# Helping friend upgrade her computer



## Captain Howdy (Sep 12, 2010)

She doesn't have a proper graphics card, just the standard built-in one, and a low-end processor (or whatever). Here's what I know:

Gateway M-6322
Intel Pentium Dual CPU T2370  1.73GHz
3GB Ram
Vista 32bit SP2

And some built-in Intel 9376 or some shit that sucks.

Where can she buy things to upgrade the CPU & Graphics card? She only needs a Nvidia 8k series or something, nothing fantastic, but I've been (thusfar) unable to even google search it out @_x


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## Lobar (Sep 12, 2010)

What kind of slots does she have open?

edit: Googling says that's a mobile processor.  Is this a laptop?


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## Seizure Puppy (Sep 12, 2010)

You should have her upgrade it to Vista, it is an operating system that goes on computers.


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## LizardKing (Sep 12, 2010)

Lastdirewolf said:


> Gateway M-6322


So one of these then

I doubt there's much you can really do to get any real improvement.


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## Runefox (Sep 12, 2010)

You cannot upgrade the CPU and graphics card on that model notebook (as a rule, you usually can't on any). About the only things you can upgrade here are the RAM and the hard drive.


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## Captain Howdy (Sep 12, 2010)

Lobar said:


> What kind of slots does she have open?
> 
> edit: Googling says that's a mobile processor.  Is this a laptop?


 
Yes, I can't believe I didn't mention that, haha. She should be able to throw in a graphics card at least (she has the built in Dell/Gateway one, *not* an ATI/Nvidia/etc.), and I'm guessing she'd like to update her processor to move things a wee bit faster. 




LizardKing said:


> So one of these then
> 
> I doubt there's much you can really do to get any real improvement.


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## Captain Howdy (Sep 12, 2010)

Lastdirewolf said:


> Yes, I can't believe I didn't mention that, haha. She should be able to throw in a graphics card at least (she has the built in Dell/Gateway one, *not* an ATI/Nvidia/etc.), and I'm guessing she'd like to update her processor to move things a wee bit faster.


 
And yes to LK, that's it.



Runefox said:


> You cannot upgrade the CPU and graphics card on  that model notebook (as a rule, you usually can't on any). About the  only things you can upgrade here are the RAM and the hard drive.


 
Son of a bitch.


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## AshleyAshes (Sep 12, 2010)

Yeah you really can't upgrade laptops except for RAM and CPU and HDD.  On 99% of laptops graphics updates are not possible.

Laptops arn't built for modular replacement, they are built to be small and light and energy efficent.  So much is embedded into the motherboard to accomplish this.


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## foxacongrimmSP (Sep 12, 2010)

Looks like you will need to find another way of impressing her OP x3 Laptops don't got room for major upgrades that's the trade off you give in exchange for mobility.


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## Captain Howdy (Sep 12, 2010)

There isn't even some sort of 'open' space for a graphics card? >_>? Damn.


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## CaptainCool (Sep 12, 2010)

Lastdirewolf said:


> There isn't even some sort of 'open' space for a graphics card? >_>? Damn.


 
nope, there isnt.
this is the mainboard they use for her model: http://skyline-eng.com/images/products/4006263r.jpg
the only free slot in this image is for the CPU. you MIGHT be able to get a new one for that but im not sure.


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## AshleyAshes (Sep 12, 2010)

Lastdirewolf said:


> There isn't even some sort of 'open' space for a graphics card? >_>? Damn.



That space would take up space, laptops try not to have space.  There is SOME movement on ultra high end laptops to have a 'Graphics Slot' where you canreplace the graphics solution.  However this is a feature you will ONLY find on ultra high end gaming laptops and not on the typical laptop.

If you want to game on a laptop, buy a gaming laptop, you really have no option to upgrade later except to replace the machine.


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## Lobar (Sep 12, 2010)

Your only real shot for any sort of improvement is just downgrading her OS to Windows XP.  She's just under it's RAM cap right now and won't be using DX10 anyways so no loss.


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## LLiz (Sep 12, 2010)

Because its a laptop its unlikely that you'll be able to upgrade the graphics card, in laptops these are usually integrated onto the motherboard. 
The main thing that people can do to get more performance out their computers (especially laptops) is to upgrade the amount of RAM in the machine, but with 3GB, that also might be a little bit fruitless. 

When you buy machines like Gateway, etc, they usually come full of crap software that serves no purpose but to slow the computer down (it actually has a name, its called crapware). 

You might be able to get some extra performance from the machine by simply doing a clean install of Windows 7 because Win 7 usually runs faster than Windows Vista and uses resources more efficiently. 

* Try to pick up an OEM of Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit, should only cost about US$125. 
* Make sure that you back up all important stuff on the computer (don't forget internet bookmarks, contacts, etc) to an external hard drive or a thumb drive. 
* Do a clean install of Windows 7 (DO NOT UPGRADE)
* Once installed, Windows 7 should come with pretty much all the drivers that you'll need (that's one of the major Win 7 improvements) and any drivers that you don't need should be readily available via Windows update of the Gateway web site (try Windows update first). Windows 7 is pretty much compatible with most Windows Vista drivers. 

Norton AntiVirus 2011 is a good virus scanner thats easy on system resources (I recommend that over free ones like AVG). If the computer came with one of those security suites then don't install that because they're usually massive resource hog, they make things more difficult than they need to be and quite often get in the way. 

Make sure that you also don't re-install any of those "useful" Gateway utilities (unless there is one that you know you absolutely need) because they'll also slow down the computer.

PM me or contact me if you need any advice should you choose to take this path.


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## CaptainCool (Sep 12, 2010)

Lobar said:


> Your only real shot for any sort of improvement is just downgrading her OS to Windows XP.  She's just under it's RAM cap right now and won't be using DX10 anyways so no loss.


 
thats a pretty good idea. that would suck up a lot less memory and like you said, the laptop cant support DX11 anyways.
windows 7 would work well though, too. it runs well on a netbook so on a laptop like that it would work well, too^^


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## AshleyAshes (Sep 12, 2010)

Lobar said:


> Your only real shot for any sort of improvement is just downgrading her OS to Windows XP. She's just under it's RAM cap right now and won't be using DX10 anyways so no loss.



The Gateway M-6322 has an Intel GMA X3100 which is built into the motherboard.  It has native DX10 hardware support.


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## CaptainCool (Sep 12, 2010)

AshleyAshes said:


> The Gateway M-6322 has an Intel GMA X3100 which is built into the motherboard.  It has native DX10 hardware support.


 
yeah but do you WANT to play DX10 games with an onboard graphics solution?^^


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## Lobar (Sep 12, 2010)

AshleyAshes said:


> The Gateway M-6322 has an Intel GMA X3100 which is built into the motherboard.  It has native DX10 hardware support.


 
Ok, I didn't actually check the specs, I assumed from the OP that it he meant it had something from the GMA 950 family in it.

Even so, as CaptainCool noted, she wouldn't want to run any DX10 games on it anyways.


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## Carenath (Sep 12, 2010)

AshleyAshes said:


> Yeah you really can't upgrade laptops except for RAM and CPU and HDD.  On 99% of laptops graphics updates are not possible.
> 
> Laptops arn't built for modular replacement, they are built to be small and light and energy efficent.  So much is embedded into the motherboard to accomplish this.


 There are exceptions to that rule on some Asus laptops. Asside from the gaming laptops which you mentioned, Asus do sell bare-bones build-your-own laptops. That may be worth considering if she want's to keep the laptop form-factor.
FWIW, I bought my ASUS laptop from Best Buy for $800.



AshleyAshes said:


> The Gateway M-6322 has an Intel GMA X3100 which is built into the motherboard.  It has native DX10 hardware support.


 Word on the street is that eventually the GPU functionality will be integrated into the CPU, largely doing away with the need for seperate video cards, much in the same way that sound processing on most motherboards is good enough to negate the need to buy an expensive Creative add-on card. They're will always be use-cases outside of this where the dedicated card is still a requirement, but for most people this could be the new thing.


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## AshleyAshes (Sep 12, 2010)

Carenath said:


> Word on the street is that eventually the GPU functionality will be integrated into the CPU, largely doing away with the need for seperate video cards, much in the same way that sound processing on most motherboards is good enough to negate the need to buy an expensive Creative add-on card.


 
They do this already.  The Intel Atom N450 on my Netbook for example has the GMA 3150 built into the processor die instead of as a seperate chip on the chipset.  The Intel 'GMA HD' graphics are also built into the latest versions of the Intel Core series.


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## CaptainCool (Sep 12, 2010)

Lobar said:


> Ok, I didn't actually check the specs, I assumed from the OP that it he meant it had something from the GMA 950 family in it.
> 
> Even so, as CaptainCool noted, she wouldn't want to run any DX10 games on it anyways.


 
it would be cool for flash hardware acceleration though if it supports that!


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## Runefox (Sep 13, 2010)

I should mention that a downgrade to XP might be incredibly difficult to do thanks to lack of driver support. We used to do just that with machines exactly like this, and stupid things like the audio and even the video drivers are unavailable - that is to say, nonexistent - under XP.


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## Ames (Sep 13, 2010)

So... I googled the model number, and it's a laptop?

You can't really do much with a laptop apart from ram and hard drives and stuff.

If you're looking to do an upgrade, buy a new laptop. :V


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## LizardKing (Sep 13, 2010)

Thanks for not reading the thread


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## Captain Howdy (Sep 13, 2010)

Thanks for all your help guys - Even LizardKing of all motherfuckers o___o, this has helped a bunch. 

She (nor I) are terribly proficient in installing hardware, so 'building' a new laptop will probably be out of our range.

What are some more...professional opinions on pre-built laptops >_>? What should she go with. It'll be Vista or W7, but everything else needs to be at least compatible for games made in 2008/2009 - Not super high tech, but capable of running beefier games on 'okay' settings.


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## Scotty1700 (Sep 13, 2010)

Can I throw out a quick question? Am I the only one that prefers desktops to laptops? 

I <3 mah desktawp >:3


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## CaptainCool (Sep 13, 2010)

Lastdirewolf said:


> Thanks for all your help guys - Even LizardKing of all motherfuckers o___o, this has helped a bunch.
> 
> She (nor I) are terribly proficient in installing hardware, so 'building' a new laptop will probably be out of our range.
> 
> What are some more...professional opinions on pre-built laptops >_>? What should she go with. It'll be Vista or W7, but everything else needs to be at least compatible for games made in 2008/2009 - Not super high tech, but capable of running beefier games on 'okay' settings.


 
to my knowledge that is not really possible on a laptop unless you spend at least ~800 bucks or more. the Acer Aspire 7745G for example has an intel i5, 4 gb of DDR3 memory and a mobility radeon HD 5850. you can play the latest games like star craft 2 or mafia 2 on that thing on medium details with 50+ FPS.
if you want to play games for less and on okey settings a desktop PC would be the better and cheaper choice


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## Runefox (Sep 13, 2010)

Well, whatever you get in a laptop, it's going to be locked down the same as the Gateway is. It won't be upgradeable out of the box, so you'll need to be sure that the specs are in line with that. If you want something beefy, you'll need to get something beefy, there's no upgrades later on down the line.

A desktop would be a better choice if possible, but if a laptop is absolutely necessary, something like the Dell Inspiron 15R (see the Multimedia section) or the Toshiba Satellite A660D-BT2N22. Or if you wanted something a bit beefier still, the Toshiba Satellite A660-BT2G22. I'm not sure exactly what "beefier games at 'okay' settings" means to you exactly, so I can't target one over the other, though I'd specifically recommend the A660-BT2G22 if the budget allows. Lenovo's offerings in this range are also pretty decent, and I'd recommend them as well.


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## Bobskunk (Sep 13, 2010)

Upgrading the CPU isn't worth it, neither is putting more RAM in it.  Like the thread says, the GPU is pretty much stuck, though on the bright side it does support GPU video decoding for HD youtube or stuff like that.

Barebones notebooks/whitebooks still generally don't have swappable GPUs- you get what's soldered right on the motherboard.  The CPU with on-die GPU as mentoned will absolutely help with this sort of thing (not to mention make HTPCs smaller and cooler) but it does have limitations in the kind of heat/power a video chip can have.  High end CPU and high end GPU in one package?  goodness gracious.

The only upgrade you can get for gaming is to get a new laptop.  For normal use, like running programs, the three things are more RAM, Win 7, and an SSD, ranked in ascending order of expense and expected speed improvement.  The downside to it is SSDs are small and expensive, and you wouldn't have as much space- plus putting all that stuff in a 2+ year old Gateway is throwing good money after something that can't be improved too much.

Desktops are better suited for gaming, anyway, only put progamerbeefguts like high end video cards in a laptop if there's no choice but to be mobile, or there's no space.

psst captaincool the 7745G may have a 5850 but it's limited by the kind of RAM Acer paired with it.  a total shame, otherwise it would be supergreat


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