AFAIK, 3dmark is run at around 1280x1024 resolution. That is useless for us, we need 1920x1200. Moreover, the latest 3dmark puts way too much emphasis on CPU speed, which is usually not a bottleneck when gaming at high resolutions.

Just admit it .. it kicks ass hehe..

Hows it going by the way ?

hmm it's out now, so whose getting one?

um... has anyone tried pricing one out withe the X7900 CPU on dell.ca?

Get it while the gettin's good.

lol 3dmark means nothing in terms of performance on the 8 series lol


I'm doing great

I dont understand what you mean by that ...if you mean it doesnt have DX10 well there is soon 3dmark07 but still to be honest still shows some comparable performance under DX9. TBH not really caring about DX10 til there are loads of games that use it. Im not going to play a game just cause its a DX10 game and the only few out. I do see yout point but I still think that many are still not giving this thing a chance.

nice to see you around d00d

What he means by that is actually that a hypothetical 7 series getting 5000 and a hypothetical 8 series getting 5000 will have significantly different actual gaming performance even though their 3dmark benchmarks show them to be exactly equal.

The 8 series in this example would perform a good bit worse than the 7 series.

This difference is basically because 3dmark has shader tests and vertex tests, allowing the 8 series card to devote all its resources to that one task, but in a real game, it will have to divide its resources betweent the tasks...

And the cpu on that 1730 is a beast that gives it a huge advantage in 3dmark, but is useless in actual games.

Oh... But for some people it could be the difference between getting the airplane or not getting the airplane on a game like Battlefield 2. Or... Getting the Chopper and not Getting the Chopper. For some people it's completely worth it.

Jesus this thing is a beast, why even have the battery option?

*Unplugs battery on M1730*
:::3 minutes later::::
*Your system is entering standby, please switch to an outlet*

Hi all...time for another dance around the NotebookForums until I buy Dell's next game-crushing machine and go hibernate for another 1.5 years!

My cousin and I have broken things down into the following decision-tree for current 1710 owners (18+ months old, now). Anyone know how we can get EITHER of these questions answered?

1. Are TWO overclocked 8700GT's in SLI faster (even slightly) than ONE overclocked 7950GTX? (for ease of use, faster = higher avg FPS in Oblivion@1920x1200)
EDIT: I guess with the processor bump, though, the question should be: Is the 1730 w/overclocked 8700's faster at running games than my 1710 w/overclocked 7950?

2. Will there be 8800 *upgrade* released at any time in future?

3. If #1 AND #2 = [yes] ->Buy immediately; else if #1 = [no] AND #2 = [yes] ->Wait and buy upon 8800 release; else if #1 = [yes] AND #2 = [no] ->Wait for Refresh; else if #1 & #2 = [no] ->Weeping and castration

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PS. What the hell is this?!?! I found this under the1730's 'Design' tab on the Dell site:

"Feed your need for speed with Extreme Edition CPU for notebooks. Overclock the M1730 up to 3.4 GHz with the Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme Edition X7900!"

Is Dell actually ENCOURAGING people to overclock the processors on these things?!?! I may buy one on that basis alone, lol!

Id say wait for the 8800 series because we jsut dont know how well the 8700s will do at oblivion at this point.

Yup,just ordered one this minute,came to 3298.00 NZD which equates to about 2458.00 USD

Q541018N Q541018N - Dell XPS M1730 Notebook 1 2,927.00 2,927.00
YN582 -Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T7500 1
BRM-047 -2.2 GHz, 4MB Cache, 800 MHz FSB -
DX476 -Label (Dual Core & Intel Wireless) 1
M7834 -Genuine Windows(R) XP Professional (English) 1
P7246 -Genuine Windows(R) XP Professional SP2 Edition (E 1
nglish) CD Media
FY892 -System Driver DVD Kit 1
CW774 -Microsoft(R) Windows(R) Software Driver 1
TN642 -Dell(TM) Wireless 355 Bluetooth Module 1
M6309 -Dell(TM) PC-Restore 1
DMN-025 -PC Restore will occupy some HDD capacity. 1
DMN-026 -The capacity varies with preloaded material and o 1
perating environment.
DT-O-NCC-625 -Free Belkin Messenger Bag -
DT-O-FRT-505 -Free Delivery -
DT-L-HDD-655 -Free upgrade to 2x160GB hard drive -
WX548 -17.0" UltraSharp(TM) Widescreen WUXGA (1920x1200) 1
TFT Display with TrueLife(TM)
DX631 -Smoke Gray LCD display with Integrated 2.0 mega 1
pixel web cam
XD717 -2GB (2 X 1024MB) 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 1
RR656 -160GB SATA 7200RPM Performance Hard Drive 1
RR657 -160GB SATA 7200RPM Performance 2nd Hard Drive 1
CU030 -Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Combination Drive with dual 1
layer write capabilities
XM387 -Roxio Creator 9.0 1
HR105 -Dual NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) 8700M GT graphics with 1
NVIDIA SLI Technology
FT348 -Base Assembly (Discrete)
GW010 -DVI to HDMI Cable 1
BSC-012 -Integrated Stereo Sound 1
YY220 -Intel(R) 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini-Card 1
XG509 -9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery 1
CX537 -Belkin Messenger Bag Fits up to 17" Screen (Colou 1
r: Black/Red)
CX330 -Shipment Box for Case 1
WX695 -230W Primary AC Adapter 1
0F642 -Power Cord, 2m, 250V AUS (Australia, New Zealand) 1
PN175 -Microsoft(R) Works 8.5 (Does Not Include Microsof 1
t(R) Office 2003/2007 Software)
BSW-D041 -OEM-Word Processor/Spreadsheet/Database/Calendar/ 1
Powerpoint viewer/Email Tools
DH407 -Norton(TM) Internet Security(TM) 2006-15 Mths OEM 1
(Select w/Windows(R) XP)
PACK-CL-CARE2 -Dell Care Plus 1
WXPH112-INX -2 Years Priority PC User 24x7 Support (Round-The- 1
Clock Technical Assistance)
WXPH611-IN -1 Year - HelpDesk (Software, Virus, Spyware & Per 1
ipherals)
PACK-INX-2XPS2(ANZ) -2-year XPS Premier Service with 2-year CompleteCo 1
ver
FRT361-INSP -Inspiron(TM) Handling & Insurance Charges (New Ze 1
aland)
BFRT-501 -Standard Delivery: Delivery 9am-5pm - Monday to F -
riday (excl. public holidays)
BRM-005 -1 ExpressCard Slot, (DOES NOT SUPPORT PCMCIA CARD -
S)
PT042 -Regulatory Label 1
NX186 -Dell(TM) Support 1
RN035 -Shipping Mod with Powercord 1
MM281 -Dell(TM) Support Center 1.0 1
2K422 -Mod Specs Info (New Zealand) 1
WK528 -Google Toolbar 1
RW477 -Dell Backlit Keyboard with Touchpad and 10-numeri 1
c key
BNC-017 -Integrated Fast Ethernet 10/100/1000 1
BOT-500 -LightFX perimeter lighting 1
MR589 -Dell(TM) Media Direct 1
DMN-048 -Approx. 2.0GB of HDD space will be allocated to D -
ell Media Direct.
BDI-500 -Logitech GamePanel 1
BMC-003 -NO 56K MODEM
FU690 -Binder KIT 1
RMK-001 -Discount is only valid if the corresponding upgra 1
ded item is selected above.
RMK-002 -Limited time promotional offer only. No further d

Not exactly a maxed out system,but well good enough for my uses.

Made a particular point of making sure there was going to be no delays aka M1330,and was assured it would take the standard 10-12 working days.
Trying to get any sense about using RAID 0 with the 160GB 7200 hard drives [no option to] was a futile excersize,but looking through the training manual,it shouldn't be any problem....the 250GB x 2 raid 0 option was an extra 600.00,but as I'm spending money which is earmarked for RL stuff it had to get left out.

I'm actually astounded how cheap it is,considering the M1710 was about twice the price when released here.

Time will tell if its a good thing,but I'm looking forward to it despite what the doomsdayers around here say.

Thats a pretty good setup for that price. They start at 3k in the US, which is the main problem with them.

If I were you I would have only bought 1 8700 and then just waited for the upgraded cards to come out