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!

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.

Problem fixed?

I know the discussion has been very alive on the comments, but I wanted to state a couple of points:

• Many users are experiencing trouble with the P-7811FX series laptop; these go from hang-ups to stuff that looks even worse
• Almost as many users are also experiencing terrible customer service and technical support: rude people on the phone, bad repair jobs, necessity of repeated technical intervention
• Finally, a subset of users found out that the problem can be fixed by lowering the performance of the graphics card using advanced tools like Rivatuner, which defeats the purpose of a gaming laptop

Please let me know your experiences with Rivatuner and if anybody can find a way not to lower the performance.

more complaints...

I got my complaint published on the site www.consumeraffairs.com
Here's the link to the page with all the complaints.
Browsing the website, it seems Gateway has had several user who got a "lemon" and didn't get their pc replaced, nor money refunded. I'm going to send a letter to the General Attorney Office in order to try and settle this complaint. And I'm gonna ask for my money back, because I'm afraid the replacement they would send me could even be worse than what I already have...

some links

I don't give up though. I sent another e-mail to the BBB explaining the situation. I'm also thinking about filing other complaints. Beside the FTC, I found these:
consumeraffairs.com
a consumer's experience
I hope consumeraffairs.com will help me and eventually I will get a new computer. I am not very excited at the idea of going through all that crap, but I think I have been abused by a big company and I can't just play their game.

and they are done with me

I received my laptop back a few weeks ago, while I was out of the country. The Gateway tech support made a "CSL Evaluation", which I don't know what it is exactly and wiped out the HD and installed the OS from scratch. They "were not able to reproduce the issue" again and they just sent the machine back. When I came back home, I also found 2 letters from the BBB, which said that if I didn't reply they would consider my case as closed. I sent them an email saying my case was not closed and they said they would notify it to Gateway. Since they haven't called me, I decided to call them today. I spoke with the same Gateway customer service guy I talked previously since I had his phone number on my cell phone. His answer to my continuos complaints is that they couldn't find any hardware failure and that my issue was due to some non-specified third party software. I explained him that I made all the tests I could, installing just the OS and drivers and one or more video games on top of it and I would still have issues. Unfortunately he said they could not do anything until they found a hardware issue. So that's it: they are done with me. It doesn't matter what I say, they are just ignoring me and denying the existence of any problem. Why the hell do they think I would complain if there weren't a problem?

still no news

Gateway received my laptop yesterday and sent me an email. No other news from them. I hope they will fix my problem or call me to ask me what's wrong. I don't really believe they will though.