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Should I keep my M170 or return for E1705

post #1 of 41
7/19/06 at 12:37am
Thread Starter 
So I have a chance to return my laptop and I was wondering if this would be a good alternative. I have a slight problem running AOE3 but could oversee because I love my XPS M170. I DO NOT have any other issues on other games or applications.The problem I have does not at all affect the game but weird artifacts seem to come up during a few sessions. Notice that I am running stock core and memory clocks so overclocking is not the problem. I did the whole uninstall and reinstall routine. I went to the whole trouble of backing up everything and doing a reinstall of the OS but still coming up. Anyways, I am sure that it is the videocard but the dell rep decided that it is not (seriously he has no clue). Long story short he did not want to ship me a videocard so here I am currently making an RMA. I am a big dell fan and this was my first XPS. It just sucks that I have to end up returning it and maybe getting the E1705 with similar or better specs. I would love to get my hands on the XPS M1710 but I can not validate the steep price and the only diff between the E1705 I configured and that is the 7900 gtx. So please everyone help me out and tell me what you think. I would like to spend $2000 or under. Thanks in advance


(CURRENTLY HAVE)
XPS M170, Pentium M 760 (2GHz/533MHz FSB)
17in True Life Wide Screen UXGA EA
2GB,DDR2,533MHz 2 Dimm EA
256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7800 Ultra,for XPS M170 EA
100GB 7200 RPM Ultra ATA Hard Drive
Integrated 1 Gigabit Network Card and Modem
8X DVD+/-RW Drive
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11b/g,54Mbps)
80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
*Inspiron XPS, Specialized Support* (WHICH IS CRAP!!!)
1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr HW Warranty Support

Ship. and/or Handling $0.00
Subtotal $1,564.00
Taxable: $1,564.00 Tax: $109.46
ENVIRO FEE $0.00
Total $1,673.46
VISA $1,673.46


OR


(CURRENTLY WANT)
Inspiron E1705
Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2600 (2.16GHz/667MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™
512MB Shared DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (Would rather purchase elsewhere)
Video Card 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS
Hard Drive 100GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
FREE!8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition
Intel® PRO 3945 and Dell 355 Bluetooth Internal Wireless Cards
80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr HW Warranty Support

TOTAL1,615.00

Additional Discounts and Coupons
FREE GROUND SHIPPING!

Limited Time Offer!

Total Price
Sub-total $1,615.00
Shipping & Handling $19.99
Shipping & Handling Discount -$19.99
Tax $113.04
Total Price 1 $1,728.04
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post #2 of 41
7/19/06 at 12:43am
well the m170 is really better then the 1705. dual core is hype but it sounds like a game issue not a pc issue
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post #3 of 41
7/19/06 at 12:53am
Thread Starter 
Yeah it might be a game issue. Its just when I installed the game on my desktop it ran just fine without any of the issues I wrote above. Again, Dell is giving me a chance to return the unit (pass my 21 day return) and maybe getting one of the newer hardware currently available.
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post #4 of 41
7/19/06 at 12:54am
go E1705.... EVERY DAY i would choose the E1705 over the M170. It will totally out power it especially once games start being based on dual core machines.
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post #5 of 41
7/19/06 at 1:04am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket
go E1705.... EVERY DAY i would choose the E1705 over the M170. It will totally out power it especially once games start being based on dual core machines.


Do you think downgrading to a 7900 GS would hurt me any? I do not want to overclock it since I fried a few vidcards in my experimental days. Upgrading to dualcore would definitely help some.
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post #6 of 41
7/19/06 at 1:21am
Well its not going to be goos and since it is rated less then the 7800gtx its hard to say but in some situations you will know. I would keep the m170 for sure though. Just my 2 cents.
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post #7 of 41
7/19/06 at 1:32am
Another vote for the XPS M170, games just really tax the video card now, getting the most horsepower possible in that area would be the best bet. If you MUST have a new laptop, wait for merom to come out, going with yonah now would just be a bad choice. Remember that very few applications are multi-threaded atm, so staying with your M170 is in no way a bad decision.
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post #8 of 41
7/19/06 at 1:39am
Thread Starter 
Thanks everyone for your comments. I am sure a lot of people in this forum agrees with me when I say your responses will help us decide our final decisions when it comes to these situations. So far.......

M170 = 3 vs E1705 = 1
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post #9 of 41
7/19/06 at 2:23am
can I vote more then once for the m170
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post #10 of 41
7/19/06 at 2:29am
Honestly, if your just gamin' hit up the M170, this coming from an E1705 owner who LOVES his E1705 and would NEVER get an M170 cause I game and do LOTS of encoding with dual core apps
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post #11 of 41
7/19/06 at 2:41am
I would keep the M170. I think it still a computer powerhouse and would wait until next year when the second wave of the core 2 duos come out. Like everyone says, I think the current core duos are just hype and there aren't many applications that will fully utalize the dual core unless you are encoding. Plus the cost of buying a new computer now is not worth the cost when the M170 can do everything an 1705 can do and it is better for gaming.

Like I said, wait till next year for core 2 duo and when Vista comes out. Besides, I think that the 7800 GTX is better than the 7900 GS (not overclocked).
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post #12 of 41
7/19/06 at 2:43am
Demand a replacement M170. Most likely they have none, and they will have to issue you an M1710 as a replacement. This is what I would try. If it doesn't work like above, at least you'll get a great working M170 (which is IMO far superior to the E1705).
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post #13 of 41
7/19/06 at 4:18am
Thread Starter 
Ahhh more M170 XPS loyals. Thanks all this is helping a bunch. Now that I heard more and more people picking the M170 over the E1705 I will stall on sending this thing for a return and see if I can get a replacement. I'm actually upset in the fact that the dell rep did not try to help my issue and when I tried to tell him that it is the videocard he just negatively tells me we cannot send you one which then I wanted to return the whole laptop. I would think that they would try to resolve problems rather than customers having to return their units. Anyways, I will be calling dell again tomorrow and will update as soon as I can. Like I said before I LOVE this M170 it kicks ass.
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post #14 of 41
7/19/06 at 5:09am
I like my M170 alot. If it wasn't suffer with bad screen and overheating...

New replacement M1710 was good with all the following spec listed in my sign... I have the same M170 as yours, except the 100GB 5.4k HD....

I can't say no to M1710 with all the goodies I got....... 2.0 ghz duo core, 2GB from 1GB ram, 100GB 5.4k hd to 100GB 7.2k HD, 7800gtx to 7900gtx, SB HD sounds, 1 battery to 2 batteries. Would you say no to dell when they repace ur M170 to M1710????
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post #15 of 41
7/19/06 at 5:19am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by calstar Benz
I like my M170 alot. If it wasn't suffer with bad screen and overheating... New replacement M1710 was good with all the following spec listed in my sign... I have the same M170 as yours, except the 100GB 5.4k HD.... I can't say no to M1710 with all the goodies I got....... 2.0 ghz duo core, 2GB from 1GB ram, 100GB 5.4k hd to 100GB 7.2k HD, 7800gtx to 7900gtx, SB HD sounds, 1 battery to 2 batteries. Would you say no to dell when they repace ur M170 to M1710????
That is cool that you got a M1710. I mean if they at least try to fix my issue I would be happy with keeping the M170 (honestly I would). But I am not here to try to get a new lappy unless they cannot fix my current one of course. If they said they would replace my M170 with the M1710 w/ 7900 GS I probably would not take it I would try to get the 7900 GTX at least (why downgrade if I already have the 7800 gtx, I mean that is why we buy XPS in the first place right for the GTX cards). But if I had to return my lappy and get a new one I would only get the 7900 GS on the E1705 because of the pricing of the M1710.
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post #16 of 41
7/19/06 at 6:03am
Dell originally send me a 7900gs with replacement lappy. I cll them Monday and tell them that 7900gs isn't par with 7800gtx. The rep look at navidia website and no question ask, they send me a 7900gtx. The card is here as the tech called me today. I am gonna switch from 7900gs to 7900gtx this afternoon. I also ask the tech to open the box to verifly. It is a 512mb card, so it gotta be a 7900gtx. And everthing look good, no ban on heatsink.... So I guess i will test drive the new card tonight!!

I don't care if the box printed refurbished. I take a 7900gtx anytime. I guess I can plan to keep this lappy for another year for sure
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post #17 of 41
7/19/06 at 2:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by calstar Benz
Dell originally send me a 7900gs with replacement lappy. I cll them Monday and tell them that 7900gs isn't par with 7800gtx. The rep look at navidia website and no question ask, they send me a 7900gtx. The card is here as the tech called me today. I am gonna switch from 7900gs to 7900gtx this afternoon. I also ask the tech to open the box to verifly. It is a 512mb card, so it gotta be a 7900gtx. And everthing look good, no ban on heatsink.... So I guess i will test drive the new card tonight!!

I don't care if the box printed refurbished. I take a 7900gtx anytime. I guess I can plan to keep this lappy for another year for sure

Lucky Azz


BTW, if you work for CalStar Benz, no offense to you but, CalStar Benz charged $60 (without notifying us of the amount before we got the bill) to put air in tires! Obviously, if we knew that it would be $60, we could have done it ourselves. That is and put five quarts into the car when it only takes 4 quarts.

We called CalStar Benz and they acknowledge their mistake and stated that they would give us a free oil change for their mistake (for the quarts of oil issue. The $60 issue has not been brought up yet.). Guess what... NOTHING promised was given.

BTW, I know it is know your fault. Just venting on the poor service from CalStar Benz of Glendale, California.
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post #18 of 41
7/19/06 at 2:55pm
One option you have is to try another rep and see if you can just get a replacement video card. If they still don't want to give it to you ask (or demand ) a replacement for the M170. After all, you did pay a premium, and you should be treated as such. If you're happy with the M170 and another rep is willing to get it fixed, that's great. But don't downgrade because a Dell rep is being stupid.
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post #19 of 41
7/19/06 at 3:25pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by duckhunter-deux
One option you have is to try another rep and see if you can just get a replacement video card. If they still don't want to give it to you ask (or demand ) a replacement for the M170. After all, you did pay a premium, and you should be treated as such. If you're happy with the M170 and another rep is willing to get it fixed, that's great. But don't downgrade because a Dell rep is being stupid.


I totally agree with you. I will be trying a new rep after work and see how that goes. I'll update as soon as I can.
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post #20 of 41
7/19/06 at 3:41pm
Not to go against the grain - but I would personally rather have a E1705 than a M170. It has newer technology i.e. next generation processor, chipset, and wireless. As time goes by more and more applications will take advantage of dual core configurations.

From what I have heard the 7900 GS has less performance than the 7800 GTX, but not by too much. The GS 7900 takes much less power (no need to carry around the monster power brick), so the E1705 probably gets better battery life. If you are into over clocking your GPU the 7900 GS is supposed to be a trooper.

There is really no right and wrong - it is just a personal decision. All things considered either way you go you should wind up with a great notebook.
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