Friday, July 22, 2011

Gateway p7811-fx hang-ups fix using Rivatuner

Hi everybody,
I haven't posted in a while. Just wanted to write down how to "fix" the p7811-fx using Rivatuner. This fixes hang-ups while playing games (screen freezes, sound loops). Here are the steps (taken straight from this forum, cited in bold):

  1. Download the latest version of RivaTuner here;
  2. Install RivaTuner and Run the program;
  3. In the Main tab, click on the arrow next to Customize under Driver Settings to bring up more options then click System Settings (the first Icon);
  4. In the Overclocking tab, where it says "Force constant performance level" select performance 3D;
  5. Click apply, and reboot the system when prompted.

If for some reason the "Force constant performance level" drop-down is grayed out you will need to go to the "Power users" tab in the initial RivaTuner window. Then click on the "+" next to "RivaTuner \ NVIDIA \ Overclocking". Look for "EnablePerfLevelForcing" and under Value type 1. Click apply, this should allow you to modify "Force constant performance level." Finally, follow steps 3-5 above.

I've been monitoring temperatures and they are normal - so I doubt this fix will cause any severe damage to my video card.

This has so far worked for me - it doesn't necessarily mean it will work for you, hopefully it does. I'll give you guys an update within a few days.

Update: After 15 days, no lockups. This is a confirmed fix for me. However, every once in a while my sound will go crazy and start looping under certain games - but no lockup. The sound seems to fix itself after a bit.

And that's all it takes to "fix" the laptop. I don't know exactly if and how much this affects the performance, but it has worked for me for over 2 years now.
Just one additional note: if you install new nvidia drivers, you are going to need to perform steps 3-5 above once again because installing new drivers overrides rivatuner.
Hope that helps!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

What goes on with the BIOS?

Haven't posted in a while, but I just received an anonymous comment about the laptop's BIOS. Apparently the anonymous commenter experienced overheating with the bios version 038 (the complete version code for the bios is different, e.g., 9C.23.00 is version 041) but not with an earlier version, specifically version 028.
I still need to check my bios version but please feel free to post yours in the comments and if you are experiencing or not overheating. It would also be interesting to compare the GPU operational frequencies for each bios version. I have a feeling that it might differ, in which case maybe using an older bios is the same as using the Rivatuner "fix" described earlier.
The latest bios version is available at this link. Current version is 9C.23.00 or 041.