How to check if you're 7811-fx has raid.

Someone who has this laptop either run pcwizard/cpuz/everest and see what the southbridge chipset. I found which chipsets have raid enabled on intel's site.

Please check my attachment, as ommiting raid from this awesome machine is unacceptable and will make me one unhappy customer.

 

I'm so upset. I called Gateway's fantastic customer support. I always record these convos for future laughs, so heres the transcript. It's better than it was a week ago, because this time it only took me 12 minutes instead of 19 to get through to a person who had the resources to answer my question (not really, but as close as gateway's gets to this).

So I call 1-800-846-2000, press the number for tech support, listen to the automated menu options, say "other inquiries," then say "yes" when they ask if you're considering buying a product, then I get connected to customer service (not tech support):

CS: "Hi my name is [whatever], badge number [whatever], how may I help you today?"
Me: "Are you in the tech support division?"
CS: "No, I can connect you to tech support but first I'll need your product serial number please."
Me: "Well I haven't purchased the product yet, but I'm seriously considering buying it. First though, I have a few very technical questions that I was hoping to get answered."
CS: "What product is this?"
Me: "The P-7811 laptop, are you familiar with it?"
CS: "Repeat the model name please?"
Me: "P - seventy-eight eleven"
CS: "P as in peter?"
Me: "Correct"
CS: "Let me bring that up please...... (10 sec) .. ok, I have that here in front of me."
Me: "I know that it has two hard drives bays even though it only comes with one hard drive. When I purchase it, I'm planning on putting a second hard drive in and setting them to Raid-0 in the bios. However, my friend who already has his and was trying to do the same thing tells me that theres no option in the bios. Do you know of any-"
CS: "-let me connect you to someone in the warranty department who can answer this better."
Me: [rolls eyes] "Great. Thanks"

[on hold for 8 minutes]

TS: "Hi my name is [whatever], badge number [whatever], can I have your name please?"
Me: "Jake."
TS: "Hi Jake, how may I help you today?"
Me: "Well I'm considering purchasing the P-7811 laptop, but I wanted to put a second hard drive in and set it to raid. I'm told by a friend that the bios does not give an option to set the hard drives to raid. Are you familiar with what I'm talking about?"
TS: "Yes, let me check this out for you, please repeat the model name."
Me: "P - seventy-eight eleven"
TS: "Thanks, one moment please."

[on hold for 4 and a half minutes]

TS: "Hello again sir."
Me: "Hi."
TS: "Ok sir, we have certain options available if you're looking for the raid feature, you can actually choose to have raid already configured when you purchase your product."
Me: "Really... You mean I can specify what I want with you before I purchase the product?"
TS: "Yes you can."
Me: "Wait, this doesn't make any sense, you guys do custom orders? And haven't you switched to completely indirect sales?"
TS: "Yes we have, but if you want the raid feature we have other models pre-configured with raid."
Me: "Other models of the 7811?"
TS: "No, if you want raid we have the FX-54 [something something]."
Me: "FX-54 something something, isn't that a desktop?"
TS: "Yes- OH, you want a laptop?"
Me: "I want the P-7811, but I'm trying to configure it with raid in the bios, is there any way to do this?"
TS: "Hold one moment please."

[on hold for 2 minutes]

TS: "Sir?"
Me: "Yes hi."
TS: "I'm showing here we have the P-173xl fx which is a laptop that comes with raid-0 preconfigured. It looks just like the mod--"
Me: "I'm sorry, I'm really trying to get the P-7811, because it has certain features that I want, do you know of any way that I can set the bios to put the hard drives into a raid-0 array?"
TS: "No sir, I don't."
Me: "Thanks anyway."
TS: "You're welcome, is there anything else I can help you with?"
Me: "Yes actually, I see that the model comes with an Intel 5100 wireless network card. I don't think its a very good card so I wanted to put the intel 5300 wireless network card into it instead, do you know how easy it would be and if it's compatible?"
TS: "You want to put the 5300 in?"
Me: "Yes, I wanted to do this myself after I get it, would it be easy to switch out?"
TS: "If it's not integrated then most GPU's can be switched."
Me: "No, it's a network card. The Intel 5300AGN wireless network card."
TS: "Oh, well if it's not integrated it should be pretty easy to switch."
Me: "Thanks, that's all my questions." [I give up, she has no idea what she's talking about]
TS: "You have a good day sir."
Me: "You too, thanks."

What a huge waste of my time.

 

P as in Peter LOL!
What a joke. Honestly, if that's what you get after paying a couple of grand then f*** it! So sad!

 

Awesome sauce.

 

According to the device manager...it has the Intel ICH9M-E/M Controller....so it SHOULD support raid...however, the option never it given to set it up as raid in the bios, no matter what hard drives i put in. So it looks to me like the system has the hardware/capability to do it..however the bios does not...which means perhaps a bios update from gateway will enable the feature

-Scotty

 

THANK YOU SCOTTY!!!! omg, thank god. +rep to you, this means that hopefully the bios can eventually be modded to support raid.

 

I would wait till then, even then we are not 100% sure, and I would like to have raid from the getgo.

Still it gives us hope, maybe some other peeps try setting up raid and see if you have any luck.

EDIT: An even better way, go download pcwizard follow my picture.

-Go to hardware tab
-Click on mainboard
-Click on the chipset
-Scroll down and look at raid functionality.

 

Ok...here are snap shots of my device manager as well as the pcwizzard program...HOWEVER, i think that this chipset is too new to be supported by PCWizard as it doesnt display all the information that it does for the chipset you ran yours on (I am assuming the older version of this gateway)
-Scotty

 

I have the one of the FX predecessors to the 7811. It does support RAID, but the option does NOT show until a second drive is installed. I suspect the same is true for the 7811.

As for upgrading the 5100 to the 5300, it may not be an easy upgrade. As I recall, the 5100 uses 2 antennae. The 5300 uses three. Thus, if the 7811 doesn't include wiring for the third, it won't be an easy upgrade.

 

I don't see why it wouldn't support raid...I'm sure it does

 

You are correct about the predecessors and raid.....however....when I do the SAME Thing (install 2 identical drives) with the 7811....raid does NOT become an option still.

 

The hardware is compatible, i'am sure a bios upgrade will fix that

 

Reality is the chip you guys are following around has nothing to do with the RAID. RAID is not handled by a chipset but rather a RAID controller.

The chip in the 7811-FX is the PM45.
From what I can tell the PM45 is better than the PM965
http://www.intel.com/Products/Notebook/Chipsets/PM45/PM45-overview.htm
That's the link to the chip in the 7811-FX.

RAID is handled by a controller. I don't own a 7811-FX or I'd check to see if it has a controller.

 

I'm sorry to say that you're wrong stormlifter. What you linked to is the northbridge chipset, RAID and storage control is handled by the southbridge chipset.

 

Folks there's a whole thread here on RAID in the 7811, all your questions have already been asked and answered...

Look here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=286302

 

Well people were throwing around that chip name so I linked so that people could see it was a northbridge and had nothing to do with the RAID. That's all.

It is handled by a RAID controller though, yes the Southbridge handles that sometimes. But my only point was that the model #'s I saw flying around were northbridges and had nothing to do with RAID.