NEW XPS 730x Owner's thread March 15, 2010

Ok...so what bios settings should i change from the optimal defaults to help speed up my boot process and what motherboard would you recommend replacing it with?

And why doesn't Dell fix the slow issues with a 1.0.6 bios update? After all, this is suppose to be a gaming computer.

And thanks for trying to help.

I have 3 of my 10,000rpm VelociRaptors in RAID and my PC boots in 55 seconds with a shut down time of 11 seconds. The BIOS that DELL created for the 730x is junk, plain and simple. It was improperly configured and therefore, takes forever to boot the system. The only remedy is to install an aftermarket motherboard. I know that's not what you're wanting to hear but that's the cold harsh reality of the 730x BIOS.

on my 730x it takes 1 minute and 16 seconds and 24 of those seconds is just for the bios to load completely.

I have a Razer Trantula usb keyboard and a Razer Deathadder usb mouse.

No programs loading when pc boots. Startup tab of msconfig is empty. No antivirus running either. I uninstalled it to check my times but it made no diiference.

I tried a dell keyboard but no difference.

Bios has been reset to optimal defaults.

Am using a i7-965 with 6 gigs ram and Vista Ultimate 64 bit.

It takes about 35 seconds to get to the 'starting windows' display from the time I push the 'power on' button. This includes booting through a SATA III adapter card.  Review some of these tweaks to see if any will help:

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?63273-*-windows-7-Ultimate-Tweaks-amp-Utilities-*

Some of these tweaks should work On Vista - if that's your OS. I changed the BIOS to boot from my primary hard drive first instead of the default USB device then optical drive then HDD .

I also have a Dell 730 - which boots in at least half the time as my 730X.

Mitch

730X

i7 965 H2C

6 gb Corsiar Dominator 1600

256 gb Micron C300

It takes about 35 seconds to get to the 'starting windows' display from the time I push the 'power on' button. This includes booting through a SATA III adapter card.

The reason your PC is booting faster is because you have a solid state drive and if you had mechanical drives, it takes twice the amount of time from powering to getting to the desktop. 

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?63273-*-windows-7-Ultimate-Tweaks-amp-Utilities-*

I've tried those tweaks and with all start-up processes disabled, it shaved only 2 seconds off my boot time.

From powering on to the BIOS screen, it takes 21 seconds.

For the BIOS to load entirely, it takes 17 seconds.

From the BIOS finish, it takes 35 seconds to get to the desktop.

Total time to boot from powering on to desktop is (1m 13s).

One easy question that hopefully Chris M can answer: What is the default QPI/Uncore voltage on the 730X?

This is absolutely critical to overclocking at high bclk, as it needs to be matched with vCore for proper stability. Intel's whitesheet default for x58 is 1.1v, however almost all board manufacturers are setting this to 1.2v at default. Since Dell has provided no way to measure this voltage within Windows or otherwise, what is the default value?

TY

That was the same motherboard i was looking at before you answered.

Will this fit in a 730x case?

Will it support everything that the 730x motherboard runs?

has anyone put one of those in a 730 case?

Guess that's what i get for buying a 730x a year after it was built. I bought mine from the dell outlet store.

Thanks

Also...will this motherboard support the 730x cpu heatsink and fan assembly?

I have a serious problem with the Dell 730x.

I recently 'upgraded' to a new i7 920 D0 chip, with hopes that I would be able to overclock it further than my C0, and at lower voltages and temperatures.

However the current Dell BIOS 1.0.5 DOES NOT FULLY SUPPORT THE D0 CHIPS.

The 920 should default to a 133 bclk, 20x multipler, QPI link at 18x and Uncore at 16x. These are Intel's spec'd values for the 920.

The Dell BIOS incorrectly sets QPI and Uncore multipliers at 24x by default, meaning that these are running out of spec on the 920 D0.

Screenshot: http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q188/politbureau/screenshots/D0onDell730x.jpg

This makes the system unstable at bclk values barely higher than stock.

I have done a complete BIOS clear with a removal from power, battery removed, and a long CMOS clear using the jumper (8+ hours). Before and after this process I entered the BIOS and returned everything to default, saved and exited.

Help is appreciated, however let this be a warning to any other 730x owners - the Dell BIOS ONLY supports processors that were originally spec'd with the system, and apparently has no desire to add support for newer processors or steppings, even though it would be trivial to do so. This as evidenced by a lack of D0 support, and a lack of support for the 980X.

Comments appreciated.

EDIT: As an addendum to this, I have attempted to manually set the QPI and RAM mulitplier within the BIOS to force these multipliers to their correct values. The result is that it is possible to set the QPI value to 4.80GT/S in the BIOS, which will force the QPI to run at 18x. However manually setting any other values does not affect the uncore mulitplier.

EDIT #2: I have just spoken with Aswad at Intel Customer Support. I quote from an email:

"Intel published a product change notification to it's partners and OEMs on January 30th to give them time to implement a microcode update to support the new chips. Aside from minor changes related to the thermal packaging and improvements in die harvesting, the only difference is really a small cosmetic one below the heatspreader. However the sSpec and CPUID have changed, which will require a microcode BIOS update to support the new chip. This product was released into channels on March 2nd, 2010, and at that time, I would have long since expected OEMs and partners to have updated their BIOSs to support the new chip. In fact it is quite inconceivable to me that Dell has not updated the code on a 1 gen old flagship line to support the new chip, since they are no doubt using it in their new Alienware product line, as C0 chips are now rare in the channel. It would be relatively quick and painless to implement the BIOS change, even given your product's EOL status. Intel pushes their partners to provide the highest level of service to it's customers, and this is atypical of Dell's usual commitment. ... I would have to check more thoroughly with the EQS department (?), but I imagine the issues you are experiencing with QPI link and Uncore frequency multipliers would be explained by the lack of a proper BIOS update."

This would bear out, as the 1.0.5 BIOS was posted by Dell on September 20th, 2009.

Response from Dell? Even Intel is surprised at your complete lack of support...

I just installed 980X cpu and it will not boot. Dell please release new bios support for the newer cpu. I love my 730x and want to continue upgrading for many years to come.

I encountered the same problem, While I change the i920 D0 , the 1.0.5  BIOS incorrectly sets the QPI  = 6.4G, this makes ths system unstable and BSoD

You should be able to change the QPI again. to 4.8GT/s like its  on the chip.

I'm afraid if my chip dies and I'm out of warranty. I have no upgrade path. We all paid good money.

Their has been no answers from dell at all. When people bought this machine we where full aware that we could upgrade what ever we wanted on this machine. Including the processor and if we felt like it we could put a normal ATX board in it.

Dell had a ton of people who bought this that had very good faith in dell. That they would support their product in market.

So since they don't feel like giving us a bios upgrade. Why doesn't dell take back our old machines and give us new Alienware that we can upgrade to the processor that we want.

I'm just saying I know the reason we shop at dell. We shop for the brand. Before I worked at my IT department I never though dell was good. But then I saw the light of day. I bought a ton of dell brand products and also purchase other products from their store.

I getting the feeling that dell doesn't care about us no more. I guess we could vote with wallet. I know of a ton of other vendors who would take our money. Like falcon northwest, Voodoo, I buypower , and we could also built a custom PC.

Why doesn't dell take back our old machines and give us new Alienware that we can upgrade to the processor that we want.
* That program does not exist.

I just installed 980X cpu and it will not boot. Dell please release new bios support for the newer cpu.
* There are no plans to support the 980 or retail CPUs on the 730x. These are the all we will ever support on this model -
60GFP Bloomfield I7-975 3.33GHz, 8MB, C0
C769N Bloomfield I7-965 3.20GHz, 8MB, C0
0DX14 Bloomfield I7-950 3.06GHz, 8MB, D0
G441M Bloomfield I7-940 2.93GHz, 8MB, C0
1GKT0 Bloomfield I7-920 2.66GHz, 8MB, D0
G442M Bloomfield I7-920 2.66GHz, 8MB, C0

However the current Dell BIOS 1.0.5 DOES NOT FULLY SUPPORT THE D0 CHIPS.
* The Bios supports our D0 processor, 1GKT0 Bloomfield I7-920 2.66GHz, 8MB, D0. Is the retail one that different from ours?

The 920 should default to a 133 bclk, 20x multipler, QPI link at 18x and Uncore at 16x. These are Intel's spec'd values for the 920.
* The Intel specifications do not apply to Dell OEM (original equipment manufacturer) Bios and Hardware.

The Dell BIOS incorrectly sets QPI and Uncore multipliers at 24x by default, meaning that these are running out of spec on the 920 D0.
* Out of spec for retail hardware, but not our hardware and bios.

On my 730x it takes 1 minute and 16 seconds and 24 of those seconds is just for the bios to load completely.
* XPS 730x, Bios 1.0.5, Windows 7 Ultimate 64, Dell USB mouse and keyboard connected to rear top USB bank
From a cold boot to windows desktop = 62 seconds
From a restart to windows desktop = 65 seconds

I am naive in this regard, but how much would it take for someone to rewrite the bios? This cannot be done? I mean, can you use a logic analyzer, decipher the code, rewrite it and then flash the bios?

Thanks

Mitch