.

 

As an American user myself I can assure you that I've only spoken with Dell representatives from India or the U.A.E., so it's not exactly exclusive to the Euros.

I myself have been toiling for weeks in the never-ending pitfalls of Dell customer service and these magical stock depleting cards that are compatible with the M1730. My desktop PC is on the other side of the country and I absolutely needed something functioning to be able to work while here on the East Coast so I had agreed to take a single 8700 GT in place of my 8800m GTX SLi. It's fine for normal goings on but gaming on it is almost as big of a nightmare as Dell's support.

Anyway, I too was given the super-date of Oct 15th, and called back today to be placed on hold about 3 times before being told that the 8800m GTX SLi IS back in stock and that they would be putting a dispatch out for 2-3 business days...

but wait, it can't be that easy, right?

Apparently Dell's dispatch creation tools are currently being upgraded so the polite yet somewhat nervous sounding girl on the phone took down my information and told me that she would place the dispatch in the system as soon as it was upgraded, HOPEFULLY BY TODAY.

I'm going to call back in a few hours after lunch to see if I get a different story. My guess is, the next person I talk to is going to break the awesome news that the card is back-ordered.

 

Kade.

Im just wondering if you've been to trading standards? I'm assuming you have, and what advice if any did they give you? (apart from the standard send a letter with proof of delivery)

Did you pay by credit card? or ebay - through paypal? - im pretty sure that both have some kinda responsibilty for the purchase and you could possibly go through there legal team.


Im annoyed for you.
Jim.

 

I think whats unfortuantly happening is Dell hasent come up with an offical procedure to rectify this problem. I see this happen at my call centre, there will be a problem to which no member of staff or manager will know how to deal with. So instead they have to blag it and hope for the best. This explains why some people are getting brand new machines, and others not.

In this case there is obviously an issue with the graphic card, however dell hasent come to a conclusion on how to best treat it and so everyone is having to wait. Not good, at this rate im sure a lawsuit is not far off

 

Jim,
I have indeed been there, and sought information both from their team and through my own research through their system.

My overall transaction was through two payments, one-part via paypal and the other part via cheque; the payment was made directly to the person who bought the machine. It was purchased by a company. I already acquired a letter straight from the person, and I could confirm these details because Dell shared the contact details from the original invoice.

Therefore, from the legal stand-point, they have no real counter argument about who the letter's from. What they can argue is that it should be worded a different way, which is also a bloody joke because the last paragraph of the letter states that I am fully entitled to all warranty claims, including refund if that is the preferred route to resolution.

They are simply doing what they do best: Wasting time and stalling the matter as much as possible. Unfortunate reality at hand, my friends.

The real odd bit is that there seems to be very little communication between the escalation department, and customer services over at this end. For example, I got an actual call from an Ireland representative. Now this was the real deal - an Irish rep. There was some confusion over my case, and certain unresolved documents regarding the collection as I returned the replacement system. Now it had been well over a month since the matter was resolved with escalation, and they were aware of the fact that the collections team was confused. They never gave these guys any notice, and then the rep. had to contact them and work out those details. Needless to say, she was just as baffled, and when she mentioned, "I have heard no update about your case. . . wasn't it still with escalations in India?" I was on the verge of a psychotic break.

Apparently, what happens on India's end, stays with India! Idiots.

Yes, I probably have legal-recourse given my circumstances. However, these kind of matters tend to get complicated if turned into a legal-debacle. True, there might be a solid pot of gold at the end of that rainbow, but damn I hate rainbows as they are, and that particular rainbow's -really- ugly.

Fact is that I might be close to a refund, and that they're simply doing their usual tid-bit with wasting time and being incoherent and incompitent. I'll just play it low for a while until the refund clears. After that fiasco is actually over, then I'll give more thought to giving them some 'post-resolution-grief'.

 

hmmm, im quite suprised trading standards didnt actually take the case up on your behalf :S

 

Actually, they did ask me if I wanted to pursue the matter. It would involve more paper-work and details.

You know, then they require letters from all parties, including another written consent from the original customer that I am taking this up legally against Dell and that they are 'okay' with my decision.

Like I said, it would be possible, but I'm just not sure--being this close to a refund--if this would be practical. Of course, once I am certain that they're not going to return me the money, then I'll probably take up this line of action.

 

Sorry to hear about your legal hoops, Kade. That's really just dastardly of them. As you put it, much of the loopholes in the Dell machine of customer-dealing-parameters have to do with how one representative interprets the wording on their little cue card or packet or whatever it is that they use. This would explain why how one person with an m1730 can get an m17x first and foremost on the get-go, and another person is offered a studio 16 and won't budge for the same computer. It largely depends on WHO you're talking to and how much data the company has on you written down in their 'notes'.

Unfortunately Dell has more notes on me than they probably do on any of you, combined. I've been dealing with Dell for so long now, I can't remember. But, it started with my old Inspiron e1705, and it took forever then to get things moving. Now that I'm up to an m1730, and have had a burnt out 8800's for a while now, Dell has me blacklisted so I simply cannot contact or be contacted by anyone except the one or two people dealing with my case (one from Escalations - my friends! and one from Corporate - HELL ON EARTH). The guy from Corporate spouts legal jargon like OJ's lawyer everytime I talk to him. He won't budge at all, and the last time I talked to him, I told him He wasn't allowed to call me or contact me directly in any way ever again. He said fine. However, at the same time I had a guy from Escalations who's quite nice - not cold and heartless like those Corporate guys are. This guy in Corporate, he put it into my notes that no one's allowed to bother with my case until he puts a lid on it, because JUST last week Friday I filled out an Unresolved Issues complaint on the Dell website, and received an auto-response saying that I'd get contacted by Tuesday at the latest of this week. No one called. This is going to ESCALATIONS! See a pattern here? No one calls me back now. Whereas before, if I had a complaint either over the phone (even hung up on a few people in a fury) or in writing (chat or email), someone called me back within TWO HOURS. That was service, albeit convoluted. I have a guy in Escalations on my case! No one called, until today, and my Escalations guy left a message saying finally he wants to talk about a replacement computer for me, since the 8800's are in fact, now there. So, that marks three times the cards ETA has been pushed back. The 15th (today) those cards are not there again, so now is the time to complain if you have any and jump on the 'replacement bus' if you've not tried already.

I am currently waiting to hear back from him as I left a message on his voicemail box.

 

Damn, Hankaroon. That is one tree of woe right there; you might be getting somewhere, so I won't entirely rule out your case as a tragedy.

I'm personally not interested in a replacement unit so much as a refund at this point. This is why I didn't pursue the matter further, which I could have. Given the nature and girth of the other crap going on in my life, I'd have to have real good reason to take the time to pursue the matter, legally. Naturally, I am giving this refund scenario a chance to work out, and until I haven't exhausted this avenue, I think it's best to stay on this track.

 

From what I've heard and read, which seems like an endless amount of stories at this point Kade, the way to get to a refund is to refuse all of Dell's replacement offers.

 

I already have the offer, Hankaroon. What's held up the offer is the so-called 'requirements' that have to be met for the refund to go to my account. They wanted a consent letter from the company that paid for the machine. Now they have that letter, but they're taking their time 'reviewing' the letter because common courtesy is a sin in their books. It's going to happen now, only a matter of time. . . which they'll take.

 

Hi everyone.

So dell is replacing my M1730 with an ALienware M17x (UK)

Specs for some reason he sent through as a jpeg, but he's offering me a T9600 (2.8ghz), 4gb Ram, 160gb HD, SINGLE radeon 4870 (or Nvidia single 260), 1900 screen, etc. He says that comes out to 1850£ which is what i paid for my m1730, and he can only match by price. He said i can pay the difference to upgrade any individual components and thats the best he can do.

To be honest.. i dont really care and I just want a new machine. I'm thinking of opting to pay an extra 250£ to get another radeon in there.

I was wondering.

A.) Do you think this is an OK Deal (keep in mind this is Dell UK - i feel that i'm lucky to be getting an upgrade anyway)

B.) should i go Nvidia 260 GTX SLI or Radeon 4870 SLi (Same Price.)

thanks

EDIT: My DELL SYSTEM SPEC states 2.5 GHZ core 2 duo... I installed a X9000 ES On my own.
EDIT2: whatever HD solution is in there i dont care about, because i'm replacing with my SSD/500gb combo so i went for the minimum to get the processor bump

 

Hello,
I have a problem with my m1730. I used to connect my m1730 with my projector 1080p which has HDMI input , via a DVI to HDMI adaptor. Worked always perfectly but now for an uknown reason the m1730 dont recognise anymore the connected cable. for example I press the FN+ F8 as I always used it to switch the output to external and I get the message 'No external display attached'. Tried to format my laptop, installed all again but the problem still remains. I also tried to connect a dvi to VGA adapter and it sends picture fine. So the problem is only the digital output not the analog.I tried also to reflash with the latest bios A10 but still no luck. Anyone know what happened? anyone that had the same problem?? If i reflash my dual video cards with NiBiTor (with another bios from 9800GT SLI) do I have any chance to make it work again?
thanks and sorry for my bad english, Im from Greece