help me upgrade this laptop ... Gateway p-6831 fx

http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/2008/GodzillaFX/1015088R/1015088Rnv.shtml

I would like to upgrade to windows 7, an SSD, a faster processor, more ram, and upgrade of the video card and anything else to take this laptop as far as it can go ... unless you all think i would be better off selling it and buying a new one


im not sure you can run windows 7 in it becuase of lack of driver support from what im seeing ... and also not sure you can upgrade video card but figured if you could upgrade this stuff you guys would know and whether it was efficient to upgrade this laptop or just buy another

ATM everything is stock as it came from the factory

I'm running a Gateway P171XFX...almost the same thing as yours but I think mine may have the upgraded screen. The laptop is worth 400-500 bucks used, and there really isn't a whole lot to upgrade. You can upgrade the CPU, but it's not worth it (no real gains vs cost)...the GPU can't be upgraded. I put 4GB of RAM in when I first got it 3 years ago, and just recently put in a 120GB Mushkin Callisto Deluxe and windows 7 on when I installed the SSD.

It's still a very powerful laptop in terms of gaming. I was looking at an envy 14 but the 5650 is about 25% slower than the 3 year old 8800GTS in ours, I can't imagine spending 1000-1200 for a laptop and having it LOSE GPU performance, so I'm holding onto mine.

I would upgrade the RAM to 4GB, get an SSD and install windows 7. The SSD and windows 7 can be reused later if needed also so you can sell the laptop whenever you're ready to upgrade. Another upgrade could be the HDD if you need more space, I orginally ran 2x250GB's in RAID 0 and now just run the SSD and a single 250...made the second 250GB an external so I have enough space.

For drivers, the gateway 78xx series windows 7 drivers work for almost every component, I havn't had to hack any drivers or anything, windows 7 does a good base install and the rest I've gotten from the 78xx series windows 7 64bit drivers.



If you're looking at moving on up, the Asus G73 is the way to go IMO, you can get a used one for around 1000 bucks, then drop another 200 for an SSD and you're set. I'm waiting for the envy 14 refresh (hoping for a GPU upgrade), if that doesn't pan out I'll pickup a used G53 (I want something a bit smaller, the 17" gateway can get annoying to put in a backpack for travel).

I too have a stock gateway gaming laptop. I already have teh 64bit OS version/upgrade. I just started playing Diablo 3 with the new expansion coming out this week. I am getting issue with computer lock up. It just freezes and I have to hard reboot. It usually does it 30min to 60min into game play with no rhyme or reason why.

Things I have tried: use cat5 cable instead of wireless, using smart tv as monitor, clean disk to free up 140GB of hard drive, removed all non essential programs from computer, removed any programs that run in background, lowered graphics in game and on machine. All these seemed to improve, but it quickly went back to same issue. Currently, i am still trying to run with all items above implemented.

Have I reached the hardware limits of this machine to handle the latest releases of games? I saw the recommendation of upgrading memory, but is that even worth it at this point. I am looking for options, because I am not at point where i can drop much money on new system.

All recommendations and options would be appreciated....

Thanks,
M

I would sell and buy a new one a lenovo y510p or a y40-y50(when released) are one of the best performance to cost ratio laptops considering you can replace the optical drive and SLI another card

Seeing as how this is a three year old thread............................................ @ Mjrose, you will want to start your own thread to get the best help...