Dell XPS M1730 Owner's Lounge, Take 2

Guys - I don't want to be a party pooper, but in my experience, cooling pads do nothing fan-wise to cool the computer. Blowing air back up into the vents that are PUSHING air out simply doesn't make sense. It'd be different if you changed the polarity on the motor maybe to suck air rather than blow, but I see cooling pads as nothing more than a metallic stand. Eleron got better results cooling his laptop with a couple stands in the back to prop it up at an angle than any cooling pad benchmarks I've ever seen.


*Update: so, I can't start my computer now. It goes to the windows logon screen and then goes to BSOD naming nv4_disp as the device error. So, it appears my gfx cards have burnt out for a third time now. I called Dell and they're sending me new 8800 gtx's and a sharp screen (is this a good screen? I can't remember which screen is the good one to hang onto). I'm currently posting from safe mode on my XPS. I guess this week's 90 degree temperatures in NY were not nice to my laptop.

By the way, does this count as a third strike? Should I shoot for an m17x? I could really jump for a computer with a quadcore right about now..I'm all for arguing with Dell tirelessly.

 

Yes, my external LG DVD drive is mains powered.

What route should i be going down to find out if the 2 USB ports on the side of the laptop are giving out enough power to power something like this Cryo LX cooler stand, the USB port at the back of the laptop is obviously giving out enough power to make it work properly, ive got my doubts about the 2 side USB ports having enough power to do this.

Would Dell put in one high powered USB port at the back and 2 lesser USB ports on the side, forgive me as i`m not clued up in this area, surely they would all be the same as the rear one works fine ?

 

hankaaron, the exhaust vents on the M1730 are actually at the back of the unit. The fans are intact fans and are actually sucking air up into the unit and ventalating out through the exhaust grills at the back. You should have no issue with the cooling pads being mentioned.

I don't think we have to discuss airflow and thermal dynamics and whether disturbed air between the laptop cooler and the laptop will prevent decent airflow into the laptop.

 

Hi!

I just got my new dell XPS m1730 in the mail and there's something I wonder.


First of all, my left fan light does not display blue (?), only all the other colors... When i drag the thing you click on over the blue color it goes black.


I am currently running 1920x1200 resolution on the pc, but it does not have smooth edges or anything of any letters or windows. I've tried updating both of my graphic drivers drivers and turned on and off SLi, but i cant seem to figure it out. The cursor is very "pixely" and so is the edges of windows and all lettering.

Anyone know how to fix this problem(s)?

 

The thing is bpat has already said the same cooler is working on those side ports.

I'm not sure if I'd be too worried about it. Power off the rare USB port, and take the hub cable to one of the right ones if you want to use the Cryo as a hub.

 

Hmmm... Was LCD keeps losing apps that can only be retrieved by reinstalling G19 drivers.. And then this morning woke it up and display settings were on 1024 x 800?!!! V odd... Hope these arent software problems starting to kick in...

 

Doesn't sound good to me. It should be sweet straight out of the box even the graphics should be good running with old drivers. Call tech support ASAP.

 

OK I need some advice.

My replacement graphics cards have finally arrived in the mail. YAY

BUT
They are refurbed 8800gtx's

They appear in good condition but I'm inclined to cry foul. I bought a new computer not a refurbed one. I have no hesitation in refusing them and they are still in the sealed packaging.

On the other hand I would just like to get my machine working 100%. What do you reckon?

Should refurbed cards stay or go?

EDIT :

Just got off the phone from Dell and they are saying that they are not literally refurbished they are just labelled as such to comply with US export laws. Does that sound like it could be true? there is a note inside stating " export of technology to admin blah blah blah..." The cards don't look like they are used the fans are clean and everything is straight.

Now i'm dubious but confused any ideas?

 

@Slammin:
Sorry to say, but all replacement parts are labeled 'refurbished'. This can mean a great variety of sources... here are a few which I have heard/been told about by various Dell peeps:

1. Customer calls support and reports video card problem. Tech replaces Customer video card and sends original back to Dell. Card is put on a test bench (very limited test cycle - this could be why we see a higher# of replacement GPUs fail, I had 2 fail almost instantly), if card tests ok, card is packaged and labeled refurbished and placed back into inventory.

2. Customer Return - part pulled

3. Refubished part from hardware manufacturer. Item is purchased in bulk and Dell must repackage it to send out - by law, this is now labeled as refurbished.

4. New Part from the manufacturer (batteries especially) which are purchased in bulk and later repackaged for dispatch, etc. Again, as in example #3, once they crack the seal and have to repackage it - its labeled refurbished.

At no time will you receive a 'new, never used' part from Warranty Parts Dept. Not going to happen.

Hope this helps.

 

Aye slammin, its a case of "suck it and see". Personally i took the refurbed card, but had 8 months warranty left to rely on. So as long as you have longer support, just go for it! And when you're on your 3rd failure, demand a new system!

 

Cheers Evil ras and Batboy,

Yep I think suck it and see is the only option. I can't even see a fingerprint on them. As for warranty I'm getting an extension sorted out now - not because of this I had always planned to but wanted to put off the cost for a while.

 

@ The _Stig: here is no problem i checked it out and can fully control the fans of the cryo on every usb port of the xps.
Maybe better than to make a call to support center to ask ?
grtz

 

one question:
Is it worth a upgrade for memory from 4gb to 8gb?
I see on the ebay US diffrent xps m1730 with the 8gb (2 x 4 gb)667MHz DDR2SDRAM, and was wondering if that would give my machine more power?
Of course i will install the 64bit vista or windows 7 then.
And will the 800mhz also work on it?
Maybe a link to a website please, because there is a big range in price i see?
thank you thank you thank you

 

Nope, I can tell you this because everyday applications won't really be much of a benefit to have 8GB of RAM. Depending on application, generally workstation counterparts, eg, Photoshop, more RAM allows you to multi-task further. After a certain capacity it does not increase speed or system performance as some people call it, it allows you to do more and handle more. Not increase in speed.

Photoshop memory usage - depending on scene and layer complexity, will benefit for having more RAM. I deal with huge file sizes over a gig and banner sized graphics and I use 7.5GB every time.

8GB will be beneficial for workstation applications. Running virtual OSes like VMware will also benefit with more RAM.

For the everyday gamer, 4GB is enough. 6GB for the enthusiast, but not necessary. Barely any of the games I play like Crysis, FC2, COD, uses more than 1 - 4GB I checked.

800MHz effective RAM speed will not work for GM/PM965 chipsets we M1730 users using. It will simply downclock to 667MHz effective.

 

thank you SomeFormOFhuman.
So i will save my money in the pocket then great thx

 

You can see it from my point of view, i bought a new laptop recently which is an expensive high end machine, i also buy the best laptop cooler you can buy according to the reviews for this particular laptop and the laptop/cooler set up isn`t working as it should be.

For that sort of money you would expect things to work as they should, the fan control switch on the Cryo LX is the problem as like i said it won`t work if connected to any of the side ports yet it will work if connected to the rear port.

One other strange thing that happens which i noticed yesterday, if i plug the laptop into the mains and the cooler is connected to one of the side ports it then powers up the minute the mains power is connected and the fan comes on in idle, now if i turn on the mains power with the Cryo LX cooler connected to the rear port the cooler fans don`t start up, its as if their is a permanent live feed when connected to the side USB ports but not the rear.

Ive had Dell assistance help today over the net but they couldn`t resolve it, the girl seemed baffled, to be honest they don`t come across as technical wizzes and it can be hard to get things across to someone that doesn`t speak great english.

 

You won't get much cooling out of the Cryo LX in stock form. Lifting the back of the laptop off the table by 2 inches will do more.

I removed the USB and switch board from my Cryo LX and swapped out the fans for two Scythe S-Flex 1200rpm fans on the outside and a Noctua NF-P12 on the inside, all wired to an old Vantec fan controller from a defunct desktop machine. The fan controller's then plugged into a hard drive AC adapter (one of those IDE/SATA->USB kits) which has a 4-pin molex plug on the end (the fan controller was meant for a desktop so it has a 4-pin molex plug for power). I have the three wires for the fans coming out of the holes that were previously USB ports. The fan controller sitting in the back looks kind of crude, but it's in the back anyway. It's not too loud at all, rather quiet actually, with the fans on full. I keep the laptop about 3/4 of an inch propped up on all 4 sides off the cooler.

Even that didn't lower temperatures nearly as much as overclocking the X9000 via the BIOS to 3.2 or 3.4 GHz. You can then use RMClock to limit it back to speeds and voltages you're more comfortable with, while retaining the full-speed system fans. This gets loud, louder than some desktops even (I used to have old gaming PCs which were really loud so it's nothing for me), but it stays really cold.

 

Btw guys, will fans gather more dust being on all the time or being off? I sometimes leave the Cryo LX fans plugged in out of sheer laziness even after I've powered down the laptop or put it into sleep mode. They hardly make any noise.

 

Grr!.. Need to vent my story..

I've had my XPS M1730 for just over a year, T9500, 8800sli, BDRE, 4gb RAM, 2x200gb 7200 HDD. Got the 4 year hardware warranty..

So a little over a week ago, I cant put the laptop in SLI, bsod's every time, tried new drivers, uninstalling reinstalling, formatting and putting vista back on (I was running 7), and even with the fresh Dell Vista 32, as soon as I put in the driver, reboot, select SLI and reboot, computer BSOD's...

Fine, call Dell, get a new video card send out after explaining my story 4! times to the non english speaking rep.. 2 days later, I have my card. Great.

Go to put it in, every single screw in the top cover is just missing (9 of them).. gone.. not loose, gone. I've never sent the laptop in, always done repairs myself (only had a bad hdd previously).. So I call and complain, after the rep telling me there weren't any screws supposed to be in the top cover, and me freaking out, finally we went over the service manual "together" and I pointed them out.. Next day screws arrive. Great.

So I have the screws and card installed, and my sli is working great (even on windows 7).

Last night my laptop boots into 640x480 res.. not good. Check device manager, and both video cards have a yellow bang, and a message about windows not able to load the driver because the device has reported a problem.. yay!. So I uninstall, reinstall, format, same issue, has a yellow bang no matter what. I image my copy of 7 back on the machine (with all of my apps), and call Dell again, calmly explain the entire store, and ask for another video card, and perhaps a systemboard this time.. the ID-10-T insists on doing a remote session, finds out I'm running Windows 7, and proceeds to explain how my laptop is not compatable with Windows 7, and how this is clearly a software issue,(completely ignores my explaination that I've already tried reinstalling Vista) and forwards me to software support. !?!.

Now, I'm pissed, hang up, and proceed to reinstall the factory Vista 32, so I can call back.. After the first reboot during the setup, I get artifacts on the screen at the Dell post screen, and during the vista boot up. Mhmm.. software issue eh..

So I call today, and talk to another lovely rep, and after 60 minutes of going back and forth, her telling me perhaps its my LCD.. she orders the parts. Then they insist they can't send the systemboard without a tech.. BS, I'm not letting their grubby hands anywhere near my laptop, after arguing for another 10 minutes she finally orders the parts for me.. (I've been changing mobo's on Toshiba, Apple, Dell, HP, and Compaq laptops for 6 years..no kidding).

Why does Dell support suck? How many parts do they need to change before I can get a replacment? So far I've had

-2 video cards
-1 motherboard
-4! harddrives

Thanks for letting me vent

 

even they send you a new replacement its not guaranteed that misery will end.
2 x gpu (9800gt's)
3 new replacements
next week 1 screen and one gpu 9800gt on ordered....
The never ending story
i share youre pain,....amen

 

Sorry to hear that mikey. As you can tell from here, you're not alone.

Speaking of which, how do I go about extending my warranty? It's up in December of this year.

 

Hmm I know what I will do if my 8800m GTX fails, bake it in the oven.

My old XPS M170 has been dead for over 2 years now since the GPU failed. Today I thought I would try the bake in oven technique and guess what it worked. It´s up and running again now. I put the oven to around 190+ degrees celsius and had the GPU in there for about 7 minutes. Never thought it would work but it did

 

Nice to know it worked for you Do you mind detailing exactly what you did? What did you remove, how did you prepare the card, etc.?

I will have no other recourse myself if mine fails since I purchased mine separately from the system.

 

I removed the heatsink and some pads Dell had put on two components. These were not glued, so easy to remove. Then I started up the oven and prepared a form with tin foil at the bottom. I made four tin foil clumps, stands that the GPU would rest on. I put the GPU upside down and had it in the oven for around 7 minutes to be precise.

Apparently this was enough since the damn GPU works again, very happy now

 

I did the exact same thing yesterday magnus. Couldn't start my system up - it would BSOD. Now it runs fine, and even stranger enough - FPS seems to be more smooth in DoD: Source now as well! I'm getting a replacement anyways Monday, but I figured I'd try this before sending it back.

 

Wow... that's pretty damn good to hear. Looks like if mine goes south, t's headed for a trip into the Easy Bake.

Ovens... good for pizzas, cookies, and now GPUs. Haha.

 

My card does seem to run slightly warmer now though...not ironically. I wouldn't recommend this if you have a warranty. This is a LAST DITCH EFFORT. I was unable to remove the heatsinks/pads from mine because the thermal paste have everything glued together too well, so I threw the whole thing in [minus the fans]. I roasted off the part next to the DVI port that sits flush with the XPS body - the plastic. I ripped that off - no big loss. I had mine at 385 Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. I reckon I coulda' accomplished the same with less risk with 7 or 8 minutes as many others have reported with other laptop cards.

 

Great to hear hankaaron that it worked for you too, yeah oven is great

 

A quick one on my Cryo LX and side USB ports saga.

Today i tested the Cryo LX on my 17 inch Sony Vaio and it worked like a charm on all 3 USB ports.

Ive had Dell assistance on the case today, they remotely connected to my M1730 laptop and checked a few things, to be honest their checks were fairly basic as i was watching them on my desktop, they checked Device Manager for things like the properties on my USB controllers and if i had any yellow exclamation marks etc. They also checked the bios version which is apparently current.

I`m no engineer or an expert in this sort of area but to me it sounds like the 2 side USB ports on my laptop may well show that they are functioning ok, with the correct drivers but in my opinion the ones on my actual laptop are not throwing out enough power to power something like this Cryo LX for whatever the reason is.

Its just strange that the rear USB port can power it but the 2 side ones obviously can`t do the job properly, another thing that happens is this, when i plug in the mains power and the Cryo LX is connected to one of the side USB ports the fans on the Cryo LX will start straight away even before i switch on the laptop.

Now if the Cryo LX is connected to the rear USB port and i plug in the mains power the fans won`t start until the laptop is switched on, its as if their is a direct power feed to the right side USB ports yet the rear USB port seems to control itself as to when it switches something on unlike the right side USB ports.

All i`m after is things to work as they should, i`m probably asking a bit too much of for something thats new to work properly like my M1730 is and the Cryo LX is as well

Can the 2 USB ports on the side be tested to see how much power they are giving out and if they are functioning properly, is their an easy way of doing this ?

 

Hi, guys. I'm trying to get atitool up and running on my 8800 GTX system, but get the error

'the video card you selected for overclocking in atitool does not seem to be used by windows. Visual testing has been disabled. To fix this, go to Display Properties - Settings and enable the monitor output of the card.'

Obviously this was written for XP, but I am running Vista 32bit. My driver is 186.03 (soon to be changed to 190.4).

I thought it might be a driver signing issue and ran the 'Bcdedit.exe /set nointegritychecks ON ' function in the cmd prompt under admin then reinstalled, but no change.

Any thoughts?

 

So dell came out and put in the replacement 8800s seemed to fix the problem but, i just ran 3d mark 06 to see if everything was working ok and I get a really low score 5856. I restarted in single mode then again in SLI to make sure the new cards were on SLI. They are not down clocking, I ran the GPU-z log to make sure. What could be causing thins?

Thanks for the help

 

Maxwell36

I would start by installing new drivers 1st. See how that goes and let us know.

 

OK update - update -update.

Slipped in the new 8800gtx's (Thanks Ripfire +1 ). Getting 11640's constantly in 3d Mark 06. All seems good

BUT

I'm still getting graphics memory errors. I'm using this URL="http://majorgeeks.com/Video_Memory_Stress_Test__d5896.html"]http://majorgeeks.com/Video_Memory_Stress_Test__d5896.html[/URL]

Has anyone used it or is knowledgable with it?

From what I understand the program tests all the memory bit by bit. Due to the differences in types of memory available turbo, cached, ram etc in different cards and setups the program can't specify exactly where the errors are.

Maybe someone could give it a run and see if their 8800gtx's get errors too?

 

hello everyone, for the past 1 year and 4 months ive been having problems with my xps 1730 t7700 2.4ghz and 8800gtx sli. when i connect to an external monitor(ive tried several even the ones in school) i get distortions that resemble screen tearing with sli enabled.

Ive searched forums all over and realised that its quite an uncommon problem cos not many ppl actually connect their xps 1730s out to an external monitor. but there ARE some similar cases as well and dell cant find a solution as the problem does not lie with the hardware.

they have replaced my graphics cards and motherboard 4 times because of overheating problems as well. im really pissed with the system with all the problems and inability to play with sli enabled on my external monitor.


After like 1 year of chasing the dell tech support people, im currently trying to request to get an m17x to replace my xps 1730. since i am sure it will solve the problem. i have a friend who has the new m17x with gtx280 slis and qx9300 and i asked him to test it out on my monitor and there were no problems.

dell keeps saying they arent able to replace it because alienware is a HIGH END system. they say as though the xps1730 was its cheapest product before it went off the market.

ive seen in this forum thread that some people actually managed to get the m17x as replacement for graphic card issues..why are they so lucky =(

could all those who got an m17x as replacement plz tell me your problem in detail and what you went through before you got the replacement?

could you share what country your from, your problems and what you did to get the replacement(eg. emailed some particular people/screamed your head off etc.)

also, any suggestions to who i can email in particular to escalate the matter or to increase my chances of getting what i want?

im from singapore btw, so i guess its probably because dell asia pacific sucks big time unlike the support in the other parts of the world

 

You can still order it here on the Dell website (Belgium), so i guess they will replace it with an m1730 as long as they have stock, after that they have to give you the alienware since there's no other product that matches it's specs. Though in your case I think you will have to put your foot down without getting rude. Give them a compromise, let them replace yours with another 1730 but if it has the same problem (which it will have) they should give you the Alienware. Good luck !!

I wonder if I can still extend my warranty if its totally off their website, I want to, but I have no money for it now....sigh
and I never wanna run out of warranty so they will replace mine too with an M17x in the end, because i'm sure it will get broken a lot more times (cooling on the M1730 isn't up to par, the Gpu's always get way too hot)

The Dell techie came by yesterday and replaced my 9800GT SLI, happy that i'm up and running now, temps seem lower too and performance is better
yay!

 

Ruby, what driver are you running? Try this one: 190.40. Also the 190.60 WHQL should be live on lv2go in a day or so. Your external display issue sounds like a driver problem to me... Could be wrong, but give it a go.


@psy: yes you can still extend your warranty This is the best thing for existing M1730 owners in areas where the M1730 is still being sold. They wont always be up on the site...

 

*Hmm, I think I can only buy the extention around Xmass when i get some cash
I hope I still can by then

*about that driver, i'm running Dox 185.85 at the moment, would it be benificial to get the 190.40 or isn't there too much difference performance and temperature wise?

*Batboy did you gat that M17x as a replacement for your M1730?

 

Even if the M1730 is pulled from the Belgium site, you should still be able to extend your warranty - as long as it hasn't expired. Extending it after expiration is something I am not familiar with and have no idea how they will respond to such a request.

I never did like Dox's 185.85 with the M1730. It seemed to produce higher temps for me. 190.40 was very stable. That driver (the one I posted on my blog) is the xfastest.com release. It seems tweaked quite a bit - I had very stable temps and no gaming issues at all. Might want to give it a try - can always revert back if you don't like it.

 

I'm currently renegotiating my warranty. I want parts not NBD because I'm too remote from civilisation. Anyway the NBD at this stage is cheaper than parts. Go figure?

Dell might have a hard time renegging on extra warranty as the salesman I got at the time of purchase said you can upgrade that later. Hard for me to prove and hard for them not to prove. Also you will do better to ring than to look online as then they will discount to get the sale.

 

I am still under warranty till May or June 2010, I will never let it expire before I extend it, will try the driver from your site, I just reverted to Dox' because I was having issues, but in the end it was the hardware and thats replaced now

Thanks

 

All! Hail! The! Oven! The Best Support Tool! Of 'em All!

That's very interesting.

Anyway, I'm still deliberating what to do with my case. However, whatever the result, I am going to stick around in this lounge. And hell, if I end up Clevo/Sager, I'll still raid the Alienware lounge as well. Bahahaha.

To Bpat,
Keep me posted on your case. PM, if you must.

As for the gratitude for the help. I am not sure if I've helped you just yet, but I am passing on information I got from one of their managers; straight from the Horse's mouth, so to speak. I hope you get a good refund, if it all boils down to a refund.

 

I remember reading about people having usb power issues with the Cryo LX over a range of different laptops. Nzxt started shipping an AC adapter with the Cryo LX, did you receive one with yours? Some people went and bought one from a local small electronics store.

 

I'm not sure why Rip, but that Avatar is just freaky dude... *shiver* reminds me of some low budget horror flick. lol.

 

er its not the driver problem.. ive tried just about every driver available from last year till now. im now on 190.40 windows 7 x64.

dell also agrees replacing will not solve the problem cos they have replaced almost every part in my laptop, mother board , heatsink,fan,gfx cards. its the architecture of the sli cards. its not the normal mxm type its a special dell one so i guess theres some problems with the design.

im trying to put my foot down but they keep insisting its not possible. i have no idea what to do either since they are so rigid over the whole issue.

 

Argh - I can't PM you.. lol Get that post count up buddy.

Tell them to issue you a full REFUND then if they cannot put you into another SLI system. Its REFUND or another comparable SLI system. Be polite but firm.

 

Indeed. Listen to this guy. You'll get results.

 

Keep calling them everyday or several times a day and keep the foot down, like batboy said, if they don't want to upgrade you, they have to refund you (and with the refund money you can buy the alienware). They will have to give you something in the end, even if its only that they get so annoyed with you that they give you what you want, just to get rid of you .... It worked for me (m1730 replaced my M1710). Also try every channel possible, I got results after filling in the email thingy on the website and not by calling XPS support, my message also stated to give the email to a superior and I got a call from Dell that same day ...

best of luck

 

haha thx guys but the prob is they also refuse strongly to give me a refund. i dont really have time to keep calling them and the people i talk to keep changing for some reason.

its like i cant contact them directly cos they dont wana give me their direct line and everytime i call the toll free its either they arent in and someone else calls me and i have to explain everything all over again.


how many post counts do i need to get to be able to get a pm?

 

i ve been using email support from the start and i find that they take like ages to reply my emails

 

Many thanks for that information, i thought i was going round the bend lol.

I didn`t recieve a mains adapter with mine, ive ordered one which will hopefully cure things once and for all. The bit that was confusing is that other M1730 owners had replied on this thread and said that the Cryo LX was working on all their USB ports, maybe the USB ports on european M1730`s are manufactured differently to the ones in the USA which could explain a lot of things.