Alienware Aurora m7700 Upgrade

So now that my Alienware Aurora m7700 is working great (see article where I had to send the laptop in for repairs), I have the need to upgrade it.

Alienware Aurora m7700 original specifications can be found here:

• Release Year: 2006
• Display: 17" 1900 x 1200 pixel display.  Nvidia GeForce Go 6800 Ultra graphics card PCI Express 256 megs of graphics memory.
• Battery: 12 cell 6,600 mAh Lithium Ion battery. 220 watt brick charger.
• Performance: AMD desktop CPU. Athlon 64 x2 4200+. 2 memory slots for PC400 SODIMMs.
• Motherboard: VIA K8T890 chipset.
• Size: (H x W x D): 2.1” x 15.6” x 11.7”. Our unit weighs 12 pounds, 5 ounces.
• Drives: 8X dual layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW.  80GB hard drives SATA 150 RAID capable.
• Audio: Sound: Realtek AC97 Audio for VIA chipsets, high-definition audio with surround sound, five built in speakers (one is a subwoofer). 3.5mm standard stereo headphone and 5.1 SPDIF jacks. Built-in mic.
• Networking: Realtek RTL8169/8110 Gigabit Ethernet and 56k V. 92 modem.
• Ports and slots: One PCMCIA - Type II/Type I card slot with CardBus support, 4 slot card reader (reads 7 media types). One parallel port, one serial port, one DVI connector, One S-Video out connector, Video-IN Ports (TV-Tuner required, not included, two PS2 connections, two mini IEEE 1394a (4-pin) ports, 4 Hi-speed USB 2.0, one headphone jack, 5.1 channel out (S/PDIF) / Line-in, microphone in, gigabit ethernet RJ-45, 56K V.92 modem RJ-11, Infrared port for Data transfer.

Fighting Obsolescence : CRT TV

The digital age has made obsolete the CRT TV, and I'm not even talking about the HD CRT TV.  I'm referring to standard definition CRT TV with only 3 types of input:  S-Video, RCA, and RF coaxial.  Consumers are throwing out (hopefully recycling) CRT TVs and replacing them with high definition flat screen TVs (plasma, LCD, LED, etc) with the purpose of watching high definition television programs over air, cable, fiber optic, etc.  However, the internet age is changing the landscape of traditional TV.  Instead of watching TV when the broadcaster wants you to watch the program, consumers are watching TV when they want to watch the program.  Content providers such as Hulu, Crackle, TV.com, YouTube, Netflix, etc, allow consumers to watch content on their own schedule.

What does this have to do with obsolescence?  To accomodate the largest number of internet users, online content is generally 240p (320x240) or 360p (640x360).  This is lower than the lowest definition flat screen HDTV (480p).  Now, the question I ask is, if you want to watch internet content in the comfort of your living room couch, why do you even need an HDTV?

The answer, you don't.

Alienware Aurora m7700 Overheating

I came upon an Alienware Aurora m7700 with a very common problem, overheating.  The symptoms were the following:

• Sudden shutdowns
• Startup failures

Alienware Aurora m7700 original specifications can be found here:
Release Year:  2006
Display: 17" 1900 x 1200 pixel display.  Nvidia GeForce Go 6800 Ultra graphics card PCI Express 256 megs of graphics memory.
Battery: 12 cell 6,600 mAh Lithium Ion battery. 220 watt brick charger.
Performance: AMD desktop CPU. Athlon 64 x2 4200+. 2 memory slots for PC400 SODIMMs.
Motherboard: VIA K8T890 chipset.
Size: (H x W x D): 2.1” x 15.6” x 11.7”. Our unit weighs 12 pounds, 5 ounces.
Drives: 8X dual layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW.  80GB hard drives SATA (serial ATA) RAID capable.
Audio: Sound: Realtek AC97 Audio for VIA chipsets, high-definition audio with surround sound, five built in speakers (one is a subwoofer). 3.5mm standard stereo headphone and 5.1 SPDIF jacks. Built-in mic.
Networking: Aftermarket Dell Wireless 1350 WLAN mini-PCI WiFi 802.11 a/b/g. Realtek RTL8169/8110 Gigabit Ethernet and 56k V. 92 modem.
Ports and slots: One PCMCIA - Type II/Type I card slot with CardBus support, 4 slot card reader (reads 7 media types). One parallel port, one serial port, one DVI connector, One S-Video out connector, Video-IN Ports (TV-Tuner required, not included, two PS2 connections, two mini IEEE 1394a (4-pin) ports, 4 Hi-speed USB 2.0, one headphone jack, 5.1 channel out (S/PDIF) / Line-in, microphone in, gigabit ethernet RJ-45, 56K V.92 modem RJ-11, Infrared port for Data transfer.