Dell 17r N7720 SE - user review

Cracking good deal! Even if you don't like it, you can sell it on eBay for profit. Dell Outlet charges £20 for "changed my mind" returns within 7 days.

 

It's a matter of personal preference. I have got AG screen and love it! The anti-reflective coating is not as strong as on my old Vostro (business model). It still reflects a bit, particularly at acute angles. Personally, I think it is great that AG screen are coming back.

 

Any reason why you would want 98% as minimum state? For the most part this will only generate waste heat. I'd leave it at default value.

It's 90C in my case.

 

It's not the driver issue. If your GPU is locked at 745 MHz, you will need to "reset" it as described earlier in this thread.

 

Afterburner didn't wotk for me with the stock Dell drivers, but after I upgrated to the 306 beta drivers it worked fine...

 

I have ordered it. I'm wanting to move away from a desktop but retain moderate gaming ability with plenty of HDD space. This seems to fit the bill perfectly.

The estimated delivery is the 28th of this month.

 

you so right....at last a laptop who REALLY can replace a desktop without lack of hardware (and with nice price range).

...I just finished a one hour BF3 hardcore gaming Metro Squad Rush in great FPS/flow.....guess what my temps was when i stopped after this long hour ??? 67C = cpu and 62C = gpu :hi2::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

this laptop is everything i need/want.
superb screen (with great response time)....GT650M is just awesome combined with the i7 CPU.......and so on. LOVE IT !

 

At least 2 times a day I am getting a blue screen of death. Any ideas?
I have not installed much new stuff, just Lightroom.

 

do a fresh install of windows...........thats always my tip for blue screen

 

What causses your bsod? I was also getting a BSOD quite often caused by iastor.sys. I disabled the caching and it seemed to have gone. I will try clearing the cache and enabling it again.

 

i dont know what causes it. if I knew I would be able to fix it

 

The BSOD usually shows the name of the file that caused the crash.

 

That sounds very plausible, the "bug" could be triggered by exceeding the power draw of the adapter, nothing to do with running the GPU or CPU too hot. Would explain why my laptop only locked to the default 745MHz when running various benchmarks etc. which are made to utilize all cpu and gpu cores to the max, at the same time. I've never triggered the lock by running games, even without the 99% trick.

Then again, I've not felt the need to overclock the GPU beyond the in-built 850MHz boost. Even at this clock, the GPU is already running fairly hot for me (around 73-74C when running modern games) and running a benchmark such as MSI Kombustor runs up the temperature to 90C within a couple of minutes. To all of you guys overclocking in the 950-1000MHz range, how the heck do you cool the GPU at these clocks? Surely you hit the 90C that much faster..or do you manage to have this clock sustained over a couple of hours of gaming as well?

 

A couple of ways you can go about troubleshooting this. Make a note of things you were doing at the time of the BSOD. Running the same application just before the crash? Chances are it's tied to this application.

Can you rule out the hardware? Run a scandisk and check for errors. Memtest your RAM for a couple of hours to check that it's working without errors. Run Prime95 or similar to check the CPU.

From my experience, if you can rule out the hardware, BSODs are very likely to be caused by drivers. Disconnect any external devices, disable any applications you don't need that are running in the background... did the BSOD go away?

... a lot of things you can try before reinstalling the OS. I've been keeping an eye on issues with this laptop, and BSODs are definitely not widely reported. My guess is it's safe to assume that all official DELL drivers for this model are pretty stable and should not cause any issues (possibly the audio driver is causing some issues, but not BSODs). So it's pretty safe to rule them out (you can download them from the website and re-install, just to be on the safe side). I would focus on any 3rd party appliciations/drivers you've installed since getting the laptop. Good luck!

 

I've seen a few refernce to people upgrading the wireless chipset. I have a spare Intel 6300 Ultimate. My concern is that I don't see any extra antenna leads. How are you guys getting 5Ghz if there is not a proper antenna lead for that frequency?

 

Hey thanks for the help.

It seems to crash only when I have Firefox running, so it could be that.

I still have all the bloatware installed so I will try and remove as much dead wood software off the laptop, and maybe replace Firefox with another browser and see if that helps. Will also run the diagnostics you have mentioned to make sure the hardware is OK.

Cheers.

 

you guys REALLY need to replace your thermal paste on your 7720...................it make such a big different in gaming.......way better performance because you never reach down clocking temps as you guys do right now.

 

Well as is often the case, I do not agree with you. Assuming the 7720 can cool the GPU enough when gaming to prevent reaching 90C (which according to my observations it can, at least if you leave the standard 745/850MHz clocks), then just changing thermal paste will not give you "way better performance". All it will do is reduce the running temperature by a few degrees. Not that that's a bad thing, but it's questionable whether dismantling the laptop and potentially voiding the warranty is worth going from 75C to 65C. I would argue it's not.

Now, if you overclock the GPU further and need the extra cooling to stay below 90C, then it's a different matter. Question is, will the better thermal paste make enough of a difference to allow for a noticeable speed benefit.

Just as an experiement, try running MSI Kombustor and see how many minutes it takes before you hit 90C. Even with replaced thermal paste, I guarantee you'll get there eventually.

 

well. if you want to stay with a laptop who runs warmer...fine !.........do that.

(all people with some skills about gaming/temps, knows changing thermal paste (to a more higher class paste) increase the performance)

 

Eh...actually, no, you're quite wrong. Running the GT 650m at 850MHz / 65C will give you the exact same fps in games/benchmarks as running it at 850MHz / 75C. No increase in performance at all.

Anyway, my previous question still stands. To all you guys and gals running this GPU in the 950-1000MHz range, apart from synthetic benchmarks, have you tried an hour or two of gaming? Can you keep the GPU cool enough to sustain the overclock?

 

That may be one of the triggers, but it's more complex than that. The GPU gets locked at base clock almost immediately after unplugging power cord or when CPU boost activates, even for a brief moment. Nothing to do with temperatures or total power draw under these circumstances. Just for the sake of it, I measured the power draw when both CPU and GPU are boosted and loaded 100%. With no USB devices connected, no WiFi activity and screen at 30% brightness, it reached 125W for a few seconds before GPU downclocked to 745 MHz. Interestingly, CPU boost switched off when temperatures touched 80C.

There seems to be some headroom as games are not as stressing as Furmark/Komustor. I played STALKER Clear Sky with GPU overclocked to 970 MHz for a while and noticed no problems. Total power draw was higher by about 5W and temperatures by just a few degrees C. At 835 MHz and 100% load GPU temperature rises steadily by about 5C per minute, while at 970 MHz it's 10C, so roughly twice as fast. 90C remains the ceiling and GPU downclocks/reduces load then, but that does not happen in games, at least not in my case. Having said that, I'm staying with basic clocks when playing STALKER Clear Sky. In full HD, DX10.1, all eye candy on, medium details and no AA, I get 30 - 50 fps. No complaints.

 

No, it does not. Chip operating at lower temperature may last longer, but will not perform any better. And not all expensive thermal pastes give you lower temperatures than cheap generic ones. The way you apply the paste is probably more important than the paste itself.

 

Thanks bladteth, interesting info. I've hardly run the laptop on battery so I didn't notice the GPU gets locked this way as well. Then again, who knows what the switch between adaptor and battery does in terms of peak power draw, the same with the CPU turbo mode... perhaps a very short spike causes the lock. Dell really need to acknowledge that this "safety feature" is a bit broken.

As to the 970MHz overclock, that's a pretty substantial increase in temperature, wasn't expecting that... I'd try overclocking myself, but the only game I have installed now is Assassins Creed 2. With it's autosaving feature, I'm careful about having a stable system, a crash could corrupt the only saved profile the game keeps (for those interested, running great on full HD, all eye candy on and high settings, vsync off, stable at 835MHz, temps around 73C).

Next game with a normal saving system, I'll try to find out what stable clocks I can get out of the GPU.

 

Why isn't there a 9 cell battery for the inspiron 17r 7720 ??

Would there be one from Dell anytime soon .? If not can we expect third party Alternatives ?

 

I very much doubt it. It wouldn't fit in the bay as the only way to extend the capacity needed would be down.

My replacement 7720 with a few extra's arrived today. 90% of the DVD problem has gone, but it's still there. It's good news though, "I'm cooking on gas".

 

Replacement ? What happened to your old one ? And did you get a new replacement ?

 

I still have my old one. Someone is coming to collect it in 2 weeks. It has had a replacement motherboard and dvd drive (refurbished parts) and clunks like a 10 year old pc when avi and mp4's are activated from the hard drive.

The new was shipped from China on Satruday and arrived at 9am this morning and is running BIOS A10 with 8gb ram, illuminated keyboard and a change from the 750gb hard drive to the 1tb one which is no bad thing since i have my SSD in bay 1. All other things are the same as my original order. The avi and mp4 problem is still actually there, but it is so quiet on this laptop you have to put your ear to the drive to hear it acitvate.

I have had so much bother with the original one, I will just learn to accept it, as this is much better even though not 100% perfect.

 

Do you know what is the cost of a new replacement motherboard ?

 

Id love to hear peoples gaming performance at higher mhz with the gpu.

 

I got the BSOD again and it mentioned this file. How do I clear the caching?

 

It will not be cheap since it is most of the inside of the 7720. I watched the engineer do the replacement. Even the CPU is swappable. The engineer came out with one which had "Refurbished" written all over it. It was the same for the replacement DVD drive.

 

well, even a idiot understand replacing your thermal paste makes your laptop runs cooler....... (both myself & Rassal got the same great result)

...............as i said, if you want to stay with a warmer laptop......fine !


ps...i have a contact in UK (Liverpool) who sells brand new DELL motherboards for a much less Price (i replaced and upgraded both my m1710 and my sxps 16 with new motherboards from him...............very good !

by the way....it not that hard to swap the mobo on DELL laptops...........take your time and you will be fine.

 

Can you ask for the cost for mobo for 7720 ?

 

In theory, yes. In practice however, this usually isn't possible. First, Intel has a habit of changing the socket quite often. Also, the BIOS usually needs an update to support the next gen CPUs. Will Dell release a BIOS update once new CPUs hit the market? I very much doubt it.

It should be possible to upgrade to a better 3rd gen i7 than the default model shipped with the 7720. Question is, is it worth the price of the replacement CPU?

 

Not sure if this is worldwide, but Dell UK has made some changes to 7720 line-up. All models are now shipped with Windows 8, i7 3610QM is replaced with slightly faster 3630QM and it looks like the prices were cut a bit too. 3D model has been dropped. Shame the customisations remain scarce as before.

 

Mate, do you have some of that paste left? Why don't you smear it all over yourself? Being rude is certainly not cool.

 

THANKS GOD I BOUGHT THE 7720 BEFORE THEY BROUGHT WITH IT SUPERCRAPPY WINDOWS 8. .(i tried win 8 its for tablets or big pc touch screens. So bad to plain laptop.

@shankshank. I can ask. Do you want the mobi with gt650m or the mobi with GTX 680 ??
He he he (would be nice if that upgrade was possible yeh).

 

lol . How is the mobo with gtx 680 possible for 7720 .?

 

You have to go to Intel RST. Find the Msata SSD disable caching, it might ask you to restart. Let it restart and go to Intel RST again and clear the contents of the Msata. Then you can re-enable it again. I think the bios or that particular driver needs an update.

 

new beta driver (310.33) guys. awwwwwwwwwwwww yeaaaahhhhh


edit: and dell seems to have updated many drivers/software (german website) as well happy day

 

here is the newest configuration from UK DELL (7720)

COLOUR CHOICE Switch by Design Studio - Aluminium edit
PROCESSOR 3rd generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM processor (up to 3.40 GHz,, 6M cache) edit_______________ _that a nice thing
OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 8 64bit, English edit
SERVICES AND SUPPORT 1 yr Next Day In-Home Hardware Support & 90 days Premium Software Phone Support edit
KEYBOARD Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Backlit Keyboard with Multi-touch Touchpad edit
Video Card 2GB Nvidia GeForce GT 650M 130W
Primary Battery Primary 6-cell 48W/HR LI-ION
Hard Drive 1TB Serial ATA (5400RPM) ______________________________________( 5400rpm in the highest conf ???? UUUHHrk)
CD ROM/DVD ROM Optical Drive : 8x DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
Optical Software Cyberlink
LCD 17.3in Full High Definition (1080p) LED Display with Anti-Glare
Memory 8192MB (2x4096) 1600MHz DDR3
Cables 1 Meter Power Cord - UK
Packaging Packaging : Brown Box
Wireless Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 Card (802.11n + BT 4.0)


but the most idiotic thing, is that this conf £929 (highest) give you the cheaper 1080p AG screen (WHAT !!!)
and if you buy the cheapest conf £629 (i5, 90W, etc) you get the True life 900p ( non FHD)..........must be something wrong with UK people...he he.

 

The way I see it, they got rid of a few last 3D models through Outlet for 700 quid and dropped it due to next to zero demand.

 

the bios of the gpu seems to be updated, but i can´t remember the former bios.
well anyways here it is: 80.07.35.00.0d

but dynamic boost/ oc isn´t working still bugged ( no boost while playing sleeping dogs/gw2 and manual oc isn´t working as well, didnt try power cord trick though)

 

They will not care if you swap HDDs I ask them .

 

The GPU seems to OC just fine in any game when you are plugged in . Thats what matters ....

 

I read that some newer 7720 systems are delivered with BIOS A10 installed.

Does anyone know about the changes in that version? Any improvements?

 

no, the new beta driver seems to be bugged. no oc nor turbo boost. i can´t even find the option for turbo boost anymore. there is also a bug with the brigthness, which changes sometimes to 100%

edit: turbo boost and oc are working. i guess it was disabled because of the high heat caused by a long session sleeping dogs

 

ya turbo boost and oc are working just fine ...

 

I have it on my replacement 7720, but can't really tell any difference since I don't play games and use the performance for video editing instead. It does seem cooler somehow.

 

Can you tell if your replacement shipped with Windows 8 ?

Also is the processor i7 3610 or i7 3630 ?

When did you got your replacement ?