Upgrade ideas for Gateway's 7422gx...

I am looking for ways to upgrade my 7422gx, specifically to make it a better gaming machine. I know that I need a 7200 RPM Hard Drive for starters, because 4200's just suck, however, does anyone know what kind of connection it uses? Like is it an ATA-6, ATA-7, or some sort of SATA? Also, I was going to buy a 1 Gig stick of RAM, does it have to be a DDR PC2700? Or can I up it to the DDR2 PC4200? Anyone have any really good suggestions before overclocking the graphics? And does anyone know how to get around their dumb thing with the "NON"-accessible "integrated" 512 stick of RAM? That is the weirdest thing that they would do that.

I'm open to any ideas, and good deals if ya have any links. Thank you!

 

That non-accessible ram module (333 MHz PC2700 DDR SODIMM) actually can be replaced if you dont mind voiding the warrenty. As for the HD, I have no clue on what it is. Where do you look for new HD's? I wouldn't mind upgrading myself. When over-clocking, someone brought up that you shouldn't overclock more than 10-20%, yet I don't even plan to do this, for I am not a HEAVY gamer. Yah, I wouldn't mind playing half life 2, but low settings are plenty fine for me.

Whoops, that ram that I mentioned above is for the 7426GX, maybe it's the same, I'm not sure. You will want to check with someone else.

 

Well I get all of my parts from newegg.com. They have a reasonable selection. You might also check tigerdirect.com. Those are the two places I order EVERYTHING from, even when I build Pc's. They have a 7200 RPM Hdd at newegg listed at like $199 or something. The only problem is that I'm not sure if it is compatible because I'm not sure of the way it connects, but I'll check tonight when I get off work and I'll post it.

 

Well, let me help you.

Your hard drive is an Ultra ATA-100, ATA-6. And the RAM, you have to use PC2700. Most AMD64 notebooks can support PC3200, but, due to stability issues, I would stick with PC2700. It wouldnt matter anyway, because unless both dimms are PC3200, it wouldn't work. So upgrade the RAM

For gaming, the faster hard drive would only help when loading the game, not it's performance.

The RAM would definatley help, as it would give the game more room to run around. I have 1GB in my laptop, and I can play Far Cry, Doom3, HL2, CS:S, no problems. I also have an AMD64 notebook.

So, upgrade the RAM, but you might want to think about only going to a 5400RPM hard drive because, considering that the interface is Ultra ATA100, you will not see much of a difference between a 7200 and a 5400, but if it was an ATA133 you would. This is because the hard drive is already transferring data as fast as the interface can handle it at 5400RPM, and 7200RPM doesn't do much to help it. Plus, the 5400 would save money and battery life, as the 7200 would take an hour off of your time, and the 5400 would only take around 20-25 minutes.

I upgraded from a 4200 to a 5400, and let me tell you, the difference is huge! I do not notice much of a difference between my 5400RPM laptop and my 7200RPM desktop....and I play games on both.

So, I'll leave you with that.
Hope I helped.

 

Chaz,

What did you mean by this?

Did you mean that the AMD64 based systems won't run if your ram speeds are different or you won't get PC3200 (400MHz) speeds?

Putting ram of different speed into a system will cause the faster ram to automatically drop to match the speed of the slower ram, and therefore will work in a system, but not at PC3200 speeds.

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Hellmans,

The non-accessible memory module you speak of is the one under the keyboard. This is actually listed as accessible my many manufacturers, if not all. There's usually only 2 screws holding the keyboard in place and is usually indicated on the underside to which screws will release the keyboard. Also, a lot of manufacturers also include documentation on their site to show you how to access this location for ram upgrades. So accessing the "non-accessible" memory module is not a 100% guarantee that your warranty will be voided. The manufacturers mainly have a problem if your 3rd party hardware damages their hardware, that will void your warranty. Also, if your 3rd party hardware is the cause of the problems (system hangs, etc...), the manufacturer will not cover the labor charges under warranty.

-Vb-