M860(E)TU Build Questions

So I'm planning on building a M860(E)TU within the month. I'm heading off to college and I've been researching for over a month and this seems to give the best bang for the buck. To save money, I plan on buying a barebone from R&J Tech (they're the only place I saw the barebone) and buying components separately; this should save a few hundred dollars. Before I do it, I have some questions:

1) One big one I have is on RAM, I saw that RJ offered 1333 even though this model has a 1066 fsb. This is what RJ said when I asked:
"DDR3 1333Mhz can be run at or under 1333Mhz including 1066Mhz, but the DDR3 1066Mhz cannot be run at more than 1066Mhz. M860ETU front side bus is at 1066Mhz, but you can overclock it a little, and if you use 1333Mhz memory then you can do the job. So no matter if you want to overclock it or not, 1333Mhz should be a better choice"

From what I understand, if I get 1333, i can do do something to the mobo to make it able to run the RAM at 1333? Is this correct/worth it?

2) Somewhere on the forum I saw something about a M860(E)TU with a 280M instead of the 260M, RJ doesn't offer this. Because of the cards' similarity I was wondering if this was something I could do on my own at a later time? If so, does it mean significant power needs/heat increases?

3) Right now I'm planning on going with a T9900 because of the limited performance increases and increased heat/power a quad would need. Any suggestions in this area?

4) As far as the HDD goes, I've heard the 320GB Scorpio black is probably the best performing HD out there, so much so that I'm considering it instead of a 500GB 7200RPM one; is this accurate?

5) Which laptop cooler is better for this: Enermax Aeolus or the Zalman NC-2000. So far I'm leaning towards the Aeolus.

6) Is the RJ warranty worth getting

7) Of the least importance: in your opinion, is a BD drive worth it?

I know this is a long post, but I want to be really sure of what I'm doing before I buy stuff

 

2) The 280M is significantly more powerful than the 260, so yes, it will draw more power and produce a lot more heat. You might be able to pull it off, but I wouldn't be able to tell you how.

3) The T9900 is good, but is more than twice the cost of the P9700, which is a very powerful CPU on its own and will give you longer battery life. If you expect to upgrade to a quad when the time comes, I suggest you stick with the cheaper P9700 and use the $200 you save for a CPU upgrade in a year or two.

4) There isn't much difference between HDs in the same RPM/size. Just be wary of the HD heating issue that a few people have gotten.

7) If you mean Blu-ray, no. I don't really see the justification of spending $145+ to be able to watch 1080 HD movies on a 15.4 inch monitor. I suppose you could hook your laptop up to your TV whenever you wanted to watch something, but whatever.

 

1)I Think you're a little confused. If you install 1333 ram, it will run at 1333. If you install 1066 ram, it will run at 1066. If you install one 1066 ram module, and one 1333 ram module, then it will automatically set both to 1066, the slowest speed. This cannot be avoided.

2)Yes you can do this although it may require undervolting. There is a huge topic on it somewhere on this forum.

3)Your better off buying an T9800 and overclocking it slightly. The M860TU can only see a maximum of 3Ghz. T9800 runs at 2.9 Mhz around. T9900 runs at 3.06Ghz. .06Ghz of this is not being recognised, so your better of buying an T9800 and overclocking it to 2.99Ghz or 3Ghz.. This is easily done. Again, many topics on this.

4)Why? It is known that the Scorpio Blue seem to have the least issues with overheating in this laptop. If 320GB is all you need, get it. If you need 500GB, get a 500GB drive. No difference only slightly in heat. Also, it is proven that 5400RPM drives DO NOT run any hotter than 7200RPM drives, so take your pick. In some cases the 7200RPM drives even ran cooler than the 5400RPM ones..

5)Can't help you no experience.

6)Again sorry can't help you there no experience.

7)Personally, no. My laptop has one, only used it once. Instead, I just download 720p films. Blu-Rays are quite expensive anyway. Unless you intend to buy alot of them and plug your laptop into your HD TV capable of 1080p, no it's not worth it at all.

 

Ok, that sounds logical, I'll probably do that. I have no experience overclocking so, can the P9700 be overclocked to around 3GHz, since that is this laptops max anyways? And where do you suggest buying laptop CPUs? I didn't find much trying to look on ebay for the P9700...

From what I've read I thought that since the mobo's fsb is 1066, the fastest RAM can run is 1066; are you saying it can run at 1333 if I buy 1333 RAM?


Also, anyone know any good place to buy laptop components, I didn't get many hits on ebay for the P9700...

 

You can. No need for undervolting or anything of that sort. Have it O/Ced at 610/940/1525 no prob.

 

1) No-one's quite got this right yet though very close. The CPU pumps out the data at the maximum the FSB can handle (with the M860TU - 1066) and the RAM can only process these commands at the same level of data transfer.

This rate of data pumped out of the FSB can be increased if you overclock the CPU. Thus the RAM is given a higher influx of Data to deal with. 1333 RAM can deal better with this as it has the extra room to cope with it whereas the 1066 RAM won't.

In short only bother with it if you plan on Overclocking the CPU. You can't overclock a T9900/X9100 in this machine so there's no point in getting it.


2) This has been answered for the most part. I suggest you read this thread to get a good idea of what is involved as it's a risky procedure and involves a bit of know-how. Fingers crossed, I'm gonna be undergoing this procedure within the next week or two!

3) This thread suggests that quads are fine with the 280M. The T9900 would be a cooler cat to handle the duties though. And from what a few of us sporting 3Ghz+ CPU's it will still the job just about as well. Well, in games at least...

4) For the best performance - get a SSD. They're finally starting to catch up in terms of space. You sound like you can afford it.

5) They both perform well. I'm trying to get tests sorted out in a thread to see which of the three (including the NZXT Cryo) is the best for this machine.

6) No complaints from people who have used them so far, or at least on this board.

7) Personally I'd say no, unless you're going with the 1900x1200 screen to get full 1080 (Full Hi-def) and thus the full-effect/reason BR was built for. Do you plan on using the HDMI to contect to a Hi-def screen at all.

Hope that helps.

 

I'm able to overclock my FSB from 1066MHz to ~1263MHz, my 1333MHz RAM is designed to operate at 1333MHz, so it has no problem running at ~1263MHz. This would not be the case with the lower frequency 1066MHz RAM.

 

Yeah, while you can overclock the QX9300, you can't do that to the T9900.

Here's a Q or 2 Zachari9690 - Do you plan on getting a quad eventually? Do you plan on OC'ing the CPU when you do? If so, go with the 1333mhz chips.

 

What? Really?

 

i know overclocking isn't really supported by this laptop, but really!? O.O maxes at 3.0Ghz!? are you sure? is this confirmed? I'm sure i saw someone with a x9100 and it had all its multipliers and showed 3.06GHz in cpu-z.

 

It doesn't max at 3.00Ghz. He doesn't know what he's talking about.

 

Try not to be rude?....

I was told that the maximum the chipset could handle was 3.06Ghz.. Is this not true?

This is correct isn't it? Since there if no CPU that goes above 3.06Ghz anyway.. So technically I am correct aren't I?

I did type 3.0Ghz.. My bad.. mean't 3.06Ghz.. But I am sure it doesn't go above this? Unless you were to overclock a T9800 above 3.06Ghz?

Even if you don't like overclocking, the performance between the T9800 and T9900 is little and will barely have any effect especially in gaming.. Maybe 1 or 2 FPS in most games..

 

This is not true. Whoever told you this is in a load of barney.

The PM45 does not impose a speed restriction on CPU clocks. If a faster dual core was released, say the T10000 at 3.2GHz, that CPU will run at 3.2GHz in this laptop. Also, if you find a way to overclock the T9800, T9900, or X9100 in this M860TU, you can overclock it past 3.06GHz without problems. It just so happens that the T9900 and X9100 at stock clocks are the fastest CPU's at the moment.

I agree. If I were the OP, the highest I would go for is the T9800. But then again, I got my CPU for less than what you bargain hunters got your T9800' and T9900's for.

 

your in the exact same position as me!
lolz

 

Man, I wish, but the difference in $90 and $300ish for a HDD is a bit much for me

And I look forward to seeing the results for the cooler testing.

I do plan on getting a quad eventually, and I plan on overclocking, I know nothing about it right now, but I plan to learn. So I'm thinking I will go with 1333MHz Ram. And do you know if you can overclock the P9700? If so, I might get that instead of a T9800 or T9900 because of its decreased power consumption.

Thanks for the clarification here, I'm planning on overclocking so this is good to know, do you know if the P9700 can be overclocked? If so, I'm thinking it might be a better alternative than a T9800 or T9900 due to its reduced power consumption.

 

True, people have OC'ed these CPU's past 3.06 in other notebooks with similar chipsets. To say that there's a barrier stopping it is pretty silly.

However, the X9100 definitely has problems overclocking in this machine. It's been tried and tested by a few in this thread.

I'd like to see people try it with the T9900 in a M860(E)TU, but I'm quite sure you'd see the same effect. Any T9900 owners like to try for us?

I wouldn't say that the 3ghz boundary is impossible to pass in this notebook, in fact I'd love to see it done but in this machine there seems to be a lack of evidence that's shows people having done so through overclocking yet.

Just to support this, these chips do run at 3.06 (or 3.059 anyway) I'll try post a pic later when I'm not at work.

 

How can you oc your M86 to that high? SetFEB or sth else?
And my 1066 ram can run @1333 no problem....and i managed to still stay CL7.

 

Thanks for the input, I think that helped me make decisions:

1) Definitely going for 1333MHz RAM

2) Pending how hot my rig runs I might try to O'c my GPU

3) Still not 100% sure here, but I'm thinking of going for a P9700, still want to know if I can O'c it in this laptop.

4) I'm probably going with just a 320GB 7200RPM HDD, though I'm considering getting a small SSD to go with it...

5) From what I've seen, I might want to go with the NZXT Cryo LX for this laptop, still not 100% sure

6) I'll worry about warranty when I make the purchase

7) Not going to get BD, that money can be better used...

 

I use SetFSB.

 

sorry to hijack this thread, but is the clevo m860etu made of a metal or plastic with metal accents? also, can you over clock the q9000 in this or is it locked?

 

A mostly metal chassis will weigh over 15lbs. I'm going to say plastic with shinier plastic and bits of aluminum.

 

ill take your word for it and--I cant believe I am about to use this as an example--what about the macbook pro? full aluminium unibody

 

Aluminum is weaker than plastic with a lower melting point. Not much going for it besides looking cool. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I purchased a M860ETU with 1333 ram from rjtech. Now after shipping... i asked if i can actually oc to 1333 and they tell me: NO!! If i dont oc the cpu to 1333 i cant use the 1333 ram. P9700 oc is safe? it wont short the lifetime of both (cpu, ram)? It can be software oc only, right? what software should i use?