Dell XPS M1730 Owner's Lounge, Take 2

Cheers, Eleron, Yeah this is the DVD retail version too. I still need Steam to decode and activate though.

Do you remember what drivers or roughly how long ago it was?
Did you play Sli and high settings?

 

Hey Slammin- try disabling SLI and setting the game 3D settings in the nvidia cp to SINGLE DISPLAY not the default of Multiple Display

SLI is probably killing it. I had an issue as well. Older Source games tend to choke on SLI. For example, L4D is ok for me but TF2 glitches a bit - so I set the TF2 profile to use Single Mode instead of SLI.

 

I was able to play a bit at very low res and windowed with Sli disabled . I'm just altering the single display setting as I type. So I'll give that a run soon.

Cheers.

EDIT : OK NOW I"M SERIOUSLY STRESSING : ( ... I just ran some tests on 3dMark, non sli @9500marks and in Sli failed and crashed at the CPU Test 1.

 

Hay all first time poster here, but have been reading this forum since the original. Such a great source of information!!! I am thinking about picking up one of the XPS backpacks on ebay and wanted your alls opinion. The one I am looking at is a lot cheaper than the one on dells site and I just wanted to know if it was the same thing, im new to using ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Genuine-Xps-M1730-Gaming-Backpack-NEW-NEW-NEW_W0QQitemZ260452069783QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ca4273197&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Also BatBoy, and all the others that are going through dell hell, I know your pain, I went through it my self and and it sux! But it all will pay off, I hope.

 

I wonder if that is a 5 finger EPP discount...

 

Righto just got off the phone from Dell.

They will send a techy around ASAP to replace the GPU's. On the phone he offered 9800GT which I refused as it is just an 8800GT.

After some persuasion he agreed that he would be sending 9800GTX. Now here is where I think it gets strange. i asked him to confirm this via email and in the email it has "CRD,GRPHC,NVIDIA,G92,9800M-GT2 F979M".

I have searched for 9800GT2 but all I get is 9800GT. I'm betting it's just a 9800gt right.

Can anyone confirm this so I can email him back "Aaaaah no! The GTX Dude!"

 

I believe it is the 9800GT, but wait for someone else to confirm.


BTW, has anyone had their 9800's go out yet?

 

9800m GT = 8800m GTX, same specs

 

Slammin - there is little info on the Dell 9800M GTX. So few have it. From what I can find the part# F979M is just a straight 9800M GT. No other info - sorry.

When I speak with the Department Manager I'm dealing with on my system tomorrow I'll hit him up for a quick confirmation on that part.

 

Yea, looks like a 9800M GT:
http://www.xoticpc.com/integrated-dedicated-video-turbo-cache-explained-a-6.html

 

I know, but you never know man. Maybe the 9800gt's were just built a tiny bit better. I just have not seen anyone post of their 9800gt's going out. It may be too early as I have no idea when the 9800gt's were released. I am going to guess this is the reason, but it gives me hope that my laptop will make it through without any issues.

 

I'm guessing it's the same thing too ; GT2 & GT.

I remembered the performance though is more 8800m GT.

NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT 14869
NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX 14952
NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTX SLI 16101

Cut and pasted from Notebookchecknet in 3dMark 05

In 3dMark 06 it performs lower as well -20marks . Now I realise that's only a poomfteenth but it is lower so I'm entitled the same or better. Waddya reckon?

If the GTX is unavailable (though Hikkoo here in OZ was able to get it) what is the next up from the 9800GTX?

 

from the 9800M GTX? Nothing.

 

Hey guys,

I'm selling my spare XPS m1730 power supply as I no longer own the laptop. If any of you were looking to save about 60 dollars (as it is 120 on dell.com) check out my ebay page for it!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190324209372

if you have any questions, ask me on ebay so its official (and I dont check these forums very often).

 

Sheeeesh! LOL I think I'll just continue to push hard for the GTX's and see how it goes.

On a side note how do peeps here who have gone 8800gtx to 9800gt found the difference - is it noticable? How have your benchmarks compared on the same machine pre and post changeover?

 

It was you and your club of 1 I was thinking of when I was on hold LOL. Can you save me a trip to Whirlpool and remind me of how you pulled it off?

BTW Nup, no mention of any extra cost. I think he was pulling a swifty as he refused to use the generic names, 8800m gtx or 9800m gt. He was just going on the parts numbers which I was checking online while he spoke. It was after being put on hold for a while that he finally agreed to the 9800m gtx. I asked for a confirmation email and lo and behold 9800gt2.

 

Yes, the code number for 9800M GTX SLI is the J951N. I should've told Batboy about it earlier.

I called Dell, just to try to see if that card exist in their database, and for the fun of it, I wanted to see how much was the upgrade and whether if I could upgrade to it (I know I won't want to as it isn't worth paying for that extra 10% gained from my 8800Ms), I supplied the code number J951N for the 9800s and they claimed "no such cards exists for the M1730." I know that's just nonsense. What ticked me off was this: "The highest option available is the 8800M GTX SLi (XM888) sir. The newer 9800M GT (F979M) or GTX is not compatible with your board."

"Not compatible" you say? I've been dealing with computers for a long time my friend, sorry to say but I hate being looked down like I'm a n00b. FYI I even upgraded a fellow's 2 year old M1730 from a single 8700M GT to dual 9800M GT SLIs bought from ebay. Rubbish from Dell.

 

Cheers for that Hikkoo and SFofH.

That number J951N is pure GOLD. : )

 

For the new users or replacements don't forget to ask for the free windows7 upgrade.

 

just wanted to let everyone know the facial recognition software and the xps forums main page works with my m1730
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=c...4e75f6e8ebb871

 

Chatting w/Dell tech support. Apparently, the reason I haven't been called yet to have a technician come out is that they are out of 8800 gtx's! They're backordered till August 6th. I asked if they could send out a comparable card (the 9800 gt or gtx) and apparently the only card they have in stock is the 8700. Ugh!

edit: we're trying to have them service the laptop w/o the video cards for now. Here's hoping I can actually use this laptop this summer!

 

Getting the replacement either tomorrow or on monday, but we're not eligible for the windows 7 upgrade. This is because the upgrade only counts when you're BUYING a system. And a replacement doesnt count. Ah well.

 

You want me to have them send you one of the 8800M GTX cards I've received?

On another note, its kind of funny really - what shows up in my email this morning? A nice ad spam XPS advertisement email from Dell. What I found funny was this part:

 

He's nothing like the idiots that come to our houses.

 

Yep, max settings, SLI, and must've been the 176.x drivers I think. I still have them game somewhere, and it runs perfectly on the latest 186.x drivers or whichever is the newest.

 

Is there facial recognition for M1730? I'd like really that!

 

Actually what made me laugh was:

"First-Class Service Guaranteed"

"Access to Specialized Technicians with specific XPS training"

" Get fast answers - calls are answered on average in less than 2 minutes"

 

Yeah the switchboard answers fast, then you get a huge wait for an ACTUAL tech support person to talk to you

 

Have to echo that. switch board takes service tag that i now know off by heart, and put you in a 10 minute queue to speak to a "technician" who hasnt even done the DCDE training course that we're required to take before support dell equipment! madness!

 

No. The 9800 gt = 8800 GTX. This is classic nVidia rebranding at work. Rebranding = new line of revenue without actually making something new.

Also, I wanted to add, as I recall 72 recommended it to me, now I must recommend it to ALL as I continue seeing people talk about SLI and different drivers for the cards and settings and hybrid mode etc. You MUST download nHancer. Ever since I downloaded 18x.xx drivers for my 8800's, SLI glitched to hell and back in Source games. nHancer has a specific profile for my source games (DoD and CS) and implements it automatically when I play. It sure as hell beats doing anything in the nVidia control panel, and worrying whether I should do hybrid sli mode or not or 4X or 3X. Just download it and try it out for your games.

 

i second this nhancer works great for me also.you can also dl profiles for games that nvida forgot to add to its control panel.

 

works on mine great had installed for about a day .

 

Your link didn't work claxdog a couple pages back. What were you trying to show?

 

sorry, here is a new link .it is facial recognition software that works with our m1730. http://rapidshare.com/files/261873158/Facial_Recogniton_SXPS.zip.html

 

In your dreams Batboy

Hold on........it may be true.

GIT!

 

FYI - I will have an extra Dell OEM battery (barely used at all - recharged completely 1 time, possibly twice) and a XPS M1730 backpack which I will probably not need. I will offer this up first to the lounge if anyone is interested.

I still need to put a post over in the items for sale thread.

 

Hope it ain't malware/virus ridden - never heard of it before.

 

Sweeeeet I was really hoping this would work out.

 

Dell says

Now as I said originally they are specced the same but there must be something different within the software etc to explain the difference in performance even if it is diddly squat. I was reading that the video encoding software or something was improved on the 9800 cards. The resources required for these processes could take some of the performance away when compared side buy side to the 8800 even if it has the same shader count etc etc.

 

I hate to repost but I'm sure if some of you with a m1730 are looking for an extra power supply to keep in a bag or permanently at your desk, you'll want to pick up the one I'm selling:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190324209372

I'm also selling the m6400 covet that I received as a replacement to my m1730 for over 1,000 dollars cheaper than its retail price. Its brand new sealed in box and has a nearly 3 year active complete care+accidental damage warranty attached to it:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190324205705

 

Wish you had chimed in with that a few weeks ago - before I ordered one off of ebay...


Later - Mike

 

well, i ended up firing off an email to mike dell (not really mr. dell but it seems to get some extra attention) complaining about the amount of problems i have had with my 1730...

just got a call from someone, he wants to send me another replacement, i think something other than the 1730 but because i have had so many parts replaced, my account has a hold on it.... can you believe that? i guess they think i am scamming them? oh well. he told me he will get the hold lifted and get me a replacement... wonder what i will be offered?

 

hope i get the m6400 covet or m17x?

 

Maybe you shouldn't give them the impression that you'd be willing to settle for anything under/below their top gaming laptops. Aim for the M17x.

Edit:
I have news about my case. They've suddenly completed production and dispatched the item.

Get this: There ain't no BD-RE/Blu Ray Writer in the system, just a plain old 8xDVD-RW. My original machine had a BD-RE drive, damn it! It's one of those things that hiked up the price-tag to gargantuan heights! So much for 'equal or better'. This is a downgrade, and this ain't acceptable. They assured me that the system would be exactly the same spec save for the 9800m GT SLi and no Ageia PPU, and now they take it down to the bottom-level 8 x DVD-RW?! Bull----!

**** their politics!

 

It's safe and works. I scanned with Norton 2009 w/ latest defs. It's still putting together my biometrics, but I need more light in here. Once you install this, you need to go into the menu and update it. You may have to pop open the Task Manager to kill some processes to allow proper file access to update it. Thank you for sharing this btw ;-)


Later - Mike

 

Ditto what Kade said. Don't settle for anything less than an M17 or full cash refund. An item has to be of merchantable quality for it's purchase design. As to wether it's Nvidias fault for the bodgy die solders or Dells for only using three fans and not getting Powermizer running ealier is for their legal team to take to court but the reality is The Beast is a great machine which is/was very expensive and they have a very real legal obligation to keep it up and running or replace it with better or cash. A machine that runs for a year or so or now in my case less than 6 months and these service palm off's and shoddy replacements are just not acceptable. As soon as one owner of a 1730 gets upgraded to the M17 because of lack of parts or their inability to rectify a recurring problem, then Dell will be in the same situattion as back with the 1710 owners getting a 1730. Hell I got my 1710 fully refunded because of the LightFX issue.

I'll get off the soap box now but please keep in mind how much you paid and how much these bodgy parts have cost you in time. "M17, M17, M17 altogether now!"

 

and again problems now with the new replacement from dell after one week.copy-paste the email i send

Hello,

There is a problem with the new system i have from last week.
I try to explain in english sorry for my english i live in Belgium.
When i look to a dvd movie the movie is not clear and there are all over some sort of cubes over the screen.
colours are very clear and bright, i mean deep red, yellow and hard blue, fluo green are overwelding the screen.
I have artifacts in the games and sometimes trilling, glitches.
Fps drop sometimes after 10minutes of gaming to very low and begin to stuttering.
Temperature in games going to 85°c after 10min. of gaming
I tried 3 drivers the drivers from dell 179.24, then one mobile nvidiadriver from the nvidiasite and a other one, all the same problems.

This system is a replacement for the other one that also have diffrent issues, this is not normal anymore, the quality is not the same like the ones i haved before (m1710)
I really hope the problems will end soon because i spend hours on format c and installing all my games diffrent times again and again but always troubles with the hardware.

I really hope this misery will ends soon.
Thank you for understanding and helping.
Sorry for my english.
grtz

 

@bpat:

did you try the 186.24 from Dell released on 7/21?

ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/video/NVIDIA_NOTEBOOK-BETA-DRIVER-_P02_R229350.exe

Also is this a refurbished system? If the driver doesn't correct the issue (and I bet my money it wont), contact the rep who arranged for your exchange and report it. Reference your exchange case# (which you should have).

 

Well! Listening to the rants in here, i reckon we could buy an M1710 in 2006, and continue with replacements for 10 years! Better get that extended warranty sorted for the new beast! If they have these sort of probs, i wanna be covered!

 

I have always encouraged the max warranty + complete care when purchasing a high end system. Although I have never had to use the CC, its nice that its there.

When I ended up dropping 3500 bones on my M1710 I knew it was critical to extend the warranty in case anything failed. Well, 2 years after my purchase the video card failed. Called up Dell and they didn't have it in stock. It was backordered with an ETA of 30 days. They upgraded me to the M1730.

So, yes - that warranty is a good thing. Sometimes you end up in a Nightmare, but in the end - it usually works out to your satisfaction.