Gateway FX Gaming Preformance

You're not going to see a miracle. You're going to see a 5-20 fps increase in games that stress CPU, such as Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout: New Vegas and Left 4 Dead 2.

The question is whether this increase in performance is worth $150.

 

I know i am not going to see a miracle, but a 5-20 FPS increase is not bad. I rather get a higher FPS than get nothing. I will keep you post it, when I get my CPU on my comp and get it running.

 

the difference between getting 25 fps in games and 35-40 fps is going to make your gaming experience much, MUCH more enjoyable
anything above 30 average without too many unstable highs and lows is going to be perfectly playable, 40-45 fps and up for extreme smoothness.

 

I must be one of the few people who put all settings on the lowest (sans resolution) for max fps... Im all for GAMEPLAY and "meh" for game... smex appeal?


On a side note, can anyone with the Targus 180Watt Universal adapter please tell me which tip you are using... I want to buy one off ebay, and want to save $10~ by telling them which tip I need instead of getting all 3

*smex appeal... because without the m its apparently a word that gets removed by the censor...

 

The tip is L2...............

 

@Hammerfest: I recommend that you get a few of the tips, because they are easy to break.

 

@TANWare: You think I should get the 180W adapter since I got the x9100 that we talked about a few weeks ago?

 

Every brick is different. My suggestion is if you find your present brick is running well above luke warm, like you can not comfortably hold it for an extended period, then it is time for a new more capable brick............

 

I'm pulling great FPS on Skyrim @ High w/ Texture Mods on a stock 7805u Overclocked [See Signature]. But for some reason my FPS still drip way below 30 when playing on ultra. I don't use AA as I like FXAA alone. If I were to upgrade my ram from four to eight gigibytes would I be able to pull better FPS? I currently don't have the money to buy a new CPU for my lappy.

I've got some nice Thermal Compound coming because I haven't replaced mine since I bought the thing and I'm going to be giving my heatsink 99% Alcohol bath soon to clean it up all the way. Hopefully that will bring for some better performance and cooler temperatures.

 

Unfortunately that won't improve your performance in Skyrim, as Ultra heavily impacts the CPU rather than the GPU or RAM with the sharper shadows. I would suggest staying on High or editing the skyrimprefs.ini to lower the shadow resolution and turn off some shadow softening processes to give better performance.

 

Meh :| Can't say I didn't see this coming. I'll probably sell my HP DM4 and pick up a X9100. On a non-related note; Your youtube videos are one of the reasons [along with budget and loads of research] I bought the 7805u. I'm editing my .ini now. I would try the pinmod for the stock processor but I'd need a picture guide to know what I'm doing.

 

Heh the pinmod has come to my mind as well before buying my x9100 off an auction on ebay.

I can't help you with that personally as I've never done a hardware mod like that before. Should be very interesting, and possibly rewarding to do though.

Heh have been neglecting my Youtube videos for a while now... might get back into it and share a few more vids now that I got Skyrim running just the way I want it

 

Quick question; How would a T9600 preform in Skyrim over my stock p8400? I have a chance to get one for $30 dollars from a friend. He's looking to sell on ebay if I don't get back to him quickly.

Yes, please do. I enjoyed watching your videos and I hate watching videos of people playing games.

 

Right now I'm going to go with that T9600 it's an E0 and the only X9100 I can find in my price range are C0. What do you guys think? Sorry to double post but he's given me 30 minutes to decide before he rises the price and puts it on ebay.

EDIT: Deal slipped right out from under me. :|

 

x9100 even at C0 will run nicely at least at stock clocks. Agreed it may not over clock or possible even undervolt as well as the E0 but it should run fine.

 

Thanks Tan. Makes me feel a little better about passing up that T9600

 

Okay, went ahead and bought the X9100. It should be here on the 28th.

 

Cheers man, let us know when you get it, install throttlestop if you haven't already. Once you install the new CPU you will be able to overclock it and undervolt it with this neat little software

 

@Lykos: Who did you brought it from? Was it from E-bay?

 

I bought it from Shirley. The date got changed to the 29th.

 

oh cool, good luck I hope everything goes well

 

Hey, I got it installed. It's running great but for some reason it's running extremely hot. Even hotter then most C0s I've seen on this site. Which I find odd because it's not an ES it's a QS. My temps average from low 50s to high 80s?

Is it the thermal paste? I've been using Arctic Silver or could it possibly be the Heatsink. For some reason I don't hear the fan running. Is there a way to turn the fan on all the time. I don't mind the background noise.

EDIT: And for some reason it restarts whenever I have my battery in.

EDIT2: I really think it might be the heatsink as the main screw doesn't seem to want to wind down all the way. [The one above the GPU]. I'll buy one when I have a little more money. Any suggestions?

I managed to get my temps to 65/70 idle 90 Full load W/ undervolt

Until then I guess this will have to work.

 

It's definitely the heatsink. I just held it tightly in place while booting my laptop [stupid I know] and it ideal'd at 37c

I've managed to jiggy rig the Heatsink for now. It's a temporary solution and currently I'm ideal @ 39-40 W/ 12.5 Multipliers @ VID 1.1625. I dear not go higher until I get a new heatsink.

 

Lykos, I am using a C0 version of the x9100. Use throttlestop to regulate voltage and multiplier. My CPU idles at 29C-31C (7.5x @0.975) and hits 85C when playing Skyrim (OC to 12.5 @ 1.1625).

 

Yeah, my problem is that it doesn't idel that low. I had it rigged so that the heat sink was working better but it's not working like it was anymore. In fact it's worse. At 10 Multipliers at 1.0750 it is idealing at mid to high 60s. I've tried reapplying Thermal Paste; I've tried getting the heat sink a little lower; nothing is working anymore. If I can't get it to work I'm most likely going to have to sell the x9100 and other worth while parts from my 7805u as I don't need to waste money on something that's not working correctly. I should mention that even my p8400 was idealing extremely high low to high 50s and would get up to 88c when playing skyrim on Medium-High.

Any help?

PS. I'm on Bios 17.

 

Nice 1.16 undervolt.

I think I bought one of the lower end x9100s. Have to keep it at 1.25 @ 12.5 Ghz. Otherwise I can get random BSODs and we can't have that while immersed in Skyrim

My max is aroun 85 as well.
Dust with compressed air can once a week to keep the Cpu vents clean and efficient.

 

My fan isn't working anymore. I tested this out. No matter how hot it gets the fan just doesn't turn on. I've taken the laptop apart and put it back together. Could that single fan be the problem with all the heat? I know fans keep the heat down but not that far down.

 

I'm still jelly of the actual performance you manage to get. I can't come close to it.

Make sure the fan connectors are plugged into the right ports (since you did disassemble). There are only two fans I removed when I applied thermal paste: one for the CPU and one for the GPU. They are crucial for heat dissipation. As a reference, I NEED to keep my laptop elevated at the back (or placed on my notebook cooler) if I want to stay under 85C-90C (for both CPU and GPU).

 

That's the thing. when I disassembled the laptop I unplugged and replugged the cable back in. Still not working. The other one is working just fine.

 

Hi all I'll try not to be too much of a nuisance. I have a p7805u that I am in the process of upgrading. Can I OC a p9700 at all?

 

You can only overclock non-extreme processors [x9100 & x9000] with a pin mod.

 

Could some one explain this "pin mod" here? The P9700 seems like a good candidate to OC. Thanks

 

It seems like you need to buy a new replacement fan. Don't play with the laptop without one.

It's not worth overclocking. You're not going to see any significant increases in performance, especially in gaming and compiling. It's not worth buying a x9100 either since the Gateway FX laptop series is two generations old with the Core 2 Duo and 9800m GTS/250m graphics cards.

Save up and invest in a new laptop or build your own desktop.

 

I did not ask if it was worth it or not and I know what it has in it. I just asked for some info. I already have every thing that I am going to put in I just want to be able to squeeze what I can out of the machine. I would like to know what I can do to increase performance. Out of both the gpu and cpu. I thought an edited bios also allowed you to oc non extreme cpus. I thought the pin mod was to increase the fsb. Any actual information would be greatly appreciated.

 

You cannot edit the bios to overclock. Overclocking the FSB would overclock the cpu. You cannot overclock without the pin mod because gateway laptops are pin locked from overclocking.

If I'm not mistaken then pin modding would mean taking the whole laptop apart and soldering a specific pin on the PLL. I also believe that a bridge needs to be soldered on there as well.


@Masked
I'm probably going to do as you suggested above and sell/return the x9100. Get all the decent parts out of my gateway and sell them as well. Save up for a new laptop and just use my DM4 for the time being. I mean I've modded the hell out of skyrim.

With the i5-450m and Intel HD 3000 Graphic + my Skyrim mods/tweaks I'm able to play on high texures and decals, low radical blur, no shadows but with the colourful lights mod I didn't even like shadows on my gateway, FXAA, and 2AF @ 30-40fps.

 

I would recommend that. I got the X9100 in 2010 since I did not want to build a new desktop (~$1000 with new technology coming up) or a new laptop (won't last more than 2 years since they can't be upgraded in increments like a desktop). It was worth it since I could play Oblivion with many mods, Skyrim and perform other system intensive tasks.

Right now, the Gateway FX laptop line should be considered old. Nothing humbled me more than when I tried to play The Witcher 2. This thread's purpose is to get as much out of the laptop while still maintaining its image as a budget gaming laptop as it gradually becomes obsolete.

A ~$150 CPU upgrade is not worth it in 2012. Ultimately, the Gateway FX laptop series should be considered dead and people should turn to other better products.

Owning this heavy, powerful budget gaming laptop made me realize that it's more cost effective to build your own desktop with a netbook/cheap portable device that can deal with some basic word processing and 720p videos instead of spending it on a gaming laptop of any kind. The costs in the long run far outweigh the short run costs when it comes to incrementally upgrading a desktop.

(Fun note: I was considering selling my laptop and most people were interested in buying this laptop for $450 last summer. I lol'd and decided to keep it for the meantime.)

 

My biggest issue with getting a new system is the screen aspect ratio...

Ive said it before, ill say it again, I will own (by a purchase for myself, by myself) a 16:9 TRASH Aspect Ratio over my cold dead body...

Which is why it leads me to keep and upgrade "old" and "outdated" systems like the p-78 and p-79 series...

The media industry can go screw itself for being lazy and going with 16:9 over 16:10 to save cash... If you where buying movies when the changeover happened, I had a few movies with both 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios and the amount of actual movie you are missing height wise is ASTOUNDING... literally... the difference in seeing an actors upper body (from chest upwards) and not seeing it... now they just make movies so narrow and make all the action happen on the horizontal scale instead of vertical...

It was at this time (and my parents new fake "widescreen" tv) that I decided I was going to be 4:3 or 16:10 for life...


I should note here that a few times thought the year's I have been called upon to "justify" my choice, and it never fails to give me great joy in putting my monitor's against my friends/co-workers, and doing the same thing they are doing (even videos...) and watching them gape at the 2"~ of screen I have left over when its all said and done... This went over especially well when I worked at a VOIP company (well, they did TS/Vent/Gaming/Webhosting, they are in the top 3 VOIP providers now) and my co-worker/boss was the head programmer with his fancy 3 screen setup and he brought up the same code on my screen vs his, that went over well and early the next day the other co-workers who where using CRT's got upgrades to LCD's


I have rambled on enough... needless to say, I may be jobless right now, but ill never let that get me down as my 24" 1920x1200 HP LCD monitor (sony screen, most dont know that HP's used to be and probably still are just re-branded Sony screens) from years ago still serves me well... and my Server PC with dual dual-core opteron's with 4GB DDR2 RAM and 2x 36GB RAID0 Raptor's still does pretty much everything a jobless man could want... filling out applications that is... LOL! (ok it games BF3 and such just fine... ba-humbug)

 

The primary reason here for the extension of life is the 1920x1200 screen. I've said it before too, it rocks over 1080P. I have no issue with 16:9 but then give me a higher res than 1080P for computing on my laptop/DTR...............

 

The Gateway FX laptop screen and its speakers are the weakest part of the system. I compared the features to my friend's Macbook Pro and I noticed how dim my 7801u's screen is. The resolution is great but nothing I watch on my laptop is vivid.

1920x1200 is going to die. The new 16:10 ratio is 2560x1600. It's being embraced by the enthusiast gaming community. If you look at Steam's hardware census, it shows the gradual popularity. Most legitimate gaming benchmark sites also push cards, such as the AMD 7970 and Nvidia 680, by playing Skyrim and a few other games at 2560x1600.

The resolution is definitely one of the things that has kept my laptop current.

 

This is the most realistic and immersive a night I can get in Skyrim so far Skyrim -Must Watch in 720p Fullscreen!- Ultra HD Textures and RL Ultimate Immersion Mods - YouTube loving it. Btw the new 301.24 beta drivers are BEAST and I get even more fps in Skyrim than I did before, 20% increase.

 

andros do you have a post or thread that says steps to what you have done to your machine.

 

Sorry for my bad grammar.

 

Decided I might as well throw out the 15 dollars for a new heatsink and fan. I already bought the x9100 so I might as well use it. The 9800m is weak but not as weak as the GMA HD3000 and the x9100 preforms faster then the i5-450m. I can then sell the DM4 for 400 dollars [offer already made]. Giving me more money in the long run.

Now, it would be the fan causing the overheating correct? But even if it's not replacing the heatsink and thermal paste should take care of any component besides processor making it overheat.

P.S. I just can't live without that screen resolution.

 

well if your fans broken... then yes... however if the fan works, then its a fan/heatsink combo issue... but seeing as you said your replacing both, you should be good...

whaaaa... come on man, 1920x1080 ftw... its just a bit more NARROW... haven't you noticed action packed movies these days are normally horizontal and not vertical? its a no brainier... get with the program!!!!

(PS: I will buy and own -of my own money- a 16:9 screen when hell freeze's over...)

 

Ultimate Laptop Gaming Tweaks - Part 1, The Basics by Andros - YouTube Here's a video I made quite a while ago

Also a neat guide I found that explains many of the things I have done on my Laptop Performance Tweaks - Electronic Arts UK Community

 

I know it's the fan because I've tested swapping the fans on the motherboard to see if the power port was broken and the port works fine. The fan on the other hand doesn't turn on via either the GPU or CPU port.

I bought both to be on the safe side and because it only cost me $15.

 

Thanks for the reply. I just installed the same processor, and LCD. Do I need to flash my bios to use throttle stop to maximize my CPU OC. (to disable esid). And can I do it through windows? I really want to squeeze as much as I can out of ol reliable. (my p7805u)

 

So you went with the x9100? You should be able to just use throttle stop straight out. Run the program, turn throttle stop on, and click 'unlock' so that you're able to bring settings higher then default.

 

Yes you can download the BIOS here P78_9C.17.00_EIST_Unlocked.zip

Install it with a usb flash drive by copying the files onto the drive.

Then boot off the flash drive at startup by pressing F10 and selecting the Flash Drive.

When the dos window comes up write flash.bat and follow instructions.

When Windows starts you will now be able to uncheck EIST in Throttlestop.

 

Thanks andros. Should I use the .17 or .23 bios? I watched the video and read a little of the page you suggested. I want to concentrate on finding a stable overclock for both CPU and GPU. Before I mess with too many other settings. So I have to flash my bios and play with throttlestop. What is the best program to oc video card? Is anyone else using the beta nvidia drivers? Are they compatible with nvidia tools to OC? Sorry for so many noob questions I'm new to this site and to many things involved with over clocking. I got this laptop for next to nothing from a friend who brought it to war and dropped it off his bunk. It needed an inverter and a new hard drive. It was a good buy.