Inspiron 1720 Questions

HI..
I have an Inspiron 1720 with an Nvidia 8400M GS graphic card. I thought I read here in the forum that I could disable it, since it's soldered onto the motherboard, and install the 8600M GT.
I called Dell and they said that can't be done. So which is it, guys? Can I do this or can't I?
I also have two other issues. I often get an error message that the Dell WLAN wireless card controller has stopped working and then it recovers. Is this a hardware problem with the wireless card or a Windows Vista problem?
The other problem is I often get an error message that says my display driver has stopped working and recovers. These two error never used to happen but now are happening frequently.
Dell's solution is always to "re-image" (reformat) my hard drive rather than solve the individual problems. They re-imaged the hard drive not too long ago and I really don't want to do this unless there is no other option.
Can anyone help on these 3 problems??? Thanks so much!

 

The Inspiron 1720 is a Vostro 1700. I have a Vostro 1500 and 1700. Both laptops have plug in graphics cards and are not soldered onto the motherboard unless it came with the integrated Intel GPU.

problem #2 could be a hardware or software issue. If you cracked open the unit there are two wires a black and white wire that power the WLAN card. They could be loose or could have come off.

problem #3 is typically an Nvidia driver. I'm running v276.76 and no longer have that problem.

 

Dell just told me tonight that the Nvidia 8400M GS is soldered onto my motherboard. So that's not true?
I'll check the wires on the WLAN card..thanks
I just downloaded the latest Nvidia driver for my card and I still have that issue.
Any other suggestions? Thanks for responding!

 

Can't say if they're lying but this comes straight from the Inspiron 1720/Vostro 1700 service manual. This is a picture of the graphics card.


These are the two wires I was referring to.

 

I just found this about the Nividia 8400M GS that I have. It is integrated.
Graphics Processor: integrated Intel GMA X3100 graphics or nVidia GeForce 8400M GS
So does that mean it can't be disabled in BIOS and the GeForce 8600M GT installed?

 

My Vostro 1500 runs on the 8400m GS and it's not soldered to the motherboard. It looks just like in the picture. It plugs into the motherboard. The only way to know for sure is to open the laptop and look inside.

 

I guess I can take the back off and see for myself if it's soldered on or not
I also have a repairman coming the replace the keyboard and wrist rest part cover. I can do it but they won't let me. Said it would void my warranty...loll
So I'll be able to get in there and see when he's here. And check the wires on the WLAN card while he has it open.
But if you know the answer to my question please still respond as to whether if it is soldered, can I disable it in BIOS and would be be room on the motherboard to install the GeForce 8600m GT card. Thanks

 

Dell tells you things that are not even real sometimes.

The 8400M GS in the Inspiron 1720 is not soldered and comes in a similar form factor of the 8600M GT, and thus upgradable. If you have an Intel X3100, that GPU is soldered onto the motherboard and the only way is to swap a new one, which I not recommend.

In my honest opinion, I'd recommend a new laptop with a better GPU altogether.

 

Lost my job so a new computer is not an option....I would if I could!

 

The 8600 GT is still a decent card and I wouldn't get rid of my Vostro 1500 or 1700's since they are well built and have the 16:10 screen format.

 

I downloaded the manual and you're so right and the guy from Dell is........!!!!!

 

I don't suppose you know the absolute cheapest place to buy the 8600M GT from? I found it on Amazon for $35 and other places for $90.

 

Depending on shipping and whether it's new, $35 is a good price. I found a few on Ebay for $39 with free shipping and those were new.

 

Indeed, the 07 major redesign remains my favorite Inspiron/Vostro series. Definetly over-engineered, it's a shame that most consumers just were like "y u no thin as apple?" toward the design.

 

LOL, I remember that. I always thought the Vostro 1500 and 1700 had a nice look to them. But they are truly built like tanks. When Dell gave in and redesigned the Vostro 1500 and 1700 they released the problematic 1510 and 1710.

It wasn't until they released the 1520 and 1720 that they got the problems under control. Also the Nvidia GPU in the xx10 laptops were death waiting to happen. It was somewhat rectified with the xx20 laptops because of the 9400 GPU and the new cooling system Dell implemented in the xx20 design.

 

Just remember before purchasing the GPU, the 1720 uses a proprietary designed slot and it would only accept only a Dell proprietary design for that model. Standard MXM GPUs do not fit.

 

Guys be careful, these 1720's are starting to have power problems.

Keep the area between both heat sinks and the fan clean and free of debris blockage. High heat conditions are causing power circuit problems to develop. I'm noticing a pattern of these on AQS's daily repair log:

http://aqstech.com/aqslive/-

 

I curently own a vostro 1700 with a intel 2.4 Ghz 4 mb cache 4 Gb DDR2 and the 8400GS.
I want to upgrade to the 8600GT. I have searched ebay and found
"vostro 1500 8600GT (UW390)" and a
"inspiron 1720 8600GT (YY636)".
Now the only diference that i can spot is the lenght of the coper cooling radiator.

My question is :

Is the video card from the Vostro 1500 compatibile to the 1700? If i take the cooler from the 8400GS and mount it on the 8600GT !!

 

I'm looking to swap my OEM CPU on my own 1720 and found that Amazon is selling a T9300.

Is that useable in the 1720? Or should I go for the X9000?

 

The T9300 is a better deal. The bios doesn't have overclocking for the X9000, though it will work. However you can up the voltage and multiplier of the X9000 with the program ThrottleStop. But the T9300 works fine. I had it in my 1720. Just make sure that you have the latest bios version. I had the T9300 till I got a free T9500.

 

The T9300 has the best price/performance ratio from what I have seen, I would recommend using that.