I've been Googling and searching, but I cannot find the simple yes or no answer... 7811FX Quad Core?

Everything has been very coded or unknown. So my questions are the following...and I'm just looking for some simple yes or no answers.

• Does the 7811FX with the .12 BIOS support Mobile Quad Core CPUs or not?
• Any new BIOSes from Packard Bell or Gateway?

Theoretically, Quad Core CPUs should work. I'm just worried about the 44W TDP. We know that the X9100 and P9600 work, and those are the best two Dual Core ones. I would however prefer to run a Q9100 if the laptop can run it.

Also, I'm pretty sure Gateway has dropped support for the 7811FX... But has anything new post-.12 come out from Packard Bell for their clone in Europe?

Oh and, I've been lurking forever, just finally got around to registering. Thanks guys .

 

The short and long answer is no.

 

Power and/or heatsink issue I am assuming?

 

For Quad Core Socket P support, you need:

BIOS Support
Adequate HSF support
Power support
Socket P pin layout support

A system that supports a Penryn Quad Core CPU will support all other Penryn T/P CPUs, but a system that supports Penryn T/P CPUs will not always support Penryn Quad core CPUs.

So while the 7811 may have the BIOS support, Power support and even the HSF support to a degree, it is lacking the Socket P pin layout support it seems.

Lacking the proper pin layout support, your system will fail to POST and you get a blank screen.
Lacking the proper BIOS support, your system will fail to reach the POST screen OR will freeze on the POST screen.
Lacking the proper Power support, your system may boot but will BSOD or crash on intense tasks
Lacking the proper HSF support, your system will eventually throttle down or crash

At least this is what I've found trying a few Q9100's and QX9300's in various systems when able.

 

you need to PM a guy named E-wrecked

 

I believe the biggest stumbling block was that the original HSF for the cpu wasn't big enough to cover both cores of a quad?

 

If that were the case, the CPUs would at least post momentarily until they overheated under a small load. without the proper BIOS or pin layout, they won't even post.

I remember someone with a Q9100 ES trying it in his 7811 and it wouldn't even POST.

 

Still wondering if the 7805s will support a quad or not as the motherboard may have gone through some changes aside from the 1gig of vid mem.

 

Don't be trying to pawn this one off on me..

Short answer, no one has tried a Quad-core with the newer BIOS.

Long Answer:
It should work, and the BIOS should support it. The heatsink is fine, and there is ample cooling internally. My x9100 runs hotter than a quad-core qx9300, and I never had any heat issues with it installed in the 7811. So heat will also not be a problem. They began implementing Quad-core in 9c.10.00 BIOS - and we now have 9c.12.00 available. It's safe to assume 9c.12.00 supports quad-core fully. Only one thing left, we need someone to drop one in.

 

lol, true, in the end, one way to find out what pin out for its Socket P the 7811 has is to drop one in, but the ES sample Q9100 not posting doesn't bode well (but that was on an older BIOS I think).

Still waiting on Alitunay to try out the Q9100 in a 7805 or even a 7811 if he has a refurb left laying around.

 

Hey I already tried a Q9100 on a P7805 and 7811 with .08, .10,.11 and.12 bioses and no luck. None of these BIOSes are compatible with quadcore CPUs. The socket is right and it fits. The heatsink is very very tight for the quad. I can say there will be some sport which will not touch the heatsink. The computer powers on but can not even get to the BIOS. There is nothing on the screen. There is no beeping etc. You just see the lights around the keyboard come on and that is it. So, no quad core support on these computers.

 

Thanks for the update bro. And good on ya for tryin it out fer all of us. I think we should be able to put this to bed now huh?

 

ali, just curious.. was this an ES, QS, or Retail CPU?

 

That's what I'm curious.

This may finally answer the question for good. It may simply be it just doesn't work, even if the power and cooling requirements can be met.

Looks like the P9600 or X9100 is the best the 7811 can go. Unless Packard Bell releases a Quad BIOS for their clone.

 

They already have quad core support. I'll do some searching tonight and try to see what new BIOS may be available.

 

i actually did a bunch or searching when the PB got released and no where on there site do they offer the Quad in there configs, so maybe they just pulled it out at the last minute, all the press stuff about it prior to release it said it was going to have a quad in it.

 

I had a QS which is almost the same exact thing with the retail.

 

Almost

Quad; maybe cause of the BIOS?

 

I don't think a final engineering sample (QS) was the deal breaker. It is, for all intents and purposes, the same as the retail OEM.

Just like I thought, the 7811, like many Socket P notebooks, don't recognize the slight pin out change requirements for Quad Cores.

The BIOS is there
The Heatsink/Fan issue is irrelevant, since it will post and run just will potentially throttle down or crash under load
The power is there

The problem is the same as I've encountered using OEM QX9300's and Q9100's in various notebooks that the pin out change of Quad Cores required for Quad Core certified notebooks. Not sure WHY Intel did it, but it is there.

Basically, a Quad Core notebook can and will recognize all other types of compatible 1066 CPUs, but the same can't be said for Dual Core notebooks.

That is why I think all the sellers of Quad Core OEMs and ES's on Ebay have a specific list of notebooks they work within because of the incompatibility that transcends BIOS, HSF or Power.

And yeah, Alitunay, that's exactly what happens when a Quad Core is dropped into an incompatible system on a pin out level.

If the system supports the pin out, but the BIOS does not not, it will at least make it to POST and then freeze.

 

Maybe I'm just old school, or maybe it's because I've been mostly a desktop man my whole life...

But for all intents and purposes , isn't Socket P...Socket P?

 

Apparently not, quad mobiles use socket P' (apostrophe) which is not the same as regular socket P, there doesn't appear to be any technical documentation available to explain WHAT that difference is (probably some unused pins conscripted for power and grounds if I had to guess). Information about it is SUPER sparse, I had to look quite a bit after electrosoft mentioned it because it seemed silly, but it does appear to be true.

 

That's very very interesting.

 

Here's an interesting question though, has anyone tried a mobile quad in a 7801u or 7805u? Being newer maybe there's an outside chance they've got the extra "wiring" in the socket?

 

10 characters

 

This is interesting news. I'm entirely unfamiliar with that. Wish my roadteip was over so I could research! iPhone research is painful while driving.

 

Apparently not when it comes to Quad Cores. The Quad has a slightly different pin out from what I've read and requires a Socket P slot made for it to register it. That same Socket P is backwards compatible with a normal Socket P.

For some inane reason, Intel requires the updated Socket P spec to support Quad Core CPUs.

Why? I don't know. It goes beyond just BIOS support (as born out with the 7811's not supporting Quad Cores and not even posting).

 

Splain dat!

What does that mean? Its answered, read the thread or something along those lines?

 

Probability is any new criteria for socket P was passed along with the reference design criteria of the chipset. since we have the chipset the hardware design should be there. This does not mean just adding the chip to the bios tables will allow the bios to even post.

With no intent to use quads though Gateway may not even be interested in the bios modification requirements needed for a post. It sounds like the video isn't even initializing. that is a real bad sign and I doubt the people creating the bios have a machine at their disposal that a quad was installed too so they can fix the bios and even if they did they'd have to flash it with a dual core and reinstall the quad core etc etc etc.............

so short answer, don't hold your breath waiting for a working quad core bios.........

 

nah the forum prevents you from posting a reply that is under 10 characters long... so when you see people saying "10 characters" or something like that, they're just using the phrase as filler so that the forum will let them post the reply

 

He quoted my question and answered it with a quote of another post in the thread that I missed, but you have to type 10 characters or more of your "own" to be allowed to make a post.

 

Ditto67890

 

Creative.0

 

palmtohead

 

Ah, I see. Thanks for clearing that up. Thought that maybe it was some new gamer speak or something.

 

leetspeek?

 

1337sp34k.0

 

If FTW is 1337 then yes, I suppose.

 

What's FTW?

 

For The Win, I think. I need to RTFM.

 

Yeah, play enough online games, FTW, FTL, FAIL, Pwned, major fail, e-peen and other terms become part of one's day to day vernacular.

 

When was the last time you used the term e-peen with your wife, electro?

 

5ry 4 7h3 OT p057 bu7 r341 1337 5p34k3r5 741k 11ke 7h15, 17 c4n g37 3xc3p710n411y 4nn0y1ng 45 y0u c4n 533..

 

lol, she has NO idea how much of a major nerd I am. I plan on keeping it that way.

 

**Electrosoft quietly ends the misery that is Jakamo and his leet speak**

 

lol {screams "I am alone in this world!".... in 1337speak}

 

Lol translates to.. Sorry for the ot(off topic) post but real leet speakers talk like this, it can get exceptionally annoying as you can see.

Right?

 

I actually understood it too. Izzat bad?
OH MY GOODNESS. What have we started?
*Quickly grabs gun from safe to feel more manly.*

 

Wow. *grabs gun from godspeed to feel more manly* I didn't even hesitate while reading. I ain't seen 1337-speak in a while.

 

only thing got me was OT it is used to often for me to interpret it the way it as obvious as it was...

 

So I am assuming the final answer is sadly....

No, due to a slightly physical socket difference. Truly sucks. Guess I got to find a P9600.