XPS 730x General Hardware Discussion thread

I just ordered my XPS 730x yesterday and since have read most posts on this thread.  Have most of the issues been worked out with the problems people were seeing here?  Seems the motherboard issues with the CState being turned off fixed some, but I assume no fix with a new Bios exists?

-phi1316

I purchased the 965.  I haven't looked into new memory yet, but I assume the memory that it comes with is 1066 only, so I assumed I would have to purchase some more.

With that though, I assume you aren't seeing any issues other than the reboots that seem to have the workaround?

I purchased the 965.  I haven't looked into new memory yet, but I assume the memory that it comes with is 1066 only, so I assumed I would have to purchase some more. With that though, I assume you aren't seeing any issues other than the reboots that seem to have the workaround?

You are correct in your assumptions. Dell only installs DDR3-1066 ram in the XPS 730/730x machines. My Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600 memory as been running at 1600mhz for 2 days now, with no problems or instability. If you're consider getting faster memory, I'd recommend Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600.

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - $166 on Newegg.com

Thanks for the quick reply Chris! Is the problem I am having due to the BIOS on the 940 system not supporting overclocking of the cpu and ram? Or is it an error that needs to be fixed? I appreciate any help.

Well Phenom, after just seeing that my multiplier is locked in my bios after disabling the turbo setting and every other voltage and CPU related adjustment, I really hope you are wrong.

The multiplier on the 920 and 940 is locked, and can only go so high. This has nothing to do with Dell. The chips come from Intel with their own settings.

I have no way to overclock my RAM; either with your method or the standard way that doesn't seem to work as discussed over the past week.

Sure, you do. The method I have outlined in the previous posts works for both the 920 and the 965 processors. There's no way it can't work, or doesn't work, for the 940. You didn't change everything I instructed you to change, or you left something out.

I'm kinda ticked now that I bought a system that seems to be completely limited to any tweaking or OCing.

Your system is not limited to any tweaking or OC'ing. The XPS 730 and XPS 730x have an unlocked bios, allowing the consumer to change timings and voltages to suit their own needs.

Do me a favor, if you have a camera phone, take snapshots of the screens I've posted below. Then, upload them here - Imageshack Free Image Host.

If you don't have a camera phone, write down all of the settings you see in the following screens. Without these numbers/settings, I can't do anything for you.

I need to know how fast your CPU is running right now. Is it running at 2.93ghz? I also need to know what your BClk setting is.

Gingerkid,

I have not received any notices about a bios update.

Well Phenom, after just seeing that my multiplier is locked in my bios after disabling the turbo setting and every other voltage and CPU related adjustment, I really hope you are wrong. I have no way to overclock my RAM; either with your method or the standard way that doesn't seem to work as discussed over the past week. I'm kinda ticked now that I bought a system that seems to be completely limited to any tweaking or OCing. I happen to have the 940 proc, and the BIOS is not working with any technique listed in the forum, either by Chris, yourself, or Daniel730x. If Chris is still monitoring this forum, I would love to have an update regarding the BIOS update talked about in this forum months back now and if we can expect to see it anytime soon.

I have set the settings as listed above, what the problem is is that the Multiplier won't let me select it to change the number down to 16. Its at 22 from the turbo mode, and I have no way to change it therefore not allowing me to up the BClk due to being unstable. It isnt greyed out, but white as it should be but isn't selectable. I can post pictures later on tonight to show ya. Hence my inquiry to Chris. I think the inital RAM timings and voltage adjustment not working means that the BIOS is not set up on our systems to allow certain OCing, and maybe yours works the above way due to a glitch or just an open coding allowance that isn't on my machine.

N

Would it be because some of you have bios version 1.01 and some of us 1.00.

The XPS 730 has bios 1.0.1 but the 730x has bios 1.0.0. As to why you don't have the XMP support option, you certainly should. Unless, the bios of the 730x H2C is different than the 730x. Have you tried tweaking your memory settings, Gary?

I am curious as to why i do not have the XMP Support option available in my bios settings. Would it be because some of you have bios version 1.01 and some of us 1.00. If that is the case how would i get version 1.01?

XPS 730x H2C
i7 965 Extreme CPU overclocked to 4050 GHz
SLi, Dual nVidia GeForce GTX280 1024MB
Core clock-702MHz,shader clock-1404MHz,memory-1242MHz
6GB Multi-Channel DDR3 at 1066MHZ (3x2GB DIMM) running at 1118MHZ 7-7-7-20-C1
RAID 0 2x300GB(600GB) WD Velociraptor 10K 16MB Cache
Dell 19 in 1 Media Reader withBluetooth 2.0
Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 64-bit Ultimate (English)
Dual Drives: 6x Blu-Ray Burner(BD/DVD/CD) + 16x DVD-ROM
X-Fi Titanium Audio Card
Dell CPU Liquid/TEC Cooling ATX Unit
1 Kilowatt power supply
Dell 2408WFP monitor

That is correct PH3N0M i do not have XMP Support under Frquency/Voltage Control i have all the other settings except that one. If you check the "Random re-Booting thread there is quite a bit of mention about bios version 1.01 i also found a few other people talking about not having the XMP support option in there bios settings.

XPS 730x H2C
i7 965 Extreme CPU overclocked to 4050 GHz
SLi, Dual nVidia GeForce GTX280 1024MB
Core clock-702MHz,shader clock-1404MHz,memory-1242MHz
6GB Multi-Channel DDR3 at 1066MHZ (3x2GB DIMM) running at 1118MHZ 7-7-7-20-C1
RAID 0 2x300GB(600GB) WD Velociraptor 10K 16MB Cache
Dell 19 in 1 Media Reader withBluetooth 2.0
Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 64-bit Ultimate (English)
Dual Drives: 6x Blu-Ray Burner(BD/DVD/CD) + 16x DVD-ROM
X-Fi Titanium Audio Card
Dell CPU Liquid/TEC Cooling ATX Unit
1 Kilowatt power supply
Dell 2408WFP monitor

If you check the "Random re-Booting thread there is quite a bit of mention about bios version 1.0.1

Hmmm, I didn't find anything in the 730x Random Rebooting thread about users having different bios revisions. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong thread? What is your PC manufacture date? Flip down the small bay that covers your Bluetooth and floppy drive, it will be on that label. My manufacture date is 12/05/08. I find it rather odd that some bios chips have it and others don't. It sounds to me like someone mixed some chips up at the Dell factory, or something has gone haywire somewhere.

There are reports of some people receiveing XPS 730x with bios version 1.01.

If there are users with a 1.0.1 bios, I'd definitely like to know and I'd also like to know why Dell sent out machines with (2) separate bios versions and haven't yet made the latest version available on their website to the rest of the 730x owners. Having a 965 or a 920 wouldn't make a difference as to why you do or do not have XMP support in the bios. So, you're telling me that under the Frequency/Voltage Control, when you select that page you don't see XMP Support between CPU Core (Non-Turbo) Ratio and Memory Ratio...????