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

Ok the bios is a10 The Gpus are the 8700m gt cards in sli and the cpu is core duo 2 t8300 processor right now while playing call of duty 4 the gpu temps are

card 1: 79c value
card 2: 80c value
cpu
core 0: 40c
core 1:39c

after i get off playing the games and go brows the internet the cards stay around 60s never hitting 59c.

the laptop just sits on my desk, without any cooling. I will invest in a fan though if needed.


I have not opened it up but i took a flashlight and looked at the fans and there seemed to have a little but of dust. I used cpuid to check the temps

 

Hikko > Thanks for the feedback. I may get into it with them but they seem to be scope-locked on the 1066 vs 800 bus discussion. My research indicates from Intel that all Penryn CPU's at 1066 will automatically clock down to 800. What I REALLY was wondering is if the QUAD would provide any benefit if usable? The consensus is not unless the APP was oriented for it.

I use my m1730 for Solidworks and WoW...

 

Last BIOS, A11 is the better choice for lower temps, since the fans kick in faster.

But the best choice is to get an X9000 CPU, since at anything over 3.2GHZ will force the fans at 100%, and that will get you temps that never exceed 70C

 

Hikkoo's already addressed this rather nicely.

He's right. I think we had someone on these forums attempt something similar with an X9100, but even that didn't work on the M1730. I am not sure how someone got a quad core running, to be very honest. If there are indeed bloggers out there who've managed to accomplish this, then I think they should share some of their hardware data with us as some of us might be have the adequate technical know-how to reverse engineer the means/methodology to accomplish the same. I think it might be a BIOS and modification issue than blatant hardware limitation.

I know that the addition of a quad core could really help some of the current M1730 users get a few more years of quality performance out of their laptops, especially for the RTS-genre games. Most games will basically need a good dual core with enough GHz to aid in the SLi scaling. However, certain genres are designed to take advantage of more CPU cores and just a decent high-end GPU. I know that World in Conflict actually had overall stable frame rates on my friend's X305 (I think -- it had SLi 9800m GTS, but with a QX9300) under Single GPU mode than it did on my old M1730 with 9800m GTX SLi, where I'd get some great peak rates, but also some rather low points.

 

Just got my XPS m1730 fixed... after more than a month wait time for GPU's and I must say I am impressed, I have 8700's, this is the second time they were replaced and I think coolers look a lot different on these cards. Playing Skyrim and WoW tems bever got above 63c (Bios A11).

 

Hey guys,

Just wanted to wish you all a great Christmas and new year.

Here's to more years of cool machines and quality gaming.

Cheers.

 

Temps seem pretty high for the gpu. Install the A11 bios it helps alot!! on full load my 8800 never crosses 63c.(probably because my fans are on full blast all the time).As a suggestion after you run the A11 bios,since your cpu temps are normal, use ik8fangui to control the 2 gpu fans and run it on full.

 

I installed the A11 bios early today and played fifa 12 for a little more than an hour and when i checked the temps they were 66c for the cards compared to high 70s ,and low to mid 80s on the a10 bios, what a difference that bios update did!

has anyone used the zalman nc2000 cooler? is it worth the price? or are there better options?

thank you!

 

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!

Question: is the dell wifi driver the only one available? cause with the '07 driver I can't seem to detect every wifi hotspot, whereas my acer one does (of course, with a newer driver, not stock).

 

I changed the wi-fi module ages ago to Intel one. Costs only around €10 on ebay. They still have driver support from Intel.

 

Any links for that? I'm not sure which one fits.
Ebay link is fine, or a general product spec sheet.

Anyway, in the device manager it states that I have an Intel Pro Wireless module...

That's odd, I have version 13.x and when downloading the latest Intel driver, it asked if I wanted to upgrade to the 14.x driver, and it remained at 13.x.

Even full uninstall / reinstall of the clean 14.x driver didn't do it, and in safe mode I can't run the setup, so I'm out of ideas.

 

I'm away for the new years and don't have the laptop with me. Will send you the card number as soon as I get back. It's weird, your wifi card should work just fine. What OS are you using?

 

Hello,

I get my drivers from here.
Support for the Intel Rapid Storage Technology

I choose automatically detect and update drivers and software.
It has work for me so far.

 

Well, decided I should upgrade to win7.

Surprise, surprise, no support on the dell site. So which drivers are you guys using for win7?

 

I get my Intel driver at the link I posted above.
For my Intel Mobile Chipset driver I use version 9.2.0.1030.
For my webcam software I use the Vista version from Dell.
Anything other driver like touchpad or quickset I use Vista driver from Dell also.

 

I figured it would be like that.

Tried the Intel utility, said I needed to update my wifi driver, did so, and it stayed at version 12.x
I am not sure why my wifi won't update, and why the beast is the only laptop that cannot detect the wifi network in this apartment, but I don't particularly have the nerves to figure it out now.

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

 

edit: oh I have to press unlk , problem solved
Hey guys,
I;ve got x9000 installed and overclocked already to 3.4 through BIOS but wanted to go higher. So i installed throttlestop and trying to increase multipier over 17x but it doesn't work. So I'm stuck at 3.4. How do u go over 3.4????


edit2:
So now I'm testing cpu @ 3.6 and would like to overclock 9800m gt. What are ur results with this card guys? What settings? What overclocking software do you use?

 

eleron, as a follow up to my previous post. Checked that I have Intel 5300 AGN module. Have it running with 13.5.0.6 driver under Windows 7.

 

What's the best way to mildly overclock the GPUs? (8800Ms)

 

I see, so we have the same one. Apparently, the wifi must be on a frequency beyond the one of the intel's capabilities. I gave up anyway

I use MSI Afterburner for it, and works just fine.
Good safe values would be 600/1500/900.

 

Really, that high? Is that what you have your rig set at?

I'm mainly looking for a boost in Skyrim after installing a few texture mods that tax my beast a little. I was thinking that increasing RAM speed might help most but not sure.

EDIT: Okay I tried MSI Afterburner but it started a process called "System Interrupts" that just sat there and used 42% of my CPU time - and that was before I used it for tuning. I tried EVGA Precision and it did the exact same thing. Do you know what that's about?

Secondly, is there another utility you can recommend?

 

Can u change voltage in it? I'm using it too but can't up the voltage :/.

 

This is really frustrating. I've Googled for help on this but gotten nowhere. Whenever I have MSI afterburner or the EVGA version installed I'm still getting this problem where one core is maxed out with a system interrupts process. But the thing is, it's not detectable in task manager. I have to go to task manager > Resource Monitor to see it.

It seems that on a healthy machine that process is always there using either 0% or 1% CPU time. But simply installing these tools (without even using them yet) causes this process to skyrocket to 42%-49%.

Does anyone have any advice? Any similar experiences?

 

It's not that high, actually, they're the common agreed values that both increase performance and do not affect the stability of the system.

You can also try ntune 6.x (it installs straight in the Nvidia Control Panel, under the Performance tab), that should also do it.

I had interrupt issues when my PhysX card was disabled, so I went ahead and removed it physically, you might want to check if you have the PhysX driver installed (from dell's site).

Yes, you can, but that would be accomplished by overvolting, and you need to flash it for that, and it's risky. Not really worth it, imho, I'd rather turn down the resolution and have similar results. I know, not the same, but on an HD TV, running at 60 fps is better than anything

 

Yes it's disabled - I never bothered to install the driver for it. Would installing the driver actually fix the problem you think? I'd rather not dig the sucker out of there...

 

Could be. It did it for me, I had a constant 'hardware interrupt' using around 50% of the CPU, turned out to be the missing PPU driver. After which I completely removed it.

 

You're saying installing the PhysX driver fixed it for you? Or removing the chip did?

 

I installed it first, and removed it later on. But the fix was the driver.

 

Thanks, I used nTune and it worked without the interrupt problem or installing the Aegeia chip driver.

Skyrim is so CPU-limited though that I got a zero FPS gain and no noticeable impact. Overlocking the CPU shows a definite immediate impact though of about 1 FPS per 100 mhz. I'm running at 3.0 GHz... I really wish the fan didn't sound like a hair dryer when I went any higher than that. It's just too loud...

I wonder if I'm also VRAM limited as well. Whenever I try to install a higher-res texture mod I take a big performance hit.

UPDATE:

In Skyrim looking down from Whiterun at stock GPU speed: 26 FPS
With the GPUs overclocked at the setting you mentioned: 23 FPS

This is a standing still screenshot in the exact same location nd is completely replicable. I get LOWER FPS with the gpus overclocked. This is when I first load the game so heat/throttling cannot be the issue. Any idea what's going on?

 

Right.....70 days left on my warranty, have been waiting 3 years for my laptop to break so I can get a new one!....what's the best way for my laptop to "Fail" so I can get a replacement! Thought of running 3d Mark 24/7 and blocking up the exhaust ports....

 

I think asking for assistance to commit fraud is a pretty dishonorable thing to do. Not to mention it's probably against any number of forum rules.

 

3.0 Ghz ain't worth it man, run it at 3.4 in BIOS, then OC at 3.6 Ghz with Throttlestop and reduce the voltage to 1.38V (stock dell for 3.4 is 1.475 ) so you get a faster speed, lower consumption, and best thing, LOWER TEMPS. I know running the fans at max speed bothers at first, but believe me, 5 mins and it becomes background noise. I cannot stress enough the benefits of running the fans at top speed, paired with a monthly dust clean-up.

I'd suggest extending the warranty, it's the best way to go. That improves both the chance to get a replacement and gets you peace of mind.

 

I've tried running with the fans at full speed and I just can't get over the noise. It's too much

Any idea why I get negative FPS scaling when I overclock the GPUs?

 

Well, when I OC the GPUs, I get a lower 3dmark score, but gaming-wise, it's better, so I guess it all depends on how fast the CPU is.

At 3.6-3.8Ghz, there is little to no bottleneck effect.

Give it time with the fans, and add some background noise, it'll do wonders for your system to have them run at full.

Here's what I do: I have my laptop placed on a desk, at above 6 feet from the ground (yea, it's up up) and the fan exits are placed towards the window, and I use an external keyboard+mouse+LCD while at home. The noise blends in in less than 2 minutes, if you start doing your thing, and it won't bother you afterwards. I would take pictures, but it's a mess (had a party last night ) and the idea is to have the laptop a bit further from where you are, and you won't notice its noise after a while.

 

Bottleneck or no, I don't see why overclocking the GPUs should ever slow them down. I haven't benched, but gaming-wise on Skyrim I'm getting a 10% drop in FPS.

My beast is in the middle of the living room doubling as an HTPC with my 48" plasma TV. I use a game pad for Skyrim and other games so it's kind of like having a console. Having the fans run super loud is not a possibility for several reasons, one being is would annoy my wife.

 

Well, if the TV is running, the fans would blend. But that's your choice. Having the fans at max I can OC the whole system without fear of overheating. The only problem is pairing the drivers.

About the drop in performance, some drivers are better than others. Magnus for example, is still using the 197.x drivers, I am at 286.x and so on...

Always pair that with the proper intel chipset, usually 1-2 versions before the latest, so they can figure out any issues.

 

I have had a Dell XPS M1730 since early 2007. It has 4gb ram and the 8700m gt 512 graphics card. Started with Windows Vista and I put Windows 7 on about a 1 1/2 years ago. Thankfully it has worked all this time. From what I've read online, I'm lucky it has lasted this long. But yesterday, I got no video when powering on. The power, battery and bluetooth lights will blink on the side, I hear the system and disc drive powering, but no picture. It does this whether plugged in or on battery.

I did a pre-boot system assessment by holding Fn while powering on the computer. I did not hear any chimes (the computer was on mute when it failed, but I doubt that matters). I did get a lock LED code. The number and caps lock blink while the scroll lock remains on. Apparently this means there is a video card error and the solution is to replace the system board.

My main question is if anyone has used any of the many ebay dealers who will repair the XPS M1730 motherboard and other issues? This seems like my best bet. Most of them have decent warranties and won't charge you if they can't fix your computer. Also, if anyone has had a similar problem and has used one of these dealers, how has your repaired computer held up?

Any other reccomendations would be helpful too. I've never disassembled the XPS. I do clean it for dust. When I do, I make sure to block the fans with a paperclip to keep them from spinning too fast. Like I said, it has run fine until yesterday.

Thanks in advance.

 

You do what now?

 

I think he is saying that he uses a paperclip to stop the fans from spinning when he cleans them with a can of air.

 

Correct. Whether that is necessary or not, I don't not know. Read about it online somewhere.

But anyway, does anyone know anything about my issue? Is anyone familiar with the work of baycomputerisyoursolution.com?

 

Hello.

I've had some time to spare, so I decided to play a little Portal 2 and Trine 2. Unfortunately I am getting terrible artefacts in both of these games (screenshots attached).

My GPUs are not overclocked, tried both 285.62 WHQL and 290.53 Beta drivers, set all settings to minimum but nothing changes. In Portal 2 I am getting artefacts only when looking at the portals. In trine 2 I am getting artefacts only when there are light sources present. Problem goes away when I turn SLI off. However, there are no artefacts in NFS: Hot Pursuit.

Checked on the web, this is not common problem with these games. The only thing I can think of is that my 2nd GPU is dying.

Does anyone else has these issues with these games? Do you think it is a sign of failing GPU?

P.S. Tried taking screenshots of these artefacts, but screenshots come up without them, so had to take pictures with my camera.

EDIT: Just tried to run games on the laptop screen (before was using external monitor) and the problem's gone. Played around with settings, and artefacts were gone in Trine 2 when I switched refresh rate to 30Hz. The monitor definitely supports 60Hz though. Artefacts also disappear when running in window mode.
Will get a new DVI cable to check if that's the problem. In the meantime do you guys know what else could cause this problem? The monitor I use is Dell U2311.

EDIT 2: Checked. DVI cable is not the problem.

 

Seem like GPU artifacts to me. Had similar issues before my GPUs started to die.

That, or you got a bad connection to the LCD, I had that a few times (make sure it's properly plugged in). If the problem appears only on the external monitor, that's your first culprit. Check another LCD monitor, or another cable.

Also, some drivers, if not properly installed, may cause this. (corrupted installs over previous installs may interract, driver sweeper should be used before installing new ones.

I would first make sure the wires are connected, then check other drivers, then call Dell as a last resort.

Hopefully, it's one of the first...

Good luck!

 

Tried 5 different drivers, doesn't solve the problem. Read a couple of the same topics on the web, they seem to be drivers related.

Anyways, in Portal 2 horizontal lines occur only at the very close proximities to portals, and Trine 2 runs just fine maxed out on single card.
So, sticking to that for the time being.

Thanks for the thoughts eleron. I've tried two different DVI cable and no change. This doesn't seem to be a hardware issue to me, so I'm going to hold off for a while before calling Dell since I lucked out with GPUs the last time. I got brand new 9800M GTXs. I always clean with Driver Cleaner, so don't think this is the issue.

 

Well, just checked, I have similar lines in NFS HP 2010, but only on the external monitor, if I switch to the laptop screen, they're gone.

So my bet is on the drivers and their bad porting.

 

Thanks for trying it out eleron, greatly appreciated.

 

No problem. I just hope we're not both heading into some GPU failures

 

i would like to ask one thing that is there any problem with the fan of 1730?
I have gpu shark and when i start my laptop the temp is 36 c and than it starts to increase and reaches to 70 c while there is no load and when i play a games than it starts to decrease and becomes 56 c and if i play 3 hours or more than it will be 66 c i cant understand this while the fan speed remains 100% on both conditions but for me i think that fan only works while there is load on gpu is this so?

 

Well, you should say what config you have.

And the fans start when you hit 75C(under no load), or at 55C with the A11 BIOS. But never have I heard them running at 100% before getting the Xtreme Cpu.

So typically, the fans have temperature triggers, unless you have the X9000 CPU OverClocked at at least 3.2Ghz, which forces the fans to 100% from the beginning.

 

Hi DDT5, i've the same issue on Portal2 and other games.

I call Dell for some fix on my M1730 they replace motherboard, GPU and the issues are always there. I use a Samsung 32" LCD as main monitor. I've try different nVidia drivers but no fix.

 

well here is my laptop
Core2 Duo T8300 2.4Ghz
2GB DDR2 Ram
8700M GT SLI 2x256mb
160GB HDD
BIOS A10

so can you recommend me any other software which can measure the temperature correctly? I am using GPUShark and i don' think there is any problem with it because when i start my latop it shows me temperature between 30C to 40C depending on the condition and that is fine but the temperature starts to increasing and in less than one hour it will be between 60C to 70C while there is no load on GPU and right there when the temp is at 70C i start a game and put the load on GPU the temp starts to decrease and it will become 56C and even after 3 hours of load it will not touch 70C the max is 67C but as soon as i remove the load the temp starts to increase and reaches above 70C while the GPUShark always show me the fan speed 100%