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

Cheers for the efforts, Magnus. I need to ask you a couple of questions.

Firstly, what kind of frame rates were you getting with Splinter Cell Conviction running maxed-out under single GPU?

Secondly, what driver did you try to implement SLi profile under?

Thanks again.

 

I logged a call about my CPU running to hot and BSOD a lot they are replacing all of these parts but i am hesitant about Motherboard being replace again.
F513C PRINTED WIRING ASSY..., PLANAR (MOTHERBOARD)..., ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MFGR...., NOTEBOOK..., M1730 1
K650M CARD (CIRCUIT)..., GRAPHICS..., NVIDIA..., NB9E, GTX 1
MN461 HEATSINK..., CENTRAL PROCESSOR UNIT..., NOTEBOOK..., M1730 1
WW425 FAN..., 88X83X17, 12V, CENTRAL PROCESSOR UNIT..., M1730 1
UP755 PAD..., COOLING..., POWERSTRATE EXTREME..., 18X18X0.2, CENTRAL PROCESSOR UNIT..., PORTABLE... 1
CX329 HEATSINK..., PPU, NOTEBOOK..., M1730 1
which is the newer motherboard revision i currently have PART Y012C and it isn't faulty its the CPU grrr. What do you guys recommend?

 

I had to turn off soft shadows to get the game to run on a single 8800m GTX. Seems like the game is really badly optimized from looking at other threads on the net. So I can´t run the game fully maxed out.

 

Thanks for your efforts mate do you have a HEX value for that?

Cheers

 

I've been doing the overclock cheat for the fans and it was working great for months. For the past month or so though, I've been getting random crashed, maybe once a week, sometimes twice a week, and after the laptop reboots, the fans are idle. It usually takes like 30 or so minutes, then I hear them churning slowly so I reboot and everything is fine again. At the moment, they're still off and my GPU is running pretty hot for web browsing...

I also noticed whenever this happens, even simple tasks like an instant message seem to choke up for a few seconds. Anyone heard about a similar issue or know of a cause/fix?

 

Uh, get new fans. Try to find the part # ASAP or get Dell to send you new cards and swipe the fans off those. Or buy 8700M GTs off eBay or something and take those fans.

Is the CPU fan still turning?

 

This sounds strange but try running the laptop without the battery ....

Just because I know the fans dont run at full speed when on battery - so your battery could be buggered, worth a shot, albeit a long one

 

check you cpu clock speed with everest

 

Did you tell them that you were getting BSOD while CPU was overclocked? I have problems running my CPU stable when OCed as well. Called Dell about the problem, but they said that this is not covered by the warranty as long as CPU works fine at stock speeds. May be I should give them another call about that.

 

I told them it was running hot 80c and BSODing didn't mention overclocking lol probably why they are replacing cooling parts. I will accept replacement parts except the motherboard and see how i go. Otherwise it on the phone to dell again. i did ask for an upgraded cpu to x9000 as they run cooler but they don't have any and they also said you can't buy it either Ready for my upgrade m17x DELL

 

Really? They said they don't have any X9000, but they do have X7900 that were discontinued ages ago?! Sounds like a lot of BS to me. Yeah, try asking the tech that will be working on your system not to replace motherboard. Shouldn't be that big of a problem I think.

 

Yeah i kinda know my tech now as he always says see you soon lol knowing that the m1730 will die again! it will save him time not replacing motherboard! When i rang I first of asked dell for a replacement computer and they said no! i have had 6 service call outs so far! How many has everyone else had?

 

Sorry to hear you're going through the same problems that many M1730 owners have tolerated. You're not alone, friend. Your story sounds almost a bad as mine was. Two mobos, two machines, multiple GPU, two hard drives, two batteries and two AC adapters in two years for me. My warranty is valid until August 2010 as well. The XPS M1730 is a piece of trash.

Hopefully, your video cards with fry or crap out and they will replace your system with an Alienware M17X R2 like they have done for me and many others. It's a much better machine. It has some weird bugs with the power adapter, too.

Seems we have a lot in common. I travel extensively for work as well. I had to place onsite service on hold more than once due to travel. It's all very frustrating, especially considering the ridiculous price we paid for the pile of junk.

 

I was on my 12th service call in slightly less than 2 years (and my second machine) before Dell finally caved in an gave me an "All Powerful" M17X R2. Hang in there.

I had the Complete Care warranty for 4 years. One of the hooks on the display lid latch broke off. I called to have it replaced. They sent a bezel with the tech instead of the latch and that service call was when they gave me the upgrade. I don't know if that part was no longer serviced, or if the Dell Support Rep looked at my case history and make the smart decision to put me into the Alienware machine or what.

 

Two questions guys:

1- Is it normal that if I look at the M1730 screen with a white colour in all the screen, white colour does not look completely uniform? I mean that 3 centimeters next to the screen limits white is not as bright as in the middle of the screen. My computer is under warranty, but I do not know if this is normal.

2- Can you tell me what are you GPUs temperatures in Celsius, with the computer not overclocked, and with the computer over the table (without lifting it some inches). I am specially interested in temperatures playing crysis or with furmark, to compare with mines.

Thanks a lot!!

 

what I think happens is that over time the cooling degrades on the GPU's, mine gradually got hotter and hotter over time, they eventually started to cause BSOD's while just using none game stuff, temps where well into the 80's, idle over 70c, when they replaced the GPU's everything went down 25c, idle in the 40's and gaming in the mid 70's, I think the thermal paste breaks down over time as cleaning fans etc made no difference, my friends went the same way, reliability is becoming an issue for me now as I travel a lot and I'm now having to wait 2 months with a faulty machine to get it sorted, I'm going to push them hard when I get back, it's not good enough.

 

how reliable are the M17X R2 machines, are they any better, I like the M1730 but it just has too many issues for me, plus what happens when the warranty runs out ????

 

Ive got a refurb system with no warranty at all..i would like to exchange it for an m17x r2 but i cant...even if i make a new warranty deal my system isnt giving me problems and its running beatifully.
I guess its a matter of luck: i have a spare 9800m gt and a t9300 around in case both x9000 and 9800m gtx will phail.
Mobo and gpu were new revisions when my xps arrived,guess is what refurb from certified dell partner means.

Anyway ive installed drivers 263.00 with modded inf and yesterday i tried a few games with them,still this laptop never cease to amaze me on how well it performs.
Cranked out to max nfs:hot pursuit with sli AA 8x and its beatiful.
Then tried the new mafia 2 dlc but using newer drivers i tried sli AA+transparency supersampling AA (4x+4xss) and it runs maxed out from 35 to 60fps.
Last test was NFS shift,maxed out with 4xAA: from 40 to 85 fps (!!!).
I mean i cant ask more,really.

 

Change the thermal paste on your CPU and GPUs, I did that the day I got them. Put in some Arctic Silver 5. This stuff should be good for a long time.

 

I agree.As long as you apply thermal paste by yourself in the time you'll be ok with it. My 9800m gtx oced idles from 45-50 and goes up to 73-75 in gaming,and we're talking about clocks like 600-1500-900.
Nevet bothered to test it in normal conditions,probably the temp will be less hotter at default clocks.
Pushing the card with furmark at default settings reaches 80's.
So far so good. My ES x9000 can reach 82c in full load, and consider im running this power hungry at 3,8ghz with v1,475,very high voltage compared to OEMs at same speed. Running it at 3,6 needs v1,3650,which leads to 65c in full load.
And thats undervolted,because @ 3,4ghz in bios th default voltage is v1,4350.

 

This temperature is without overclocking processor? And with the computer over a table (without lifting it?)
If you get 80º Celsius without overclocking processor, my cards are bad and I will call Dell to replace them. I get less than 80º if I overclock processor and fans are at full blast... but cannot pass Furmark with everything at default.

 

But can you tell me what is your temperature with the computer not overclocked at all, passig furmark or playing crysis?
If I overclock processor fans are everytime at full speed and I get good temperatures, but what I wnat to know is the temperatures without overclocking and without lifting the computer (I think that noise with computer overclocked is not admisible for web browsing, working or listening music)

Thanks a lot

 

Yo,
By default settings i mean furmarks, so that means that my gpu is overclocked at the clocks posted above.
Also,note that im using a laptop cooler, zalman nc-2000. You cant have a gaming laptop with such power without having a cooler.
Lifting the laptop is sometime a placebo effect - at least based on my tests theres no drop in temperatures by lifting it.
Also,my cpu is always overclocked 24/7 at 3,8ghz,so that means that fans are running at full bore everytime.
With no oc on both cpu and gpu (so that means 2,8ghz and 500-1250-800) max cpu temp is around 70c,while gpu can reach 82c in furmark.
In short words - get a cooler,oc the cpu thru bios for fans always on and youre done,but before this you better reapply the thermal paste.
Hope it helps.

 

Just an FYI to those people who would rather your beast runs long and cool if you have the X9000 you can easily run the CPU at 3.0 Ghz and 1.150 voltage giving you max CPU temps of around 60 degrees. Also this gives you a little more headroom for overclocking the graphics as the whole system is that much cooler, i only use 585 1500 885 on graphics as I don't have warranty and want the beast to last....

I am currently in a campervan traveling around the east coast of Australia so these temps are with room temps of 30c plus....

When I get back to the UK ....brrrrr cold!..... It shud go down even further

 

ok have had my machine fixed again! they replaced motherboard, graphics cards k650m, cooling parts and guess what! the graphic cards one fan is faulty! idles at 70c and still getting BSOD. phoned dell back to ask if i could talk to a manager to resolve this issue and hopefully get a replacement. the person i spoke to was nice but said there were no managers and they hadn't heard of any problems with this model yeah right! anyway they are now replacing the graphics card again and upgrading cpu to x9000. they really don't want to replace computer lol
how the hell can i get this machine replaced i use for work web design and so sick of it playing up!!! i wish i didn't buy it

 

.....nice little X9000 upgrade though - I love the beast , its just a shame some people seem to have such rotten luck with it (I know the design is flawed) I have just never had a problem....

 

But at 3,0Ghz, you do not get the full fan speed, you get it choosing 3,2 or 3,4 in the BIOS. How do you get those temperatures?

 

Howdy! You set 3.2 in the bios for full speed fans. Then you use Throttlestop to set you CPU to 3.0 Ghz with a 1.1375 voltage (i have just found out that this is stable !! , even lower than before)

this now gives me a max CPU temp of 60c ....in Australia.....in the summer..

Crazy good!

 

I've never had a problem either. None at all. People here are the vocal minority. And folks that buy laptops like this tend to be more active on forums, etc in the first place.

 

would have to agree with your comment i do really love this machine. i have just had bad luck getting bad replacement parts. I am currently my m1730 and graphics cards are at 75C lol beacause only one fan working. hopefully i will get my 5th graphics card & x9000 soon! on a side note they must have a heap of 9800gtx sli cards in as i only waited 2 days to get replacement of 9800 twice and they look new! fingers crossed i don't get more faulty parts

 

Hehe good to hear mate, I'm sure things will start to go smoothly. Also if you guys are on Steam at all, add me I need more people to play bad company 2 and other games with

Marcusscalius (steam ID)

 

hey mrmarkwalker will add you soon as laptop going properly again need to buy some games though lol

 

There is a steam sale on at the moment - I play BC2 and modern warfare 2. My favorite game as you can tell from the Sig is a game called Mount and Blade Warband, crap graphics , terrible animation, great gameplay...

 

dell here putting in x9000 & new 9800gtx cards! hopefully this fixes it for a couple of months!
and maybe i can get a 18009 3dmark 06 score hikoo

alright i have had enough my laptop is plugged in to the power and running @3ghz GPUs @C=600M=900S=1500 just run 3dmark06 got just into the second cpu test (4th test) and laptop just turns off with no warning or BSOD. the only light left on is the battery light. anyone else experienced this? with try with it @ 3.4ghz have i had more bad luck!

 

Are you using throttlestop ?? What voltages are you running? I would calculate the cost Dell have wasted on your case and phone them and say "look you have spent $9000 on parts and labor so far, it's not working, send me a new laptop"

 

so far this run it hasn't happened but it probably because its running with 3.4(fans full) & throttlestop @ 3.6 1.3125v 3DMARK06 just gave a score of 14476 GPUs@stock
Might play around with it a bit first but when a laptop just turns off no warning it means overheating or dodgy power hmmmm not sure what to do as i love this machine

second run BSOD but possibly because of throttlestop will test it more later tonight

 

X9000 stable volts for me...

3.0 - 1.150

3.2 - 1.200

3.4 - 1.250

3.6 - 1.300

If it suddenly cuts out totally then it could be power, what's your CPU idling at?? 38-40c right?

 

awesome dude thx was just wondering about the voltages everyone else uses.
mine is currently @ 3.4 1.250v idling 34c 9800gtx cards 42c with bios set to OC 3.4 (fans full). just tried running 4ghz 20x multi and got a worse cpu score in 3dmark06. what voltages should i use @ 3.8 & 4 for benchmarks? so far no power issues again but may ring dell just in case

 

Is that "normal use, moderate gaming" stable, or "Prime95 for an hour" stable?

 

My results:

X9000 @ 3,8ghz v1,4750 (its not oem,hence the high voltage)
9800m gtx @ 600/1500/900
Win7 x64 fully updated
Nvidia 263.00
Sli enabled

3dmark06 @ default settings: 15259 points

Ive seen peoples hitting 18k,but with x9000 @ 4ghz and oldest drivers set.
Keep in mind that running the cpu @ 4ghz is a matter of luck. Not all the oems can reach those speeds and if they do they arent stable,only in 3dmark06.
In gaming on the other hand things are different, usually gpu oc/cpu oc stable in 3dmark06 arent able to keep up in gaming.
Its good to have an high score in 3dmark06 but not using these settings in daily 24/7 sux
As for reference, my desktop scores 18,980pts and it features an e8500@4,25ghz (air) with a gtx260 sp216 @ 670/1454/1250.

 

They are my heavy gaming volts. No bsods or errors of any kind gaming on bad company 2 and metro 2033 which both hammer the CPU at 100%

 

Mine is running at 3.8GHz and a voltage of 1.3625 and with clock modulation and chipset modulation ticked in Throttlestop.

 

So you think that now Dell is replacing 9800M GT allways with 9800M GTX?
Anyone in Europe (Spain), that have received a 9800M GTX instead of 9800M GT?

Are 9800M GTX colder and more reliable than 9800M GT? or temperatures are about the same?

 

They should be about the same, not much of a real difference, except for added shaders and a bit different clocks.

I'm still waiting to hear back from Dell about my GPU mix-up

 

Yes and the other good thing about the 9800m GTX is that they have 1GB of video memory instead of 512. So texture heavy games should run better on the 9800m GTX than the 8800m GTX.

 

and added memory right 9800gt 512mb vs 9800gtx 1gb. i have had 3x 9800gtx cards replaced in the space on 2 weeks one with faulty fans and the other replaced when cpu was replaced lol i am wondering if they are replacing most problem m1730 with upgraded parts to save replacing computer? i am ringing dell head office today to see what they can do about my m1730 as it just shutting down after 30-45mins of gaming no BSOD and i don't want it repaired for the 7th time.

When working correctly the combo of 9800gtx sli & x9000 Cpu this machine is awesome!!! and i must admit they have been good in upgrading parts just wish i wasn't getting dodgy refurbished parts

 

I thought you said it hadn't shut down again mate??

 

Vocal minority? I have to say that this is a rather bold claim. The M1730 Owner's Lounge was overflowing with so many members just two-years-ago, and now most of them have already had their R1s replaced with the M17X R2. As far as this forum goes, more M1730 owners have had problems than those that have not, meaning within this microcosm, we're not the minority.

Secondly, your closing line about folks with such laptops being more active on forums could also support the idea that majority of M1730 owners have experienced such problems.

To put it simply: I think those with a functioning, flawless M1730 are the ones who're the minority. Exceptional cases like Eleron and Magnus; older members with machines that never gave any trouble, and now it is quite a shame to read that even Eleron's experienced his first--I believe--GPU problem. Speaking of which. . .

Well, I did a whole review many pages back on this subject of 9800m GTX vs the 8800m GTX (9800m GT). They're about the same, but the whole 1GB of VRAM actually makes the 9800m GTX really win out in texture heavy applications. (Ref. Much higher performance in games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky; Crysis Very High under DX10; Metro 2033 at Very High).

Did they even acknowledge your report to escalations?

 

I am curious what sound drivers people are using for Windows 7 x64. I have been using the last updated sound drivers on the dell site but I have been getting a few sound related crashes when I screw around with sound input jacks (like switching from mike to line in).

Also would anyone know if there is some kind of work around to upgrade the bios without a working battery? I can't bring myself to spend 150 on a dell battery for laptop that really has never been far from an AC adapter. I would like to update though

 

I am just using the sound drivers that are built into Win7 x64 and so far I haven't had any issues on my M1730.