Upgrading 8662

Hi Folks,

I am starting to miss that "ooooh I got a shiny new toy feeling" of a new laptop, so I am thinking of cashing out around 300$ to upgrade my current system. What would you suggest I put in it? I am thinking either more RAM or an SSD since a processor or a GPU upgrade are a bit too much $ and too much of a hassle and I am almost maxed out in terms of what I can put in anyways. Do you think my money would be best spent on more RAM or an SSD or something else? I mostly use the computer to browse and love it when it works extremely fast, but I also play an occasional game (currently BioShock 2). Also, is there any point in putting in more than 8GB of RAM in my current set-up? Any thoughts are much appreciated!

A.

 

4GB's of RAM is more than enough for every day tasks and gaming, if you can spring for it a SSD will be the next best thing to upgrade.

 

Thanks! On the SSD side, I am doing the research right now, but can you recommend a good guide on what I need to know about SSD's before buying one?

A.

 

If you are interested in upgrading your GPU to the professional Quadro FX2700M for free (you pay only shipping) :
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=460158

 

Here is a link to the drive I would buy, If I had not already bought one.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=462186

As far as a guide I can’t help much there. You could go to the dedicated forum on SSD’s that is here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=429972

I do know you would be better off to do a clean install to keep the partition alignment at 1024 versus the 63 that imaging software likes to image at. There are ways to image at the 1024 alignment but read up on it to find out how it’s done. (And to find software that can do it, as most all imaging software at this point is not SSD aware) I think Acronis will work if you are careful to follow exactly, some instructions I did see on their forum. I would hope someday soon the drive imaging software companies will become SSD aware.

 

I'll put another vote in for the SSD option.

I've been having the same feeling too recently with my M860TU. Was looking to sell it and buy a new laptop but nothing out there catches my eye at the moment. I'm currently looking into the Intel X-25M G2 or the Kingston SSDNOW V+ models as they are decently cheap and both quick.

No point getting 8Gs of RAM unless you do massive multi-tasking or the such, I use about 1.5Gs when browsing and about 2.5Gs when gaming so 8Gs would be overkill.

 

I'd spend the money on a Core 2 Quad myself.

 

OP already has a T9800 in his laptop which is pretty darn good if you ask me and he says he only has around $300 to play with, getting a good QUAD is going to cost a little more than that(Q9200/QX9300).
You might be able to find a Q9200 for $300 but I think a SSD will be a better upgrade.

 

An SSD will be more of a noticeable upgrade, as everything you do will suddenly be a whole lot faster! Gaming is going the way of quad core (and beyond), so that's something to consider as well.

 

I've used 4 SSD's in my M860ETU. All were nice upgrades over my HDD.

 

True indeed, but say... a year from now, I'd rather have the quad core, while SSD prices will be much lower by then.

 

SSD for $300? Unless the OP can live with an average speed and quality 128GB or Intel 80GB, SSD isn't really an option.

He could probably sell his CPU for approx $250, and get the QX9300 for $500 at HP Parts store. See here. Original post is old, but still valid:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=404903

I just called a month or so ago and they are basically an availability by order only, as in they don't stock them, but still available. I managed to get a decent price for a Q9200 so I went with that instead.

 

A year from now he'll get the itch for a new laptop.
I know I get it all the time lol.

 

Thanks for the responses everyone! I can see that I am not the only one who gets the itch... I've had this laptop for almost a year now, and I figure that's a pretty good time to wait before plunking down more money.

Although I just overclocked my GTX260 by 20% (660/1650/1000 vs. 550/1375/950) and gained almost 2000 points in 3DMark06 But the only way I can do is by putting it on top of my house fan hehehe... my temp never goes above 55C so I am thinking of pushing it ever further!

On that note actually, is there a ceiling beyound which I should not overclock? I know temperature is one of them, but seeing as I found a way around that problem, I don't know when I should stop?

Also, what could I expect from a QX9300 in terms of performance gain? And how hard would it be to replace my current processor? Would it maybe even make more sense to sell this laptop for 1000+ and spend an extra 200 on top of what I was thinking of spending anyways and get an I7 based laptop?

Appreciate your help!

A.

 

I considered selling my laptop for an i7, but more I think about it, it plays games great so far. I think a QX9300 is a decent investment and will carry your machine for another good year, plus have a better resale value. Few people know about the QX9300 for $500 at HP Parts, most cost near $1000 anywhere else. While it's difficult to overclock your CPU in the NP8662, there is a thread around here (I'll find it) that shows what PLL to use for NP8662 to get an additional 200MHz. Not much, but that would push the QX9300 to 2.73GHz, not too shabby.

As far as pushing your GPU, usually push until it isn't stable (stuttering, locks-ups), or if you have to push the voltage too high. That will kill the GPU too.

 

PLL you use is:
RTM-876-660

 

Sorry, I am a noob when it comes to overclocking... does PLL have to do with the GPU overclock limit?

 

No, it's the system clock generator, determing FSB speed. Most people use SetFSB even though the author has stopped support for it. It allowed you to easily regulate your FSB overclock, hence your CPU and memory as well.

 

Is there an advantage to using that over Nvidia Tools? I also flashed my bios to 1.05V. This was probably a pretty bad and risky way of going about it, but I basically downloaded the first program I read about, which turned out to be Nvidia Tools and started messing with the settings. I am only just starting to read up on the science behind it all.

 

Sorry, SetFSB is used to overclock your CPU more or less,not your GPU.

 

Oooooh, awesome... I will check it out. Let's see if I can push my Mark06 score to 12,500!

 

Start slowly young one, don't go to crazy and raise the CPU like 1GHz more than stock. Start low and as you slowly raise it you'll start to see when things begin getting hairy and back off.

 

Haha, thanks for the warning... I did have an "oh #$%^ me" moment yesterday when after 100th driver reinstall my screen just went blank and wouldn't turn on even after a reboot. I thought I fried the GPU, but it came back after I disconnected the external monitor.

I definitely don't want to to have a moment like that with the CPU, since that one is probably not coming back. Any suggested guides on overclocking the CPU? And has anyone overclocked the T9800 in NP8662 before? What's a safe clock?

 

I reccomend that you keep the core and shaders linked the memory can be adgusted more.
But do it using slow incriments.

 

By linked to you mean keeping them at 1 / 2.5 ratio? If so, then that's what I am doing. The most I have go so far is 680/1700/1000 and I played Bioshock 2 for about an hour on that setting with the temp maxing out at 58C and very smooth gameplay, so I figure I can push it further. I am going to try the 186.81/82 drivers out too since I can't get a hold of 186.61/62.

 

Yes.
Good work bro.

 

My 260M sucks. It can't handle even 1MHz over 900 on the memory. Instant crash.

 

Is it because of the temps or something else?

 

Nope, not temps, it's just really temperamental. Every chip is not created equal. I'm fine at 600/1500/900.