P-6831FX Issues/Problems

so exactly how loud is this ticking? when my computer does some processing, i do hear something; like a studdering noise of some sort. I hear this noise in desktops too, so i assume its just the computer, working its processor.

edit: oh and also, the fan noise when it starts up is also noticeable. is this normal??

 

What your describing may be what's commonly referred to as "CPU whine", which is common among all notebook manufacturers, and is caused by the Intel CPU itself. Other than the noise, it shouldn't cause any other problems. Some CPUs have it, and some don't, it's just the luck of the draw so to speak.

 

Definately problem with your GPU. Maybe GPU HSF isn't seated right. Good choice about getting it exchanged. FX is a great machine for the price.

 

My hard drive now has a random click sound, but it seems to still be working fine. My power adapter has always hissed a little but until it explodes in a fireball of death I'm ignoring it. Things make noise. It comes with the territory.

Anyone get the built in webcam to work with the latest AOL Instant Messenger? I can't get it to work.

 

I know I'm going to have to buy a cooler for mine. after an hour at most playing bioshock, its hot. my palmrests could fry an egg. if anyone is wondering, bioshock plays very nice with all settings on high btw. screen shot included.

 

what fps did you get? did you upgrade your processor yet?

 

I have no idea how many fps its running, but its fast. No hiccups at all playing better than on my 360. I didn't upgrade the processor, frankly I see no need to. I've not thrown anything at it yet it can't handle. The only real issue it has trouble with is encoding video, but even thats not terrible. Aside from that though, its getting really hot and shutting down after an hour or so of gaming. I'm thinking it may be the cooler, but others are saying theirs isn't doing the same. I may exchange it and see if that helps.

 

As silly as it is, i have an issue; my Vista label (on the bottom, with the key), is quickly wearing off. The key itself is still reasonable, but the Vista home premium logo is just about gone. I guess this label (just paper admittedly) wasn't made to take jeans...

 

To bad you can't rent PC games like other video games. I playing COD4 and I got around 35-90 fps. Of course though I as was playing online so it varied.

 

I wish that were the case. I'm use to gaming on a 360/wii and this experience is much different. I like being able to play a game til I get bored with it and then trade it off. thats one thing about a pc game, once you buy it, you're stuck with it. I'm currently having crash issues with bioshock for the pc and its upsetting to say the least. its not the lappy either. its the stinkin games. A lot of peopel are having the same issue. I think I'm going to try to ebay it and buy it for my console.

 

How do you guys figure out how many fps you're running something at?

 

Not really a problem or an issue, but I'm wondering if I'm just starting to notice it today. Does the fan go on and off pretty often even when your not doing anything? I'm surfing the net and I hear it go on and off evcery couple of minutes or so. My GPU + CPU heat is around 45-50 C so it's not a temp issue. Just wondering if anybody else notice this or am I the only one.

 

im using the program called fraps. it just runs in the background while you play the games. I might finally do a clean install of vista tonight. imma see if get any better performance.

 

Okay I have a true issues, not critical or anything. Here is the run down. I had to do a clean install of vista. After vista did all of its updates it restarts and low and behold it says my windows vista experience score is 1!:O

Granted I don't put much stock in that score but I looked at it and my low number was from the graphics card. It wasn't 8800 GTS but the low grade graphics controller thingy(yeah I know I am really technical). So I installed 169.09 dirvers checked the score again for grins and it was the same. Anyone knows what gives?

 

http://www.fraps.com/download.php

 

Had that problem before. display says standard vga driver. make sure to uninstall the standard driver before you install the nvidia drivers.

on another note, i am one of the unlucky owners who is experiencing intermittent hard drive clicks. i've heard that kind of sound befor-- similar to harddrives with lots of bad sectors.. only difference is that the clicking sound lasts less than a second and is intermittent while a bad hard drive has consistent clicking noise. if i return this to bestbuy, can i ask for a drive replacement only?

 

Bestbuy will only be able to give you a new computer, I'm almost positive, plus I got a new HDD from Gateway because of the ticking, and the new one ticks too, so I don't think it's 2 bad HDDs.

 

The WD HD in my desktop clicked like crazy one evening. In a panic, I defragged, bought an external HD for backup, etc. Hasn't done it since and my desktop is running great.

My Gateway HD clicks sometimes. But performance seems fine. Things click. Maybe it's not always a sign of impending doom and certainly not worth the hassle of exchanging, re-installing programs etc. At least not for me.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=224599 Yea, the title may be techinical and boring to most but the issue can affect your performance greatly. Belongs in this thread but didn't want it to be missed.

Called Gateway and reported the issue.....hopefully the issue makes it to technical support

 

I just bought this notebook today since the graphics card in my Vaio is showing its age and the price couldnt be beat. I just finished tweaking Vista and installing a few games to do my own benchmarking. I booted up FEAR and it runs great but I couldnt get the gamma to the level I like (ignoreged it since I probably wont play it anyway). But after booting up WOW I noticed that the bottom half of the screen is washed out and it actually strains my eyes after a few minutes.
I read something similar to this earlier but wanted an answer myself should I go back to bestbuy and switch this computer out for another one or is this just simply a case of Gateway using a crappy screen?
I'm so unhappy with the screen right now I'm considering returning it and sticking with my Vaio which has a beautiful screen.

 

Well actually I have the same problem! I have been wanting to ask this question and I guess Gateway really did use some crappy screen, the bottom part of the screen is noticeably "whiter" then the top part, kinda annoying when you watch movies or play games. My 3 years old Inspiron 9100 even looks better than that... Do other people have the same problem? I just wanted to confirm if this is normal or not, as I have til Monday to get an exchange....but if every P6831fx is like that then there's no point of exchanging it...

 

Not sure how bright and viewing angle you guys are using. The samsung screen is fair, but far better than the one I sent back to Dell two years ago. I find the vertical viewing angles bad with this screen.
IMHO, I prefer the LG screens and what Sony uses for some of their models.

If your not happy, look at a display model for comparison and decide.

 

Yes, ~1" washed white from the bottom. Doesn't bother me too much. Only when I stare at black screen.

Few guys in here did a screen swap to 1600x1024 & 1920x1200.

 

I don't know....actually the whole bottom half of the screen is washed out, but I am not sure if it is backlight bleed or not, as the gradient changes when i tilt the screen. Seems like it is a common problem of glossy screen - I have used a glossy 13" macbook and expreienced the same problem, the top and bottom of the screen just doesn't look uniform. I have used seveal matte monitors and never had that kind of problem...maybe i am just to picky?

 

Can't get the Turbo Memory Card I bought to work with this notebook at all. Tried several things at this point.

 

Not sure if I should start a new thread on this or not but I'll try here first.

Had my FX about a month now with only minor vista annoyances...
"Thanks Bill for yet another incomplete/buggy OS... hope you choke on all that money."

Now for my problem, I just bought a HP R937 camera and after afew pratice pics went to move them onto the FX, well this is the first time trying the card reader and i thinks it's F'd.
Nothing happens, nothing shows up in my computer, nothing...
Well I've reinstalled and uninstalled and reinstalled realtek's driver vs#
6.0.6000.10086 but nada, I also see nothing in the device manager that resembles a cardreader.
Anyone run into this yet, got any ideas, I've wasted enough time with gateway techsupport time to get some real help.

P.s. Yes I can move the pics with cameras usb cable, but still expect the card reader to work.

 

Do you have a "Combo Socket" listed in "Computer"?

 

Ummm? huh...lol If I've opened computer I only see the HD c:/d:, and dvd drive e:,
If i plug in camera with usb cable and turn on a new group " portable device" also opens and'll list the hp.
Maybe relevant maybe not but clicking on camera icon open to "SD card" icon... then on to the DCIM folders and such.


P.s. when I usb camera and turn it on a take action "autoplay" window opens, like on my old xp machine. I'd expect to see that when sd card is put in reader? Y/N?

 

As far as the AC adapter issue, anyone try using a Gateway M675 AC adapter? 19V 7.9A 150W

 

Update:

I'm at 2 months with this laptop and it has had no problems whatsoever. Been playing games for 15-30 minute sessions everyday to take a break from work.

I can't find any major complaints either on this forum...Great news!

 

I did the clean install of Vista, backed up drivers and all that. After a few weeks had trouble so just reformatted it. I put the disc back in and now it comes with an error.

"Grc_Vista.exe" cannot load...something along that lines.

 

check your monitors tab in device manager. make sure it does not have a question mark. this will also auto dim the screen for some unforsaken reason.

 

now i have one for the group.

i returned my 6831 fx because it would shut off while on battery under heavy load.

i now have the 6860 and noticed that it does the same exact thing.

while playing cod4 or crysis, whole computer cuts off and i have to power it back on. now while it's plugged in, stays on forever.

if i lower the voltage while on battery. instead of being at full power. it seems to stay on.... any one with any ideas on this??

 

Where do you have your laptop when this happens? Are the vents blocked? Is it really warm in the area you have it? Sounds like a heat issue. Maybe try a Laptop cooler, You are OCing your video card so that maybe the problem.

 

nope.
nope.

the funny thing is... the tech at best buy told me that on battery, the laptop would shut off..i didn't believe him. i thought he didn't know what he was talking about, but apparently he knew something...lol

 

let me hang around this thread... eyeing for the Gateway, and buying it pretty soon (maybe tomorrow).



anyone with more feedbacks on it's LCD/screen?

 

it did it brand new out the box with stock everything.

 

johnksss, did you update your video driver? OC means over clock?

 

OC means over clock.

changed video drivers.

but i did it right out the box. loaded up my programs and software and got to testing before over clocking. then switched chips and it still did it. then checked voltage and that seemed to stabilize it. if it runs at 1.3 volts while on battery, it shuts the whole computer off and i have to plug the power adapter in for some reason, but it seems to reset the system and then it comes back on. if the voltage stays about 1.1 to 1.2 volts, system never cuts off. even while over clocked. over clocking was mainly for 3dmark scores and not to play games with...the 8800m is an awesome card. no need to have to over clock it to play most all games.

 

and it shut off with stock video drivers

and temps are all well with in range. it is definitely a voltage issue.

 

Where did you buy your x9000, and how much? Thats a goofy problem. It happens using a batteries, and plugged in, it happens with everything stock, and with the x9000......

 

stock meaning stock cpu as well.

 

narrowing it down to rightmark 230.1

 

it was rightmark. it had it set to like 1.5 volts was like wth!

 

My HDD clicks on startup and shutdown, but its probably just the heads parking or something (I am not an HDD expert )

 

havne't heard my hard drive click yet, but i still have 12 days of testing left before the return for cash policy is up. so i will be listening closely for it.

 

The click is a much quieter one than my 6831 had so I don't think its a problem. This drive also seems faster.

 

had to take my lappy to a quieter room...have like 5 computers going on in here and it was a bit noisy... still no clicks. doesn't mean it's not there, just haven't heard anything yet. ill keep you posted.

 

Anyone have an idea with my Grc_Vista.exe problem?

 

http://support.gateway.com/s/issues/2-2423326111.shtml