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    dell xps m1710 owners lounge

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by lincoln1122, Jan 12, 2010.

  1. lincoln1122

    lincoln1122 Notebook Enthusiast

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    well i have found that there wasnt an owners lounge for dell xps m1710 owners so i decided to set one up i have owned my dell xps m1710 for 2 years now and still for the age of laptop plays todays games really well

    specs
    2.16ghz core 2 duo
    2gb ram
    nvidia geforce 7950gtx
    250gb hardrive
    1920x1080 screen resolution
     
  2. rarden30mm

    rarden30mm Notebook Consultant

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    Same here still got my m1710 and it is still gaming.Its one hellva machine,pitty it could not upgrade with the times,as i would have kept on using it.So if there are any other guys out there let us know as i have a few issues with mine.But its almost 4 years old and a classic in my eyes.
     
  3. lincoln1122

    lincoln1122 Notebook Enthusiast

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    the only main problem with mine at the minute is that in gta iv i have missing textures but trying to get that fixed but when it did work i was amazed that it still ran on medium to high settings for such a graphic and cpu intensive game
     
  4. rarden30mm

    rarden30mm Notebook Consultant

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    Update well my 4 year old gaming dinosaur has died today,just out of the blue one moment i was loading borderlands.Then the next thing there was artifacting on the screen.So rebooted and now i cant even get to the bios screen,the lights come on there is hdd activity and a blank screen.The fans dont even come on?
    Is this the gpu?
    Or is it the motherboard?Or ram :mad:

    My warrenty has gone but i can get extended warrenty from dell,can i do this legaly and get it fixed?
     
  5. lincoln1122

    lincoln1122 Notebook Enthusiast

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    its defiantley the gpu i think a 7950gtx graphics card is around £300 on ebay so its upto you weather you would want to replace it
     
  6. freedom16

    freedom16 Notebook Deity

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    Damn that sucks bad man but hey its machine thats 4 years old, i feel getting one myself its such a classic machine true dell right there man!! a 7950gtx goes for 549 us dollars, parts-people.com sell all dell parts to many of dell machines.
     
  7. rarden30mm

    rarden30mm Notebook Consultant

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    do u think if i baked the gpu in an oven it would last,or is this a quick fix?
     
  8. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Probably would last a couple of months.
     
  9. rarden30mm

    rarden30mm Notebook Consultant

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    Well dell tech replaced my gpu today,I had a nice supprise when i started it up.They gave me a 7950 gtx instead of 7900 gtx nice.
    Altho when the tech had left i noticed that the fans do not spin when idle or when gaming it got so hot it shut it self off!
    I have to use that fangui thing to force the fans to full speed all the time?
    So the fans do work?
     
  10. lincoln1122

    lincoln1122 Notebook Enthusiast

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    well thats good the 7950gtx is a much better card than the 7900gtx and im not sure what he has done he may of connected the heat sensors for the fans up incorrectly if they have sensors or maybe it is something to do with the bios but happy gaming again on your m1710 :)
     
  11. rarden30mm

    rarden30mm Notebook Consultant

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    Update yeah the 7950 gtx rocks,but i am still having issues with heat,it idles very high cpu at 70 deg and the gpu at 80 deg before the fans come on.I have had 2 thermal shut downs since then,not all the time.
    I have requested for a dell tech tomorrow,to replace the fans and the mother board.
     
  12. J-Dub

    J-Dub Notebook Enthusiast

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    I created a thread but didn't know there was an owners lounge on the M1710...

    ..pretty much when I plug my AC adapter into the outlet it makes a faint beeping sound and the green light would not light up. I've had this problem before and Dell Canada sent me a new one, but after a couple months of use, the problem has re-surfaced.

    The funny thing is that if I twist/bend the wire from the adapter...it works....very strange. In the end, the csr told me that its a known problem and to call back next week to check on a solution/fix.

    In response to rarden: I very rarely play games on my XPS which I've had for about 3-4 years so I dont overclock the gpu. I tried researching this problem on the web but cant find much other than some faulty circuitry within the adapter or something like that...btw my battery has been dead for about a year or so, so I've been running on straight power from the outlet.

    Any of you guys experience this AC adapter problem where it beeps? Im going to call Dell again and see what they say...

    Thanks
     
  13. J-Dub

    J-Dub Notebook Enthusiast

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    Guys - what AC Adaptor do you guys have? The 130 W one?

    Also, are there any other alternatives than a Dell AC Adaptor which I can use?
     
  14. nburro

    nburro Notebook Consultant

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    My M1710 is still going strong, but just doesn't have the horsepower for some of the newer games anymore. After researching for several months, I finally decided on an Alienware M17xR2. Cost me about the same as I originally paid for the XPS. Hopefully it'll arrive end of this week!
     
  15. Q56_Monster

    Q56_Monster Notebook Consultant

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    My M1710 is on it's last leg. Well not really, but the vid card is going. Artifacts & nice pretty patterns galore! $600 to replace a 4 year old vid card is too much for me. Probably my own fault though....I left it OC'd at 600/700 for 4 years.

    Dell's precision line too expensive for what you get. Their Alienware is really nice, but I have to be in front of clients with my laptop, so that's out. So I have a new Sager 9280 coming on Monday. Now that $600 vid card isn't looking too bad, LOL!
     
  16. nburro

    nburro Notebook Consultant

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    Have you opened it up and blown all the dust out of the heatsinks and fans? Grab a copy of the service manual from dell and it'll give you step by step. I cleaned mine out for the first time about 2 months ago, and it's considerably cooler and quieter than before. It was filthy in there!
     
  17. rarden30mm

    rarden30mm Notebook Consultant

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    Yes when the tech came he removed the fans,and there was dust bunnies that looked like cotton wool,it was bad that should explain the temps.He installed a new mother board new cpu heat sink and two fans,after all that it was better than before.I think this type of note book runs on the warm side not so thermal efficient as these newer notebooks.Thus it looks worse than it is.
    But it is a classic and has set the trend for todays gaming laptops.
     
  18. luftwaffa

    luftwaffa Newbie

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    M1710 owner's lounge... cool! :)

    Ok so mine just died also about a week ago! I was using it and it all of a sudden it went blank, totally blacked out and died. When I try turning it back on the power light goes on for a fraction of a second then everything turns off, and strangely it also kills the green light on the power adaptor brick! I have to unplug the adaptor and plug it back in to get it to light up again...

    So... motherboard? graphics card?

    Any ideas on how best to fix it without spending too much?

    Thanks!
     
  19. WalrusDJ

    WalrusDJ Notebook Enthusiast

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    I love/have loved mine. If it weren't for it's slowly dying on me, I'd continue to use it for the foreseeable future. It is still capable of everything I need... but one of my memory connectors died (not the memory itself). The battery is also shot, but that's not as big an issue since I don't really think I've ever run on battery for the whole time I've had it.

    I make my living on it though, so I had to order a replacement before something catastrophic happens.

    Thursday I ordered the XPS Studio 16. I'm surprised they no longer offer a XPS with a 17" screen. Or a port replicator. Of the two, I'm going to miss the port replicator more. I'm usually hooked up to an external 22" LCD anyway.
     
  20. freedom16

    freedom16 Notebook Deity

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    I am stuck between using this or a m1730 i just don't want to be spending a lot of money, i like dell a lot and these lights are non existent anymore now.
     
  21. rarden30mm

    rarden30mm Notebook Consultant

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    Hi guys just an update my dinosaur is still alive and kicking,since the gpu replacement.I keep seeing gpu related issues on these forums all the time i am begining to wonder if the gpu they give us are infact referbished or reflowed cards.
    My four year warranty was extended by two years for 120 pounds as i fully expect another gpu fail again.Do u think i could ask dell to replace the system if the machine fails again?as nice as an updated machine would be i dont want to loose my dinosaur as it part of my gaming notebook history.
    Sorry if this thread is gibberish but i just want to keep it alive,as other m1710 users have valuable info.Could the adminns make a dedicated section for this and other models plz
     
  22. nburro

    nburro Notebook Consultant

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    I'm pretty sure the replacement cards are refurbs (esp since they're not manufactured anymore). I agree the 1710 is a cool chassis, but if I were having problems & still had a warranty, I'd ask for an Alienware M17x as a replacement--check the AW forum on here, there's people who've been doing the warranty replacement thing multiple times from 1710 -> 1730 -> M17x off a single purchase!
     
  23. rarden30mm

    rarden30mm Notebook Consultant

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    Hi there i have been looking for the limited edition red lid covers for my black m1710,any ideas as to where i might aquire these parts,or is it possible to mod the bios as i have the t7600 cpu,but only the G version can be overclocked.Has this ever been done?
     
  24. rarden30mm

    rarden30mm Notebook Consultant

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    I had to go way back in the forums to find this thread lol,are there still owners out there at all?
    Anyways i have a strange issue at the moment my bat light on the indicator strip flashes orange,and the laptop wont power on unpluged.But the bat press to test shows full charge.

    Is this a bat ,or a psu? please help guys
     
  25. ditroia

    ditroia Notebook Enthusiast

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    See http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/562138-dell-xps-17-l702x-thread-226.html

    I'm Saying goodbye to mine soon.

    Upgrading From:

    Dell XPS M170 Red

    C2D 2.33Ghz 6MB cache [T7600 the fastest processor for this series]
    500GB WD Scorpio Blue
    4GB DDR2 800
    17" 16X10 1920X1200 Ultrasharp
    6 month old 9Cell Dell.
    Newer Slim 130W charger
    7950 GTX 512MB
    8X DVD-R IDE
    2.1 Sound
    Magnesium alloy chassis, XPS lights, front touch controls.
    6 USB2.0
    1 DVI & VGA
    1 S-VIDEO Out with cables.
    1 Gb Ethernet
    Card Reader
    Express card slot
    Smart card reader
    Win 7 Pro 64 Legit.

    It has the dell protection screen for the back which means the back is mint.

    5.0 Windows experience score.
    Dell Official Carry bag
    Vista ultimate Disc
    Audigy Software

    it's just turned 4.

    Let me see GPU Died and they replaced GPU and Heatsink, cost me $1000 as was out of warranty :(

    3 of the rubber feet have come off.

    2, of the Brick AC adaptors have died, and have replaced it wit hthe Slim 130W one which has been great. Battery died but Mine came with two.

    Now the Right fan is on it's way out and I'll have to replace it or clean it.

    Oh and in summer it gets hot, and in winter it's a nice heater.

    other than that superb, made me buy an XPS again [with 3 year warranty]

    Now I've got to sell it.

    Cheers

    Dave
     
  26. ditroia

    ditroia Notebook Enthusiast

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    From Memory it's your bat. If your AC adaptor goes it either will make a sound, or won't charge or be tricky to get it to charge, [have to plug it in just right], if the bat has used up it;s charge cycles, it'll still work but the light will flash, [happened to me].

    Go Grab a Dell Genuine 9 Cell batt.
     
  27. xps_m1710

    xps_m1710 Notebook Geek

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    I always read about people having problems with the m1710. I never had probems with either of my m1710's. My first one with a 7900GS seemed to last forever, I sold it in full working order a while back. I then missed it and bought anotehr lol, with a 7950GTX and thats still running perfectly in every way, even the battery lasts almost 2 hours, its a shame to see this one go but I'm now selling it too.
     
  28. ditroia

    ditroia Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yeah they are/were good machines.

    BTW how did you find the 1730, I heard they were behemoths, and I never did like the designs.
     
  29. xps_m1710

    xps_m1710 Notebook Geek

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    I really like the M1730, big difference between the 2 machines in terms of performance, the M1710 struggled to play modern games on even the lowest settings (at 1920x1200) whereas the M1730 is still maxing out almost every game I throw at it. It is a lot bigger and heavier though and I also though the lights were cooler on the m1710 ahaha! The m1710 was good in the sense that it wasn't much bigger than your average 17 inch laptop but was capable of playing games.
     
  30. whitrzac

    whitrzac The orange end is cold...

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  31. jonpet

    jonpet Notebook Enthusiast

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    Old thread, but im in contact with dell to be an ex-m1710 owner.

    Ive got the one with 7900gs card.

    Here was my problems:
    1. dvd drive did not work in vista (vanished from device manager after use)
    2. LCD screen was too tightly fitted so black blobs in each corner
    3. New video fan lasted 2 years
    4. Second video fan lasted 1 year, before machine was too hot and would not start up again.
    5. Third video fan lasted another year (replaced with gpu, heatsink and mb)

    Now its unusable takes minutes to do anything without the fan, and might just shutdowen and not restart as before.

    Remember the m1710 was not cheap when new, and still struggled to play games back then. (became too hot and the slideshow effect)

    What i like about it is the wuxga screen now that everyone has jumped on the 1920x1080. But moot point since its not working.
     
  32. rxb216

    rxb216 Newbie

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    Was wondering if anyone had luck with the Intel Centrino 6300 Ultimate WLAN card and the Dell M1710?

    I used a half-size mini PCIe adapter to fit the module into the notebook. It's fits just fine. I used the WWAN antenna for the 3rd antenna.

    However after the laptop is on after a random amount of time I will ALWAYS get this "NMI: Parity Check / Memory Parity Error" blue screen. This can happen as soon as 2 minutes or as long as a few hours.

    The interesting thing is that I get blue screen even WITHOUT any drivers installed. Whether or not the Intel Proset drivers are installed I will always get the same kind of blue screen.

    Note that the "NMI: Parity Check / Memory Parity Error" is not a crash dump, so there is no debug data I can look at.

    I am using Mushkin memory and these memory modules are just fine, they pass all memory tests and work just fine with my current Intel 3945ABG WLAN module. I've used these Mushkin modules for the past 3 years.

    I eventually gave up and used the Intel Centrino 6300 in another machine, and it's working fine there.

    My M1710 is running Win7 Ultimate. I am using the last BIOS version that Dell released for this machine.

    Any ideas?

    My gut is telling me there is a BIOS incompatibility issue...
     
  33. rarden30mm

    rarden30mm Notebook Consultant

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    I have always found that windows xp is the operating system to use with this laptop,windows vista made it chug,and was a resorse hog.Same with windows 7,drivers are an issue.You can not get the sub woofer to work unless u use xp,so in the case of the issue above try xp instead.

    Since my last entry i had another gpu replaced along with fans and motherboard as my warenty was expiring soon might as well of got new parts when i could.I am using it as my primary computer now my sager is gone now.
    Its still a cracking machine not bad since i bought it in 2006!!

    Now i play the old games like doom3 quake 4 prey etc.....

    To the guy whoes fans arnt working try the dell fan utility just google it,keeps fans at high speed and nice and cool ish lol
     
  34. ganzonomy

    ganzonomy Notebook Deity

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    Still got my m1710. March 2007 and still going. Here's what's been changed:

    7900GS to 7950GTX
    1GB DDR2-667 to 4GB DDR2-667
    80GB 5400rpm HDD to 160gb 7200rpm HDD to 500GB 7200rpm HDD

    and for what? a 4.2 in windows 8 :D

    I kid, i kid. It has the best sound I've ever heard from a laptop, it's pleasingly quick with win8 (faster than xp ever was), BIG beautiful screen, for a HOME rig, I like the lights. (i'm weird, I dont like lights on business rigs, but on home-bound rigs, LOVE em) and it just works.

    Two things,
    a) is there a way to stick a newer driver than 179.48 with the 7950GTX in?
    b) I need a keyboard, mine is missing the B key

    Jason
     
  35. rarden30mm

    rarden30mm Notebook Consultant

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    Olld dino still running(knock on wood),managed to use later driver 196.34 by using modded driver from laptopvideo2go.Has a nice increase in fps and lower temps 75 ish under load and 43 idle @ max fan rpm.

    Can you tell me does this machine have a express card 34 slot as there is a hdmi input card i wanna get to play xbox 360 using laptops screen.
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...screen-using-new-hdmi-input-express-card.html

    Just want to be sure its compatible before i take the plunge.
     
  36. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    Should be near the middle of the right side of the chassis, above the HDD. Does yours not have it? As for compatibility, I'd assume all EC peripherals are compatible with all EC slots, or else someone failed pretty hard.
     
  37. danoneil

    danoneil Newbie

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    Just bought a second hand m1710 and so far am having a lot of fun with it! I had to get a recon graphics card to get it working. The old card looks like it had been ovened a fair amount and there was a massive pile of thermal paste on the chip which had spread out over about a third of the green area...

    I've managed to get windows 7 working well on it - the subwoofer was an issue at first, but the sigmatel hd audio codec for windows 64 bit sorted that out. Also, i8kfangui wasn't working with the fans, so I found a modified version that someone over on their forums had put together and now I'm running at about 32C for the CPU and 50C for the GPU when the computer is idle... which I think is pretty cool! Don't do too much gaming on it, just the odd old one - mainly used for DVDs, surfing and documents, so the graphics card won't get too much of a beating.

    The only slightly annoying thing is that some of the colours on my LEDs aren't working... still, you can't have everything - for a six year old laptop, it's doing great!
     
  38. jonpet

    jonpet Notebook Enthusiast

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    how did you get i8kfangui working, think its 2 years since i tried to make it work.
     
  39. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    i8kfangui should "just work" on an m1710 - unless you are using 64bit, in which case you do have to jump through some hoops. It should definitely work though.
     
  40. danoneil

    danoneil Newbie

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  41. jonpet

    jonpet Notebook Enthusiast

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    ok, thanks.

    Got it working on win7 64 bit in testmode and removed the watermark.

    Stiil dont see what the I8kfanGUI.exe does, since it seemed to work before replacing it.

    The 20ms timing interval is display options->sensor updates ?

    I had fangui on the inspiron 8600, and i think i had it working on the 1710 before at some time.

    Think i can disassemble this notebook blindfolded after all the dust cleaning.
     
  42. danoneil

    danoneil Newbie

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    With the original version I enabled all the options to allow access to read the fan speed and all the temperature sensors. I set it up the fans to be on low most of the time and then have them coming on faster as the temperature goes up.

    However... the fan speed never changed and the fans didn't turn on in automatic mode & the fan speed display showed "-" in the program. They'd come on fine if I set it to full speed fans, but then they wouldn't switch off again if I changed back to auto or manual.

    With the new version of the i8kfangui.exe, the fans work fine and the speeds are displayed in the program and the system tray icons if you enable them.

    If it's working with the existing version, then that's great! There were quite a few people who couldn't get the fan control to work in windows 7 though - seems perfectly fine with all the other versions of windows.

    You are right about the fan interval being in the sensor updates section. You could always leave the fans set to 200ms and see if they do the surging thing before you set it to 20ms.