new life to an old area-51 m5750

I have an old out of warranty Alienware Area-51 m5750:

Motherboard: Alienware® Intel® 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
Processor: Intel Core Duo Processor T2400 (32bit)
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 1024MB
Video/Graphics Card: 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1800

I've built many desktop PCs, but I've never opened a laptop to do more than just swap some RAM. It's my understanding that this laptop's motherboard can support upgrading the GPU and CPU and also can support 4GB RAM.

http://ark.intel.com/chipset.aspx?familyID=22817

I know there are some bios issues with upgrading, but I don't have access to Alienware's member forums to read descriptions of the different bios versions. Can someone please post descriptions of the different bios versions or link me to them? I think that if I upgrade the GPU that I will only be able to have 2GB RAM for some reason.

My research has led me to believe that i can upgrade the CPU to a socket M Core 2 Duo t5x00 or t7x00. I recently bought a cheap used Core 2 Duo t5750 (64bit) for $40. The GPU is a bit trickier. The card currently in the machine is failing. Starting any game crashes the computer and I also get slight artifacts in Windows. I think i can put any mobile GPU in as long as it's MXM II and it physically fits in there. I was thinking a 512MB or 1GB Nvidia 9600m GS. I believe that one of the bios updates allows compatibility with a nvidia 8600m, so I assume a 9600m will work as well. I found a nice video that makes it look easy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3hsJ1my2y0

Am I seriously misguided here? Am I overlooking anything major? And again, if anyone knows more than me about the bios issues, please enlighten me.

Before I can pull the trigger, I need to know what BIOS to upgrade to and somehow get a copy since I don't have access to it through alienware.

Can you tell me where? Not because I'm lazy, I'm just new to the site and can't find them.

Ok, I was able to download 2.06w but I still haven't found a good source of information that describes the fixes and limitations of each version. This is my limited understanding so far:

1.11 = My current BIOS

1.19w = allows use of 4GB RAM with 64bit OS

2.03 = allows support for 8600m, downgrades system RAM to 2GB limit

2.06w = also allows support for 8600m, but i don't know how it differs from 2.03. Also downgrades to 2GB RAM limit

2.07 = ????

Ideally, I'd love a version that supports my new Core 2 Duo t5750, 1GB Nvidia 9600m GS, 4GB system RAM, and an upgrade to Win7.

I guess I should have specified dual channel.

Well, I updated the BIOS to 2.06w and installed a Core 2 Duo t7200 which is working great. The t5750 I had ordered turned out to be a Socket P, instead of a Socket M as the ebay seller claimed. The Nvidia 9600m GS i ordered turned out to be a mirror image of what I needed, the chip was on the opposite side of the card and would have faced down away from the heatsink. Lesson learned I guess. I ordered an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650. Now I just have to wait for it to ship from effin China.

I've hit a small snag. The HD 3650 has holes in the same places as the x1800 I'm replacing but there are no seats for the screws to screw into. I need to figure out a way to mount the heatsink securely to the card. I am open to suggestions.

I took a few pics, but my camera sucks at closeups. I'll try to get some better ones.

The stock ati x1800 has metal threaded spacers that are perfect for mounting the heatsink on. The HD 3650 has empty holes that are not threaded, so as a result it is impossible to screw the heatsink on in it's current state. I will probably have to get some small bolts and washers. And I still have to mod the heatsink by shaving off some metal so the switcher coil has clearance.

Look at the mounting holes around the chip on this stock photo:

http://ztronics.com/en/laptop-video-...ypage.tpl.html

Compare that to the 4 holes around the chip on this HD 3650:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ATI-HD-3650-MXM-...Video_TV_Cards