[QUOTE="KillerWabbit23"]

There's a such thing as journalistic integrity, you know.

Metamania

I used to think there was until the whole Jeff Gerstmann incident happened. Now it's hard to trust reviews these days.

I like the idea of adding an "good conduct" incentive to Gamespot, and emblems have always been excellent incentives. There are two reasons it would not work out, unfortunately:

1. Users get moderated for misunderstanding forum rules (like asking for how to install OSX on a PC, where OSX is considered pirated software), making it difficult to implement automatically. Coding would be a nightmare since exceptions would need to happen.
2. Users should want to conduct themselves with decorum for its own rewards. The community is built on users that want to build a positive environment for its own sake, not to get a merit badge.
3. Good Lord, the outcry when someone lost one!

I still like the idea, though, and if someone can think of better implementation that I, it could benefit the site.

Happy gaming,

Boz

If it has integrated graphics, it most certainly does not have an MXM slot for dedicated graphics. Even a lot of notebooks WITH dedicated graphics have soldered, un-upgradable GPUs. I guess it helps sell new notebooks. Think you can pinch your pennies for a Lenovo W700 or W701? Expensive, but incredibly expandable and still likely to have that ThinkPad quality you're familiar with.NamelessPlayer

Oh, there's no way a graphicsexpansionis in that T500, but I noticed that this model had an option for a hybrid setup with a 3650 if he could find one that had been gutted to buy the part and mod it like that Toshiba part I saw on EBay. Probably WAY more effort to try and get something like that to work (if at all) than it's worth, though!

I completely agree that he/she's better off with your suggestion.

Boz

sounds like a possible psu or even ram issue. the fans are a symptom of a problem elsewhere.paullywog

The fans spinning fast is not causing the system to overheat. The fans are at full tilt to counter overheating. Is the system overclocked?C_Rule

C'mon night-crowd, anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

You can't, buy a new laptop.

GTR12

Integrated graphics cannot be upgraded. When a laptop does have a dedicated graphics cards it is only very rarely upgradable, and even then only at considerable cost and effort.

All that being said, the particular model you listed has an option for an ATI Mobility Radeon 3650, which you might -MIGHT - be able to buy second-hand, but no guarantees as to whether it will work and, for the price, you're better off saving up for a new laptop.

Boz

If you feel capable of building a PC yourself, you should ALWAYS build it yourself.

Boz

[QUOTE="Bozanimal"]

Anyone know how to check whether certain addons are compatible? I can't live without NoScript and AdBlock Plus.

Boz

pcgamer_07

Both are working for me on Firefox 4.

/salute

Boz

I've got a friend that's having some issues with his PC; I'm hoping one of the many computer gurus here can shed some light on his issue:

Sometimes, when I start my (Alienware Aurora) computer, the fans accelerate to an unusally fast speed and stay at that speed. The computer will then just turn off a couple of minutes later. When I turn it back on the fans do the same thing and usually it doesn't even finish the boot sequence before turning off.

I called Dell (Alienware) and talked to a tech support person, and they figured the reason the computer is turning itself off is because it is overheating and there is something wrong with the fans, and are sending someone out to replace them. The problem with this is:

1. This only happens occasionally, although it has been happening more and more frequently
2. If the fans are spinning faster than normal, why would that cause the system to overheat? Shouldn't it be cooler than normal?

After further discussion, some detail:
When I called tech support they had me open it up to see if there was any dust clogging the vents. The computer is less than a year old, and in my opinion the vents and fans seemed clean, but I used compressed air to clean them out just the same. I opened the default temperature software this morning, when it started doing this again, and the readings were all just slightly above room temperature (~24 C). This issue only happens during the boot sequence, the fans have never started to accelerate after an hour of playing games when I would imagine it would be at it's hottest.

Thank you for any suggestions,

Boz

Anyone know how to check whether certain addons are compatible? I can't live without NoScript and AdBlock Plus.

Boz