Newbie xps1730: alot of questions, help me out..

Hi guys!
So i took the risk and i got an xps m1730 refurbished for 800$.
it comes with 8800m gtx sli and t9300.
Before i ask you some questions,ive been in contact with one of the experienced users of this system,Magnus72,who gave me alot of tips.
But i feel i need to broad my search so here i am.
Ill try to keep my questions orderd so hopefully anyone can reply.
Thanks in advance!

1) my clevo is in sig. This xps comes with t9300 and dual sli gpu. Do i have to expect significant performance drop compared to my clevo in games @ same resolution? (wxga+) im asking this because i cant get the x9000 for now and my clevo runs an x9100 right now..althought it got a single gpu.

2) does t9300 supports dual ida mode? What speed can it reach, like 2.66ghz?

3) its fine to use newer nvidia drivers for sli or i am forced to use the dell ones?

4) its advisable to use the ageia physx processor than the gpus installed? If not, why? Isnt supposed to help in physx games?

5) im a windows 7 x64 user, its good to install it on this machine?

6) can anyone WHITOUT an x9000 cpu post/write some benchmarks with games like Dirt/Dirt 2/Grid and so on, in terms of fps? Preferably if specs are similar to the t9300..so i can have a better understanding on how this cpu performs on recent games.

Thank you all and sorry if i bothered you guys..but i really need to know if the jump is worth (from my clevo to this,thats it..

 

The 8800M GTX SLI will perform better on SLI enabled games than the single 3700M. But comparing it single card wise, the 3700M is a better performer as it is based on the GTX 280M, that is if you used the right gaming drivers since designed as a professional card.

The T9300 dual IDA mode can be activated via throttlestop, when enabled, both cores will run at 2.7GHz, and that's 200MHz extra from 2.5GHz...

There's no reason not to use the drivers only from Dell unless if you are having performance issues, but that doesn't really happen to most users... In fact the drivers from Nvidia and LV2G provide decent drivers, all specifically suited for modern games as opposed the ones from Dell, which are slightly older.

The physx processor is said to be useless these days as the GPUs are already capable of handling them. Many people sold them away. Unless you are playing games that requires physx technology, its not having it installed in your machine. It is also said that it generates unneccessary heat from it.

Windows 7 is great. All drivers can be found via windows update and it works flawlessly. I am one of those Windows 7 Ultimate x64 users running on my M1730. All I can say is, its worth installing it.

P.S also do note that the following games mentioned, while CPU performance does effect the game's performance in way, the GPU however takes the overall load for these games.

Hope this helps...

 

Sfof,thank you!
You really helped me out. At least i am more clear about the potential of this system.
As i said i probably upgrade to x9000 later, ive seen some guides and beside the insane amount of screws its not that hard to upgrade.
As for the games, the ones i own afaik does support sli, so i should be ok. Most of the times recommended specs include dusl cpus starting from 2,6 so i should be ok as long the gpus takes the job of rendering.

Also,about the Fx,note that im coming from a 9800m GT2 oced,which gave me a nice performance, just a few fps below the fx i currently own.
Its true that is based on gtx 280m core, but these cards doesnt oc at all, so at stock clocks it runs nearly at the same performance of my 9800m gt.

Besides, ive been reading that 8800m gtx is the renamed 9800m gt: its possible to flash the 9800m gt dell bios on both master and slave card?

It doesnt improves anything tho, doesnt it?
Many thanks!

 

Well very little users have done it, and there is no known master or slave card as the design is proprietary unlike MXM cards. It -can- be flashed though, but from what I heard it wasn't worth the time doing so, and it didn't gain to be cooler than expected. Basically I would say this time round that it is the card itself rather the vBIOS.

In the mean while, keep your current cards, just make sure the temps don't go over 80 - 85*C while gaming to keep up its longevity.

 

Thanks, ill see what i can achieve when the laptop ships. Tracking online has been updated since saturday, i really hope that everything is ok..im sick of bad luck, it hasnt been a great year at all..

Well thanks a billion mate!

 

Kingpinzero here is the Dirt 2 benchmark I ran with Ultra Settings and 1920x1200 8xAA.

YouTube - Dirt 2 Benchmark 1920x1200 Ultra High, 8xMSAA, XPS M1730, C2D 2.4GHz, 8800m GTX SLI @ 625/1550/950

That was with my T7700 at 2.4Ghz.

 

Awesome,
thanks Magnus!
BTW i want to ask you something: do you make videos with 8xmsaa just to stress test the games for benchmarks, or those settings are the ones you normally use?
Im asking this because nvidia own 8xCsaa performs alot better than 8xMsaa while it takes the same amount of power that 4xMsaa takes.
Actually it's 4xMsaa+2xSsaa (4*2=8) and i do usually use it.

As an example, im wondering how that Dirt 2 benchmark score would have been with the same settings but with NO AA or 8xCsaa instead of plain 8xMsaa.

Probably you would get better min fps (instead of 25 probably 30) and much higher avg fps (instead of 33.5 prolly 36).

Im saying this because, if the notebook ever arrives (its lost somewhere around germany and im starting to cry lol) with the t9300 in DualIDA + Oced gpus at your clocks it should performs better.

Also im not planning to use it in 1200p, probably at that resolution AA isnt doing much, im right?

 

Nah at 1920x1200 you don´t even need any AA, I usually run without AA at 1920x1200. I ran the Dirt 2 benchmark with 8xAA just to test what the M1730 could achieve in the benchmark test.

 

hello everyone.i'm a new proud owner of a XPS M1730 with C2D T9500 and 8800M GTX SLI and i get about 11800 points in 3dmark 2006. i've seen some with 15k+ . i'm using the latest nvidia video driver.

also it seems to me that the gpu is running too hot.when i'm gaming i keep my laptop monitored and the cpu temp si about 50-55 degress celsius but the gpu-s are like 78-82 . the laptop is raised about 1cm with some rubber feet.at idle they don't stay much cooler at all,the minimum idle temp il like 50 degrees when all the fan's stop and they sometimes reach 70 degrees in idle.the gpu and cpu radiators are all dust free because i cleaned them when i bought it. i would like to know if i coud do something to keep them cooler like undervolting the GPU-s . right after i'll finish writing this post i'll dissemble my laptop am put AS5 on the GPU-s and the CPU. also i'd like to know if i coud overclock the cpu a little bit becouse now i run it at 2,5GHZ @ 1,025V and in full load it bearley reaches 60 degress C

 

Hi HONDA,
my current score is 15,095 (look in sig) with 260.99 drivers, win7 x64 and x9000 clocked at 3,8ghz.
With my precedent cpu, t9300 @ 2,70ghz (dual ida) i was able to score around 12,000 points (more or less) so you're in line with the score.

The gpu temperature is fine for me. 8800m GTX in sli are supposed to get very hot and they shouldnt be able to surpass 85c in full load under overclock.

If you're using them with stock clocks, 81c is the reference temperature under load, so you're in range.

Also, get a laptop cooler fast. I use zalman NC2000 and it works like a charm, actually it lowered my temperatures about 2-4c under load and in idle.

For x9000 owners, the best is to set the cpu @ 3,4ghz under bios in order to have the fans always on at max speed. In this way my cpu tops 70c at 3,8ghz and my gpu overclocked barely goes above 75c. Most of the times it hovers around 65-71c.

Its good to have the laptop raised but nothing is better than a cooling pad.

a tip: the t9500 is a powerful CPU. You should get ThrottleStop and enable DualIDA modem, that gives you a 200mhz boost, so it should run it @ 2,8ghz (like a stock x9000). Thats the only way to overclock the cpu. Also, by default speed, the t9500 should run at 2,6ghz, not 2,5.

Also when undervolting, use CpuGenie (google for it). Install it and test every multiplier dropping the voltage. The program is dead easy to use and lets you stress test the cpu for 3 minutes under the voltage you selected.

If, lets make an example, the cpu runs good at 2,8ghz with just v1.050, then you're sorted.

And welcome to the club