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Questions concerning a dell xps m1710, price check

post #1 of 8
12/23/08 at 1:51am
Thread Starter 
Hello everybody I'm quite new to this whole thing here, but after about 2 hours of scouring google and such I came across this website which seemed full of helpful people. im a 19 year old with a 2 year old laptop here but i dont want to go and spend another few thousand on another laptop here but i have no problems with spending a thousand or less if i can prolong this laptops life while still being able to play important games to me(Dawn of war 2, starcraft 2 for instance)


this is my computer's specs =)

Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6000) (6000.vista_rtm.061101-2205)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: MXG061
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A07
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU T7200 @ 2.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 795MB used, 3521MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce Go 7900 GS
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0298&SUBSYS_019B1028&REV_A1
Display Memory: 520 MB
Dedicated Memory: 248 MB
Shared Memory: 271 MB

Now mainly i just want some help on tips to get this thing running at the max it possibly can, i would even change the OS if i had to and had the support. I know ram can be changed but 32 bit vista only recognizes like 3 gigs right? I also know that dell can sell me another video card to install myself like the 7950gtx or something. I was curious if they had anymore that are compatible that were better or something like that =) Thanks for reading this and looking forwards to being in this community in the future, and helping those i can with what knowledge I've come across

Cheers
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post #2 of 8
12/23/08 at 5:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Astraithious View Post
Hello everybody I'm quite new to this whole thing here, but after about 2 hours of scouring google and such I came across this website which seemed full of helpful people. im a 19 year old with a 2 year old laptop here but i dont want to go and spend another few thousand on another laptop here but i have no problems with spending a thousand or less if i can prolong this laptops life while still being able to play important games to me(Dawn of war 2, starcraft 2 for instance)


this is my computer's specs =)

Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6000) (6000.vista_rtm.061101-2205)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: MXG061
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A07
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU T7200 @ 2.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 795MB used, 3521MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce Go 7900 GS
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0298&SUBSYS_019B1028&REV_A1
Display Memory: 520 MB
Dedicated Memory: 248 MB
Shared Memory: 271 MB

Now mainly i just want some help on tips to get this thing running at the max it possibly can, i would even change the OS if i had to and had the support. I know ram can be changed but 32 bit vista only recognizes like 3 gigs right? I also know that dell can sell me another video card to install myself like the 7950gtx or something. I was curious if they had anymore that are compatible that were better or something like that =) Thanks for reading this and looking forwards to being in this community in the future, and helping those i can with what knowledge I've come across

Cheers
welcome to the forums...

i formerly had the same machine with almost the exact same specs...

now on to your questions:

-32 bit vista wont do more than 3 gb of ram. no point in more than that. if you want to make use of having 4gb you need a 64 bit OS.

-dell may or may not sell you another card. the cards are stupidly expensive direct from dell and are going for a hefty premium on places like ebay. seems the 1710 likes to eat cards (its what killed mine ) and there are lots of people who ran out of warranty looking to buy them.

-the best card you can put in your machine from a performance standpoint is the 7950 which is not bad but doesnt provide stellar performance against the latest ultra high performance cards. buying one if you can find one direct from dell could run you almost $700 alone (what i was told it would be), even ebay will be ~$500. not cheap for an older machine.

-no idea yet on the requirements of the future games you want to play, but suffice to say they will be high, the result will be that on the m1710 you will likely have trouble maxing out the settings, especially since there is no DX10 support for the 7 series cards from nvidia

good luck in pushing your machine to the limits of its lifespan, and like i said before welcome to the community.
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post #3 of 8
12/23/08 at 2:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Astraithious View Post
...
Now mainly i just want some help on tips to get this thing running at the max it possibly can, ...
I would suggest that you update the OS and the drivers to their latest available version. Clean up your start up processes and serives; disable the ones that you don't access and use daily. Review your Antivirus software, some works better that other. Keep it lean and mean and well ventilated, you'd be surprised how much better it can get

cheers ...
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post #4 of 8
12/23/08 at 3:02pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the replies and yea the cards seem to get eaten up i've noticed a decline in performance mainly due to overheating issues i would asume since it literally makes plastic deform under it somtimes. So i purchased a fan underneath, and a fan on the side of it =)

I would like to ask you fidget what would be the best course for a desktop then if i want to play really high end games? I've seen some models from dell for like 1800 with 12 gigs of ram and such, would that be the best course then just replace the video card at my leisure?

Edit: Now I'm looking to buy a desktop so i can continue graphics editing and modeling 3d so i figured eh why not get that powerhouse now I'm usually in my dorm anyhow.

So i was looking through some of the models at dell and seen dual 512 cards then a 1024 card standalone for another 70$ , what is better really? getting the 1024 card? and adding another one someday in the future? basically i just want the best i can get for about 2000$ or lower
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post #5 of 8
12/23/08 at 5:18pm
Thread Starter 

Price check =)

Hello there im just looking to possibly sell this average laptop because most likely ill buy a gaming desktop =)

So here it is

Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6000) (6000.vista_rtm.061101-2205)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: MXG061
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A07
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU T7200 @ 2.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 795MB used, 3521MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce Go 7900 GS
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0298&SUBSYS_019B1028&REV_A1
Display Memory: 520 MB
Dedicated Memory: 248 MB
Shared Memory: 271 MB

As well if anybody has any ideas for a desktop that i can get the most gaming power from that's 2000$ or lower id love to hear some ideas i was thinking another dell

Cheers
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post #6 of 8
12/23/08 at 6:34pm
im probably not the best person to ask about desktops, been out of the desktop game for a long time myself. if you really want to talk desktop performance i would say get yourself down to the desktop section and ask there for the best answers.

but some general things that i do know , 12gb of ram is not really needed for most things, even gaming, though for your needs with cad and that sort of stuff you cant be hurt by extra.

video cards change fairly rapidly even in desktops so thats probably gonna be the part you will have to change the most often to keep up with gaming at the high end.

http://www.notebookforums.com/forum57.html
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post #7 of 8
12/23/08 at 11:28pm
Mind you even with a 64bit OS, the M1710 has a limitation in its own chipset that prevents the system from having more than 4GB of addressable memory. Partially due to the fact that the chipset in the M1710 was designed to also accept 32bit only Core Duo CPUs.
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post #8 of 8
12/24/08 at 1:14am
Thread Starter 
Hello everybody thanks for the responses they are very much appreciated. I think i've decided to wait until the end of feb to get a new one. I figure i will get a job while im in university save up close to 2 grand between now and then, and my fathers giving me 2500 towards a new comptuer so i now im going to alienware. Basically i just went to alienware and got everything that costed the most and got an average of about 4400$ so i figure ill get it atleast in march. Thanks everybody =)
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