Alienware Area 51m 766 Upgrade HELP

To be honest, I don't know. I will look around on the googles and let you know what I find.

Can't be done...

The 766 uses special video modules, not video cards, and when laptops changed from AGP to PCIe video interface, Uniwill stopped making the modules.

There's no other mobo that'll fit.

You may be able to find a used MR9700 ATi video module on eBay, or from a sight that sells used AW parts like Excel Computer. The MR9700 would be an upgrade from the 5700 go... but I don't think it'll handle COD4...

I'd leave it as is, either sell it or keep using it, and start saving up for a new laptop...

yeah hammer has it right, you should really just replace the laptop at this point as finding parts is getting to be nearly impossible on the 766 models (unless you want to buy a couple dead ones on ebay for parts machines). even then that will just be to keep what you have going since upgrades and new parts to fit the insides of it are not possible, they are not made anywhere.

sorry man, its not like a deskptop where things are easily repaired and replaced.

edit:

$1000.... man thats alot for an old machine. sounds like you really should have done more research before you purchased. as for a return i highly doubt that the seller will take it back and return your money. never yet seen it happen on ebay, once you pay, your money is gone. no external options at all on laptops currently, so that option is out. best bet is what everybody else said... save up and buy a new machine.1000 would get you a decent one in their christmas deals.

nope, nothing newer, it just wont fit...

nope none of those will fit, they are a pretty rare item to find as alot of people with the older models snapped them up when they appeared on the market (for the brief time that they were there) in attempts to upgrade their own systems. you need to keep looking where possible and also at

http://www.excelcomputerinc.com/html...rand=alienware

where sometimes they are available but they are usually several hundred when they appear there and are often working pulls from systems. you wont find a brand new boxed one anywhere.

as it sits ebay like everything else is buyer beware, you really need to do research before buying items, especially before spending a grand. the upgrade costs to what you are thinking if you could find things all said could still end up giving you a total system cost (base + upgrades) of 1200 or more. that is the price at which you could actually have bought a nice brand new system from almost any brand, and depending on the specs even from alienware itself. also remember that the machine that you bought and the parts you buy are not going to be warrantied so it has no guarantee of lasting.

sorry to hear that you are in the situation but this is for others reading a good indication of the reasons for you to always research and know exactly what you are buying, especially in the computer world and with laptops where technology changes so fast. never assume anything, especially that there will be an upgrade available.

Yeah, yikes...$1,000 for that was a bit steep. I will second everything Fidget and HH said.

Were these cards even made by Uniwill? Obviously, AW didn't. I've been trolling the internet for months looking for a card - any card that will fit the old 766 I picked up at a garage sale. Not only have I been unable to find any of the 4 available cards (or modules, or whatever) I can't even find out who made these cards or what there part nos. were.

Until today...I think. Earlier today, I found this eBay listing for a GF card pulled from an Alienware 51m, 766sn1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=140249563436

I googled the part no. 35-UC-0030-00 and got hits leading to an Austrian company called Gericom. Some of the hits were Austrian eBay listings for (what sounds like) a video card called the Lobster Geforce G05600. I've never heard of Gericom until today - do they make computers? Do they have anything to do with Uniwill? Is there some Gericom clone of the 766?

I believe Gericom is a reseller, like Alienware used to be. Gericom also sold the m9700 under a different name.

The modules available for the 766 were the geforce go 5600, the go 5700, and the ATi 9600, and 9700. This looks like the internals of the video module for a 766.

Here is AW's knowledge base article on replacing the module in the 766. The "module" is the card with the cooling enclosure shown in the diagrams.

There are a few companies that sell used AW parts, but these vid modules are very rare. Check Excel Computer and Laptopking for parts also, you might get lucky.