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    Gateway P-6831FX Gaming Laptop @ Best Buy

    Discussion in 'Gateway and eMachines' started by pac1687, Jan 7, 2008.

  1. nofearzz

    nofearzz Notebook Guru

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    Some stock (3gig-1.6GHz) vs T7700 2.4GHz-4gig Dual Channel
    SiSoft Sandra Results:
    (ver169.09)
    Processor Multimedia:
    Stock: INT 91415 2.4- 132639
    Float: 49536 2.4- 71926

    Processor Arithmetic:
    Stock: dry-1539/whet-10627
    2.4- dry-22039/whet-15364

    Memory Bandwidth:
    Stock: int:3360mbs/float-3293mbs
    2.4-int:4338/float-4338

    A good investment for this laptop is 4 gig of dual channel.
    I picked up a OCZ 4 gig kit @ Fry's for $59AR yesterday. It's just too cheap to pass up.

    Intel® Core™ 2 Processor T7700 2.44GHz 4MB Cache 800MHz FSB
    NVidia® 512MB 8800m GTS GDDR3
    17" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD
    4gig PC5300 Geil Dual Channel Ram
     
    nofearzz, Jan 17, 2008
    #101
  2. Nyceis

    Nyceis Notebook Deity

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    nofearzz, can you run 3dmark06 with the 2.4ghz and let us know the results?

    N
     
    Nyceis, Jan 17, 2008
    #102
  3. jipjoe

    jipjoe Notebook Enthusiast

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    OK, so that hideous cooler sticking out the rear is required I take it? I would so rock this if it had 1920 res. 1440 on a 17" is too large for me. But that mole on the rear is driving me nuts. Awesome laptop for the money.
     
    jipjoe, Jan 17, 2008
    #103
  4. roboMonkey

    roboMonkey Notebook Guru

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    What mole?
     
    roboMonkey, Jan 17, 2008
    #104
  5. jipjoe

    jipjoe Notebook Enthusiast

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    To borrow a pic from an xlnt thread on this site, that big ugly thing located at the top

    [​IMG]
     
    jipjoe, Jan 17, 2008
    #105
  6. Unfair

    Unfair Notebook Guru

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    The thing sticking out the back is the battery.
    I just picked one of these up tonight, so far all I've done is install Pirates of the Burning Sea... (ok, not the most demanding game..)

    Overall, the system is quick, runs smooth, and the gaming performance seems to be pretty smooth so far.

    I'm not quite sure I like the screen, the viewing angles aren't terrible, but it seems very bright, devoid of contrast and vibrant color.

    Of course, this is a personal opinion, and I spend 95% of my waking hours staring at a 24" iMac w/ a flawless LCD panel.. So I guess I'm comparing apples to ... well.. carrots...
     
    Unfair, Jan 17, 2008
    #106
  7. nofearzz

    nofearzz Notebook Guru

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    For those trying to dump Vista for XP:

    The Xp sound driver package can be had off of the DVD recovery disk (if you created one) here:
    dvddrive:\I386\apps\app002022\HDAQFE\WDM\winxp

    I think a lot of the vista drivers in the \apps folder will probably work in XP like the nic modem ect.
    I'm going to install the sound package on my 80gig xp test drive & see what else I can install off the restore dvd
     
    nofearzz, Jan 17, 2008
    #107
  8. Malignant

    Malignant Notebook Ninja

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    can you tell us LCD hardware id?
     
    Malignant, Jan 17, 2008
    #108
  9. nofearzz

    nofearzz Notebook Guru

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    I only have a wireless connection, and it's a 540MB download, which @250kps will kill me, but i'm going to a friends who has cable broadband this weekend & I'll snag it then. Run some sysoft & compare for now.
     
    nofearzz, Jan 17, 2008
    #109
  10. J-Bytes

    J-Bytes I am CanadiEEEn NBR Reviewer

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    the battery? :D
     
    J-Bytes, Jan 17, 2008
    #110
  11. KidProdigy

    KidProdigy Notebook Consultant

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    is there any way to like replace that with a 6 cell so that it doesn't stick out so much? Only thing I don't like about this notebook at the moment is the res but everything is looking good although I'd prefer a 8800M GTX. Might just have to pick one up since I'm on a sort of low budget.
     
    KidProdigy, Jan 17, 2008
    #111
  12. roboMonkey

    roboMonkey Notebook Guru

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    Yea that's why I'm waiting till the 31st to buy.
     
    roboMonkey, Jan 17, 2008
    #112
  13. jipjoe

    jipjoe Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yep, the 1920 res screen and that video card will be hot. Someone have dimensions, W x D x H
     
    jipjoe, Jan 17, 2008
    #113
  14. Malignant

    Malignant Notebook Ninja

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    so can anyone confirm if whatever they release on the 31st will be configurable to ones own wants and needs?
     
    Malignant, Jan 18, 2008
    #114
  15. Rorschach

    Rorschach Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    There is nothing configurable, they are launching 3 more versions of the
    P-6831FX, each has its own name and PRE configured setup.
     
    Rorschach, Jan 18, 2008
    #115
  16. jipjoe

    jipjoe Notebook Enthusiast

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    I dropped by BB again today and after checking out multiple laptops for over a month I am 90% sure this is the one for me. It is not that garish in person and actually looks ,"cool." i suppose I could live with that ,"mole" of a battery protruding out the back-only if it fits in my case. The LCD is about average and I am hoping their 1920 screen is comparable to Sony's Hi-BRIT screen which is incredible.
     
    jipjoe, Jan 18, 2008
    #116
  17. teksurv

    teksurv Notebook Guru

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    Is the GPU soldered on, or a unique form factor card like my Dell 1705?
     
    teksurv, Jan 19, 2008
    #117
  18. binro01

    binro01 Notebook Consultant

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    Ordered my P-6831FX today. I Had a client of mine purchase it for me in lieu of billing. Yea! I escape some income tax.. and the client gets a business tax deduction as a depreciated asset! Win Win! Only thing is I have to wait 3 days for the shipment to come to my office LOL. I was about to buy a Dell Vostro 1500 for about 300.00 less but the 8800 blows away the dell GPU. The expansion possibilities (socket P... 2nd HD in raid configuration... eSATA port...) of the FX pretty much sealed the deal. My first Gateway. I hope to have a solid experience with it. (Previously owned a Thinkpad, HP and Dell laptop.. Oh and a Compaq way back in the early 90s LOL)
     
    binro01, Jan 19, 2008
    #118
  19. roboMonkey

    roboMonkey Notebook Guru

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    RoboMonkey has left the building. I've decided to build a desktop (I haven't done that in 5 years). I'll keep my old laptop for oldschool on the go gaming and web surfing, but build a silent running gaming rig for Family Room fraging. GL to everyone who gets this laptop I still think it rocks!
     
    roboMonkey, Jan 19, 2008
    #119
  20. Dustin_D

    Dustin_D Notebook Evangelist

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    The only thing I don't like is the battery life, and as a student, I think that's the deal-breaker.

    13" screen, here I come :(.
     
    Dustin_D, Jan 20, 2008
    #120
  21. RunKhrinD

    RunKhrinD Notebook Enthusiast

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    The 1 hour and 30 minutes was when running a battery stressing program, maybe with common use, and power saving settings you should have at least 2 hours of battery life...
     
    RunKhrinD, Jan 20, 2008
    #121
  22. jipjoe

    jipjoe Notebook Enthusiast

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    That is pretty decent considering the features. My XPS gets a little over 1 hour on max settings and 1.5 at best at power mode.
     
    jipjoe, Jan 20, 2008
    #122
  23. peteryorkuca

    peteryorkuca Notebook Consultant

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    Watched 'Matrix DVD' yesterday on battery. It was 2:14 long. After it finished it warned me with 10min or was it 10% warning. Otherday on battery, laptop wasn't doing much, just net surfing and so on non-stop on 'power saver', no 'auto sleep', lasted about 3 hours.
     
    peteryorkuca, Jan 21, 2008
    #123
  24. binro01

    binro01 Notebook Consultant

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    Yea! Best Buy is shipping my FX today! Silly holiday added a day to the process but I shold receive it by Thursday. Can't wait!
     
    binro01, Jan 22, 2008
    #124
  25. parapudaw

    parapudaw Notebook Guru

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    anyone here trying to install XP on this machine?
     
    parapudaw, Jan 22, 2008
    #125
  26. binro01

    binro01 Notebook Consultant

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    Para, Take a look on the P-6831FX thread in the Gaming forum, there are some topics there on changing over to XP. Gateway is starting to place XP drivers up on their site as well.
     
    binro01, Jan 22, 2008
    #126
  27. pd1031

    pd1031 Notebook Geek

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    Any more word on when the other models are coming out? Also, would you be able to install a blu-ray drive in this laptop??

    Thanks,

    Phil
     
    pd1031, Jan 22, 2008
    #127
  28. peteryorkuca

    peteryorkuca Notebook Consultant

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    Gateway said end of month, the new P-171 line will be availible to order from their website. P-6831FX is bestbuy exclusive I think.
     
    peteryorkuca, Jan 22, 2008
    #128
  29. Packerfan

    Packerfan Notebook Consultant

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    Talked with gateway sales quick and the P171 non FX is only an integrated solution so you must pay atleast the bestbuy price for the 8800gts its probably a x3100
     
    Packerfan, Jan 25, 2008
    #129
  30. narsnail

    narsnail Notebook Prophet

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    i do not own one, but you need to find the measurements of the height of the dvd drive that is allready installed, and purchase a blu-ray drive with the same dimensions. i think it is most like 12mm? i have no idea actually.

    you would need to unscrew a few screws and then just remove the drive and pop in the new one, not a very taxing process...PM someone with one to get the dimension.
     
    narsnail, Jan 26, 2008
    #130
  31. AirRescueFF

    AirRescueFF Notebook Enthusiast

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    AirRescueFF, Jan 27, 2008
    #131
  32. strikah

    strikah Notebook Geek

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    is it worth getting the extended warranty on this? If so is it better thru BB or Gateway?
     
    strikah, Jan 27, 2008
    #132
  33. ridgeburner

    ridgeburner Notebook Enthusiast

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    Would someone be willing to share with me how they made this CPU swap?
    I mought this machine 2 weeks ago or so, and made the turbo memory upgrade and put two RAID 0 320GB drives in it. I was in love with this machine.

    Well, I bought a T7200 and put it in and the machine will not boot. Also tried a different 667FSB 2MB cache processor and it does the same thing.

    When I put my original CPU back in it appears as if the bios performs some kind of hardware check before booting. How are you guys getting around this?

    All Gateway has to say is they do not suppport upgrades. I can honestly say I am VERY disapointed in their support.

    Any help would be appreciated.
     
    ridgeburner, Jan 27, 2008
    #133
  34. peteryorkuca

    peteryorkuca Notebook Consultant

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    I don't think any company will support 3rd party upgrades that user may short or fubar the machine.

    That being said, I think your T7200 simply isn't compatible with FX or you may have shorted the CPU by not using a anti-static mat.

    Just be glad the old CPU is still working.

    So far, T7500 and T7700 has been successfully installed in FX.
     
    peteryorkuca, Jan 27, 2008
    #134
  35. Snowsurfer

    Snowsurfer Rocky Mtn High

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    T7200 is socket M you need socket P, not compatible, hows that RAID 0 working out?
     
    Snowsurfer, Jan 27, 2008
    #135
  36. ridgeburner

    ridgeburner Notebook Enthusiast

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    Wow, great info and very quick too I might add.

    So the 7500 or the 7600? I have googled my eyes out trying to get information on this...

    I realize most wont support these kind of upgrades. I was referring to their not have drivers for the first week I got this thing. Or that they told me I voided my warranty by upgrading to Vista Ultimate.

    Forgive my lack of knowledge here, but if it is the wrong socket type as you say it would still physically fit in there?
     
    ridgeburner, Jan 27, 2008
    #136
  37. Snowsurfer

    Snowsurfer Rocky Mtn High

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    Snowsurfer, Jan 27, 2008
    #137
  38. ridgeburner

    ridgeburner Notebook Enthusiast

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    It physically looks exactly the same. And it did no damage becasue after it did not work I put my old one back in.

    I ruled out the cpu being bad after I tried a different one as well.

    The T7500 is for a 800FSB. Does this not make a difference since this gateway is a 667FSB?
     
    ridgeburner, Jan 27, 2008
    #138
  39. Snowsurfer

    Snowsurfer Rocky Mtn High

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    Memory is 667 your motherboard is 800 (PM965). RAID 0 doing you any good thinking of using it. T7500 will work best bang for the dough.
     
    Snowsurfer, Jan 27, 2008
    #139
  40. ridgeburner

    ridgeburner Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have seen a bit of a change, but I went with two 320's. Might be a bit better with two smaller HD's?

    I also have had some issues with the ESATA port. I can send files to my external blazingly fast. But I get errors when I try to bring it back from the external. Have you seen this?

    Anyway, I have a 7500 in my dell. Gonna rip it out and try it. Hopefully I will be replying in 30 minutes from my GW with a 7500 in it. muwwahahaha
     
    ridgeburner, Jan 27, 2008
    #140
  41. cosanostra

    cosanostra Notebook Consultant

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    Price drop in this week's ad - $1249.99.
     
    cosanostra, Jan 27, 2008
    #141
  42. ridgeburner

    ridgeburner Notebook Enthusiast

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    Well, you were right! I have my 7500 in here now. Wow I am so happy and cannot thank you enough!

    Windows score went from 4.5 to a 4.8, and it is the RAM holding it back now. You mentioned the ram was what the 667 was. Is there an upgrade available for this?

    Also interested in the "P" processor you mentioned.
     
    ridgeburner, Jan 27, 2008
    #142
  43. BakerJL75

    BakerJL75 Newbie

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    Does anyone know if this supports dual monitors? The LCD plus an external on the HDMI? And would an HDMI ->DVI cable work?

    Thanks
     
    BakerJL75, Jan 27, 2008
    #143
  44. Snowsurfer

    Snowsurfer Rocky Mtn High

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    Rep me! Lets see a 3DMark06 score, like to see that with the RAID 0. Can't change ram speed, Check out the t9300 Penryn CPU 2.4ghz 6mb L2 about $340.
     
    Snowsurfer, Jan 27, 2008
    #144
  45. GoHack

    GoHack Notebook Consultant

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    Where you purchase the Intel Turbo Memory? Did it make any difference?
    .
     
    GoHack, Jan 27, 2008
    #145
  46. peteryorkuca

    peteryorkuca Notebook Consultant

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    Probably not as FX has 3gb plus, Turbo Memory is getting lot of mix reviews. But I still like to fill in the empty mini-pci-e slot with something. Maybe buying a fast mini-pci-e SDD set to readyboost will be a better choice for the emptiness?
     
    peteryorkuca, Jan 27, 2008
    #146
  47. atomicnumber_9

    atomicnumber_9 Newbie

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    bump

    I did the same exact thing as he did... :eek: :mad: :eek:


    i just got one of the sweet deals today and mistakangly thought all the drivers i need were on the vista disk. if some one hase the keyboard, card reader and touch pad drivers and could post them .. i'd be much obliged!!


    Thanx,
     
    atomicnumber_9, Jan 28, 2008
    #147
  48. ridgeburner

    ridgeburner Notebook Enthusiast

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    Turbo Memory was a waste, it does not even initalize.

    Snowsurfer, direct me to where I can perform this test, I would be glad to do it . And is that Penrym available yet? I need to get a new one so I can put the 7500 back into the Dell.
     
    ridgeburner, Jan 28, 2008
    #148
  49. BerettaMato

    BerettaMato Newbie

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    Went to BB Saturday and got a P-6831FX and love it can't wait to upgrade it. BB ran sale for 1249.99 plus free game on Sunday. Went in Sunday morning and got the price match and free game. I wanted to buy another P-6831FX for Girlfriend to LAN with as well but I bought the last one. They said they would get one shipped from another store and call me when it is in and give me sale price plus free game.

    I am a heavy modder of gaming PC's but this is my first laptop. Need help with up grade info looking at ram and raid 0 for now and new cpu when they are out.

    First can I run 4gb with vista ult 32. My PC hates it not sure if the laptop will? 667 or will 800 work? looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231135 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227251

    Second should I go RAID 0 or 7200rpm OS and use the stock 250 for back up? I want horse power but if it only slight then I would rather have better speed and storage. The stock HHd is a dog for loading up maps. Looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145180 if you guys know of one better let me know.

    Thanks you some much guys I got this laptop because of what I had read in this forum and love it.
     
    BerettaMato, Jan 28, 2008
    #149
  50. Snowsurfer

    Snowsurfer Rocky Mtn High

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    3DMark06 free edition http://www.futuremark.com/download/ The Penryn should be out soon it had some delays, but worth the wait.
     
    Snowsurfer, Jan 28, 2008
    #150
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