vista SP1 will SEE (not using) all 4gb. 32bits OS as it is with ur comp will not take advantage of more than 3gigo. Unless u would be inclined to go to 64bits in the near future

cheers ...

Not to go off topic here, but, In a 32bit OS, the answer is NO, in a 64Bit OS yes, that's why you are only seeing Retail OEM w/ 32bit OS models fying off the store shelves w/ only 3GB, I have yet to see any being sold w/ 64Bit and 4GB of Ram as of yet...going from 2GB to 3GB I really didn't notice that much improvment, a little, but, not much........BTW W/ the 3GB of Ram I have it reads only 2686MB or 2.67GB is all it will read, and others report who have put in 4GB only show up as 3.2GB or 3.5GB of system Ram..in know means does that indicate that the full 3GB or 4GB isn't being used, it just isn't being Addressed in the 32bit OS.........

Upgrading to faster RAM might make a difference, but otherwise it's a waste.

W/ the 3GB 667Mhz Memory Upgrade I did (1 x 2048 in slot # 1 and 1 x 1024 in slot #2) multitasking was a little faster, and the number of open programs seems to be faster w/ the extra Gig, but, that was about it, like I said above, not that much of an improvment in Vista at all.........now w/ XP SP2, that was HELLUA FAST w/ the 3GB Upgrade, it also showed up as 3072MB or 3GB in XP SP2, but this did not happen at all in Vista

There was a negligible speed boost going 2x2gb dual channel but since prices on RAM are cheap, it doesn't hurt.

You'll start seeing that trend change as SP1 gets into the channel. one of the changes will be to how Vista reports memory. It will actually report how much you have installed.

Note that I didn't say address. You're still limited to a total of 4GB of addressable RAM in a 32bit system. Microsoft must have been tired of getting calls reporting missing RAM

BTW - no issues installing SP1 on either the 32bit or 64bit flavors on this laptop.

1900x1200 WUXGA LCD ordered, should arrive on Tuesday. I think that's about everything I can/want to replace on this beast.

Denb45, I think you are the first person to say the 6831 is overpriced lol. I have the stock WXGA LCD and I think the LCD is way better than my previous Alienware m9700/m9750 LCDs. It's much brighter (clear white display/not grainy) and the video card blows alway the SLI 7900gs or 7950GTX. I could barely run Bio shock with those cards in med settings. My current Gateway can run BioShock with max settings and cost almost 2k less than those over priced laptops.

I don't think you can buy any Laptop for 1199 + free game with this graphics card, ANYWHERE. (look to spend 2500 + for an 8800GTX) The only upgrades I plan on doing is probably the CPU, but for now the stock T5450 is fine. Btw, my movies look great on my LCD w/ my upgraded blu ray drive

Also, Knewman - where did you order your WUXGA LCD from?

Aren't they all overpriced when the 1st come out, then after 6 months to about a year, the price drops WAY DOWN, and even more after that......if your anything like me......I don't game (got a PS3 & a XBOX 360 for that)
all I do on a notebook is use it as a desktop replacement, (I like it's smaller Footprint) and Streaming Audio Recording for my MP3, so, for what I do, I woud never drop 2k or 3k on a notebook, it just isn't worth to me, when after a year or so, it becomes pretty much an overpriced relic in the Tech world now-a-days ,and your real lucky if you keep it longer than 2 or 3 yrs

Here's the eBay auction. I'll post when I get it on Tuesday and let everyone know how it went.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=160213282663

What BluRay drive did you get, and does the stock bezel fit on it with no probs?

Ok, I had no idea that USPS Express Overnight meant that they would deliver on Sunday.

The screen is in, and it looks beautiful. It's far and away better looking than the stock panel. The new panel is made by LG.

Once again, Spinitch's guide was most helpful, although there were a few snags in the process. The panel came with an inverter mounted on a bracket. I had to carefully pry the bracket off to remove the inverter and fit the panel into the lid. There were also two brackets on top (welded) that fortunatly lined up with two holes on the locking bolts.

All in all, figure an hour for this upgrade, and be prepared to DIY if you go with something other than a Gateway replacement.

Nice, good job

Awesome Knewman! Please post pics! The blu ray drive I installed is (Optiarc BD rom BC-5500a ATA) by sony/nec? The stock bezel is the same exact fit as the stock Optiarc fx drive so it fit's 100% perfect. You also need PowerDVD 7 ultra to playback HD/Blu Ray content.

Well, my P-171S FX is supposed to be delivered on Monday. The status still shows "processing" on the Gateway site though, which makes me a little nervous. Either they haven't updated their server, or they're going to manufacture my laptop today and ship it tomorrow priority overnight. No chance in hell that's the case.

High def 1080p movies look great on the WUXGA screens. I'm still saving up for a internal blu ray burner but atleast I can rip my HD-DVDs onto my hard drive.

Later on I would like to find a WUXGA screen with a faster response time. Most LCDs are about 25ms but I think Asus has a 8ms one and I think the new Dell 1730s also have a low response time. I'll try to dig up some more info on that.

For those are still looking for WUXGA LCD panels, make sure they are not too old since the older WUXGA screens like the ones on the XPS Gen2/M170/9300 are 30% less bright.