XPS 730x General Hardware Discussion thread

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Hey guys I was wondering if anybody could help me.  I first want to apologize for the length of this but I wanted to get all the info in.  Secondly I am not new to the Dell forums, although im new to this new layout (which I hate) and cant seem to find any of the info I need.  I have tried to search for my answers but cant seem to find the specific ones im looking for.  I have tried to organize the post to make it easier to follow, and my system info is at the end (and from Belarc). 

MY PROBLEMS: 

1.  I have a Dell XPS 730X (not the liquid cooled one) which I got in December of 08.  I have been having a lot of problems with it and wanted restore it back to its factory conditions.  However when I went to go do that I noticed there was no option to when I booted with F8.  I called tech support, and he confirmed form some reason “Dell System Factory Restore” was not on my system… nor could he send me it via disk.  He said my only option was reinstall Vista.  I didn’t want to do that since I use this system for video editing, and I didn’t want to try and find all the correct drivers to make sure my system was up to date.  However since Dell tech support could offer no help I had no other choice.  I have no completed the Vista reinstall, and according to my device manager have no other missing drivers.  But I do still have some problems and questions.

2.  My system is only showing 4 Gigs of RAM, even though 6 is present.  I have removed them, and reinserted them but it still shows 4Gigs.  I ran the memory test, which didn’t come back with any errors, but also confirms I only have 4 gigs of ram.  I looked in the BIOS settings (where it also says I only have 4 gigs) for a setting but I cant find any.  Could it be a setting im missing, or do you think a stick of this ram is damaged?  Yet how it got damaged during the reinstall of Vista is beyond me.  I also installed the new Bios version which seems to have done nothing but create a new Dell logo, and not make my fans sound like rocket launchers on startup. 

3.  After running the memory test, I ran the system diagnostic and got back error code 2000:0221 (Interval Timer Channel  is not generating interrupts).  When I search for info on this I get mixed results of some saying its jus a bug, others say it means the motherboard is shot.  Anyone know of any more info on this?

4.  Next when I put my Creative X-Fi disk in that came with the system to install the drivers it says “ERROR can not find supported hardware on the system”.  Yet if I go to Creatives website, I can download the driver from there… however all of the Creative programs which I had direct from Dell are not on there.  For example “Creative Web Updater” which I could just click and it would update all my sound drivers and programs.  When I try to download that from the website it says “this program is not supported by Windows Vista”.   I would love if anybody could tell me how to get that program back.

5.  And that is why I didn’t want to do a fresh Vista install.  B/c while I am somewhat literate in computers Im not as advanced as you all.  I don’t know how to make sure my system is completely updated, and in the best shape it can be in.  So I was wondering if there is any other drivers, or things I should install which are not on Dells “drivers and downloads section”?  Such as things to make my system run better?

6.  Finally, and perhaps the most important is that no matter which system I use (my 2 dell laptops, or the new Dell XPS730X) I CAN NOT log onto Dell Tech Support Chat.  When I try it tells me my warranty has expired.  However it has not and even shows me I have 2 years left on it.  So each time I need help I have to call and it takes an hour.  When I ask them why this is they just say, “that’s odd I show your warranty is just fine… that shouldn’t happen”.  Has anybody experienced this or know why it could be happening? 

I really would apreciate any help, and thank you in advance.  Incase you need it, here is my system info:

MY SYSTEM:  DELL Inc. XPS 730X 00

Windows Vista Home Premium (x64) Service Pack 1

Main Circuit Board:

Board: DELL Inc. 0P270J A00
Bus Clock: 133 megahertz
BIOS: DELL INC. 1.0.2 4/28/2009

Memory:

4088 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'DIMM0' is Empty  (WHICH IS NOT TRUE I HAVE A 2GB STICK IN THERE FROM DELL)
Slot 'DIMM1' has 2048 MB
Slot 'DIMM2' has 2048 MB

Display:

NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT [Display adapter] (2x)

MultiMedia:

Creative SB X-Fi

Other Devices:

Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller
HID-compliant consumer control device
HID-compliant device
USB Human Interface Device (4x)
HID Keyboard Device
HID-compliant mouse
HX2LP Kit (3.03.0000.2)
USB Composite Device
USB Root Hub (8x)
Generic volume shadow copy

Processor: 

2.67 gigahertz Intel Core i7 920
32 kilobyte primary memory cache
1024 kilobyte secondary memory cache
8192 kilobyte tertiary memory cache

Drives:

2780.41 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
1859.26 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

SATA PLDS BD-RE DH SCSI CdRom Device [CD-ROM drive]
SATA TSSTcorpCD/DVDW SCSI CdRom Device [CD-ROM drive]

MAXTOR STM3750330AS [Hard drive] (750.16 GB) -- drive 1,  rev MX15, SMART Status: Healthy
SAMSUNG HD642JJ [Hard drive] (640.13 GB) -- drive 3, rev 1AA01113, SMART Status: Healthy
ST3500620AS [Hard drive] (500.11 GB) -- drive 0
WDC WD2500KS-00MJB0 [Hard drive] (250.06 GB) -- drive 4
WDC WD6400AAKS-75A7B0 [Hard drive] (640.13 GB) -- drive 2

Controllers:

Intel(R) ICH10R SATA AHCI Controller

Communications:

Broadcom NetLink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet

Broadcom NetLink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet #2

I am having a strange issue where the 19 in 1 card reader and bluetooth module is not recognized at all.

anyone have any clue how i can fix it? i tried to update the firmware but the os cant find the readera t all

it did work at one point

Yes I have the same problem.  Sometimes it will read my cards and sometimes it will not.  Depending on how it is feeling on that day.

Supposedly if you do a search of the forums this is a known problem on some Dell computers 730x and others.  I havent really heard of a real fix yet.

Eagle Hill: Hi Mark, I installed this BIOS and I now find that on the Frequency/Voltage Control Screen the "XMP Support" is missing and the CPU Core (Non-turbo) Ratio is locked at a maximum of 24.  This appears to be a factor that is going to effect overclocking, but I  am not sure.  Does anyone else have any thoughts on this.   Eagle Hill      I have mentioned many times that "XMP Support" has not been available to me in my bios. It simply isn't there and was not there even when i was using bios 1.0.0. So i guess i will ask this question to Chris one more time. Chris could you please find out why "XMP Support" would not be available in my bios while others have the option  available in there bios? My system specs are below, Thanks Gary XPS 730x H2C i7 965 Extreme CPU overclocked to 4108 GHz SLi, Dual nVidia GeForce GTX280 1024MB Core clock-702MHz,shader clock-1404MHz,memory-1269MHz 6GB Multi-Channel DDR3 at 1066MHZ (3x2GB DIMM) running at 1133MHZ (8-8-8-18-54-7-4-4-4-C1) RAID 0 2x300GB(600GB) WD Velociraptor 10K 16MB Cac 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 By: DELL-Chris M 05-01-2009 3:27 PM In reply to No idea. I cannot find a pattern to explain this. I guess you could get  a motherboard exchange and see if the replacement has it, although the replacement will be a refurbished. PCs - XPS 730X, XPS 730, XPS 630, XPS Generation 1, Dimension 4500 Monitors - 2407WFP, E248WFP, 2208WFP, SE198WFP, SE198WFP Hi Chris, I was really hoping for a bit more of an informative answer. I have thought about getting the mobo replaced but i don't see the point of going thru all that to maybe wind up with the same problem. Maybe you can ask one of your Guru buddies at Dell. Persoanlly i think it may be an i7 965 issue as i have yet to see anybody with an i7920/940 report this. Thanks  Gary XPS 730x H2C i7 965 Extreme CPU overclocked to 4108 GHz SLi, Dual nVidia GeForce GTX280 1024MB Core clock-702MHz,shader clock-1404MHz,memory-1269MHz 6GB Multi-Channel DDR3 at 1066MHZ (3x2GB DIMM) running at 1133MHZ (8-8-8-18-54-7-4-4-4-C1) RAID 0 2x300GB(600GB) WD Velociraptor 10K 16MB Cac 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

i HAVE AN I7 920 WITH A 1.0.0 BIOS AN DO NOT HAVE THE XMP OPTION

Chris there must be somebody you can ask about this because when i call technical support they don't have any explanation

Gary

I had the same problem with my Card Reader and Bluetooth - they just sent me a refurbshed reader/bluetooth unit and I installed it - fixed.

You had to purchase these DIMMs to see XMP Support in the bios -
Part #F891K DIMM,2GB,1600MHz,256X64,8,240,1RX8
Part #H345K DIMM,1GB,1600MHz,128X64,8,240,1RX8 Corsair

These DIMMs do not support XMP and therefore it will not show in the bios -
Part # F680F DIMM,1GB,1067MHz,128X64,8,240,1RX8
Part # Y996D DIMM,2GB,1067MHz,256X64,8,240,2RX8
Part # N046F DIMM,2GB,1600MHz,128X64,8,240,2RX8
Part # PP403 DIMM,1GB,1600MHz,128X64,8,240,1RX8

You had to purchase these DIMMs to see XMP Support in the bios - Part #F891K DIMM,2GB,1600MHz,256X64,8,240,1RX8 Part #H345K DIMM,1GB,1600MHz,128X64,8,240,1RX8 Corsair These DIMMs do not support XMP and therefore it will not show in the bios - Part # F680F DIMM,1GB,1067MHz,128X64,8,240,1RX8 Part # Y996D DIMM,2GB,1067MHz,256X64,8,240,2RX8 Part # N046F DIMM,2GB,1600MHz,128X64,8,240,2RX8 Part # PP403 DIMM,1GB,1600MHz,128X64,8,240,1RX8

Hi Chris,

So let me understand this correctly. the ram that came with my 730x H2C...which was the only ram available at the time of purchase is not good for XMP support? I was never given an option to purchase 1600Mhz ram from Dell when i ordered my machine ( and believe me i would have) and infact to this day it is not available on your site when you build a machine. Would any ram that has XMP support built in work? or just the part numbers you mentioned? At least it is good to have an explanation now, i had been holding off on buying upgraded ram but will do so now

Gary

XPS 730x H2C
i7 965 Extreme CPU overclocked to 4108 GHz
SLi, Dual nVidia GeForce GTX280 1024MB
Core clock-702MHz,shader clock-1404MHz,memory-1269MHz
6GB Multi-Channel DDR3 at 1066MHZ (3x2GB DIMM) running at 1133MHZ (8-8-8-18-54-7-4-4-4-C1)
RAID 0 2x300GB(600GB) WD Velociraptor 10K 16MB Cac
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

I really don't know what the fuss is all about, concerning XMP Support. From what I can tell, it does nothing by way of performance for the 730x. I have the memory shown below installed in my setup and while XMP Support is available in the BIOS, it does nothing to improve performance.

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - RetailCompatible w/ Intel Core i7 series CPU for X58 motherboard

I have never had XMP Support in my BIOS, yet I do have 1600MHz OCZ memory in my XPS 730x.

This was posted by another user but instead of removing the asterisks, the moderators decided to delete the whole post. Why? Because they are more concerned with a little profanity than they are about consumers having their problems resolved. That's quite alright though because they will be losing their jobs when Dell continues to downsize. Knowing that just makes me a little happier. :emotion-1:

Hello all! New member here and SOON to be new owner of a 730x. Well i am not much for Dell forums, but i decided since i was going to drop 2,000-2,500 on a PC i should read every board and post i could find on a 730x. Well i just spent the last hour or so reading every single post. Well let me say that i have ALWAYS dreamed of owning a XPS system ( i have owned a lower end XPS model in the past and loved it ) but i have ALWAYS dreamed of a Mid grade XPS ( i ordered a mid grade 730x just today ) Anyways, after reading ALL these posts, It seems as if my DREAM has become a nightmare! I have ALWAYS owned Dell desktops ( i am not a laptop guy ) and never once have i ever had any issues, not once! and this is the reason why i always return to Dell to buy my new systems. Now i will admit, there tech and sales team, My god are horrible! It took me about 3 hours today to place a phone order for my 730x with a woman, No idea what nationality she was but she couldnt even READ! Let me first state that i went with a i7-940 air cooled. I did some research and came to understand that a H2C system was to high maintenance for me ( do i really want to adjust fan speeds, monitor system temperatures, clock speeds and all that? ) Not really. Anyways....here is where the sales person really got me! and she flat out lied along with 3 other sales reps and at this point i might be considering downgrading my video card or even canceling my order before it even leaves Dell. The title says SLi, Dual nVidia GeForce GTX 285 1024MB...For someone who does not know that much about new technology, i atleast knew that SLI was meaning that i was able to have 2 -3 video cards in a stystem all working together, ok but notice the word DUAL in that description? I was TOLD that the system has actualyl "2" videos cards in it ( SLI ) but after some research i found out that there is no such thing as a 512mb GTX 285, That they only make 1gb ( and a few 2gb ) GTX 285 cards, So with that said, when the sales person TOLD ME that this system had 2 actual GTX 285's in there, i said they it has 2bg ( 2048mb ) of memory is that correct? at first she said no, that each card is 512mb, i said that is not possible because they do not even make a 512mb card, she put me on hold and came back and said that i was correct, it is a total of 2gb of video memory, each card having 1gb each. Well after reading everything i possible could after my order was placed i find out that it is only 1 single card inside with 1gb of memory! a 600.00 something dollar upgrade for a single card that costs 300-350 else where? I was going to try and ignore that fact that i was lied to, but now after reading all these complaints and issues and this and that, i have a headache and i am thinking twice. I have a 3 month old Dell Studio i am using Q9550 6gb of Ram and this system has been flawless! but it has no room for upgrades and you cannot game on this system, so i figure i would sell it locally ( which the buyer is coming tomorrow for ) and put the funds towards the 730x, but now after reading all this i dont know? i mean for a system that costs 2,500.00-4,000.00 IT BETTER BE A++++ when it arrives. People stating they had to adjust this, or fix this or even some of you who had DOA systems and Dell had the nerve to not replace it with a brand new one yet they would send someone out to look at it? JESUS!!! Does anyone even understand how much you and I are paying for these things? They should arrive without 1 issue and if there are issues, Dell should hop on it that minute and replace the enitre system! So now i am thinking when my system arrives and if there is any problems, I wont get a NEW ONE sent to me, i will get someone coming over to fix or replace something? You have to be insane! I am still just furious about the fact i was lied to and told that the SLI DUAL GTX 284 1024 was 2 cards! and that is was a total of 2gb since there are 2 cards in there. I am not sure if i should call and cancel now or what. My 700.00 studio and every other Dell for that matter has arrived without any issues, So i would just THINK that if i am going to order a top of the line system from Dell that it would arrive the same way and work without 1 flaw! but after seeing all the issues, i am really concerned. I honestly dont know what to do. and as for a restocking fee, if it has not even left there warehouse yet, then they better not even mention the fact of a restocking fee. I was lied to in the begining about my video card. On to of that, if i spend 2,500.00 on a system, it better be here within 1 week, 2 weeks tops! some of you who waited 1-2 months that is just unheard of!   I am really begining to think twice about this 730x, I might be better off with my Studio   Anyone care to comment on anything? Am i correct about my video card also? it is only 1 single card correct? and only has 1 gb of ram? even though the upgrade says SLI "DUAL" GTX 285 ( dual i would assume mean 2 cards? wouldnt ya think? )     SLi, Dual nVidia GeForce GTX 285 1024MB

Now, to answer your questions and address your concerns. According to the SLI, dual nVidia GeForce GTX 285 1024, that would imply it has dual 1024mb video cards. Your best bet is to phone Dell and get the VERY BASIC 730x. By basic, I'm talking about getting the following internals:

• 9800GT 512mb - cheaper to get the GTX 285's on Newegg. Dell will RIP YOU OFF!!

• 500GB Seagate SATA hard drive - cheaper to get your hard drives from Newegg. Dell will RIP YOU OFF!!

• Intel Core i7 920 - you really have no need for anything more than a Core i7 920 because it can easily achieve the clock speeds of the 940 and the 965. Those who upgrade their 730x with the 965 are blowing money for the sake of being able say they have "the fastest" because they will never be able to use even the 920 to its full potential. Yet, they'd rather spend over $500 more on something they will never reap the full benefit of having. You don't have to be an economist to realize that's a bad investment.

Nice to have found this discussion thread!  Very timely, considering I have a couple 730x units coming from the Outlet!

One is a H2C version (for a client) and one is a 920-based air-cooled unit for myself (upgrading from a nice XPS 720 H2C).

After reading the last 6 pages or so of discussion, I was intrigued with the overclocking capability of the 920.  I am very interested in getting my 920 running as fast as possible (at least to approach my friends 965 Extreme), but with so many pages of discussion, I was wondering if there was a specific previous post that addressed the steps needed to get the 920 running at it's fastest, maybe some sort of 730x overclocking FAQ or something?  

My units should be here today or tomorrow (who knows, since the Dell order status site NEVER shows tracking information, as it is ALWAYS shows temporarily unavailable).

I hope the 730x is at least as reliable as my 720 H2C.

Thanks!