**OFFICIAL** Dell XPS M1730 Owner's Lounge, *Part 4*

hi guys, i buy a m1730 yesterday, after looking around internet, i read that m1730 is not fully supported on win 7 and win 7 cause craches and overheat or total damage.
i find vista and xp installation disc, but i want to ask you,
1.-what system is better to play xp or vista?
2.-in what OS m1730 have better performace at not risk damage?

3.- is to dangerous run Windows 7 on a m1730??
4.- if vista is the best OS for m1730 then Dell XPS M1730 - 'The Beast': XPS M1730 Vista Drivers (64-bit) is the most recent guide about drivers??
XD i buy it because my last laptop don't look so nice than this ... XD, was a ACER 5560-sb653

 

jessero - I've used windows 7 since it came out. Now, at almost 4 years old, I did have to send it in and they did replace a lot of components. I'm not sure an OS can overheat a laptop unless the graphics card drivers were not properly set up (?)

all - my laptop came back with 8800 instead of 9800 that it had been updated to when the original 8800 failed. Is it worth complaining about?

 

ohh, thanks for repond =D, but you use xp or vista in your m1730???
right now i'm installing VISTA XD, i have a t7700 2.4Ghz + 4 GB ram + 8700 GT SLI + 128 MB AGEIA Phyxs, this works for WOW?? XD

"XP or vista sometime"

 

" I've used windows 7 since it came out" - on the 1730

 

what driver use with windows 7??? do you play games in ultra or high settings?? i just want to play WOW XD

 

Well, you can download the latest video drivers from Nvidia

 

i finish to install vista 64, but i have a 8700 gt sli, but no driver can't detect two cars, i intall dell driver, nvidia driver and i can't see, there is a special way to install to see 2 two grafics???

i have the same issue that jamserver2004,he said thta resolve with Re: (M1730) Second 8700M GT Missing and Physx card not detected but installed

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Got it working, hope this is of huge assistance to anyone else experiencing the issue. After i had already had all other sofware that came with the notebook installed and drivers. I ran driver cleaner on the video, rebooted. Reflashed system bios, before the system started up again i immediately flashed the gpu bios again and once it started back up again the card is now detected in device manager and working properly.
Really Work it???

well, i disassembly it, after couple of boots whitout Hard drive an flashes of main BIOS, i install Vista 32, no orginal that come whit m1730, but a dell oem version orginal DVD, after this AGEIA 100 Phyxs works!! XD
But still i can't make a second 8700 enable and works both with SLI, i still under VIsta 32, if sombody already fix this issue like jamserver2004 please tell how do you fix it XD

good nights guy, after trying VISTA and XP, a take my chance with 7, a good note for everybody that have AGEIA PPU card and windows 7, REMOVE IT!!!!!, because all 8xxx series support new Phyxs:
•AGEIA PhysX processors users should use and install older PhysX system software such as version 8.09.04. Note – AGEIA PPU acceleration support for 2.8.1 SDK or earlier, and Windows Vista and Windows XP only.

Only if you want to be in 2.8.1 SDK, use AGEIA PPU Card, plus only in XP and VISTA OS.

at this moment installing drivers and programs over windows 7.

good nights guy, after trying VISTA and XP, a take my chance with 7, a good note for everybody that have AGEIA PPU card and windows 7, REMOVE IT!!!!!, because all 8xxx series support new Phyxs:
•AGEIA PhysX processors users should use and install older PhysX system software such as version 8.09.04. Note – AGEIA PPU acceleration support for 2.8.1 SDK or earlier, and Windows Vista and Windows XP only.

Only if you want to be in 2.8.1 SDK, use AGEIA PPU Card, plus only in XP and VISTA OS.

at this moment installing drivers and programs over windows 7.

Hi, i spend another night and day with my m1730, after clean motherboard and 8700gt sli, and apply ice fusion coolmater in CPU and GPU's, i try Windows 7, i can tell you that there are a lot of difference between "beast guide" and mine, basically drivers in chipset, matrix, nvidia, ricoh, ethernet, wireless, i run A11 BIOS with SLIC 2.1, Windows 7 SP1 OEM, only one thing i cant make that work, QUICKSET!!!!, XD, ohh and secod 8700 is still disable... if somebody know how to enable, please post, and if somebody want a new installation with windows 7 sp1 A11 slic 2.1 and newer drivers just ask XD, by the way, installa the newest intel chipset driver, but don't install new matrix, let windows 7 sp1 matrix because the new one cause windows update failure and don't let you intall drivers whit out singned.
i install two toshiba drivers 640 GB en RAID 0, i have a t7700 and 4 GB ram XD

 

In Device Manager under "Display adapters" needs to recognize "2" 8700mGT for sli to work.
If it only recognize "1" 8700mGT could mean faulty gpu

how it should look HERE...... well ive got 9800's

what do u see under "Display adapters" ?

 

Can anyone confirm ? ( Especially when it comes to total destruction )

 

Win7 OS in me Beast never crashs unless OCing to much or lol run over with truck for total destruction
cant see how damage it with win7

 

So motherboard died on m1730, repair guy came round and replaced motherboard and ac adaptor, unfortunately it turns out the laptop is pretty much dead. He thinks the palm rest shorted causing other parts to short out and recommended a collect and return.

How long does this normally take and is it worth it?

 

That's right , I also do not see it. I just wanted to make sure

 

hi guys, i run windows 7 with al most all drivers update than the beast guide, and runs fine, 7 days take me to make my m1730 in shape, XD, still one 8700 is disable, i see only one, maybe 1 is dead, but i'm very impress to play wow and medium, the ultrasharp 17" RGBLED with Truelife is very amazing, i change a acer 5560 sb653 con15" HD LED for my m1730 and i can tell you guys it's nothing to compare the disply in 1730 to hdled of today XD

 

May I ask you guys which drivers you are using? Especially the win7 64bit drivers for the cardreader and the audio device? There are quite a few out there, but they are all pretty outdated.

 

cardreader winupdate, audio last from dell =D

 

Would that be version 6.10.0.5866, the audio driver that is?
That same driver is mentioned on "The Beast Guide". Have looked some further, but I'm unable to find any newer Sigmatel drivers. There are some IDT drivers (they bought Sigmatel) which seem to work as well, but only on certain types of Dell notebooks. Haven't been succesfull so far with those drivers.

 

Hi Guys, Girls And Anyone Who Hasn't Decided

I Recently Joined The M1730 Club, Bought Myself A Base Model Ready For Upgrade. Basically I Have;

T9300 2.4Ghz
4GB Ram (2x 2GB)
2x 120GB HDD
Sli 9800 GT
DVD Rewriter

I Want To Upgrade All Of These Except The Graphics (Cost..) But Was Wondering What Specific Pieces I Need. For Instance..

CPU: Looking At x7900 Or x9000, This One Particularly x7900 eBay Much Cheaper Than X9000 Plus Its Available xD Compatible?

Ram: I Think I Read I Need DDR2? Would This Be Compatible? 8GB Ram eBay

HDD's: Will Any Work? Specific Connections? Want A 120GB SSD And A 500GB 7200RPM Storage. Maybe OCZ Agility SSD And Seagate Storage?

DVD Drive: Want To Upgrade To Blu-ray Reader. Think I Read Somewhere I Need A UJ220, But Worried About Compatibility Issues. Would This Suit? UJ220 BR Drive eBay

Any Help Would Be Much Appreciated, Want To Get These Upgrades Done ASAP. Thanks In Advance.

 

CPU: The x7900 should work without any problems, though I doubt if you'll really see some improvement. Both CPU's perform at stock speed quite the same, with the x7900 being slightly better. So unless you are going to overclock the x7900, I'm not sure if this is worth the money. The x9000 would be a much better choice.
see also: http://forum.notebookreview.com/gateway-emachines/295720-t9300-vs-x7900-games.html

RAM: The one you linked is the wrong type of memory. This type memory is for a normal desktop. You need SO-DIMM. Note that the max supported speed of memory for the M1730 is 667 MHz. Any 800 MHz module will downclock itself to 667 MHz..
see: 8GB (2X4GB) MEMORY 512X64 PC2-5300 667MHZ 1.8V DDR2 200 PIN SO DIMM | eBay

HDD: Any SATA 2,5" notebook drive should work without any problems. Note that the max speed you will get is SATA2.

DVD: This is one works for sure: Dell M1730 XPS UJ-220 Blu-ray BDVD-ROM DVD±RW IDE/ATA TESTED | eBay
The drive you mentioned: It looks like it's the same type, although I'm not sure about the mountingpoint (screw) and if you can exchange the front bezel.

 

Replying my own post. Can anyone help on this?

Any word on the lifespan of the 9800GTX SLI? Will they suffer any overheating issues and die as quick as 8700, 8800 or 8800 SLI? Or are the 9800 GTX SLI better on this?

 

You already tried resetting CMOS/replacing CMOS battery?

 

No I didn't. I think even with a depleted battery the harddisk should be detected. All other BIOS-settings remain intact.

 

Not necessarily..
On my other notebook, which has a broken rechargeable CMOS battery, occurs the same thing from time to time as well.
You also checked the harddisk cable? I remember one time when I installed an other disk, it wasn't detected, though the cable was connected correctly. I had to reconnect it, worked without problems then. I understand after a bios-setting change your disk is working without problems, though it might be worth checking it.

 

I Bought This. Can Anyone Help With Where To Grab The UJ220 Blu Ray Drivers?

Also Mars Many Thanks For The Other Suggestions. Will Be Buying The x9000 Next

 

You won't need any drivers. Just plug it in and Windows/Linux will do the rest. You do need additional software to play Blu-ray disks though.

 

You do not need drivers for the Blu-Ray drive. Just install the drive and it will work.
You will need Blu-Ray software to play Blu-Ray movies, like PowerDVD.

Sorry Mars79, I din't see your post.

 

I have got strange issue . From long time ago - time to time - I had a problems with sli mode in my M1730 . It was a screen flickering in some games in sli mode when I used nVidia drivers . The most strange is that when I instaled stock dell drivers the problem gone and everything was fine - no screen flickering ( but support for newest game to sli was gone too... ) . Can someone explain me what is wrong with my machine ? , because along with the newest Nvidia drivers 3xx - the problem revert back to me .

 

There's nothing wrong with the machine, it's the drivers. I have the same issues with same games.

Hey guys, long time no see

 

Thought you'd be interested that Windows 8 Enterprise x64 RTM installed no problems on my M1730, and drivers were automatically installed for all components. Updated the latest graphics drivers from Nvidia and SLI is enabled.

Minor issue: The LCD Game Panel is detected, but just displaying 'XPS', so I'll try the Logitech drivers instead.

Looking good...

 

A performance review would be interesting. I for one am still mainly using XP, have 7 also, but expect for games that require it, XP still seems to be the smoothest for me.

 

Anyone tried to dual boot Mountain Lion?

 

Anyone playing Max Payne 3? Magnus, specifically, if you have an SLI profile, that's be great, it's not running as good as I'd hope...

 

Hey Guys i was looking for 1730 reviews and saw this thread. I am buying a 1730 with these specs,

X9000 - 2.80GHz

9800M - SLI - 1GB x 2

4GB Ram and 320GB HDD

its a used unit but seller says condition is A,

Price is 500$.

So it looks like a great deal to me if condition is ok and there are no heating problems with the graphics card.

Any thing i should look out for or any other suggestions?
thanks.
.

 

Well, the price is more than decent, if it's still working ok.

Issues... well, those can only be seen when running games on it So if he's willing to give you a 7 day trial out, it's be fine.

Max temps should NOT exceed 80-82C for the GPU, and 80C for the CPU.

 

I have not Max Payne installed Eleron but I will give it a try and see if I can make a good SLI profile for it.

 

I would like some feedback. I had some heavy duty work on my laptop including new hard drives, mother board, case. It's tight as can be and purs like a kitten. UNFORTUNATELY while doing all of this heavy lifting, they broke something that was fine when I sent it in. They broke the little button you push to pop out the remote control. I can get the remote control out by using a pen, but it really ANNOYS me to no end that they broke something that was fine. That particular part is not available. I'm so unhappy. It seems minor but every time I touch that area and feel the rough, broken plastic, I get pissed off. And I do use that remote in hotel rooms to watch blu-rays.

They told me they could depot it again and offered me that option but I'd likely get a swap. Considering how tight the computer is, maybe I should just live with it. Or since these models just don't hold up long term, likely it's going to be dead in a year or two anyway and I should go ahead and push for a replacement.

 

Wow, been awhile since I last checked out these forums, nice to see the M1730 thread still going.

Has anyone been a part of any of the Guild Wars 2 Betas? I'm wondering how the M1730 can handle it.

I still have my M1730 pretty much stock from when I first got it other than a SSD I recently put in as the main drive and upgrading out of Vista to Windows 7. T9300 @ 2.5ghz, 8800M GTXs, 4 gb ram. Haven't looked up the shader model version of the 8800s but everything else is above the Min reqs. I've contemplated upgrading to a X9000 and 8gb of ram but at the cost I'm nearing a new system.

I played Rift on this system (pre ssd and win 7) last year and was able to run it on mediumish settings with the fps dropping significantly during raids and heavy combat. This was also on BIOS A10 so I kept some settings low due to overheating (I didn't know about A11 until this past weekend, almost 2 yrs of playing on lower settings b/c of fans ) Closest comparable recent game I've tried on this system is Tribes: Ascend (which really isn't that good of a comparison). On max settings I see the bottleneck being the CPU.

Long story short I'd be happy enough to run GW2 reasonably well on low/medium settings. Worst case I'll have to use my M11x which is marginally better hardware wise albeit on a tiny screen.

 

Thank you for the information. But this time I had problems with all the games after installing 301.XX. Back to the older drivers did not help - I had to reinstall OS.

 

I'm running the 304.79 under Windows 7 x64 on mine (8800GTX) and it is great! The 301 caused me headaches as well.

Steve

 

I'm contemplating upgrading my CPU from the T9300 to either the X7900 or X9000 will I need a different fan or heat sink than what already came with my M1730 or will it suffice?

 

I don't think you can put different to what's already inside. Someone has to confirm this though. I'm not 100% sure.

 

Does anyone tried Dark Souls ? - I wonder how it runs on M1730

 

Too Cool,

They are "collectors" items now!!!

Dell XPS 1730 3.3GHZ XtremeX900 *NEW

 

Can someone help me with information about the UJ220 Panasonic Blu-Ray drive.
I have a M1730 with a TSST L632H drive with appears to be faulty. I obtained a UJ220 Panasonic drive from the UK. The drive is bare without a front bezel. Does the TSST bezel fit the Panasonic drive? If it doesn't can anyone suggest where I can get the correct bezel for the UJ220 drive.

 

The heatsink and fan is not upgradeable in the M1730. I recently upgraded the CPU to an X9000 without any heating problems. A tube of arctic silver heat conductive paste is essential when changing the CPU.

I am running a 9800M GTX video card with a seperate Ageia Physics card installed. It runs with no problems. I know the 9800M GTX has its own Ageia Physics processor built in. Mine runs ok with no problem at all.

 

Two months ago I upgraded my XPS M1730 from a T9300 to an X9000. I just spread a paper thin coat of Arctic Silver 5 on the X9000 heat sink, tinned the copper heat sink by spreading AS5 on it and then wiped it off to fill in the microscopic holes in the copper and put it back together. Then I tightened the copper heat sink down securely. Also clean any dust off the radiator. The existing cooling system will work just fine. Remember to keep the back of the laptop raised off the desk about a quarter to half an inch when it's turned on for better cooling.

There's a really good description with photos somewhere in Notebook Review that I used to do the upgrade. Can't remember where it is, but if you google it you should be able to find it.

Well, it took me awhile, but I finally found the link to photos showing how to disassemble an XPS M1730 to upgrade the CPU to an X9000. Here's the link to the photos in Notebookreview:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/385427-xps-m1730-disassembly-guide.html

It's a detailed task requiring careful execution, but not difficult.

BTW, Ripfire, tx for the photos. They made all the difference.

 

Does anyone have any experience of getting a replacement keyboard under premium warranty - I emailed a few days ago as my " . " button has been loose for months and occasionally comes off.

They emailed back to say it wasn't covered. I paid over 150 euro for a 2/3 year extension (can't remember now), I'm really not impressed that this isn't covered. I can understand the battery not being covered.

 

Well, in the meantime, I've installed the 304.79 driver, and it has a pretty decent SLI profile for it. Increase is around 20% in framerate. Although I am not running at max, its still in native resolution, 2xAA, all High/Very High.

Surprised to hear that. But a keyboard should be fairly inexpensive, but insist upon it. It should be covered, no doubt about it.

 

My XPS M1730

My Panasonic UJ220 Blu-Ray drive arrived today. It was a bare drive without the front bezel and rear mounting bracket. I currently had a TSST drive which wouldn't read some CDs. I removed the old drive and the front bezel. It fitted straight on the Panasonic drive with no problem. For all those out there considering an upgrade this is my feedback.

I installed a mini pci express tv tuner in my M1730 . It's a Yuan MC872 DVB-T tv tuner. For the antennae I ran a pigtail from the tv card to a spare spot next to the DVI video card outlet. The 9800M GTX video card has a small blank space where the SVHS video out would be. The outlet is a RPSMA plug. I simply drilled a hole in the plastic. The plastic is very weak and requires reinforcement with a thicker piece of plastic. All I had to do was change the aerial plug to a female SMA plug. The tv tuner works great with Windows Media Centre. TV looks great on the 1920 x 1200 screen.

I would insist on Dell honouring the warranty. If that fails you can easily source a new keyboard on eBay at a very reasonable price. If the keyboard is exactly the same you could remove the problem individual keys and replace them with new ones. The other option is to replace the whole keyboard whiich takes about 5 minutes. There are four screws holding the keyboard in place. You simply slide it towards the screen to remove it. Be careful not to damage the small cable which attaches to the motherboard. The lock catch moves vertically upwards to remove the cable. The assembly is the reverse.

 

Many thanks for the suggestions regarding Dell and the warranty. I'm not impressed by it and will follow up with them by email.

I've another query though - what brand of screw drivers to you use to dissemble your M1730? Some of the old heads around here might remember ages and ages ago when I cleaned my fans and there was a thick application of dust on the fans... (I put up pic's)... anyways the laptop is doing the same thing as before now, over heating etc. But the last time I did it I stripped the head of my screw driver - so now I need a new one, that hopefully is of better quality.

 

You need a small phillips screwdriver. Move the screen back as far as it will go and lift the on/off button panel from the right hand side of the screen. There is a small notch for a flat screwdriver blade. Lift the cover off carefully. There are four screws holding the keyboard in place. Slide the keyboard towards the screen and lift up about two inches. There is a small ribbon cable which attaches to the motherboard. A small lock (brown in colour) at the rear where the cable is mounted lifts up vertically to release the cable. The keyboard can then be removed. Assembly is the reverse. Make sure you seat the ribbon cable properly when reassembling and push the lock arm back in place.