Buying 7811 FX, questions about upgrades.

I'm interested in buying the 7811 FX. The look and the specs are nice, but there are some things that I want to upgrade.

- First, is there some way to get a Blu-ray drive in it. A lot of online reviews say it's not possible, but I want to hope it is. Does anyone know of a BD drive that can fit in the slot for the current CD/DVD drive on the 7811? I want something internal.

- Second, is it possible to upgrade the hard drive from the current 200GB to a 320GB 7200rpm HD without damaging the laptop/voiding the warranty.

- Lastly, can I upgrade the RAM. Gateway claims that the 7811FX uses "DDR3 800Mhz RAM", if it is DDR3, and since the 7811 uses the PM45 chipset, will it accept DDR3 1066Mhz RAM?

 

1) I believe there is a thread on it...search for it. There is a p7812jFX which has blu-ray...but only sold in Japan. But this confirms that blu-ray is possible.

2) Shouldn't void the warranty, but the manufacture can claim that the failure was caused by the new hard drive. It would be recommended that you keep the old hard drive, and if you are sending it for warranty replace, switch the drives out. Also, the 7811 can support two hard drives.

3) that is a typo. PC3-8500 is 1066mhz.

 

1. So, a the 7811FX is indeed compatible with a Blu-ray drive. Any idea if there are any that I can buy to fit it? How about: http://www.xpcgear.com/bc5500a.html or http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SkuSearch_v2.asp?SCriteria=AA73976

2. The 7811 supports 2 HDs, so can I add another 200GB 7200rpm HD. Does the laptop support RAID? If I send the system into get serviced (assuming that something breaks), will it be a problem to have the second HD installed?

3. The specs on the Gateway site don't list the 7811 with PC2-6400 or PC3-8500, just "DDR3 800MHz Dual Channel Memory". So does it have DDR2-800 or DDR3-1066?

 

you'll want a SATA blu-ray drive. it has been confirmed previously that the 7811 uses a SATA dvd burner whereas the 6860 uses a PATA dvd burner.

 

Found this one on fleabay and its sata .

http://cgi.ebay.com/SonyNEC-Optiarc...mbo-Drive_W0QQitemZ160288811402QQcmdZViewItem

i believe the A and the S after the 5500 tells you if its atapi or sata .

 

So, the SonyNEC Optiarc BC-5500S-01 2X Blu-ray Slim Combo Drive will work in the 7811FX?

I'm thinking about adding a second 200GB 7200rpm HD, does the 7811FX support RAID?

 

the bc-5500S-01 should work in the 7811, provided you have the proper decoding in use to play the blu-ray disk.

as for raid: read here

 

How do I get the proper decoding, can I download it?

 

That will come with the software you will use to play blu-ray...such as power dvd, etc.

2) yea, it supports raid if you have the newer bios...which could be upgraded.

3)Again, some manufacture can claim that an upgrade caused the malfunction, and will not repair the unit. I am in the IT field, and I have sent a Toshiba Laptop for a customer to Toshiba that stopped turning on (no post). It had a memory upgrade. Toshiba claimed that the issue was caused by bad memory, and slapped a $1000 quote. What would of happened if I removed that upgraded memory prior to sending it?

 

I think that the 7811FX comes with 4GB DDR3 RAM, so you don't have to worry about upgrading.

 

If you go here: http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/2008/GodzillaFX/1015641R/1015641Rul.shtml
the first user guide (Component Replacement Manual) provides instruction on replacing the DVD player, replacing the hard drive and adding a second hard drive, replacing keyboards and other fun stuff. The third and fourth guides have better info on setting up RAID, as well as how to overclock your processor.

If you go here: http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/2008/Tempest/2528489R/2528489Rsp2.shtml
That is the Bluray drive in the Japanese version of the 7811FX, the 7812j. It is a Sony BD-5500S

 

Two things:

First, is it possible to install Bluetooth in the 7811FX?

Second, it comes with an Intel WiFi link 5100, correct? Can that be upgraded to a 5300 or 5350?

 

Is it possible to change the wireless card or add Bluetooth. I will be ordering a new laptop soon, so any info would be great.

 

Yes, you can change wifi card with ease. If you want to install an internal blue-tooth card, it will require some major disassembly of the unit. I would just recommend buying a $10 mini external usb BT.

 

Not trying to hi-jack the thread or anything.. but if you're looking to purchase a 7811FX, I have one for sale. It's 20 days old, still in excellent condition.. No screen flaws, no heat problems(except for TZS0 cause of the x9100), P2888 model, so it has BIOS 9c.08.00 for RAID setup, it comes in the original packaging, with ALL materials that came with it from Best Buy. I will provide original receipt as well. I paid $1249 + taxes.. PM me if you're interested.

 

I am running a pair of Western Digital Black Edition 320gb 7200 RPM drives and it works great. I am not a big fan of doing striping (Raid-0) in a laptop, because you loose one drive you loose the data on both. I travel a lot so for me the risk of a drive going out is a bit higher than most.

A co-worker was able to buy a 2888 model and put the exact same (model) of 320gb hard drives in it and did stripe them (Raid-0). He is pretty happy with his P-7811FX.

Now I am looking at upgrading the CPU. The P8400 is a pretty good cpu, but I was thinking that maybee the P9500 (2.53 ghz) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819111007 wich is a 25w CPU, or possibly the T9600 (2.8ghz) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819111006 which is a 35w CPU. They are $370 and $570 respectively. Anyone try one of these yet?

 

yep, i was just going to suggest he get in touch with you.

 

E-wrecked i would like to buy that laptop from you but for some reason i cant pm you.. do you still sell it?
Oh and btw does it work ok? Or does it have any problems since youre selling it? (like gpu or cpu reaching 90c+ at gaming?)

 

he is having pm issues...lol

but yes it is for sale...just no x9100 chip...more than likely...

 

hey hellcry i tried to pm you but it said you havent signed up for private messaging

 

Just cant get pms to work...

 

Nevermind i just spoke with the tax department and id have to pay 25% of original value to have it shipped.. so im better off buying a laptop here.. sorry for the trouble guyz.