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A few questions about the XPS 730 H2C
Hi everyone.
I've been considering the purchase of a XPS 730 and there's some questions still remaining. Hopefully someone can fill in the blanks. Actually, a lot of questions but when you're thinking about dropping a ton of dough you want to be sure of what you're getting(into) !
1) Is there a guide or something that explains how to install Vista 64-bit in terms of what drivers to use and where to get them ?
2) Is there an application and/or driver component to the H2C cooling ? Will this be an issue when installing Vista 64-bit ? I believe drivers need to be signed in order to be installed.
3) The configuration I have picked out has dual Nvidia GTX 280 cards. Can you use the Nvidia drivers from their website or do you have to use Dell drivers ?
4) I've been reading about a "screech of death" problem having to do with the Dell supplied audio card. I have a store purchased Creative Labs X-Fi card I could use instead. Any issues will the SLI bridge and a non dell supplied audio card ? I know that HP stopped selling their BlackBird 002 machine with an audio card because the SLI bridge was touching it. Just wanted to know if there was the same problem here.
5) I asked about getting a 300 gb Western Digital Velocipator drive(it doesn't seem to be listed on the Dell Canada site) and was given this part:
341-8210 1 300GB SATA HD(10KRPM),Western Digital,VR150
The "VR150" has me confused.. Is this 1 drive or two 150gbs in raid 0 ?
6) Warranty is a HUGE priority and I don't trust 100% what a salesperson tells me. Can anyone in my area(Ottawa, Ontario) confirm that onsite servicing *IS* available ?
Thanks and much appreciated !
MikeYbarra
20 Posts
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September 1st, 2008 01:00
Hi.
1) Pretty simple to do since it's Nvidia 790. Just get the drivers from Nvidia. Everyone has 64-bit drivers readily available, don't wait for Dell to post them on their site. If you use Creative Labs, get the 64-bit driver from soundblaster.com. Etc. I run only 64-bit on my 730.
2) No. Works fine and needs no software or anything.
3) Use the Nvidia drivers. I do, and use dual 280's myself. Always use the Nvidia drivers as they are far newer vs. Dell who takes a year to update drivers.
4) No, I use a store purchased Fatality card (PCI-Express) from Creative Labs and it works perfectly fine with the SLI bridge etc.
5) Don't know but I know Dell doesn't ship VelociRaptors yet (or didn't when I got mine). I ordered my 2 VelociRaptors seperately.
6) Dunno that one.
Mike
Flavious99
5 Posts
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September 2nd, 2008 00:00
Thanks Mike !
The VelociRaptors are available but have a different part number than the XPS 630 systems. They are not listed on the Dell website as an option for the XPS 730 but I was able to call and get my order amended. Looks like my system will be the same as yours except I picked a slower cpu(QX9650).
Cheers.
runnman
101 Posts
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September 2nd, 2008 19:00
F_M
I too am a little confused on which Western Digital Velocipator drive to focus on. I do not know what the VR150 means on that 341-8210 1 300GB SATA HD(10KRPM),Western Digital,VR150 you speak of. If you go to
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=494
Western Digital shows a 150GB Velocipator drive but it is a 2.5 inch drive. But I would believe you want a 3.5 inch SATA drive for the XPS730H2C; correct? And they are 300GB. See at http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=459 for the 300GB SATA Drive.
Is this what you want in the XPS730H2C? It will take two for either Raid0 or Raid1.
I do not know what the Back-plane ready drives are. Can anyone explain that to me? What is that?
And...can you purchase the two drives from http://www.newegg.com and they will work in the XPS730H2C?
Someone correct my thinking on that.
You have already ordered your XPS730H2C and I am working on my order and planning the best way to go.
I sure like Mike's setup posted in his sig. Super! 4.0GHz! Wow! Great!
I would not be disappointed with that.
Thanks for a response. It is appreciated.
Regards
runnman
101 Posts
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September 2nd, 2008 21:00
F_M
Thanks for that information.
I also feel I would want the DriveID=459 that you referenced. No question in my mind that is a 300GB Drive and there's no confusion about the name or specifications.
I would appreciate you letting this tread know what the VR150 turns out to be.
Yes, it is very strange that the XPS630 has no confusion as to what is available to purchase.
But, the XPS730H2C only shows 7200 rpm Drives available. I assume you had conversations with Dell Sales Persons who are able to add availability of 10K rpm Drives to the XPS730H2C selection. Is that how it came to be?
I did a Dell Hard Drive search and came up with this
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/category.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&keycode=6Vc00&dgvcode=DB&dgc=DB&cid=3908&lid=89875&s=dhs&category_id=5694&nf=1916~0~160143,38689~0~418118&~ck=anav&navla=38689~0~418118
Dell Part# : A1641669 which has the same model # as DriveID=459 on the WD Site.
Do not see any VR150. So, it looks very good for you.
Regards.
Flavious99
5 Posts
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September 2nd, 2008 21:00
Hi.
Here's what I know/found out so far:
On the XPS 630 systems you can select the VelociRaptor drive and it shows up as:
[341-6925] 300GB WD Velociraptor 10K RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache
This drive is not listed as online option when configuring an XPS 730 system. I had to have a custom quote prepared and that quote indicated the drive I was wanted was:
[341-8210] 300GB SATA HD(10KRPM), Western Digital, VR150
I have two problems with this description:
I asked two different people at Dell and both told me that the drive on the XPS 630 and XPS 730 are the same. The part numbers are different because that's the way they do things on different lines of computers.
I guess I'm going to find out soon enough ! If its the wrong drive(s) they are going back. In any case I only ordered 1 drive with my system because of this confusion. I will be ordering another VelociRaptor drive(for Vista x64) + sound card from NCIX soon.
As for the different part numbers on the WD website, its all the same hard drive. Its just the mounting options that are different. You either get the bare 2.5 inch drive, 3.5 inch adapter version , or the 3.5 inch back plane ready version. I'm pretty sure we want the second link you provided to WD(DriveID = 459) so that it mounts like a standard 3.5 inch drive.
Flavious99
5 Posts
0
September 2nd, 2008 21:00
Just to answer my own question, I found this under the warranty FAQ on Dell Canada's website:
Does Dell's Next Business Day On-Site Service cover all of Canada?
On-Site Service is available for your computer within Canada. Services will be available in all areas of Canada within 200 km of our service provider (located in each major metropolitan area across Canada). Services may be available in other locations however, response times may vary.
Flavious99
5 Posts
0
September 2nd, 2008 22:00
Correct, I just did an online chat and told the sales person what I wanted changed. That person then sent me an email with the whole system configuration including the parts I wanted changed.
Sure, I'll post something when I find out what drive I actually get. The ETA for my system is Sept 10th.
cederoth
9 Posts
0
September 3rd, 2008 19:00
I have a question for you MikeYbarra. I too have dual GTX 280's and the PCI-e Fatality card (PCI-Express).
I have my GTX 280's plugged into PCIE slots 2 and 3 like the manual says but i have no free pci slots for my
PhysX card now or any other PCI card for that matter because the 280's take up two slots. Is the only option i have is to remove one of my 280's to run my physx card? Does Dell make another 790i borad with a different layout or can i run these cards in PCIE slots 1 and 2 instead of 2 and 3? Any advice?
Davet50
14.4K Posts
0
September 3rd, 2008 20:00
This is the price that one pays at times for running in SLI mode. There is no other Dell motherboard that will allow you to have a free slot,
runnman
101 Posts
0
September 3rd, 2008 20:00
cederoth:
I thought I read somewhere that the GTX280's have PhysX onboard and there is no need for an additional PhysX Card. Can your confirm that?
Also, I read that the GTX280 exhausts the hot air directly out the backplane of the card to the outside world which is different path than provided by the 9800GX2. Can you confirm that?
I have been informed the 9800GX2 (the video card prior to the 280GTX) exhausts the hot air into the computer case and then case fans must get it to the outside world.
Thanks.