Dell XPS M1730 Owner's Lounge, Take 2

If anyone wants them here's them all in a shiny .rar. Apart from the Gray tribal, that one wouldn't work for some reason. Yes, I am bored. =-P

DOWNLOAD

 

Quick update regarding booting with external hard drives:

I've reformatted the second external hard drive to set it to logical.

So then tried a scheduled boot from the BIOS.

Initially didn't work, the hard drives were not spinning. Then tried it again with the hard drives spinning and it worked. I'm surprised this seems to make a difference. Then tried just connecting the two ext HD's and no other USB's and it worked.

There seems to be a lot of variables in this problem. The most annoying one is that I can't control weather the ext HD's are spinning. Seems to be a preset time or something.

I'll try a few other things and we'll see what results I can get.

 

I have some final results. I feel better about these.
All activated and at max. The outdoor scenes I did at 1920x1080. I hope this will help you with your quest.

 

I had another BSOD while streaming wirelessly and running utorrent (not even downloading - just seeding!). Dump file pointed to the same wireless driver.

I tried it again w/a network cable plugged in and the wireless card active (apparently, Vista can combine both?). No BSOD after 1 hour 30 min.

I'm going to mess w/it later on tonight/tomorrow - first step will be to remove the old wireless driver and install a new one and try again. If that doesn't work, I'll try some older versions until it works.

I'm still thinking this has something to do w/updating to SP2.

 

These benchmarks seem low what would you guys say i should disable to get better scores mark06 9280 vantage 6560.

 

I get my scores and even still run Vista Aero Glass.

 

Which card is giving the problem. I am running SP2 without issue. Granted I have a freshly installed Vista Ultimate with all the recommended BatBoy drivers listed on his page. Kudo's BatBoy.

 

Dell 4965AGN

The problem has only happened when using utorrent and streaming a video file to my ps3 via wireless.

 

Well as you know I have the same thing. Thankfully I do not use or need utorrent. Keep us updated on your progress.

 

Thanks man! And sorry for contributing to the opening and closing of your machine so often. I hope the keyboard's working fine now.

Well, this proves me wrong in a whole way. It also makes me wonder just what in the blinding hell is wrong with my GPU settings that I get such terrible performance with nvidia physics and better performance boosts--which don't last that long, actually--using Ageia.

 

Zath, not sure if you are using it but be sure you are using the current driver for the Intel 4965 wireless card.

v12.4.0.21, Last Updated: 04/09/2009

Grab it here:

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=2753

 

12.2.0.11 from 11/17/2008.

Thanks for the link - saves me some time!

The driver I'm using is not what's posted on Dell's driver site. IIRC, Windows Update updated the driver some time ago. I'll get right on this!

 

hello everyone,
I just purchased my Dell XPS M1730

Specs:
Windows Vista Ultimate x64 - Reformatted from the Dell Factory restore the previous owner did with a fresh install.
Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900 @ 2.8GHz
4GB DDR2 667Mhz
200 GB HDD
8800 GTX SLi

For some reason I'm not able to get the Bluetooth going, i adjusted the options for the switch in the BIOS according to another response in this thread and reboot/flicked the switch but the Bluetooth light isn't coming on (I don't see it in Device Manager) does this mean I would need the HW?

I was also thinking about upgrading Processor in the future, can I go QX? I was searching about on eBay and saw someone selling an X9000 because they had upgraded to QX9300... Not sure how valid that is

Would it even be worth it to upgrade to 9800GTX SLi in the future? Lastly, is it possible to go 280M GTX SLi?

Thanks!

 

Congratz on your new beast, and welcome to NBR

Are you sure you have a bluetooth chip?

An X9000 2.8ghz is as high as you can go, this MB doesn't support quads or montevina.

9800GTX = Not worth it,
280m = No

 

Thanks for the welcome and quick response. I'm unsure of that, It's not listed in the specs the person gave me (so I can assume, no).

I'm looking at your post here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=385427 and wonder if you can point it out in one of the steps?

 

If you don't have a bluetooth module already installed in the M1730, another approach would be to just buy a cheap usb~bluetooth adapater.

Here are some Bluetooth USB Adapters

But I've circled the bluetooth module in green in the pictures below

 

Welcome aboard Outlaw...

See this link to verify you have a bluetooth adapter:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsm1730/en/sm/btooth.htm#wp1179885

Also, You may want to take a moment and grab this manual (its the same one Service Techs use to study for their certs):
http://dcse.dell.com/ifr/Portables/XPS_M1730.zip

 

I ran a search but couldn't find anything on this...

has anyone swapped their keyboard for a black one?
http://www.amazon.com/Laptop-Keyboa...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1245993605&sr=1-23

I'm curious about the quality and if it's backlit. I was thinking about getting the black board and making the letters blue to match the rest of the lighting on my m1730.

 

As I noted in another forum post, the default keyboard at least doesn't have any changeable backlights. I ripped the keyboard apart, couldn't find any lights =-P It seems to be some sort of plastic that glows when a charge is put through it from what I could see. I wanted to mod the lights myself, but alas, to no avail =-(

 

The laptop model labels over there at Amazon are wrong.

That black keyboard is from the Vostro 1700, aka black version of the Inspiron 1720 model. These 2 17" laptops have the same and exact keyboard structure with the M1730 you will have absolutely no problems switching over and using a Vostro 1700/ Inspiron 1720 keyboard onto an M1730; and you can fit the M1730's keyboard onto Vostro 1700 and 1720 vice versa and all the keys will work with it. Tried, and tested on my own machines. (See sig)

However there is a catch; The Vostro 1700/Inspiron 1720 keyboards have no backlighting LED features and lacks a power cable to do so like the M1730 has. This is the only difference between them.

 

I installed Vista 64 new from scratch about 4 weeks ago. A few days ago I reinstalled the PhysX and the 185.85 drivers.
Maybe a fresh system will help?

The Ageia card is for sure no use for me right at the moment. I've to decide if I'll remove it again this weekend.

Than again I still have my keyboard issue. Right now it's working properly. It's just when I want to put it back in every time, I've to twist and shove it till I get my num pad working again. I've to test this with the system turned on.(!) It looks like it doesn't slide in well in the connector. Maybe a faulty constructed palm rest?

I've 3 years warranty left. So if I get really tired of it (every time I'm opening and closing this beast ) I'll let Dell replace the keyboard and palm rest.

 

wow! this forum is great and very helpful. thanks for all the insight and help. it is much appreciated.

I'm updating to Windows 7 RC, now

 

This was posted on Cheapassgamer. Apparently, you can preorder Windows 7 upgrade for half off via Amazon.com or Best Buy.

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=228606

Direct links:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002DHGM50/ref=nosim/cheapassgam08-20

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002DHLUWK/ref=nosim/cheapassgam08-20

 

Nice find. Shame it doesn't apply to Windows 7 Ultimate =-( And what exactly is Windows 7 Professional - new name for Business Edition?

 

No clue. There's a rather large thread on Cheapassgamer that has some info in it. I guess Professional has a virtual machine emulator and pro gives you an xp install for it...

 

8 gigs or ram, some SSD RAID0 and 64bit Windows 7 would make for a nice upgrade.

 

So I updated to the latest driver and same problem - bsod. Though it did take a little longer!

I'm going to try using the one on Dell's site.

It seems to not happen if I have it plugged in, so I think whenever I plan to stream media to the ps3, I'll just plug it in. Not too much of a hassle, but whatever.

 

Thanks guys! I'll hold off then and try to figure out how to mod the stock keyboard. Maybe pick up an extra on ebay to toy with. I figure painting the bottom of the keys are applying a blue film might give it the coloring I'm going for. If not then I'll have a back up in case anything happens to mine

 

Keep me posted buddy, I'd love to get mine modded too =-)

 

Hey, has anyone gotten their bluetooth to work in win7 64 bit? I downloaded some driver a while back and it told me to turn it on, (which it is, that's how my wifi is on also) and won't install otherwise. That fn+f2 doesn't work either since I don't think it's built into the keyboard to work that way. Any other suggestions?

 

My bluetooth works, slightly. After I boot up about 2/3 minutes in it'll pop up an error "Bluetooth Error: Could not start bluetooth stack" or something similar. I can still bluetooth if I set my bluetooth to get ready to receive a file, but it won't accept it if it hasn't been prepared which is weird.

 

Since i have my lappy, back a year ago, i have had problems with throttling. No matter if i overclocked or not, there was that gpu throttling. vey weird because this happened every time at random temperatures. I tried lots of things like undervolting. But when really nothing helped, i decided to disable throttling with nibitor. It was more than a year ago since I used nibitor but i was able with no problems to disable throttling by setting the trottling speeds equal to the 3d speeds and the voltages equal to the 3d ones. I also wanted to set the throttling temperature higher but everything was greyed out . So I succesfully flashed the new bios with nvflash. Haven't done any test or played a game so far but i hope the problem is finnaly solved...
Are there other people who also had throttling problems? And will this completely solve the problem since i wasn't able to adjust the throttling temps...

 

Not so sure if you're referring to this but all I did was to disable powermizer and there isn't any more throttling and downclocking on speeds regardless on battery mode or idling. Now my cards run at full stock speeds every time. It was downclocking every time when I do my 3D Max or AutoCAD or sketchUp modeling, and my temps are just at a mere 45*C. I disabled it and it was all fixed, its performance was smooth as anything else. My temps run at 51*C stock.

 

chester2848, what version of the Nvidia driver do you have?

If you have 186 or later, NV enabled dynamic underclocking when 8800m GTXs are in sli mode. When you play a game, the cards ought to get back to full speed.

You ought to try GPUz:

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

It shows the clock of your card, in the sensors tab. However, if after running a game, and the GPU still does not clock to 500/1250/900, you might want to clean the drivers, and reinstall.

 

I'd like to know how this works with online games in browsers. Especially those that use GPU acceleration. Does it upclock or stay throttled?

 

For me, in windows and firefox, it downclocks to 200/100 mainly. Sometimes, it goes up to 275/301. But in games, it goes up to 500/799.

 

Thx for the replies. Yes, i disable powermizer every time i installed a new driver. That didn't help. Last driver I tested was 185.85. That was by the way the badest driver ever. Red Alert 3 was downclocking every 10 minutes. And throttling with 80 % of the games. So 186.03 would be a better driver? I going to test the driver this evening.

 

I don't use my laptop on battery much, however on AC I found that 185.85 was one of the best drivers I've used for stability, speed and heat

 

Hi guys,

I have just been on the phone to dell and they are sending me a new screen lid (including the wings) as it was cracked when an engineer last called.

Is it an easy job to replace this part?

I've had a look at the manual for removing the lid from the screen but it's not very clear to me.

Can anybody advise me on how to do this without damaging the screen.


Many thanks.

 

Maybe I can solve the problem if I disable Intel C2E on the x9000. (bdw the 17.0x multiplier is undervolted to a stable 1.3750V.)

edit: My GPU2 downclocks while gaming to 200/100/400. Normal?

 

Yea, this happens with single GPU games. The second card just idles.

 

Hmm I see... Alright, what kind of temperatures are you getting with your 8800s while you're gaming and idling?

 

Only advice I can offer is - Be Very CAREFUL. You can easily crack the plastic housing which snaps over the LCD.

Personally, if it were me, I would have Dell send a tech - let him do it.

 

Yep, I would have them send a tech too. However if they have asked you to replace it yourself and you do break it it's their responsibility, not yours. They should have sent out a teach, if you break it then it's their responsibility to get it sorted.

 

However if they have asked you to replace it yourself and you do break it it's their responsibility, not yours. They should have sent out a teach, if you break it then it's their responsibility to get it sorted.



What?? Have you ever talked to Dell? They almost always opt to send a tech to do it because that way if something goes awry, it's on them. If you screw it up - that's not covered under normal warranty.

 

The engineers themselves told me it's Dells fault if they ask you to do something and something goes wrong. Once before I was asked to take out my RAM and I couldn't get it seated properly, and they said they would send out an engineer the next day to fix it because they had asked me to do it. It's only your fault if you do it yourself when they haven't asked you - if they have told you to change that part then they assume you know how to - not your fault if you don't.

 

Most important: Take your time and never force things.
Also study your new screen lid. This way you can find out how your old one is possibly mounted. It always works for me this way.
Good luck.

 

Does anyone know how to get nhancer to auto-load when windows starts so I don't have to double-click the icon in the taskbar and wait for the loading bar to load before I play my games? This is really annoying.

 

54°C idle and 90°C - 100°C while gaming.

 

It starts a service so its doing everything it needs to do all the time

EDIT: Also if you really want to there's an option inside the program to start it with windows with out a splash screen.