I came here looking to find out if anybody knew what FSB speeds (and therefore, what processors) are supported by the Gateway ML3109, but I couldn't find the answer.

Just about all of the Gateway notebooks (including the ML3109) that use the 4006148R motherboard, are sold with processors that run at a 533mhz FSB.

I looked up the chipset (an ATI RC415MD), which according to the AMD/ATI website is a RADEON XPRESS 200 for Intel processors.

http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonxp...tel/specs.html

According to ATI, this chipset supports Pentium 4 Extreme Edition processors... if you look at the specs on the intel website for the entire line of P4 Extreme Edition processors, you'll see that none of them runs below 800mhz FSB.

Armed with this info, I decided to try installing a Core 2 Duo 2ghz 667fsb mobile processor (T7200) in the Gateway.

It worked, BIOS & Vista correctly recognized and installed the new configuration... I am writing this post on the Gateway.

So anyway, because it was such a hassle to find this info I thought I'd pass it along in case anybody else comes here looking for info about this notebook, motherboard, or chipset.

-Al

much appreciation for the effort and sharing

any adverse effects worth noting of?

cheers ...

No adverse effects I can see...

Another thing I'd like to mention...

I ran SiSoft Sandra Lite on the laptop prior to any upgrades, to try and figure out exactly what I was dealing with...

In a few different places, Sandra was identifying the chipset as an "INTEL AGTL+", this still has me a bit confused, as Sandra supposedly has support for the ATI Intel motherboard chipsets. I Googled "Intel AGTL+", and came up with a load of info, but I couldn't rely upon it, because I didn't know if Sandra was mis-identifying the chipset, which I KNOW is an ATI RC415MD.

As a side note, and this should be obvious, but anyway: Considering that AMD now owns ATI, it is quite doubtful that anyone could expect anything more than perfunctory support for their Intel supported ATI chipsets, at least from AMD, 'nuff said!

Another user here (Syrtus) that I have had a few emails with, revealed that his ML3109 recognized more than the [advertised] max of 2gb RAM (but less than the 4gb he installed). Indeed, the ATI specs claim a max RAM of 4gb! So where is the truth???

I have not had a chance to check this out myself, so I am speculating here... however: The ML3109 reserves a portion of UMA for video. So the BIOS reports RAM remaining after allocations for UMA... I have heard from a few places, that the limiting factor in this low-end laptop is the video. So if the BIOS is set to "AUTO" for video UMA; then maybe 4gb are recognized, but are reported as less in the POST due to UMA allocations? Again, I am speculating, but according to Syrtus more than 2gb but less than 4gb is recognized by this laptop.

Now to throw everything completely out the window...

In terms of real-world-usage...

I upgraded the processor in my Gateway ML3109 from the stock Pentium Celeron-M 1.6 SL9WT mobile 533mhz FSB 1mb cache processor to a Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo T7200 SL9SF 667mhz FSB with 4mb cache.

I paid $195.00 for the processor (used), the old processor may fetch $10-$30 on Ebay... worst case; I paid $185 for the upgrade. However the laptop was a buy at under $400 some time ago at BestBuy... A laptop with a T7200 processor, even now, is usually priced over the $1k mark, as the processor alone still commands a price over $250.

But again, getting back to REAL WORLD experiences... is it worth your time and effort to do this upgrade? First, let me say that computers are my hobby... not my job... The amount of time and effort spent researching components and drivers and bios settings, cannot be compensated... I have a great job with a 6-figure salary, and the time I spend doing this crap is strictly recreational... Realistically, the amount of time I spent on this upgrade, would have garnered me several thousand dollars at work!

In the end, I have to ask myself the question... am I doing this because I NEED TO, or because I WANT TO??

Now I expect that the audience here is mostly guys... so all I would ask is that before you undertake any project, consider the value of your time.

When I pass away, and I am given the opportunity to view the entirety of my life in a few flickering seconds, I hope that I can say that the bulk of my life was not spent staring at a computer screen!

and gals, and
u r not alone in the department of tinkling with one's "toys" - curiosity, learning and pushing the performance envelop are quite contagious and addicting

merry holliday seasons

cheers ...

a follow up.

I took a similar approach to Al. However I went a bit different & did not run down the FSB enough. so I upgraded to a T2450, a 2.0 Ghz 32bit dual core cpu, 533 FSB. Performance is good, snappy. $85 from ebay.

I put in 4 Gigs of 667 ram ( 2 x 2gb Gskill 667 ddr2 pc5300 )

result: a very snappy little notebook. paid $359 back in the summer from bestbuy locally after a $40 local coupon.

anyway, put 4 gigs ram in.

VISTA reports 2.88 GB

Graphics.. total available GM 1023

dedicated 128 MB

shared system 895 MB

display driver version 8.341.0.0

For me this was more of a hobby thing, done in the evenings, as relaxation. Over all pretty cost effective.

$359 for NB. $85 for cpu. $70 for RAM. $ 48 for a dual layer DVD burner & another $50 for shipping, tax, cpu thermal grease & maybe 4 hrs in total tinker time.

comparable function notebooks ? $800-1200.

did not count 3 OS reformats & another 2 HD/OS swaps .

Over all, I considered it a quite good outcome for money spent.

in the end I went to another laptop with 17" screen & number pad on the keyboard, because of business use & accounting things.

The 2 laptops I bought & worked on, this past yr were the first computers, I did not build from MB up in the past 15 yrs.

one can easily guess the other from my other posts.

You do realize that in a bout 3 to 4 months, you will have to re-do the thermal paste,(Artic Sliver) on the CPU & Heatsink fan, if you don't it will dry-up and you will have overheating issues, you may not notice any issues right now, but you will, if this isn't done every few months However, if you used the CPU's OEM supplied Thermal Pad, (like the pre-built OEM's do) then this WON'T HAPPEN, If you didn't go this route, I'd find a OEM Thermal Pad, if I were you?........I use to build PC's, but, Stopped doing it, I found it way too costly, and a lot cheaper just to buy a OEM pre-built one off the Store Shelf................anyway, Good luck w/ that upgraded notebook

thanks denb45

however I predate use of thermal paste. anyway, both notebooks I replaced cpus in used some type of paste, not pads.

pads were used for the GPUs & as the 2 NB were new, I just used the same GPU pads.

cpu temps are about 10dC cooler after the upgrades. other one used a T5300 from a T2080.

PS: I am a reincarnatd desktop OC'er that used to make his own thermal material from copper & old silver coins.

went thru mating cpu & heat sink surfaces with valve honing cpd, etc, etc.

happy new year.

Yeah, a lot easier that way, I really hated having to re-do Thermal Paste, so, the last Desktop Build I did, I also used the OEM GPU Pads, forget the Thermal Paste, it's a pain-in-the-ass

Awesome! I still have my ML3109 (just bought a T1616) and was thinking about upgrading the processor to a T5500 C2D... Is the battery life better now? the Celeron M only lasted less than 2 hours with the supplied 6 cell battery. Cheers!

hey bryan,

got no change in battery life. cpu temps run about 5dF cooler.

you can also go to a t2450, 2.g fastest 556fsb core duo (cheapest)

the t2450 is about 95% as fast as a t7200/t5500 & costs 1/3 as much, $90 vrs $300.

one still has the slow integrated video with no upgrade path.

also a cpu upgrade in the ml3109 requires near 100% disassembly & reassembly of the notebook.

happy new year & good luck

I also have an ML3109 that I'd like to upgrade the CPU on. I have the CPU in hand (T2450) but am stuck trying to disassemble the laptop.

I removed all the obvious screws, but the rear of the laptop is still stuck together.

Can someone who has done this provide me a clue as to how the case comes apart? Preferably without damaging it

Updated Note: I am no longer uploading the file, sorry.

Thanks! That will be a huge help.

email sent to you in a PM.

For the price and after the upgrade the ML3109 looks like it will be a great value.

Adding to the discussion, I bought a MT3705 with pretty decent Pentium Core Duo T2060 and it uses the exact same mobo of the with bios 83.06. Tired of the bottlenecks, In the process of acquiring a C2D T5500 1.6Ghz. Im hoping to keep the battery life by keeping the Mhz down but crunch the numbers of DVD encoding. Wish me luck! keep u guys aprised