XPS 730x General Hardware Discussion thread

This is what EagleHill had to say about it...

Hi maf2k8 I had to copy your posting that I received because it had been deleted.  Probably because of one word that I have removed so hopefully this posting will not offend the censors. I wish that Dell was as quick to monitor the questions and deal with them as they are to delete offensive words! I have good news and bad news for you.  I ordered the top of the line unit complete with the H2C system on the 18th of March.  I received it on the 28th of April.  By the way this system cost over $6K!!  The good news is that it does have TWO GTX 280 cards (they have since upgraded this option to 285 cards).  Using a program called GPUz it appears that each card had 1Gb of RAM. The bottom line is that I think you will get what I got but with two cards, not one. I think the problem is that a lot of sales people, not just with Dell, but everywhere, really don't know the product that they are selling.  I had a similarly frustrating experience when ordering my system.  she probably just doesn't know any better.  Whether that makes it better or worse who knows! Here is some bad news, so far I have had a variety of 19 blue screens of death.  I got it one week ago, and yesterday Dell sent out three new RAM modules.  I think that most of the blue screens are due to the intermittent faulty RAM. I ordered the overclocked system running at 3.73 GHz. when it arrived it was not over clocked at all.  It was running at the factory spec of 3.2 GHz.  I spent nearly two hours on line with technical support while he watch the DellVlog video on YouTube to tell me how to overclock it.  Honestly, he was like a "B" grade actor reading a script.  They talk about the "exclusive XPS support line".  Don't eat that Elmer.....................  The bottom line here is that after one week I am still trying to get my system running like it should.  Here is the punch line the 'technician' said well you can always return it.  The restocking fee alone would be over $900.00 plus shipping and insurance, because they sent out a less than perfect system. Now here is the 'rub'.  They sent out my system without the "X" panel.  My sales rep says "well, you really don't need that".  I think you may have already read that in this forum - I did.  I have argued the point and the issue is still up in the air.  There shouldn't be any argument.  On the XPS 730X H2C (in Canada) there was/is no option to add the "X".  A different sales rep assures me it is an included item.  So where is mine? The bottom line, is that while it is running, between blue screens, it is quite a nice system.  I was working on some graphics yesterday and these graphics cards rock.  My old system was pretty much loaded with 4 Gb of RAM etc., but graphics on this systems are 8 - 10 times faster. Part of me wants to suggest that you cancel your order, but part of me says hang in there.  I have purchased 7 or 8 (I lost count) Dell systems in the past.  Yes this has been the most frustrating order I have ever placed, but I fear that it is not much better out there with anyone else.  They all have cut the profit margin so thin that the famous Dell Support that brought me to them 14 years ago, has all but disappeared.  What a shame!  I honestly am thinking of building my own system next time. Good luck Eagle Hill

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?

Unfortunately, there isn't. While Dell supports overclocking of the Core i7 cpu, they will not assist you in overclocking. Your best bet is to tweak clocks/voltages a little at a time and run the Intel BurnTest or Prime95 to test the best stability. Don't forget to adjust your fan speeds accordingly because you shouldn't allow the cpu to get over 70C / 158F under load.

Well since my post was deleted then i will kind of recap what i said. I purchased my 730x yesterday via phone chat, I believe i was lied to in the sense because the desciprion for the video card says SLI DUAL GTX 285 1024mb, I asked since it said DUAL does that mean i will have "2" actual cards inside the system, i was yes, that each card is 512mb so that is the total of 1024. After research i find out that there is no such thing as a 512mb GTX 285, That they ONLY come in 1gb ( there are a few 2gb also ) so i talked to about 4 sales people online, all 4 telling me different stories. I had one actually confirm that it is a TOTAL of 2gb memory and that each card is 1gb, He actually sent me a link to the GTX 285 card that is used on the system. It was a 1 GB card. a 600.00 upgrade and your telling me it is only 1 single card? after i was told at time of purchase it is in fact 2 cards?

On top of that a system that costs 2,000-4,000 SHOULD NOT have any issues at all. I have always used Dell desktops and never once had any problems. But after reading all 38 pages thats all i have read is problems, poor customer service, etc, etc. You would think with a 2,500-4,000 system and being a XPS we would get some sort of special support? Well after reading all 38 pages it seems the support is no different next to a 300.00 inspiron desktop.

Also the reason why i am certain there is only 1 GTX 985 in this system is because it the parts description for my order here is what it says

As I stated previously, you should call Dell and request the basic hard drive, video card, and the 920 cpu. It will speed up the process in getting your 730x to you and you can get better prices on those items elsewhere.

You would think with a 2,500-4,000 system and being a XPS we would get some sort of special support?

HA HA HA HA! You should consider doing stand-up comedy. This is Dell we're talking about. lol

On top of that a system that costs 2,000-4,000 SHOULD NOT have any issues at all.

Don't hold you breath on that one because you'll suffocate. Dell does not do a burn in test. They throw everything together, install the OS, and ship it out. If there are any problems with it, the consumer will be the one to find them and if the consumer wants to return it, they will have to pay a restocking fee and shipping which will amount to hundreds of dollars.

[quote user="LANCORP"]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?

Unfortunately, there isn't. While Dell supports overclocking of the Core i7 cpu, they will not assist you in overclocking. [/quote]

Thanks.  I wasn't necessarily referring to a Dell FAQ, but instead a user-posted FAQ on the steps needed to properly (and safely) get your 920 CPU at a decent speed.

Let me ask this then...what can I reasonably expect to clock the 920 to and still have a relatively quiet system, and would having 1600-rated RAM help at all in the overclocking (ie., when I increase the bus speed, doesn't RAM speed increase, thereby necessitating higher speed RAM?)

Little tips like that...that's all I was looking for.  Could you possibly summarize the main settings in the BIOS that I could/should safely start with?

Thanks!

Well i just got off the phone with Dell regarding the Dual Video card issue. I talked to 2 reps who both said it had 2 cards, After a few mins then came to understand that is was only actually 1 card.

So what i did was pretty much downgraded the video card to the 9800 GT. The system is pretty basic, I kept the i7-940 and the 6 gb of ram ( because these 2 options would cost A LOT to upgrade on my own )

the rep also gave me free nextday shipping ( which really doesnt mean much ) but its nice and upgraded me to a 3yr warranty at no cost.

Once i recieve the 730x i will upgrade the items myself at a MUCH cheaper cost, that way i can see what works with what, what has conflicts and what to avoid. Right now it seems people are having issues with over clocked systems, Certain audio cards and it seems systems running 2 ATI cards has issues at times.

Bottom line is this. Dell charges a arm and a leg for the XPS line, So like some have said, Get a VERY VERY basic config, Dish out the cash for the CPU that you want because that would cost  a lot regardless of who is upgrading it, Then just select a basic video card, no audio card, no options, etc. Then once it arrives you can customize it to your like with the parts YOU want at a much cheaper price.  Yeah it would be nice to have a system arrive fully loaded, but in the long run, youll save money and headaches doing the small upgrades yourself.

Lets hope when my "basic" system arrives that it is fine, Seeing as how i have NO H2C cooling and no overclocked CPU then i should be fine.

Yeah i hear you on that one!

As i said, I have owned many Dell Desktops and a older XPS unit. Never once have i had any problems at all with them, i NEVER had to use my warranty to replace or fix anything. I admit there sales and tech people are not much help and are hard to understand and also have no clue as to what is even going on at times, but if you try and try again your sure to find a good sales or tech rep.

I just figured since i have owned so many dells systems and never ONCE had a problem, that buying a 2,000.00 XPS system would GUARNTEE to not have a problem. Maybe i am just jumping the gun here on this and reading only negative posts. As i said, i DO NOT over clock, MAYBE this is where people are having problems? Who knows?

I hope the best for everyone and there system.

I was hoping maybe some people could comment on what upgrades they have added to there XPS 730x ( on there own, not thru Dell ) and what the outcome was? As far as ram, video card, audio card, etc, etc.

Off the bat i plan on adding a higher end video card, POSSIBLY a sound card but unsure at the moment, the internal sound card on my studio has optical out and i am sure its the same as the XPS and if thats the case, then it should be fine with onboard sound. As for adding ram, well 4gb sticks are WAY to much at the moment and i think the 6gb my system is coming with should be fine with what i use it for. I plan on adding a 2nd CD burner at a much higher speed also 22x and also i plan on adding more storage.

Also i plan on adding bluetooth because from what i have heard, the BT that dell offers, only works for there keyboards and mouse! You cannot connect any other BT devices, that is pointless!!! I am so glad i found this info before i added on BT.

and ALL these upgrades can be found VERY VERY cheap on the internet, Sales pop up everyday on certain items, So you just have to jump on that item when it goes on sale.

Hi maf2k8,

Well I just joined your club, the censor police also removed my posting because I included your first posting - less the offensive word.  My I wish that DELL's technical people were as thorough.  I am new to this forum, and I am quickly seeing why I should have stayed away.  Give little people a little power and it goes to their head.

Oh well!

Eagle Hill

One thing i just noticed really bothers me. Ok this is a HIGH END system and can be upgraded, yet it only has 3 ram slots. It maxs out at only 6gb of ram! I have searched the net and they dont even make a DDR3 4gb SINGLE ram module ( which would make it 12gb total ) Though dell has told me you can upgrade it to 12gb, How if 4gb stick do not exsist yet? and on top of that, the board ONLY supports DDR3 1066mhz and NOTHING higher?

maf2k8,

6GB is the maximum we validated due to diminishing returns going higher. Not to say that 12GB would not work, we just will not support it nor will we write a bios to support it.

We do support our 1600Mhz DDR3 in the XPS 730x:
XMP Supported 1600Mhz memory -
Part #F891K DIMM,2GB,1600MHz,256X64,8,240,1RX8
Part #H345K DIMM,1GB,1600MHz,128X64,8,240,1RX8 Corsair

Non-XMP Supported 1600Mhz memory
Part # N046F DIMM,2GB,1600MHz,128X64,8,240,2RX8
Part # PP403 DIMM,1GB,1600MHz,128X64,8,240,1RX8

Well, my two XPS 730x systems showed up  today.  So far, I'm not impressed.

My experience so far--opened a 920-based one, powered it on.  Fans loud.  Vista boots up, fans STILL loud.  Waited, seemingly forever, for everything to load up, and fans STILL loud.  The Dell Thermal Monitor (once loaded) shows the front fan at almost 4000 RPM.  WHY????  I cannot uncheck the Automatic config, as it is greyed out.

I updated the BIOS to 1.0.2, fans still LOUD and front fan at 39xx RPM.

What is wrong?  It should not be this loud, should it?

You might first download a program like coretemp or realtemp and see how hot your CPU is running. When my unit was delivered the waterblock was loose and my CPU was running at close to 100C, which the Dell Support Team told me was fine, but is really at the edge of failure. I discovered the problem myself and just had to tighten the waterblock. I know you don't have a waterblock, but your air cooling has to be working and attached to keep your CPU cool as well. Your CPU should be running in the 45C range or less. Let us know what you find. BTW, my unit was only really loud under load. A program like P95 will place load on your CPU (Chris recommended that program I believe, very nice). Dell phone tech support was consistently less than helpful. Good luck.

You might first download a program like coretemp or realtemp and see how hot your CPU is running. When my unit was delivered the waterblock was loose and my CPU was running at close to 100C, which the Dell Support Team told me was fine, but is really at the edge of failure. I discovered the problem myself and just had to tighten the waterblock. I know you don't have a waterblock, but your air cooling has to be working and attached to keep your CPU cool as well. Your CPU should be running in the 45C range or less. Let us know what you find. BTW, my unit was only really loud under load. A program like P95 will place load on your CPU (Chris recommended that program I believe, very nice). Dell phone tech support was consistently less than helpful. Good luck.

I'm pretty sure that isn't it, since I found another thread about a couple other 730x owners with the same problem (almost 4K front fan speed, with the front temp higher than the rear temp).  They thought bad front sensor, and it required a MB replacement.  Bleh...

My 2nd 730x that arrived today, a 965-based, H2C unit, has a different issue (or I just don't understand all this OC'ing stuff), and that is that I cannot get the NON-TURBO ratio higher than 24.  I can lower it, but 24 is as high as it goes.  After reading most of the 39 pages here, I saw some posts where a H2C-cooled 965 should be at 28 for the non-turbo ratio.  Is that correct?  This shouldn't be rocket science.  We all have the same stuff, so a basic set of "numbers" should yield about the same results.

I'd really like to get this 965 up to around 4Ghz and get some 1600 DDR3 RAM going at low latency.  Can anyone post their settings for such a setup if they have it?

Thanks again!

When my unit was delivered the waterblock was loose and my CPU was running at close to 100C, which the Dell Support Team told me was fine, but is really at the edge of failure

The Dell Support Team has lost their marbles, seriously. Anything over 70C and you're playing with fire, pun intended.

A program like P95 will place load on your CPU (Chris recommended that program I believe, very nice).

The Intel Burn Test does a better job of stressing a load on all 4 cores than does Prime95.

almost 4K front fan speed, with the front temp higher than the rear temp

Don't use the XPS Thermal Monitor to control your fans. It's trash. Use the Nvidia System Tools with ESA Support. It will allow you to lower your fan speeds and when you reboot your PC, it will load them by default according to how you set them.

The new version (beta) of OCCT has the IBT (Intel Burn Test) included.

Also for your video cards, a new test from the makers of MemTest86, called MemtestG80 works well. NVi only

The best test of all of course will be Folding@Home a software (from Stanford U and PandeGroup) that can really test your CPU/RAM/GPU and its cooling capabilities too..... plus it is for a very good cause .... for info see this Dell Forum Sticky or visit RSF .... F@H is well endorsed by Dell, Apple, Intel, AMD, ATi, nVidia, Sony and a lot of other companies to search for a cure to diseases like Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Lou Gehrig's and others dealing with proteins folding and mis-folding..... Why not kill two birds with one shot? Test your machines and help Humanity and our own Team_XPS !!!  The CPUs in your PC, MAC and even PS3 plus your newer NVi and ATi video cards can run Folding..... Did I mention: It is Fun too.

Peace