Thank You  !! I was getting soo scared and upset that since you guys are dropping the XPS Line that the card upgrade would go by the wayside! THanks thanks thanks again Its a much needed upgrade!!!

I never use MediaDirect does that mean I dont have to reformat.  BTW - I already use the latest NVIDIA drivers with my 8700GTs. LaptopVideo2Go posts drivers wth inf files that allow the reference drivers to be installed on laptops.  I suspect most gamers use them.

Bob

Sounds like killer news.  I have only had my XPS M1730 for about a month or so, but am really enjoying it's performance.  Since I received this thing I have upgraded to 4GB of RAM, added a second 160GB 7200RPM Hard Drive, and totally reformatted my hard drive and did NOT re-install the Media Direct (I already have a portable DVD player if I want to do that on the go).  If we upgrade to dual 8800's, and don't use Media Direct, it shouldn't be required to reformat - would it?  Just curious.  Next time I reformat I will be installing Vista 64Bit.  Killer notebook - keep up those upgrade options!!!

Later - Mike
 

yeah!!!

i'm  waiting :D 

Ahhh!  Thank you for the update, it's so nice to see something boiling up now. :)

 
Hopefully it will be out later this month as you guys say, but as you know, if it doesn't happen... so many people wont be forgiving as I would be. Hehe.

My only concern is the price.  I mean... people have been reported paying $2000 for this card?  I will say already, I am not going to pay anything over $500 for this upgrade.  This is not to say push the limit and offer it at $500... I'm just saying, make it reasonable since this card was originally intended to be in the M1730 upon its initial release in September 2007.  Give us die-hard Dell fans who were the very first to purchase this machine a break with honor and offer us these upgrades for a well-earned price!

Thanks again for the update, John.
 

Good news!

But... 

...is this only for the us-market or will it be available in europe (germany), too?

This is great news!!! will the upgrade option be avaliable in singapore as well? i've been waiting for this!

Wow! This would be amazing! But, will this upgrade also available in Europe?

 I hope so....
 

I am also concerned over the price. I understand this is an upgrade, but I hope that Dell considers the price point that the market would accept for an item that has been available to others for 6 months -- but has been withheld from us early adopters.

I'm also not buying the Media Direct reason. This explanation could have been surfaced a long time ago and let the early adopters decide if they wished to go forward with an upgrade immediately or wait for a total soution. But then again, we really don't know when the new program will come out -- or if it will be a total solution -- or if it really will come out at all.

We've heard the "just wait a little longer" message before. I therefore, cannot get that excited about another crumb thrown on the floor. Wake me when there are definitive details.

OK....I've used media direct maybe 3 times since I had this machine, no one cares about media direct. What makes me cry and rip my hair out at night is when my machine fails to perform, when people laugh at how your expensive but slow box of lights doesn't live up to the hype.

Can we vote on this media direct thing? I say drop it, send out an updated driver or something once this becomes available, don't delay a needed item because of one software incompatibility

Any word on price?

Waiting patiently....not really

. 

Hi,

I'd like to ask a few questions ( as if i will get answers :) )

- I hope upgrade will be offered worldwide, isn't it?

- What will happen to our current GPU(s). Can they be used as refurbished parts?

- Can't you integrate a software solution to resize partitions ( like PartitionMagic ) to make room for MediaDirect

- What will be the price ( appr. value is enough to tell at this moment ). On a forum i read a user paid $1000 for upgrade

I bought the original spec m1730 with a T7500 CPU.  Will you be offering an upgrade on the CPU as well as the GPU?

I agree with Andrew Merskin. 

The price point on the card upgrade has to be reasonable for those that purchased before the 8800s were available.  Dell can change the momentum on this issue and make it a good news story with the right price point.

 Good news stories tend to help sell more computers.

Is this upgrade only for early buyers (pre 8800), or will it be for everyone? 

I sure hope it for everyone.  If not, I'm going to be pissed.

My dad just bought me the 1730 but was only willing to get the 8700M GT.  That would suck if I can't upgrade just because  a) I didn't buy it and b) it was purchased well after the 8800M GTX were out...
 

I had my 8700SLI replaced a couple days after the 8800's came out and I did the install myself and there is a ton of screws but it wasn't that hard. I do not use the Dell Media Direct at all so I did not repartition my hard drives or reformat them in any way. I just installed the cards and updated my drivers and I was good to go. I get over 14,000 in 3DMark06 so I think they are working just fine. Will be interesting to see how much the upgrade will be.
 

 Me wonders if the price of the upgrade and possible do it yourself kit will be over 2k?

Odd.. I posted a comment yesterday, but it seems to either not be posted or moderated out....

All I basically said was that I was glad to see this finally happening and that I hope it is affordable.... 

Apologies on not posting your comment. I can not find it.

Joanne

 I still can't see why Dell isn't moving more aggressive here. Media direct is clearly not used my the XPS 1730 niche (gamers). Have a poll or something. The longer Dell waits, we'll simply lose interest and by a 9800 gx2, by other parts ourselves and build desktops.

The number ONE reason I bought this machine was because of this promised upgrade.

Will someone in an office, make an executive decision on this? The is clearly not good after sales support. 

Does no one find it annoying that none of the questions that are asked on these bloggs are never answered?  There obviously someone reading them as Joanne has replied above.

Come on Joanne answer some questions. 

I asked previously if Dell intends to include a CPU upgrade along with the GPU upgrade, are they or not?

 @Chris - 1st: A double negative = positive. 2nd: Have you ever thought that they may not know any of the answers?

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

People here tend to act aas though the admins here know the answers to all the questions but are either ignoring us or refusing to answer.  I am pretty sure that if they had solid answers, they would tell us.  

Would you rather have them tell you something that is not true? or not completely true? ... Then you would have a ton of people complaining that so and so admin stated this and now its not happening..

Either way, they ARE doing their job.. and they MAY only be able to release information when allowed to do so..

 I understand how frustrating it is to wait for something that should have been out awhile ago... but its not the fault of the admins that are responding here..

I am also trying to wait patiently for this upgrade.. or at least find out the approximate cost, but I understand that  this blog was put here to help us..

We may not get ALL the answers ALL the time, but at least we are getting some information....

 Godfrey.

You are indeed a patient person. However, I believe that while it may not be the fault of the "admins" in charge of this blog, it is the responsibility of DELL to keep a flow of information going to their customers -- especially with regard to the M1730. Countless emails have reported that DELL was quick to close sales last year from hesitant buyers by telling them that the 8800s would be available for upgrade soon. Seems to me that the "admins" had no reservations about tell me and others that upgrades were right aroiund the corner.

If the blog serves any purpose at all, it should provide DELL with a taste of how customers of high priced units feel abouot their handling of the "beast."

Frankly, I would show a bit more patience if DELL even made the good faith effort to provide a decent set of drivers for the 8700s. Then the disparity of performance between the 8700s and the 8800s would not be so obvious. I will not soon return to DELL for future computer needs until I see that they live up to their promises and that they return to their once successful business model -- quality products and quality service. I hope DELL shows as much patience waiting for good customers to return as we are being asked to do for our promised upgrade and drivers.
 

Godfrey, i think your being a little naive.  Of course they have some idea.  How long do you think they knew about the problem of the media direct before they told us on here?  I bet it was a long time ago!

No i don't want lies or miss information but a little information on what there thinking would set a lot of peoples minds at rest just like it would have in the previous blog ref the 8800's upgrade.

I don't deny that they have people working to resolve the issue but as before leaving people to make their own assumptions because you don't post any info is not the best way to keep customers happy.

If they had posted months ago that there was a problem deconflicting software and that they where working to resolve it im sure that a lot of people would have been happy with that, myself included.

I am not entirely convinced though that the only problem is to do with media direct.  They seem to be knocking enough m1730's with dual 8800's at the min, why do they not have the problem?  As some of the other bloggs have mentioned a lot of people don't even use media direct so it wouldn't be a big issue for those people, if the media direct issue is the only problem that is.

I think if you had been following this and the previous blog from the very beginning you would see that there has been very little help or information posted from the admin team!  I have no doubt the admin team know very little of this subject and only monitor the blog but for a company that is offering the XPS experience as an elite club then they should offer up a little more information than they are.

Dell have without a doubt failed misserably with this task and from Pilot's blog i'd say im not alone in thinking this.  Dell where quick to offer promises and take our money but then left us hanging for months on a piece of information that has only just been released!

As for my original question, i don't think it's to much to ask whether they are offering CPU upgrade's as well.  If dell are as professional a buisness as they make out then they should have all angles covered and should have allready had ideas on whether this was possible or not.

It's so great to finally hear that things are getting closer to reality.  I recently bought the new game "Age of Conan" which doesn't even support the old dell driver for the 8700m gt sli.  So i had to get a newer driver from laptopvideo2go which works but has some quirks (being a desktop driver its expected i suppose).  I can barely run this game at low settings at 1440 X 900 and keep my fraps at 25 (I would much rather be playing at closer to 35).  I really didn't expect when I bought this powerhouse of a computer to not be able to play new games.  

Hopefully the upgrade will change all of that.  I have never used media direct and I'm extremely handy with a screwdriver.  Feel free to bring on the upgrade!

Rob 

Well, it's the 27th which technically isn't the end of the month but it's pretty close.  The blog above mentioned that the upgrade would hopefully be released by around this time.  If you don't have it out by the end of the month, can we at least get an update and an expected ETA?

 My confidence in Dell is being shaken.  Please don't let this get worse.  Gamers are loyal to a brand but not for long if you start slacking in the communication and delay in promises.

@ Chris - A CPU upgrade program isn't on the agenda, from what I see. The upgrade program this blog is about is the upgrade for the graphics cards on the XPS m1730. I don't recall a CPU upgrade program for this system ever being mentioned.

 Thanks for being patient with us up until now. We should have more to share in the next few days, so keep your eyes peeled!

 John

FINALLY!!!

I have been getting increasingly angry at this "beast" as it struggles with NWN2 (seriously... 15fps is BS) I think some of this has to do with having vista.. (audio being sw) but still.

I cannot wait for this update and just hope the everyone world wide gets the upgrade program.... I myself am in Australia. 

 @Tom:

We're rooting for you Tom. It is time for DELL to step up to the bar and take responsibility for this worldwide problem. If you want to be global, you should solve your mistakes globally. No stopping short here DELL. 

@John - I know this blog is for the GPU upgrade however i just wondered if dell where going to go that extra mile for its customers.  I wasn't sure if the CPU may have needed changing to get the best from the GPU.

@Tom

 I'm in Australia too and know exactly what your going through.  After laying down alot of money for this system and being very unimpressed with it's performance.  Crossing my fingers with you that this upgrade reaches Aus and fixes our issues.

 Will the information be posted here once it is known? or has anyone seen any new updates to this upgrade posted anywhere else?

well i've been on the phone to dell most of the mornign getting bounced around to all the wrong people (& costing me a fortune) but seems from the info ive now been given is there isnt going to be an 8800 upgrade kit, well thanks Dell as apart from my 1730 i also have 1710 & m170 and the same thing ocured on 1710 it was said you could upgrade GFX's then no kit but newer model

 On support forums even a Dell Liason posted an upgrade would be available beginning June08, but his post has now gone, but i was not alone in seeing it as the posts by us still exist talking about the Liasons post and that Dell were going to do the right thing by bringing out 8800 upgrade kit for all us XPS1730 owners with 8700 Sli

I've had enough of the lies and confused support staff so Bye Dell you've had enough of my money over the years,  with all those promises of being able to upgrade your flagship XPS notebooks, But good news is Sager notebooks do offer upgradable notebooks, and the parts are discounted as well, so time to sell XPS's and go SAGER

Well maybe someone better save this page just incase Dell trys to back out and leave us swimming with the fishs again.  So far Dell's management has done nothing but take the money and run.  We are left with "The Chipmunk" (I would not dare call this notebook "The Beast") and no real effort that I have seen since January.  I am starting to feel pain and suffering....

Ok... "later this month" (May) has come and gone!

How about an update?

Just release the cards to us.. I do not care if I have to reload my OS... I'll be doing it anyway when I get the cards.

 Just keep us up to date with the situation!
 

Tom,

The time is getting close. I cannot give you a firm update but progress is moving forward.

We will keep you apprised of the situation.

Joanne

Will a link to the order process be posted here or should I be looking somewhere else when the upgrade is made available?

-David

David,

An announcement should be made here. I will notify the powers that be to keep us in the loop.

Joanne

i'm looking for this upgrade since jan. 2008

and the only  thing I find is this XM888 on EBAY .... for 1450$

Thierryso  I'm wondering about the price .....

 Well, I just completed my shopping cart on amazon

- Intel core two duo quad core 9450 over clockable

-2 Raptor 150 hard drive

- EVGA 790i Ultra motherboard

-Water cooled tower

-1000 watt sli ready power supply

-1 9800 GX2 (WAITING ON new g 280 to be released in 3 weeks)

-Blue ray drive

etc.

TOTAL = $2500 

Ummm is the 8800m GTX sli upgrade still 2000 bucks? When will we be hearing a decent price and date?

TIMES A TICKING...................... 

 I can smell the profit mongers stirring at DELL right now. One more round of profit making left with these guys who are stuck with the 8700s. HA!

All I can say is prove me wrong DELL. 

One more day without any information....

What is DELL doing??

Even if they make good computers, they should learn how to respect the customers. They promised the upgrade since the very beginning, eight month ago..... 

@Pilot44: It would be funny if it was not so crude, wouldn't it?  It looks like we are being prepared for the price higher than most of us would be able or willing to pay. 

I am looking for this upgrade since I bought M1730 last year but if the price is too high I am willing to wait some more.  I finished Crysis and Bioshock with 8700M Sli in and will be able to survive till the price drops to accceptable level.  Soon 8800M SLi cards will be replaced by more efficient 9000 crop, so the price will have to go down if they are going to sell at all.

Well, here's all I have to say.

My dad was adamant on buying me a Dell to go to grad school.  I wished then he had gone with the Sager.  I wish it even more now.

There's a reason why the general consensus at places like forum.notebookreview.com is that Dell is inferior to Clevo/Sager.

 This just confirms it.  So quick to rush out a fancy new product but then evidently takes almost half a year to put out a simple upgrade.  Dell you are bleeding customers here.  Better fix it soon.

 @Paul. All points well stated. You know, if DELL just released NVIDIA from their agreement prohibiting them from selling the 8800s on the open market, we would truly have an upgradeable computer (from a graphics standpoint) -- and at a cheaper price I would bet.

If the price is too high for the 8800s, I will just find another use for the computer and hope that within the next 4 years (I have the extended warranty) something goes wrong with machine. I know the screen won't hold up.

This is so silly. Good business practices dictate that loyal, high end consumers should not be treated in this fashion. We expect a lot for our $4000+ machines we bought late last year. Many of us have put up with poor performance for over 6 months under the promise of an upgrade program. I hope DELL understands that we represent a very vocal group who is willing to share our experiences with computer biuers worldwide (via the internet). Not a group DELL should turn their backs on. 

Paul, I completely agree with you.

Dell seems to be forgetting that they are not alienating a mainstream portion of their base.  They are alienating a small but extremely vocal portion of their base that has much influence over the general opinions on the internet.

Dell is ticking off people that practically live on the internet and frequent the forums and discussions that more casual consumers visit to form their opinions.  We may be a small section of the consumer base but our voice is loud and will be heard.

 Any new info? If anything could you please tell us around how much it will cost? $500-$1000? Will it be cheaper for those who bought the 1730 before the new cards were out?

I seriously hope this upgrade will be available in Australia... I'm happy with my 8700's but would be willing to pay a substantial amount of money for the 2X performance boost offered by the 8800s. 

 Well, what a shock this is.  Told it should be ready the end of May and here we are well into June and still no information.

While im on, a problem has just come up with my M1730 (Dual 8700s).  It seems to be freezing every second for a split second.  If you watch a video file it will play for a second, freeze for a split second.  It does the same when scrolling the cursor across the screen.  You can see it scroll smoothly but then it will freeze for a split second and then jump to catch up.

I know this isn't a blog for problems but i thought id ask if anyone has had the same problem while i wait for dell to get back to me.

Tick Tock Tick Tock.....  I love how dell has new drivers out for the 8800 but they haven't posted drivers for the 8700 since last year.  Sadly you are forced to use buggy drivers that weren't specifically m ade and tested for your video card (off laptopvideo2go and the like) just to play newer games.  I couldn't even play Age of Conan with the Dell drivers, the game told me I needed a newer driver. 

I wouldn't mind so much if I had the 8800's in my system....

Rob

My prediction that we'll get the upgrade by the 12th of Never may just hold up.

People. Asking for price informaton is an exercise in futility. Rest assured that it won't be any bargain (regardless of the fact that sensible marketers might come to the conclusion that we might deserve some consideration for our wait and our status as now Dell "one-time-only" early adopters).

Hugh must be giddy about the exchange rate on the U.S. dollar to be "willing to pay a substantial amount of money..." We know you were just kidding Hugh...you were kidding wern't you? Let's not feed the profit mongers please!

So, Joanne, what's up? Our 8700s are just not holding up with the September, 2007 driver that has never updated by Dell (surprise!). But remember, we still love ya!!

I placed a "parts upgrade" via the website on Friday and low & behold they responded via e-mail Saturday, I confirmed via e-mail Sunday, confirmed payment via phone Monday and today was e-mailed telling me that it would be 3-4 weeks for delivery !!!

The cost here in Australia was $1080 inc GST and delivery charges.

Yes it's definately expensive but this was the only reason why I invested over $5000 in the first place for this card ... makes me wonder who's the insane one - me for spending all of my money on a promise, or Dell for the prices that they charge ???

Harry:  I just ckecked the USA's site for spare parts and they do have the 8800M GTX's listed for $1099.00 ...  with 1-2 weeks delivery ( approx ).  But this is not part of an 'Upgrade Program' .. hopefully the Upgrade Program lowers the price for people with 8700M's

The U.S. site still does not list it in their suggested parts for my M1730, the only thing that shows up under 'video cards' is the physx unit...

please have the upgrade program available in switzerland! :)

@Harry: congratulations on your purchase. 

I hope you would not mind answering a few questions to make me better understand the "parts upgrade" solution:

What kind of warranty do you have on your $5000 system?  Does the warranty on your new dual 8800M GTX card match your laptop warranty?  Or does the card come with the usual 3 months parts warranty?  Are you going to install it yourself?  If yes, how will the warranty be affected by this?

The price point on the cards better be affordable and reasonable, or you have lost a customer.

I did not spend hours reading online about this system beforehand - I simply purchased it as it was an excellent gaming system and portable. 3 months later, cards are suddenly released to upgrade the system's graphical capability far beyond what I purchased. This did not really upset me, as this is the nature of computers.

What will upset me is this promise of an 'upgrade kit'. If the kit costs a mere cent more than the cost difference of having purchased an M1730 with 8800 cards installed, then you have lost a customer, and I will not be the only one. I am not a demanding customer, nor a picky one. I am reasonable, but I will not oblige exploitive pricing and release schedules.

John, Joanne,

 Can we have an honest update please?

Surely it doesnt take this long since you've already "decided" that a rebuild is required, and unless you're working on a new Vista build which manages the MediaDirect issue - then whats the hold up?

For the early take up crowd of the M1730 this is becoming a little wearisome now, <inserts classic comments about buying flagship model, paying premium prices e.t.c>

For all of us who will happily rebuild their machines, this length of delay is really disappointing, the card has been shipping for months now.

Crispin.

And an OT for all those who do end up getting the card, and rebuilding their machines - you might want to look to putting Windows Server 2008 on it instead of Vista - google "Windows Server 2008 Workstation" for more info on the benefits of that, I find it a lot faster - also look here to enable Bluetooth on it if you do go that route:

http://www.gilkirkpatrick.com/Blog/post/Installing-the-Microsoft-Bluetooth-Stack-on-Windows-Server-2008.aspx#comment

Testing...testing...testing. Just seeing if this blog is still alive. Apparently Dell is not lighting up the internet with news about its graphics card update program for loyal, early adopters of the M1730.

Nearly mid-June. Alas, still silence from our friends in Texas. Well, I guess we must carry on and live with our $4500 trailing edge of technology "beasts" for a while longer. Alas, we continue to be at the mercy of DELL. Oh what I would give for an open market for graphics cards and cpus for the M1730.

since there won't be any news any time soon, what driver set are u guys running the SLI Geforece 8700 's on? I am having difficulties with the game AoC and was wondering what drivers the majority uses and maybe what benchmark u get on 3DBENCHMARK 2006?

I AM RUNNING IT ON A nbf TWEAKED DRIVER AND GET AROUND 8400 POINTS ON THE BENCHMARK BUT AM MISSING SOME features in AoC like any lightning effects....

Hi all,

Since news regarding the upgrade obviously take there time, I was wondering on what driver you guys are running the 8700er in SLI?

Given that the from dell provided driver doesn’t even allow a normal performance SLI mode I suppose everyone is using something else!? I’d be interested to know your experiences and maybe even you can tell me the scoring u get with ur driver choice under 3Dbenchmark2006?

I am presently running some tweaked drivers from NBF Mobileforce, and am getting around 8400 points on 3DB2006 although this was the best I could find at the time I am presently looking for something else mainly since the new game A.o. Conan has some glitches with it. I basically can’t see any lightning effects (like the fires or spells) which surprisingly isn’t a big annoyance but I d rather do with them…

Does anyone run successfully the newest desktop drivers (175.16) with the 8700er?

Cheers

Kane

@Paul: In answer to your query...

1. I purchased the system with a 2 year warranty

2. I will be installing the card myself

3. Ordering via the Dell Australia website is by a form where you state (ie. hand write) what parts/upgrade you want for your system (you also supply the model & system tag). I specifically asked for the "Dual 8800m UPGRADE". When I was contacted via phone I again asked "Is this the upgrade that has just been released" and I was told yes.

4. I will chase up the warranty issue - at least for my own sake.

5. As GodfreyOwens pointed out, a replacement part is available on the US site for $1099 USD.  My "upgrade" part is $1080 AUD which is around $1020 USD - normally here is Australia we pay more for products/parts etc. which again leads me to think that this is the awaited (albeit expensive) upgrade.

6. I have been submitting this same request (for the 8800m card) every 2 weeks since it was officially released as part of a new system - I was NEVER answered by either e-mail nor phone, and when I did call I was given the run around and finally told that this was not available ... until last week that was !!!

7. If I'm wrong with the above assumptions I can always cancel my order as there is a 3-4 week delay ... which again sounds more like an upgrade than just as a straight replacement as normally I have received parts in 5-10 days.

@Harry:

If it is the long awaited upgrade then the warranty on your new card should match the warranty of your system.

If it is just a "spare part" sell then the warranty could be much shorter, perhaps only 3 months.

Installing the card yourself might affect the warranty.

All this is relevant since a number of dual 8800M GTX cards have serious heat issues as reported elsewhere by users.

Ugh... I've got two of these beasts and waiting... waiting... waiting...

It gets to be a little frustrating when the kids can play AoC on their XPS1210s at a higher framerate than I can on my O/C'd extreme 1730 with the latest drivers.... some gaming machine this turned out to be... $10,000 did get me a couple of fast spreadsheet calculators though...

Come on Dell!!! I've dumped over $20k in computers with you over the past two years... at least, give me an update!

This upgrade situation has taxed all of us to the limit. I seriously doubt that when (or if) the program is finally released, it will satisfy anybody.

A bit of communication would help. But please forgive me if I request that DELL avoid the "it's just around the corner rhetoric." I think they've used up all those cards.

Just some straight info. It's been over a month and a half since this blog was initiated with promises of "we're working on it." Just what kind of resources has DELL applied to the solution-- the janitor?

@Pilot44

You are quite right.  Just look what we have here:

http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/06/17/a-beast-of-a-card-for-a-beast-of-a-laptop.aspx

@Paul

See my posts at John Blain's "announcement blog"

So Paul, ya going to buy another DELL?

I'm through with them.

@Pilot44

Actually I need another laptop, something smaller and lighter to carry around.  I was thinking of getting Dell M1530.

It is time to look somewhere else.

Just after "The Beast is here"  (http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/09/27/30769.aspx) release at the end of September 2007 I ordered M1730.  So I was sure I am buying myself a Beast of a laptop. 

Now it turns out I must have bought something else. Nine months later "A Beast of a Card for a Beast of a Laptop" dated June 17, 2008 stated:  "So, all of you hardcore gamers out there that jumped on the M1730 when it launched, now you can upgrade your video card and make your machine truly worthy of the nickname “Beast”. (http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/06/17/a-beast-of-a-card-for-a-beast-of-a-laptop.aspx). Clearly "jumping on the M1730 when it launched" was ridicules and what I bought was not "truly worthy of a nickname Beast" because it came with an inferior video card.

If all this is not purposely misleading then I don't know what is.

And that talk about "upgrade program" made me think there would be a different treatment for people (early adopters) who bought M1730 when dual 8800M GTX was not yet available.  I thought asking these people to pay at the very most $700, which is the difference between the cards on Dell's web site would be more in line.  We would gladly return our existing dual 8700M GT cards, which could be tested by Dell and used as refurbished.   But no, Dell has to make another killer sell.

There is one more sore point: the drivers.  Dell promised timely and frequent drivers updates.  I have been checking Dell's Drivers & Downloads web site every few days since the purchase.  I did not find even a single graphic card driver update.  The original driver dated September 27, 2007 is still there.  Meanwhile nvidia has released many new drivers for this card.  They need to be adapted to this laptop though.  Dell did not bother.

It is a long answer to your question but I am going to look somewhere else for my future computing needs.

@Paul

I'm with you. I got a XPS M1730 as a replacement for my old M1710 with the 7950GTX.  Thanks to the inferior 8700M cards and inferior driver support, I cannot achieve the same performance with this machine as I could with my old M1710. Despite the bulky extra pounds, a rediculously large power brick, a Core 2 Extreme CPU, a PhysX card, and enough heat to warm up my whole house, I rarely achieve the performance of my M1710.

I've been waiting on this graphics card upgrade kit for over 6 months and find it horrendous that when it finally shows up it is actually MORE expensive than simple purchasing the replacement part.  I could have purchased the 8800M replacement part months ago for more than $100 less than this "kit".

I'm a Dell fan, but they've really blown it with the M1730 and this "upgrade kit" is just another slap in the face of gamers, Dell fans, and early adopters.

Thank you fellow XPS users.  I have been a Dell user for years and my own pesonnal systems for gaming has been the XPS laptops.  I have purchased 1st and 2nd generation XPS'S with great results.  I have been wanting the upgrade but keep putting it off due to the video card issues and Dell's empty promises.  Time is running out is other options for a new sytem may happen soon.  Get it together Dell if you want to keep your customers

oh yeah one last point...i'm never gonna buy frm dell again. sigh

I truly feel ashamed to own a DELL now that this has happened, i mean, i ordered my m1730 the day it was available for order, i knew at the time that the gfx card was going to be upgradeable to the 8800m gtx's now i find that to do this im going to have to pay over $1000 for the 'upgrade', somehow this doesnt really make sense to me...
I could just build a desktop for the 1k that would smoke my m1730. this is plain rediculous, DELL I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!!