P-7805u What Do I Need To Know?

Hello! I've been doing some fairly extensive research on laptops to purchase and i'm pretty sure i'm set on getting a P-7805u. I'm also new to laptops in general, I've only done desktops for the last 7-8 years ago off and on.

I would just like to know though, are there any weird little issues or things that I should know of ahead of time such as what bios things to work with, driver updates, flashes, bloatware removal, optimization, etc etc.

Another question is what is the liklihood of obtaining a model with 1920x1200 from where I would be purchasing it at, my local Best Buy, and is there any way i could ensure that I get one?

Thanks for any and all help

 

iirc the serial number will tell u which screen is included, I don't know where the thread is but I'm sure it can be found by searching. Most of the 1920x1200's should be gone already though..

The p7805u comes with vista 64 bit preloaded. The main difference you may notice is some older software may not work with vista, and some old software may also not work due to the fact that os is 64-bit.

The fan on the GPU seems to spin up in a short burst once every couple minutes

The zalman nc2000 is a great cooler for this laptop

The air vents on the bottom cannot be blocked, so if you plan to use this on your lap, you will need some sort of stand or a cooler (The cooler works great and allows me to use my p7801u on my lap without any problems or temp spikes).

Theres much more to these laptops and you can use them for whatever you want, but I think those are the main things.

 

A few things I noticed coming from a 15" Asus C90s which had a desktop core2duo
-Battery life is around 3 hours on power saving settings right out of the box with the p8400
-The 1920 screen is of very high quality and looks great from almost any angle.
-The 9800gts can be overclocked for a good 5-10% additional performance depending on drivers used and how you overclock it.
-These machines use DDR 3 memory so keep that in mind if you need ot buy new memory for this or decide to try it in another laptop.
-They support two hard drives and will support raid if you choose to set it up that way. I currently have a 200GB/7200rpm drive running vista 64-bit and a 120GB/5400 rpm testing windows 7 but since windows 7 is absolute garbage and I bought a 500gb/5400rpm drive, that 120 is becoming my ubuntu drive, the 200 is going to be XP 32-bit for my older programs, and the 500GB is going to be my vista 64-bit drive.

These machines are incredibly flexible and powerful. They're all about what you want to do with it. I do not have the 7805 though, I have the 7811 but they're very similar performance wise and the hardware is the same. The 7805 just has a bigger hard drive (320 vs 200) and the updated 9800gts (1GB and bit cooler running compared to old 512mb version)

I would definitely invest in a good cooling pad. I got a targus cooling pad that also acts as a 4 port powered usb hub to help offset the low number of USB ports.

 

I myself am a relatively new 7805u owner, and I am very pleased thus far. I did manage to snag the 1920 screen. You just have to be a savvy customer.

You, like myself, have obviously done extensive research, so you know that only the first set of computers had the better screen. What I did was go to my local Best Buy, and take a peek at the display model's native resolution. Sure enough, it was the higher 1920 X 1200. I then asked the clerk if I could expect this resolution on the computer I was going to buy, and they assured me that the display model would be the exact same as that in the box. I knew that this was an unlikely scenario, but they didn't. So, alas, I arrive home, unpack it, and it was most definitely the 1440 X 900 model screen. I went back, explained to them that my purchased computer was different from that on display, and after looking around for answers and a like computer (which proved unfruitful), the employees suggested the idea of giving me the display copy. I had to wait an extra day while the Geek Squad cleaned it up (free of charge of course), but it was worth it. My only regret is that I didn't get a box. All the inserts were there though.

Hope that helps. The serial code thing might be easier.

Anyway, what I am most impressed with is how upgradeable this machine is. The memory, hard drive, CPU, and even the DVD drive are all easily upgradable with minimum effort. I've already bought a Blu-Ray drive from Ebay. The graphics card does tend to heat up quite a bit though. Melted some M&Ms that I had set down next to the cooling fan. About 3-4 inches away at the time. A cooling dock is a most wise investment.

 

Review the serial number listed on the out side of the box. On the side there is a white area with three UPC codes, the middle one is the serial number.

LXW430X0138******* = 1920x1200 screen
LXW430X0139******* = 1440x900 screen

Check your area best buys and you may still find one. I did on the 5th of Feb.

They are still out there but are getting harder to fine.

 

My LXW430X0138******** was 1440x900. I was going to get full refund, but I was 1 day too late to get it, the count the day of purchase as 1 day... but after much hassle, I was able to swap it for the Demo unit.

The zalman cooling pad is pretty cool, will have to pick one up.

Also, does anyone have any advice for a new or aftermarket power supply brick? I want to keep an extra at work so I don't need to keep unwrapping and plugging in.

 

I'm going to get a cooler for sure, thanks for the reccomendations and all the other info! Also thanks for the tips for trying to get a 1920x1200 screen versions, wish me luck there for whenever that happens

A few more questions though:

1. How is the audio? Would it be worthwhile to invest in an express sound card or something like that, or even a different kind of express card altogether?
2. What are the best drivers and bios updates right now, standard from company ones or are there far better custom ones?
3. I believe the current HDD are 320GB. I've never run a proper RAID set up, would it be reccomended and what kind of hard drive and size should i get for such purposes? Or should I just attempt to partition it or...?
4. Should I upgrade to Vista 64-bit Ultimate?
5. I heard there arent really any included discs in the box, should I attempt to afterwards contact gateway or microsoft for a proper disc copy of my vista premium 64-bit or should I just attempt to make my own discs?
6. Finally, I just saw pre-orders for newer versions that are ONLY 1440x900 BUT the one that's a bit more has a 2.4ghz CPU and the one thats even more has a 2.0ghz Quad set up, should I wait for these and are they better buys?

Sorry for the slew of inquiries but your help is very appreciated

 

1. Audio seems fine to me, speakers are decently loud (Nothing crazy) and I am satisfied with the sound quality. I have headphones plugged in 99% of the time so maybe someone else can chime in and offer their opinion of the speakers. Maybe a DB comparison to other laptops?
2. Im using the Dox Optimised 185.20 video drivers, pretty much all other drivers and bios are standard on mine (Im not using Vista though so this doesnt really apply to me anyways)
3. I got a SSD and absolutely love it, you can even get 2 and use those in a raid setup for even faster performance. People complain they're too expensive but the prices are dropping extremely fast and they are DEFINITELY worth the money. It is a big noticeable upgrade. If you need a ton of file space, you'll either spend a lot of $$$ for a large capacity SSD, or you can use a SSD for the OS and store all your other crap including your personal files, temp files, internet cache, paging file, etc. on the regular hard disk drive.
4. No
5. You can make a recovery disk if you need to, or you can find some downloads on torrent if you need to.
6. The Quad Cores are quite a bit more money, I wouldn't be able to justify spending that much on the laptop, but the price will surely come down after theyve been out for a while.

Technology will constantly be updated and released, and prices will continue to fall. Its all about buying at the right time and feeling justified spending that money on what you wanted, and getting it when you really wanted it.

 

Hmm, I see.

That actually does sound quite good to put the OS on just a smaller one.

What size capacity would you reccomend for that?
What are some good brands for SSD's and what kind of interface, form factor, and connecter would I want for a P-7805u?

 

OCZ has the best forum for support.

Sandisk is releasing a new 3rd generation SSD to compete with Intel.

I currently have 2 patriot v2 ssd's but have both an OCZ core and Sandisk G3 coming soon.

The capacity depends on your budget. The larger the drive is, the longer lifespan it will have, and the more expensive it will be. The setup of the drive is also very important, there are several guides and tutorials on the OCZ forums that can help you learn about the features of a SSD and help you to configure and setup your operating system to unleash the most performance out of a SSD.

 

Oh wow, the prices slightly burnt my eyes T_T
They seem like a good idea, and for a decent while I'd probably just prefer to use it as almost exclusively an OS hard drive, so for the meantime I think I will just keep an eye on that market and wait for price drops

Otherwise I may as well just let it go and work with the 320GB until i get another one for RAID.

 

Well that's the thing, are you ready to spend money on another 320GB disk drive when that is now considered older technology? You may regret a purchase like that not even a year later. The difference in performance between a SSD and disk drive is huge. Just save your money and wait a bit until the prices are comfortable enough for you to buy, you won't be disappointed!

 

raid is not old technology, and ssd is still growing up at this point, a 320gb hd will set you back $86.00, buy it and in a year buy a SSD with better technology.

 

So rudinater do you mean that there are only 2 different serial numbers to look for? if so that makes things A LOT easier

 

Sure as long as you understand that "*" is a wildcard number

 

Seems like better than having completely random chances

Some more questions:

1. RAM swapping, CPU swapping or using thermal paste, GPU swapping, anything else changing or modifying. What constitutes a voiding of warranty?

2. I currently have a wired router for 3 pcs (4 ports overall) and will be needing a wireless router that also has lines for at least 3 or 4 wired computers and will still work efficiently for my Notebook that will be 1 floor under it (almost directly under the router, only about 3 meters from it roughly beneath it) and will work for when I host LAN games. Any reccomendations?

3. Are the express card slot range booster cards any good?

4. I'll be looking for an external HDD with USB for the home desktops, but also id like it to have a firewire or eSata port on the hard drive for quicker speeds. What's better, the eSata or one of the kinds of IEEE 1394 ports?

5. I've never used IEEE 1394 ports, what kind of firewire port is that used for, a or b, or does it not even matter?

 

That was my fault I didn't mean to say raid was old technology. I meant to say that disk drives are now old technology.

 

Too bad we dont have a crystal ball to tell when these prices are going to drop for ssd's For the meantime, regular disk drives will have to do for us on more budget spending.