Dell XPS M1730 Owner's Lounge, Take 2

thanks for the reply BatBoy, i will send off an email about the specs and see if they will sort it out. On the graphics front is the 260m sli a good setup compared to my 8800m sli? I spend a lot of time at sea in my job so the notebook is my no.1 line of entertainment so just want to make sure it will be good for gaming.

 

The 260m SLI will be fine and yes, it is a step up from the 8800M GTX. You could argue for the 280M SLI but I think you'll have a tough time convincing them to do it (just my opinion of course). Hope it works out and we'll see you in the AW forums...

 

its worth a try, i will post the outcome once i hear back from them, thanks again for the advice.

 

I have a question about the policy and warranty from Dell.

IF you are the second owner of a xps m1730 and did the servicetag transfer so the system is on youre name(my situation NBD till 2012)
Do we have the full rights like the first owner, i mean can we ask for a refund after 3 repairs(in my situation 3 replacements and 3 repairs, and a lot of problems with that support)
What does there policy say about that?
I really would know the answer and i think there are a lot of second owners to who wanted to know that.
thx

 

Aaaaaaaah!

I am just looking online at the moment for the instructions on how to make a noose! and i'm going to send it to Sujay, if he doesn't use it then i will.

If you can, press for the Extreme processor and the 280m's

Best of luck to you marine.

 

Bpat,
Technically, you are the owner. I have told you this over PM. They have this stupid issue in finance of only refunding to the original company account when the item was originally purchased by said company/business. It's assumed on Dell's part, by default, that you're the company person.

Now in order to get that refund moved into another external account, the company must offer a consent on your behalf so finance don't have a potential liability on their hands. Personally, I say they should just use the same ignorant, moronic tactics on the companies to sway 'em away, but I think they have a fear of large corporate big-wigs. It's sad, but the individual will always be a weaker, and easier target for everyone.

Now there is one other alternative, but it leaves you with only Dell products as future options. You could ask for the refund in vouchers; this will negate the need for any consent letter. Basically, you get the original payment back, but in the form of Dell vouchers. Then you are free to use those vouchers on any 'Dell Product'. That's why I am fighting for my consent letter, because I have issues with 'Dell' and would seriously think twice about another 'Dell Product', not because of the quality of the product, but because of the lacking quality in support and attitude.

On the up side, once you use these vouchers and buy the machine, it will be fresh in your name, linked to your bank details, hopefully. Therefore, if anything goes wrong, they answer to you and only you.

Note: There is no 'written' word on this for us; you won't find this information in our 'End User Agreement'. However, finance is doing this to cover their own @$$ so the company-in-question has no reason to blast them with legal papers at a later point in time for offering generous/full refunds to individuals that purchased the item through the company. Business and economics - ya' gotta' love this sh*t with every drop of bile dripping from your lips!

And to MarineEngineer,
Do not accept the CPU just yet, and ask for the following:
- QX9300, or settle for T9800 (Say it like they're ripping you off and giving you the inferior product).
- Blu-Ray RW (Don't compromise. It's a premium drive and you paid a price for this drive - they have to offer such a thing with your new machine).
- The rest sounds fine. 260m GTX in SLi is actually a great GPU offering and virtually in league with the 280m. When it comes down to the real world gaming, you'll hardly notice much of a difference. They're excellent GPUs. Although you could argue for 280m in SLi, but I don't know your chances. You could say that you paid for the very best when you got the 8800m GTX, and they didn't deliver. You can then add to that point by saying that 260m is not the 'best' amongst their current offerings with the M17x.

 

Thx Kade, now i understand it was because i didn't realy understand everything what you wrote in the pm (my lack of english sorry).

 

Nah. It was my fault. I didn't actually tell you about their 'reasons' for demanding a consent, and instead, I simply told you to acquire the consent.

If you get too tired of their crap, do try to ask for a full refund in 'vouchers'. You never know, it might go through for you.

 

I bought DVI-HDMI adapter and connected TV. Switching off notebook's LCD doesn't help - strange.
Sometimes (usally when laptop works long but not always) is possilbe to hear this: http://nozyck.wrzuta.pl/audio/7CmRpEh1X5K/sound - but sometimes it's very silent. No 3D applications, no high temperatures. Maybe it's time to finalize warranty transfer and serious contact with Dell support.

 

That sound comes from hard drive. My hard drives make the same noise when seeking.

 

can anyone answer what happened in this situation? the whole thing about screen flashing black then white for like a couple milli seconds then black and then giving me and error that my graphic card had some knd of problem and recovered successfully?



this is what i got in the problem reports and solutions:

Description
A problem with your video hardware caused Windows to stop working correctly.

Problem signature
Problem Event Name: LiveKernelEvent
OS Version: 6.0.6002.2.2.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033

Files that help describe the problem
WD-20090911-2145.dmp
sysdata.xml
Version.txt

View a temporary copy of these files
Warning: If a virus or other security threat caused the problem, opening a copy of the files could harm your computer.

Extra information about the problem
BCCode: 117
BCP1: 84CA3008
BCP2: 8E210260
BCP3: 00000000
BCP4: 00000000
OS Version: 6_0_6002
Service Pack: 2_0
Product: 768_1


By clicking View a Temporary Copy of these files: i get the files sysdata (XML Document), Version (Text document), WD-20090911-2145.dmp (DMP File)

 

But I'm talking about continous sound - like cheep (not ticking). I told sth about it earlier (but it was in 3D):

 

Then it may be the CPU whine, wich for Intel processors with Speed Step is normal.

 

Guess what???????? I toasted my cards back to health today for a FOURTH time now. My replacements are backlogged until the 14th, and I have some major gaming to do this weekend, so I can't wait! First I turned the PC on and it would go to this ugly grey screen like it was washing out the screen. Then, I had to restart in safe mode with networking. It worked, but obviously was not running on the 8800's at 1920 x 1200. IE window would lag while scrolling. I restarted again and couldn't get a picture at all. Then I toasted them. Work like new again!

 

We all bow to your epic baking skills Chef.

Nice job!

 

hi long time lurker here
my 8800m gtx sli fried on me nearly two weeks ago . Engineer was supposed to come after two days to replace it then he phoned to say they have non in stock then yesterday a dell rep phoned and said the they will contact me when one becomes available and i`d just have to wait, so much for nbd warranty question is is this a normal thing to happen and should I just sit tight and wait for a new card? BTW i am in the uk if that makes any difference.
cheers darren

 

batboy can you help me with my problem? read my statements above please.

 

Hello all!

Finally got around to registering after lurking for a few months like several others in the past several pages.

Might I attempt a reply? While I don't have a M1730, the 7950 GTX in my M1710 has fried twice in the system's lifetime so far (i.e. I'm on my third card now, so far still going strong). Each time I experienced the "Display driver has recovered from a serious error" somewhere between a couple hours and a couple days before I began to see artifacting when watching movies and eventually discoloration on the screen just sitting at the desktop, followed by BSOD. You may try installing different drivers to make sure the one you have current isn't simply corrupted in some way (I've had this happen once; using different drivers cleared everything up). Also, try booting with only one card active (I've read this is possible if you press the Media Direct key to start without having it installed). If this appears to resolve the issue, you can be pretty sure the inactive card is on its last leg.

Hope this was helpful in some way.

Cheers.

 

Should always do this as soon as you take posession of the system. Try to do so without delay. Ownership Transfer Link

 

Can you post your specs (OS, 32 or 64-bit, GPU, NVIDIA Display Driver Ver. installed)? The error you posted is usually associated with a driver error - so this will be the first thing we look at.

 

Batal - I had that error before too, even on my 8800GTX sli desktop system and it always has been a driver problem, I just reinstall the driver or change to a different driver version and the problem usually goes away for me.

 

but i need a new driver that works good. with my laptop and my 9800s. there is one on the website that batboy gave me but that driver doesnt work with cs:s since it makes the screen kinda purpulish and black. dunno what else to do :S

 

and right now my system decides to suddenly shut down. Was playing World of warcraft and then it laggs and all i know is screen goes black and the system restarts. do you guys think i should call dell? and if so what is hte best way to contact them. I live in the US. Thank you guys for your help.

 

I had numerous problems with my cards and the last time a few weeks ago I was told the same thing, so I sent an email off to [email protected], at the end of the day you have purchased a nbd service which they are not honouring. In the end I was told I was getting a replacement system, then an engineer appeared and fitted a 9800gt and that failed after only 36 hours!! So waiting to hear about my new system at the moment, I am also in the Uk. I am sure the guys here will be able to help you out with some advice, they are usually spot on with that

 

@Batal: let us know what OS (I'm guessing Vista) you are running including whether its 32-bit or 64-bit and I'll post some driver suggestions. Also let us know what driver you are currently running.

 

like i said before Dazr, they are out of stock and send all the broken nvidia cards back to the nvidia factory, because the problem with those G92chip,....after months they dicovered that there is realy a problem with it , could take months before we get them back
I'm in the same situation

 

No. Personally (and this is just my opinion - not of NBR or anyone else), its not normal and you should not have to 'wait'. Did the rep give you an ETA? If its more than a handful of days I would ask for a replacement system unless you don't mind waiting. You paid for Next Business Day On-Site service coverage... While a short delay is acceptable, an unreasonable amount of time (and you have to determine what is unreasonable) is not acceptable.

 

Question:
Is it normal that the support everytime after a phonecall even for the same problem with hardware gives a diffrent casenumbers?
My opinion if there is a problem with a gpu they must use the same casenumber not?
because there policy say's after 3 replacements(in 1 case) you can ask for a escallation for a refund or replacement, but if they use diffrent casenumbers you never get those 3 replacements in 1 case,...or am i wrong?

 

Its not uncommon for the case number to change after calling. Rest assured the service call history is retained for each service tag. Just keep track of the case#'s you are assigned and what they are for. Remember, Document - Document - Document.

 

Ok Batboy thx for the answer

 

I am running Vista, 32 bit, dual 9800s, driver 8.15.11.8603

 

Agreed. At the very least, they should send you 8700's to tide you over until the actual card comes in. If that doesn't work, then tell them you want your warranty extended by the period of time you are out of the card - because you can't use the system as it is meant to be used. That might light a fire under their asses.

 

Are heating issues a common problem with M1730's? I am looking at one with dual 9800 GT SLI's, I don't want one which ends up overheating very quickly - what are your experience with it?

 

9800GT=8800GTX. Both are 65nm so here's no difference. This card makes a lot of heat so if air condition in your room isn't good, it can be hot. Max temp is 110°C. I have max 86° (games) or 96° (FurMark) but (as you can see) temperature can be lower in other models with same GPU.
I called to Dell - they told that I can open the notebook to remove dust (and change thermal compound on GPU or CPU) without losing warranty so it's very nice.

 

just get a long warranty and a back up gaming computer... on my 7th gpu in 9 months

 

Jesus, that unreliable

May just skip buying it, although I will be able to get it at 61% of its normal price :/.

 

well, when it is working, it is awesome but dell likes to replaced bad gpu's with bad gpu's so it causes nothing but failures. i think most new gpu's have decent life

 

so today, the fps dropped down alot ... i was getting almost 25-30 fps on a single WoW window, not even two. this is really ridiculous. anyone has any suggestions?

 

I don't think the 8800 is exactly = 9800. My 8800 was replaced a few weeks ago for 9800. I can tell you the 9800 runs a bit cooler (about 3 degrees) and is FAR FAR LESS tempermental about which driver I can pick and run SLI in. It pretty much runs any of these drivers with no issues. The 8800 would often lock up with certain drivers and was very very finicky with which ones would work reliably in SLI.

I run Vista 64, fwiw.

 

For those of you who upgraded to a blu-ray as I did, are you finding the travel remote still works? I can fast foward, change volume, jump chapters, but I cannot pop up the blu-ray menu. Is there a newer version of the remote that enables full blu-ray functionality?

 

Are you monitoring your temps when this occurs? Could be you're getting downclocked.

 

Try this:

1. Follow this process to uninstall your driver

2. Once done, try the 190.40 driver and see how it works out. If you don't like it, we'll try another.

Also, I'm not positive since I dont play WoW, but doesn't it have issues with SLI? I seem to recall reading something about it somewhere. Oh and another point, when was the last time you took a can of compressed air to the fans and exhausts? Make sure to lock down the fan blades when doing so by inserting a toothpick/paperclip/sewing needle between the fan blades to prevent unsafe RPM free rotation.

 

quick question:

is £120 an ok price for a 2 year nbd extension to my warranty ?

 

Shouldn't I just turn off my laptop once doing that? because i tried looking inside my laptop and I couldn't really see any fans (although i did it on a dim light, but i will try to do it today).

What is a good program to monitor my temperatures?

 

On the bottom of the XPS M1730 you will see 3 fans. Just insert a paperclip through the fan grill and in-between the fan blades. Give it a good shot of air. If you don't lock the fans, they will spin freely @ a very high RPM rate. Its all personal preference and I can't refer you to hard data on the dangers of the blades spinning freely but its just a safety measure I personally use.

As for monitoring, I suggest HWMonitor. I put together a list of what I consider essential apps including HWMonitor HERE.

 

Just a quick update, Sujay finally agreed to give me the extreme cpu and the blu-ray rw drive but wouldnt budge on the graphics cards so in the end i am getting the below speced m17x

QX9300 2.5Ghz
4Gb Memory
Dual Sli GTX 260M
Blu-ray rw drive
500gb (7200)
2 years nbd support

Hope i see an increase in performance over my m1730. Thanks again for the advice guys.

 

The battery in mine is dead. Aside from buying from Dell Directly. Has anyone bought one some where else and have had luck?

Thanks

 

It's possible to use G15 display to show tepmeratures. RivaTuner works nice - http://www.overclock.net/other-software/245297-riva-tuner-g15-keyboard-set-up.html

 

That's how much I paid for mine, and yes it's well worth it.

 

If you can afford it push to 3 years extention (£160)

They've been offering that for a while now as a special price apparently, I upgraded mine last month.