New P-6860 FX owner suggestions?

I will be receiving my refurbished Gateway P-6860 FX soon from Tigerdirect Canada and was wondering what I should probably start with when I get it.

I plan on upgrading the processor to the T9300 in the future but that can wait for the time being.

I'm wondering if the computer will come with lots of bloatware, and if I should do a fresh Vista install right away when I get it? If so, any particular methods I should follow to do it, and are there any particularly useful programs I should keep from the original Gateway install that a fresh Vista install will remove? I've seen a fresh Vista install guide in the HP laptop section on this forum and was wondering if that's a good place to start also.

Can anyone also suggest drivers to use for this laptop that will be better than the stock ones, or ones I'd download from Gateway themselves?

Does the laptop do well with dual-booting XP and Vista? Or does the P-6860 FX not have the proper drivers/capabilities to run XP?

I'm looking at potentially getting a laptop cooler for this and was wondering if anyone could recommend good ones to look at that cater well to where the fans are located on the P-6860 FX.

I'm sorry for all the questions, I'm just very excited about getting this laptop and want to get the most out of it that I can. I'm even probably forgetting some things I want to ask right now, but I guess I can ask those at a later time.

 

Upgrading the processor is a good idea, as is fresh installing when you first turn it on ( it does come with a ton of bloatware). In terms of drivers, I have always used DOX's latest force ware from www.laptopvideo2go.com adnt ehy have worked wonders, even increased my windows experience index somehow. I have no experience dual booting so I cannot answer that one. I bought a belkin cooler form bestbuy and it turned out to be a POFS, broke immediately. One other thing i reccomend doing is deleting all that stupid stuff that installed with vista (pictures, videos, etc) and download and Run ccleaner right off the bat. Enjoy the laptop, i'm sure you will :]

 

Thanks for the reply. I'll check out the drivers once I get the laptop. Sorry to hear about the crap Belkin cooler you had though. If you know, which is better to use since I think they do the same thing, ccleaner or glary utilities?

 

ccleaner is what i've used since i first found out about it about a year ago. never had a single issue with it, not even when cleaning up the registry

 

Is the T9300 the best current option for a processor upgrade on the 6860? also, would any 6860 owner reply w/the video driver they are running currently and it's improvement over the originally installed driver?

I am currently running forceware 167.46 and I would love to see improvements in the video at 1280x720 via the HDMI out to my TV, but I am not sure if a video driver will help there--or if a faster processor will help either.

I am also running the Nvidia Pure video Decoder and the CoreAVC codec on my laptop, as well as the Cole 2k media advanced Codec pack ver 7.1.0

 

As for the video driver, the ones at laptopvideo2go are really the desktop ones modified so that it works seamlessly with the laptop video driver (correct me if im wrong).

As for upgrading the video drivers, I would certainly advice you to update to the latest one for the latest ones are more compatible and works best with the currrent games that are coming out. I could remember that when I was using the gateway provided drivers and tried to play Far Cry 2, the frame rates were abyssmal and it would always notify me in the beginning to upgrade my drivers. So I advice you do so as well

 

T9300 installed, runs like a champ.

for the video drivers, i'm using Dox's 180.70 customized forceware drivers. havent had a chance to test them out as i am still up in the air as to whether or not i will go back to a RAID setup

 

best option for cpu is based on your budget

t8300 t9300 x7800 x9000 each gives different performance for a different price.
i would argue best bang for buck is still the x7800 especially now that it sells on ebay for less than 200 usd.

the 180.70 includes the 8800m gts and needs no tweaking. run just fine on my rig.

 

I personally think that I wouldn't need the extra 300-500 MHz bonus I'd get from OC'ing an X-series CPU, so I'm most inclined to get the T9300 for it's lower heat, improved battery life, as well as for it's undervolting capabilites.

Questions though:
When changing the CPU and applying the AS5, once you apply the small rice sized amount of thermal compound onto the centre of the chip, do you need to spread it out at all with your finger while wearing a non-latex glove? Or will it spread itself out on its own after the heatsink is put back on top of it?

If I did choose to get an X-Series chip, how would the OC'ing affect the CPU's longevity? Would UV'ing increase it's longevity as well or is that not a factor? I'm moreso looking to not having to replace the chip at any point ever, which is why I'm kind of leery about the X-series and OC'ing it and why the T9300 is so appealing to me.

Sorry if I sound a little noobish, I'm kind of new to all of this, heh.

 

11111111111111111111111111111111

 

Not really a big thing in the end I suppose, but does anyone know which model T9300 is the best btw? SLAYY, SLAPV, SLAQG or SLAZB? Or best model for the X7800? Although I think there's only one model type for the X7800, according to the Intel website.

 

My laptop just arrived 2 hours ago, and only in 3 days from ordering from Tigerdirect Canada. It shipped from the USA oddly enough but still got here super fast. I was afraid when I tracked it on UPS that I'd have to pay some custom or duties since it crossed the border. If that happened, I woulda been super pissed. If they didn't tell me it was a refurbished one, I wouldn't be able to tell because it looks brand new. Now I'm just moving out an old desktop to other room so I have space for it. Should I do a clean Vista install first, or stress test the computer first to make sure not defective? What should I test also? CPU/GPU/RAM/Dead-pixels on screen/Hard-drive? Any tools you guys suggest for doing all these tests?

Let me know,
Thanks.

 

Personally, I'd clean install, run ccleaner and then run something like 3dmark06 or pcmark.

 

I'm kind of confused trying to do the clean install. I'm looking at orev's guide looking for Vista installation discs. When my laptop came, it came with a CD for Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1, Operating System Disc, however it says it's for 32-Bit Vista. My computer came with Windows Vista Home Premium but 64-Bit. Can I use this disc for the clean install, or do I have to find it somewhere else?

 

you can but you will end up with a x86 vista utilizing only 3-3.5 gb of your memory.

you can reinstall from the boot partition, cant remember the key to press during boot up though...

 

Just to be more specific on that Vista 32-bit is locked to using a maximum of 3.12GB RAM only.

 

I'm so lost/confused trying to figure this clean install out now. I just finished making Recovery Discs for my Applications and Drivers, using Gateway's Recovery Center. Does it matter whether I make an ISO image or make an Application and Recovery Disc, or will it be the same thing in the end and there's no difference? I chose to make the Application and Recovery Disc.

Since the disc that came with the laptop is the 32-Bit Vista Home Premium, am I stuck with 32-Bit if I do the clean install? There must be a way for me to re-load the 64-Bit Vista Home premium since it's already on my computer, but stupid gateway didn't ship the 64-Bit disc with the laptop.

 

with the OS recovery disc, you get to choose which version you want installed 32-bit or 64 bit during the installation process. and youll want to make an application and recovery disc as that is a standalone disc instead of a cd image that would have to be stored elsewhere before you did the clean install.

 

Thank you for clearing up my confusion.

 

I really do not know the fuss about doing a clean install for the P-6860. At most it has 3-4 useless software that are pre-installed. For me, its not worth it having to look/install the drivers for it.

Unless your planning to install Vista Ultimate x64 or something, then I would certainly advise to clean install rather than updating.

 

i am still using original install over 8 months. one day i will go x64

 

Slacker.

Admit it your just riding it out waiting for Windows 7 to come out

 

Congrats on the 6860, I absolutely love mine. To be honest I just did the t9300 and didn't see a huge gain in performance although I didn't oc mine. The only thing I noticed performance wise was that fallout 3 would have some lag occasionally when entering locations or bringing up item menu. It must be due to heat b\c it didn't really help with that. (I'm sure its a huge gain, I just don't see it 3x cache and nearly 33% clock gain should do something)

I would say just enjoy the machine, it is absolutely incredible it amazes me with its capabilites! If you really have $ you must spend then yes do the processor, second maybe get a second HD for the other bay if your a data junkie like myself. It is on www.newegg.com for about $80 (WD scorpio 320GB) so thats a great deal.

Def. make your backup discs first thing (drivers\apps & restore discs) consider the clean install really is a nice simple improvement

Again congrats and good luck

also: You've found the best forums on the net, these folks know EVERYTHING and are incredibly nice\helpful!!

 

my guide could help you new 6860 owners as well... I'd say just ignore anything that pertains to the bios and anything that pertains to the 1920x1200 resolution

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=327669

 

Ok,

per the processor upgrade, which one is a drop-in replacement that needs no bios changes, or heavens forbid, updates?

on the 2nd hard drive, do you need to buy a hard drive caddy or holder for the 2nd hard drive?

 

oh, one more thing:

royk50/diablo85, can you clarify which video drivers you actually installed for version 180.70.

I see 2 versions: vista64 180.70 off the main page and Dox's optimized driver from the forums for vista 64.

 

I don't think any processor that's compatible with your chipset will need a bios update. Also, you don't need the hard drive caddy, that's in your laptop already. But if you want the screws (you don't really need them), then you need to buy your own caddy screws, they're like $1.50 on the internet.

 

t8300 t9300 t9500 x7800 x7900 x9000 are all good, no bios update needed.
avoid t9500 and the x7900 (price/performance sux)

as to 2 hdd all you need is 2-4 screws the rest is there (you could remove two screws from the original hdd...)

 

both are good, try the dox.

 

dox roxors my socks off. very good drivers, and get rid of a lot of useless nVidia services.

 

Jakamo5,

is the original/stock bios on the 6860 fine as is?

 

I think a 6860 owner could answer that better. As long as it has raid, I think it's fine, for my guide anyway

 

the 6831 was released with a 94.26 the 6860 with 94.28/94.29 and the latest is 94.31 the only reason to upgrade is if you use VT.

look here

 

I'm still putting along with the .28 BIOS. I never saw a reason for any of the newer flashes... they all basically suck.


I want OC abilities

 

get a sager or ocz

 

Stop tempting me ye vile tempter of money spending.

I have to wait for Core7's die shrink. Need me a 32nm quad core mobile extreme CPU before i change out notebooks

 

b4 i7 mobile and 260m/4870m i aint buying sh|t

 

Exactly.
(10 character min)

 

In the process of completing windows update prior to updating my video drivers to 180.70 I noticed a list of Optional updates that addressed the hardware on the 6860:

1. Intel driver for 4965AGN wireless Date:10/20/2008
2. Realtek GigE nic driver (ndis 6.0) Date:10/3/2008
3. Realtek USB 2.0 card reader Date:9/26/2008
4. Silicon Image SATA controller Date:8/17/2008
5. Silicon Image Pseudo Processor device Date:11/3/2008

Does anyone have an opinion on whether or not I should install these updates or just stay w/my current drivers? I cant seem to determine what these driver updates actually do, btw.

 

whats VT? :-/

 

{in crazy wuxia film voice}
"your search-fu is weak, prepare to meet death at the hands of my wiki-style"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86_virtualization#Intel_VT_.28IVT.29

 

why not?
.............................................

 

from what i read:

VT= Intel® Virtualization Technology

http://www.asisupport.com/intel_vt_nl_12-05.htm

however, i am not sure about this.