Dell XPS M1730 Owner's Lounge, Take 2

No no, i wouldn't go and buy an new laptop for that reason.
You can get the motherboard pretty easily i think..
There's one on eBay going for 175$ used.
The part number you need is Y012C or F513C (anybody knows why the mobo got 2 part numbers ?)

Or you could contact dell and try to buy it from them.


Once you get it, consult this guide to disassemble the thingy

 

great, many thanks for your help! appreciated

 

What are the specs on it? I'm expecting to be sent the same thing so I'd like to prepare my arguments ahead of time

 

the order sheet:

1 224-6019 XPS 1640, Intel Core 2 Duo T9900 (3.0GHz/1066MHz FSB/6M L2 Cache)
1 310-0173 Airborne Documentation, System Exchanges,Factory Install
1 320-7753 Merlot Red High Gloss Finish with Leather XPS 1640
1 330-1917 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP XPS 1640
1 420-6436 Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
1 420-6576 DELL WELCOME,Software Dimension/Inspiron
1 420-7938 Dell Connect 2.1
1 420-9100 Dell Dock Consumer
1 420-9319 Microsoft Windows Vista with SP1 Home Premium Edition 64-bit Edition English
1 420-9691 DataSafe Local BackUp 2.0 Basic
1 421-0092 DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG
1 421-0187 Dell Support Center Software 64 Bit 2.0
1 421-0323 Windows Live Search,Multiple User Interface
1 421-1193 Download Store Links
1 463-2282 Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access
1 420-8051 Microsoft Works 9.0, English For Inspiron
1 410-2089 McAfee Sapphire MUI, 24-Month
1 320-7329 16.0 inch Wide Screen 16:9 1080p FullHD RGBLED LCD W/2.0 MP, XPS 1640
1 311-9487 4GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz 2 Dimm forXPS 1640
1 341-8989 500GB 7200RPM Free Fall SensorSeagate Hard Drive
1 313-7054 8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive for XPS1640
1 420-9334 Cyberlink PowerDVD DX 8.3 for DVD
1 421-0097 ROXIO CREATOR 10.2 PREMIERE Ultimate Burn/Authoring
1 330-4424 ATI Mobility RADEON M96XT - 1GB
1 430-3550 Intel WiMax/WiFi Link 5150 (802.11 a/g/n 3X3) 1/2
1 312-0811 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion P Primary Battery, for XPS 1640
1 421-0170 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi MB(Panzer) Application 1.0
1 430-3206 Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
1 430-2600 Integrated 10/100 Network Card
1 410-1883 ADOBE READER 9.0 MULTI- LANGUAGE
1 320-8261 Premium HD WLED Display Crimson Red, Leather, 2.0 MP Webcam
1 420-8223 Dell Video Chat
1 420-9699 Facial Recognition Sensible Vision
1 421-0464 Dell Webcam,1.2
1 310-8628 You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System
1 330-5122 Intel Centrino 2 Label

 

So you went from a 17" to a 16"? That's messed up.

 

And a small 16" at that... The 1920 x 1080 loses alot off the top. Plus no SLI, No Nvidia, No Physx, No Raid, No Full size keyboard... I mean the list goes on and on... Of course Dell Resolution Team is refusing to call me back today it seems....

 

Was your original purchase an m1730?

 

Yep, the one in my signature although I upgraded a few minor things.

 

That's not right they always do equal or better. Good luck though.

 

HA, a few pages before i said that finaly my case is escalating,..............so i was waiting for the proposal,...i was hoping for a refund or a replacement with the same specs,.....today Dell support called me and tomorow they send a engineer to take a closer look to my problem, he said maybe its the cooling,....jezus maria,.....this hell never ends
This is now 3months and still having problems with this machine,....sorry to say but Dell realy sucks, they makes me completely nuts

 

Update:
I was supposed to receive a call from Dell@ 430pm. At 530pm I called the supervisor I spoke with yesterday. He says my parts are on the way and if these don't work, to just leave a message on his line, and they will replace my entire system. So I don't know what kind of replacement I would have gotten, but I think this is even better. Next time I have any issue with my pc, the pc will be replaced no questions asked.

 

Dell is really a hit or miss now it seems. I know they've been stomaching a class-action lawsuit in the last 12 months or so for exactly this kinda' problem - poor warranty support, but I mean, jeeze, this isn't exactly rectifying the situation. All this jibber jabber and piddling around the bush just makes them look worse - offering a studio 16 for an XPS replacement???? They oughta' be waiting hand-and-foot with the alienware considering their temps beat ours by at least 10C on average - be saving them a lot of trouble in the long run.

 

Hey guys I am new to posting, but I have been trolling here learning more and more about my dell.

First of all I bought my dell about 2 months ago and i just started using it recently. I noticed that earlier I was running WoW and CS source and i was getting great FPS. Usually around 200 in CS and around 60 in WoW, and with dual logg i used to get around 35 in each screen in WoW.

Recently my computer was updated and i noticed that my FPS dropped down to almost 17-20 on each dual log screen of WoW. In order to confirm that it was an update I reformated my computer to an earlier time and the FPS went back to normal. Then i restarted my laptop and it was updated again and then the FPS dropped again.

Anyone knows how I can fix this problem?

The updates that were installed are:
Security Update for Jscript 5.8 for Windows Vista (KB971961)
Security Update for Windows Vista (KB967723)
Security Update for Windows Vista (KB970710)
Security Update for Windows Media Format Runtime 11 for Windows Vista (KB968816)
Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool - September 2009 (KB890830)
Update for Windows Mail Junk E-mail Filter [September 2009\ (KB905866)
Update for Microsoft Silverlight (KB974331)
Security update for Windows Vista (KB973768)

Thank you in advacnce for the help.

Batal

 

My guess is either that security update or Microsoft Silverlight. Try removing those and see.

 

I'm just applying those updates now, I'll post if I have problems.

 

None of these updates should cause an FPS drop. I applied these as soon as they were pushed out and have had no issues.

Try reinstalling your display driver and see if that clears it up.

 

All installed except Silverlight and no prob's here.

PS How come I've "hidden" Silverlight and IE8 and they still show up every week? No wonder MS is in court all the time.

 

can you post the proper way to reinstall my display driver? If that doesnt work i will try uninstalling those two updates and see what happens.

 

For the M1730 [and most other systems - not the HybridSLI type ] use this PROCESS.

You don't need to worry about the 'Have Disk' method. Just stick with the first part of the process.

 

I think my GPU's are exhibiting strange behavior. Just got a warranty replacement for my dead 8800MGTX with 9800MGT's.

When I'm gaming (ie the gpus are under load) i hear this loud WHINE coming from the left GPU.

My 8800MGTX didnt do this; plus just recently my GPU's stopped working for like 5 hours, and ran as if they were on batter power (randomly they started working again.)

Anyone have experience with this type of behavior? I have another year of warranty so I figure there's not much risk to just let these new GPU's run down too, but the whine is ANNOYING. Goes away as soon as i exit a program that uses 3d GFX.

 

I see three possibles:

1. Card is bad and will eventually die - possibly causing damage to the system if its shorting or begins generating higher than normal temps.

2. Card isn't seated properly.

3. LCD cable needs to be re-seated.

I'm leaning towards #1 obviously. Highly unusual and having it downclock like that as if it were on DC power is a warning sign to say the least. How are the temps? Call Support and report the issue

 

I might open her up again and reseat.. but I have trouble believing thats the issue because I pressed it in pretty good and when you screw the whole thing back together its a very tight package.

I will call support once I finish my move and try for yet another GPU exchange.

 

If I can ask the SSD users.. What kind of numbers are you seeing from your SSD? Are you getting what you paid for?

I'm only seeing min of 165/ max of 194 / average speed of 185/mb/sec. The SSD i purchased should be putting out a max of 250 or 260mb/sec. I'm wondering if this is a configuration issue or if the M1730's older DDR2 system is just not going to process any more than that speed?

Plenty of other users of my SSD are seeing 250mb/sec. I installed windows 7 x64 from scratch, and then ran a the TRIM wipe utility before each benchmark..

 

Nick, are you using ACHI drivers or running in IDE mode?

 

I used AHCI Enabled in my BIOS when i installed windows 7 so I am on Microsoft's AHCI drivers. I've read that anyway enabling AHCI will only add about 10-15 mb/sec, so I know this can't be it..

 

I reinstalled my drivers just like you said batboy i still get low fps and ocasional graphic lagg here and there. I want to delete the updates but i dont know which ones to delete... any suggestions?

 

Hi all I was wondering if anyone was having problems with Windows 7 running SLI mode on it? I have the SLI 8700M GT and the newest Nvidia drivers and I can switch SLI on but it acts as if its still off even after I restart. Can someone shed some light on this?

 

I just deleted updates and i still get low fps ... i guess when i did system restore, i uninstalled something that caused it and then installed it again. The only thing i can think of that i installed was World of Warcraft and its updates but i doubt that it would cause such drop... anyone has any ideas?

 

@Batal:

Check each 'low fps' game's 3DSettings in the NVIDIA control panel. Verify you have SLI enabled (I'm sure you already did). Check Device Manager - are both display adapters listed? I still feel this is unrelated to the MS Updates as others would report issues if this were the case. Aside from a setting issue, its going to be hardware.

Temps are ok I take it?

With WoW I know some people have reported issues with SLI enabled. Might want to check that.

 

I have been using 7RC since May, i think, SLI works great for me. Only trouble is when running an external monitor.

 

What drivers are you using? I installed windows 7 RC 7100 and 190.40 drivers from LV2GO - Works fine for me.

 

To Cueball,
Do -not- accept the Studio XPS. Don't even entertain the notion. Do not reason with this offering, and do not acknowledge this offering.

Period. Your case will work out, even if you might have to wait things out for a little while.

 

Kade Storm - On the evening of the 9th I sent two emails to the Resolution Team and indicated my disapproval. I called in the morning to further drive the point home. Would not connect me with anyone took a callback request. End of the day on the 10th, no call. Called again the morning of the 11th (today) would not connected me with anyone and took yet another callback request. Called again at 2:30 today, still would not connect me with anyone and said I would definitely get a call today by 5. Its 8PM no call.

This is part of my email:
This “Replacement” has no SLI video for gaming, No RAID 0 for performance and No 17 inch 1920 x 1200 Display. The cost of this laptop was in the 3.5K range as configured. The STUDIO XPS 1640 can be had for much much less. Dell cannot give me a 2500.00 M17x configuration as a replacement….

The longer I wait for a replacement the more I feel ripped off. You are replacing a gaming laptop with a Multimedia laptop. Not at all the same thing. Perhaps my state Attorney General will be interested in this.


I am not expecting much out of Dell and this will definitely be my last Dell system.

 

Well, there is a wait-factor with Dell these days. I don't like this, by the way.

I myself might end up 'entrapped' into taking a deal that leaves me with another Dell machine.

Anyway, do what you can, but don't even listen to them when they bring up 'cheaper', more mainstream laptops as proposed replacements.

 

ok, dell has had my m1730 for over a month now without any real information... all i know is something is back ordered... i assume it is the gpu but who knows. ridiculous...

 

dont really know how to do any of the above. not even the temps. i am new to this whole you tweak ur computer. but i dont get it if it might be hardware why is it that when i restored my computer to an earlier setting it was fine and i didnt lagg.

 

Yes SLI is selected. What you mean uninstalling updates of WoW? I am not running the latest WoW since i am playing on a private server. But playing the same patch (WoW Burning crusade, patch 2.4.3) earlier gave me fps while dual logging about 35-40 per screen, but now i get roughly 20-25.

 

I cant play WoW without installing the patches. since it is a private server i need the version 2.4.3 to be able to play on it. I was wondering if I need to clean my laptop from the inside (fan and whatnot) I remember an instnace iwth my laptop where it was lagging a lot, (Graphic lagg) and i cleaned it using compressed air and it was all better

Edit: btw its not only WoW that has been lagging. Also Counter Strike Source has been lagging. Ever since it happened a few days ago, i noticed my gameplay in CS:S to have decreased at certain points where my fps goes from almost 120 to around 40 instantaneously for roughly 4-5 seconds.

 

No when i talked about me cleaning my laptop it was an old one. not this one. YEs i have a cooler that is raised and supposedly working. I have the Notebook Cooler ZM-NC2000 which is supposedly the best for this laptop.

 

can of compressed air, lock fans in place by inserting a sewing needle or paperclip between fan blades and then give it a good shot.

 

Dual 9800. and I will try cleaning it see if it helps. tomorrow though since i need to go buy some.

BTW do i need to open it up? or just from the outside? and which fans? the ones on the bottom? because i dont feel safe opening it up since i suck at laptops or anything related to it.

 

the fans are the ones on the bottom of the laptop? if so i have two, although the back of it (where the charger is plugged) releases alot of heat.

 

--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

Sequential Read : 209.018 MB/s
Sequential Write : 143.881 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 150.196 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 128.383 MB/s
Random Read 4KB : 20.477 MB/s
Random Write 4KB : 12.424 MB/s

Test Size : 100 MB
Date : 2009/09/12 2:55:17

Those are numbers from my Patriot Torqx. I definitely do not get the numbers other users are getting but they vary widely by system/hardware.

In some respects you shouldn't rely on the benchmarks that you're getting but your real world perception/experience with the drive. I do understand that you're likely wondering if there's some bottleneck limiting performace and you'd like to get all you can out of your SSD. I feel similiary.

Initially based on the benchmarks I was very disappointed. Now when I acess my 500GB secondary HD my eyes bulge out of my head from the very noticeable delay in accessing the drive. How dare it have me wait; insolent mechanical device!

 

Cueball, perhaps you did not receive any response from the resolution team due to the fact that I had them summarily executed?

Kade and the others are correct, this offer is an absolute abomination of logic. It is completely unacceptable and I would refuse it vehemently. Fight them to your last dying breath, or theirs preferably.

Keep taking notes of the time and dates of your attempted contacts and methods. The longer they delay the more shot you have for your cannon. Hopefully the resolution team will arrive right on time for your barrage.

 

Real world performance is unbelievable. Adobe applications launch themselves like ravenous wolves at prey. Games load insanely fast, in some cases too fast (can have some unintended consequences).

Boot up time is ridiculously fast, perhaps into plaid. Prior to having SSD I would routinely leave my computer on due to the insufferable several minute boot time. Now I am more than happy to shut my computer down when I won't be using it.

I don't run the trim before benchmarks, I just saw the question and ran a benchmark with the application I had installed.

Tweaks: I went through several websites and made some tweaks, win7 does some by default.

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47212

Most if it is good advice. Use what you're comfortable with.

I have some other advice I put into a word doc as well:

Tweaks:
Disable indexing: Uncheck indexing from drive properties + disable indexing service
Turn off system restore
Turn off hibernation
Turn off the pagefile (Or put pagefile on HDD or ramdisk)

Vista/7: Disable Scheduled Defragmentation

Type into cmd prompt:
fsutil behavior set disable8dot3 1
fsutil behavior set disablelastaccess 1

Go to Device Manager
Click the + By Disk Drives
Right-click on the SSD and go to Properties, then to the Policies tab
Make sure write-caching is on (power outage may cause loss of data..)
Vista/7: Check 2nd box for Advanced Performance
XP: Put dskcache in C:, open cmd and type c:\dskcache +p c:
You can download dskcache.exe online, or I can send it to you if you absolutely cannot find it.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\CONTRO L\Session Manager
Default BootExecute = autocheck autochk *
To remove C: = autocheck autochk /k:C *
To remove C: and E: = autocheck autochk /k:C /k:E *

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
DisablePagingExecutive change to 1 (If not already)
LargeSystemCache change to 1
Set SecondLevelDataCache to whatever your L2 cache for ur CPU is. EDIT IN DECIMAL MODE!!!
If you have 1MB - 1024, 2MB - 2048, 3MB - 3072, 4MB - 4096, 6MB - 6144
If you have L3 cache or dont know your L2 cache you can skip the above^ step, it will not make a noticeable difference

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters
Enableprefetcher to 0
EnableSuperfetch to 0

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Exp lorer
New string "Max Cached Icons" 2000

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Perflib
New DWORD DisablePerformanceCounters 1

Hope this helps

 

Nothing special or disabled with 3rd party software. I did nothing special at all to run the tests so I'm sure I'm not getting optimal benchmarks.

I think I ignored the pagefile recommendation. Yep, I did...had to check again. I think I originally followed removing pagefile but I questioned the wisdom of that choice and set it back.

 

hmm ... i was playing WC3 and suddenly my screen freezes and the screen goes black and starts blinking sort of then it resumed. happened again while i was in wow. and this time i got the display message: "your driver has recovered successfully" ... anyone knows what is wrong with this?

 

Looking for a bit of advice, I have had my m1730 for just over a year, I have had over 6 graphics cards replaced, 2 hard drives, 1 set of speakers and 2 keyboards. 3 weeks ago after numerous emails I got a call from a guy sujay and he offered me a replacement m1730. I waited 3 weeks for confirmation when I should receive and I then got an email yesterday letting me know that they no longer have the x9000 chip and has now offered me an alienware m17x replacement. Below are the specs of my old system and the one offered.

XPS M1730
X9000 extreme cpu
8800m GTX Sli
4gb Memory
400gb HDD (2x 200 raid 0)
Blu Ray rw drive
Ageia Phys x card

Aleinware m17x
Core 2 Duo T9600
260m GTX Sli
4gb memory
500gb HDD
DVD Rw drive


I am unsure if this is a good deal, as i am not being offered an extreme processor or a blu ray rw drive, and I am unsure about the graphics. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

I have a feeling this is going to upset some current M1730 owners who know that rep

To answer your question, yes it is a nice replacement system however you can ask the rep to match your processor with a extreme processor (in this case the QX9300 which is a QuadCore by the way ). Your HDD in the 1730 is a RAID, so the replacement should also be a RAID system. You have a BluRay burner so this should also match. Technically, Dell's policy is equal to or better. If push comes to shove, cave on the RAID since you can easily upgrade this yourself. Be aware the M17x ships with only 1 hard drive cage when RAID is not ordered. The second HDD cage runs approx. 70.00 USD. Hope it works out - you wont be upset with the M17x. Its a beast of a laptop.

FYI: Dell does not offer the X9100 with the M17x. QX9300 only.

 

My gpu/ lcd screen are now 3weeks in backorder to, there seems to be a problem with those G92 chip they told me and they send all the broken gpu's back to nvidia, it could take months if we get them back they say,........... the problem is I don't believe any word anymore they say to me.
My situation is in a escallation now and the support sended yesterday a engineer to examine my whole computer, because i have the feeling the support didn't believe me that i was having problems.....
After the test the engineer called to that support and explain that there are realy problems with it,....that ended up in a discussion with those two, because the support now didn't believe the engineer,........................... this is just so f r u s t r a t i n g after 3 months.