XPS 730x H2C loses power / resets / reboots "randomly"...

Fixed, sort of...  The good news is I can "fix" the problem by not running at an overclocked speed of 3.73Ghz (which is also the bad news).

When using the factory overclocked settings with a 28 multiplier (3.73Ghz), etc. the machine will reset at random times as described above.  However, if I set the machine to use the "optimal defaults" by hitting F9 in the BIOS screen, the machine runs great.  As an experiment I overclocked it at the settings recommended for an air cooled unit (mine is a H2C) using a 26 multiplier (3.47Ghz), etc. and it has been running now for over 24 hours without one reset.  So, it doesn't look like running it at a 28 multiplier is ready for prime time yet (at least on my machine).  I hope the next BIOS / chip set update might resolve this issue...

Here is the link if you want to get the recommended settings for overclocking from Dell...

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/document?c=us&l=en&s=gen&docid=5BE87875B6CB8DA1E040AE0AB7E115F4&journalid=5DAE85A31B4EF76AE040AE0AB5E14031&Query=&SystemID=&ServiceTag=&contenttype=-1&os=-1&component=-1&lang=-1&doclang=en&toggle=false

I am having exactly the same problem you described above. I at a lose too! When playing COD4, I get a warning signal from the CPU right as I start playing the game. It also power reset the computer when playing the game. I looked at my temps too and they look great like yours. Did you get any answers yet? Have you called Dell support yet, I just about ready too! My specs are almost exactly like yours!

XPS 730X H2C - Intel® Core™ i7-965 Extreme - Level 2 (Factory O/C'd to 3.73GHz)
RAM - 6GB Tri-Channel DDR3 at 1066MHZ (3x2GB DIMM)
Video - ATI Radeon HD4870X2 2048MB

Hard Drive - 300GB - SATA-II, 3GB/S, 10,000RPM
Hard Drive - 500GB - SATA-II, 3GB/S, 7200RPM, 16MB Cache
Dell 19-in-1 Media Card Reader with Bluetooth 2.0
Windows Vista® 64-bit  Ultimate (English) Service Pack 1

What is the "warning signal" from the CPU that you are getting? 

As far as regular Windows applications are concerned (i.e. non gaming:  running MS Office, DevStudio, Browsers, Virus Scanners, Media Center, etc.) changing the BIOS settings from the overclocked (~3.7 Ghz)  to the "optimal settings" (not overclocked ~3.3 Ghz) in the BIOS has solved the problem.  However, I still am getting random resets while playing games including "Crysis", "Left 4 Dead", and "Far Cry 2" (only games I have played on this system) even in the non-overclocked mode.

So, I belive there are two problems.  1) Overclocking to 3.7 Ghz on this system is not very stable at all as the system will just reset at random times and 2) there is a hardware / driver issue with the video card I have (ATI HD4870x2) which causes resets while playing games even while using non overclocked settings.  My frustration is there is no "logging" that I can find that will identify what the problem is with either the CPU or the video card.

I have not contacted Dell and I'm not sure how to get the "advanced support" that is supposed to come with these XPS gaming machines.  I will contact them soon but I was still playing around with some video settings to see if I could get it more stable (no luck so far).  I'm wondering if the Nvidia 280 would have been a better (more stable) choice for gaming ...  Please post an update if you find any resolutions with your system and I will do the same.

On December 8 we received our XPS 730x H2C...over the next 8 days we noticed random power loss and rebooting. No warning, just shutdown. 

We contacted Dell support and could not identify a hardware issue.  Overclocking was never suggested as the root of the problem. Temperatures were ok (I read them back to the tech people after 5 times sitting in front of the fleeting sceen and quickly writing down the numbers for the 2 seconds they were displayed before shutdown), but the system also turned off whenever the Dell Thermo icon was checked and the program opened.  We requested a replacement compuuter rather than reinstalling Vista Ultimate and starting from scratch.  

On December 19 we received our new computer.  On the 26th it began to randomnly shut down exactly the same as with our first 730x.  Everything is behaving exactly the same as with our first try with the 730X!

We paid for the overclocked system to include the liquid cooling ... and do not plan to reset the BIOS to the non-overclocked settings.  Today  we made arrangements to return this system (with no restocking fees).   Our system is nearly identical to yours,but we have the Nvidia 280 graphics card. We have spent 40 hours on the phone with 4 different Tech support folks and one "supervisor" ... plus customer service people. I will probably buy another Dell but not pay the premium for liquid cooling or this extreme 3.2 processor because I will not try overclocking again. Too many hours loading software and very little satisfaction from tech support who clearly don't read things like this forum. Sad Christmas because most of it was spent messing with a - not ready for prime time- Dell flagship system. I hope others find these posts and realize that Dell has NOT supported this top of the line system by other than being willing to have us return it because we have asked to do so within their 21 day grace period. What disappointment.

I am so sorry to hear about all  your problems, what a bummer for all of you.  The only thing I can think of though is thank god I can't afford the system I wanted, cause that's exactly what I would have bought, I can only afford the middle xps730s, without the extreme processor and liquid cooling system.

I sure hope you are all able to find a fix, for the amount of money your systems must have cost, you deserve a working system.

Good luck

Kendra

Wow, that's exactly what my system is doing including the Dell Thermo program failing the computer. I guess I better get off my horse and tell Dell to come and get this "dead horse". I have no intention of spending $5300.00 on a system the won't work out of the box. I also have no intention of spending 40 hours on the phone talking to someone who does not know that, what? 3 people are all having the same issues with the same computer? Come on Dell get off the wagon and get your stories together and get this stuff fixed! One question I have for you, did you talk to Dell support in Florida or India? I paid premium bucks to talk to people in the USA who know what they are doing is that the folks you were talking too, if so I really disappointed now....

We spoke with both Florida and India tech support. None had any real idea and we had no confidence that anything was going to be passed on to Dell engineering. We had no one "special" contacted us despite a rather meticulous effort to pursue the matter. If you should be beyond the 21 day"grace period" ... insist that they accept the return of your system with no restocking charge (that can run up to 15% ... 0.15 x $5300 = $750 !)  If they won't ... contact your state's *** General office in your state capital - consumer division. This inability to provide or unwillingness to correct an advertised, expensive product option may constitute fraud ... especially knowing that they know about the problem and continue to sell the systems. Is someone from Dell monitoring this forum? Please respond. This is a horrible condemination of Dell's product, support, and reliability. Give me a real number to contact as we WANT to be happy with our $5,000+ Dell purchases. I have to pack-up and return my system this Friday to meet the 21 day period. We have the return permit.

I contacted Dell Tech support this morning and talked with the Tech for about 6 hours trying to figure out what was going on. The Tech was knowledgeable but this system is so new they have no experience with it. He was from my "Tech Team" (Florida) which i paid more bucks for by the way. I asked about other systems that had the same problem and he had no idea about other systems because their database is not tied together to search other trouble tickets. Wow, Dell has no "Help Desk" software or database go figure? I can't believe that one. Anyway, after reflashing the bios and removing the XPS Thermo Monitor problem the computer still crashed from running my COD4 and MS Flight Simulator software....I can't even play games on my "Dell Gaming Computer" that I paid $5300. The Tech also told me that they "DON'T" read this forum and have no intention on doing so, something about too many sour grapes and unhappy folks on it....(go figure huh!). The final solution to date is I have a Tech coming out tomorrow to replace the motherboard and CPU Processor. I didn't like this because the Tech's they send are little more then parts swappers and they are very good at that. Given the complexity of the computer I don't think he will even get it apart let along change the main board and processor it. You ever look inside this thing WOW lots of stuff in tight places including the cooling system. Can wait to see that one. I told the Tech if this doesn't work the computer is going back and I'm asking for a refund. He said they would rather send another computer out first...I told him we will see. One note; we did run diagnostics on the CPU and Temp sensors, pass both tests, but something interesting did happen on the CPU test. Testing the 3 Core Cache the warning signal I talked about did sound. That's what made him think the CPU was bad. My opinion is something in the software (OS or TEMP Monitor) is not handling the 3rd Core correctly, but that's just a guess on my part! I will keep everyone posted on what happens next, keep tuned in to this channel!

I'm still playing around with settings on my system and I seem to have it running solid now even with games.  You might want to try this out before returning the whole system (this assumes you have a ATI HD4870X2 video card).   Go to the Catalyst Control Center and then select "ATI Overdrive" (this is only available when running CCC in advanced mode so turn that on).  Next, I made sure I was running with "defaults" by pressing the defaults button.  Then, select the "Enable Manual Fan Control" and the set it to "100" and apply your changes.  That's it.  You should hear the fan on the board now.  The CCC meters don't seem to be accurate so don't pay attention to them.  For example, with the fan set to 100% my meter only goes between 0 and 50 % so just ignore them.   The temperature gauge does seem to be accurate and mine doesn't get above 57 Celsius when playing games.  I haven't seen a reset / reboot for about 10 hours of gaming (knock on wood).  Running the fan at 100% is a bit loud but I wear headphones so I don't really care...

Note: I still have the CPU set to factory optimal settings (e.g. 3.3 GHz) so I may try to increase that but for now I'm just making sure if the video card fan is set to high (while playing games) that it is stable.

In regards to my last post, nevermind.  Although it does play longer without resetting it will eventually...  @#$!

Well the Dell Tech finally showed up after 5 days, twice cancelling his appointment because they were behind and again because he was too busy. Came on SAT. (1/3/09) and replaced the motherboard and CPU. The scary part is he had never seen this computer before and it would be his first time inside one. I had printed out the service manual just in case he was new to this system and I guessed right. I ended up helping him change the board and cpu, didn't want to but I felt if I wanted it back in one piece I needed to be there with him. Believe it or not it didn't take that long about 45 mins. The unit comes apart pretty nicely its designed and built very well for serving the motherboard and cpu. The rest of the system is less accessible like DVD drives, power supply, control boards and some fans. Well to get the heart of the matter the replacement parts "DID NOT WORK". One point I would like to make if you go decide to mess with the computer, take pictures of the "BIOS Settings" all of them. That saved my life because the Dell Tech didn't have a clue! Neither does the Tech Support Team from Dell in Florida. I got the bios back to factory and I still get the random shut down while Playing COD4 and MS Fight Simulator. The XPS Thermo Monitor software crashes the computer when launched in about 2 to 3 mins very consistantly. Now what? I will take a break today on Sunday and call Dell Tech Support to see if they have learned anything new these last few days. From what I see I'm sure the haven't because their systems don't seem to interconnect or share information. Maybe I will get lucky and find a Tech who solved this problem (not really just hoping). I have made the decision if not solved tomorrow the computer will be returned for a "FULL Refund". I will not ask or accept a replacement computer since in the replacement of a motherboard and CPU is pretty much a new computer by some standards. The computer still makes the warning signal when loaded down with processing the COD4 game, I wish I could describe the sound better to you but its hard to ignore, about 70db or so from the computer, I don't know if its from the CPU or GPU, at this point I really don't care.  I am truely disappointed with Dell I like this Computer a lot but they don't seem to acknowledge that it has serious issues. I will get my refund and go buy a gaming computer from a local vendor close by me at least I can take it to them instead of waiting for Dell Tech's and FEDEX. I wish Dell would read this forum because you guys have some serious problems with this computer (XPS 730X H2C, Extreme 965 i7 process with ATI 4870x2 GPU) My advise to anyone considering this machine "DON'T Buy it" you will be sorry. I will be providing a review on the Dell web site under the XPS gaming order site, wonder if it will be removed it won't be pleasant!

A question to "pat51"...did you have to pay for shipping back as well as insurance for it? I read in their "Return Policy" that the customer is responible for shipping and insurance when shipping back a returned computer is that true? (hope not, they won't hear the last of it if this is true!

According to the dell.com site: Dell warrants the full functionality of your system at factory overclocked settings. Overclocking beyond factory settings may cause system instability and reduce the operating life of your system components.  So what is factory overclocked settings for this system?

Hi all,

I spoke with tech support and I am running the "Preboot System Assessment" now (located under the F12 boot option).  It is supposed to take a few hours.  I will let you know if it finds anything, etc.  I'm not sure if anyone else has tried this yet...