Can I upgrade the hardware on my Gateway LT3103 netbook?

Christina Carlton

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Sep 14, 2013
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10,510
Is it possible to upgrade the hardware on my LT3103 Gateway netbook? It can run extremely slow and I have to make videos really small if I want them to run without freezing.
 

vietguy357

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Mar 25, 2011
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The bad thing about laptop/netbook is there isn't much you can upgrade on them. You could upgrade the memory but you'll still only be running ddr2. Try uninstalling some junk programs on your computer then do a disk cleanup. You could also run a program called CCcleaner. It's really good at clearing out junk and fixing registries error on your computer.
 

StevetheIntern

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Nov 5, 2014
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You're in luck: the answer to this question is most definitely. I've extended the years of use on this netbook by many years by upgrading it piece by piece. I've worked extensively to mod this personally, and I can attest you have one of the most DIY netbooks that I've seen (I'm using my LT3103 to write this now). Here's what I've done, and you can, too:

-Upgrade the CPU. You can install the faster, single-core TF20 processor without issues. I've tried the TK-42, but it just wasn't very stable (though it was quite zippy). Your best bet is probably what I'm using now: the L310. This is the dual-core version of the CPU the unit shipped with. There is an L510 that I haven't tested, but I do not believe it is electrically compatible.
-Upgrade the RAM: You can get a single, 4 GB DDR2 chip for this guy for less than $70. It's served me well.
-Upgrade the drive: You can, of course, install an SSD in place of the pokey HD the unit ships with. I used a OCZ 60 GB drive and supplemented storage by using the built-in SD card reader with a 32GB card.

The hd and ram are the easy part, of course. You'll have to completely disassemble the machine to upgrade the CPU, but it's not too bad at all. The post is a year old, but if you're still interested, post back and I'll point you in the right direction.
 

gmcgrath

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Jan 18, 2015
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Steve,
I've got a Gateway LT3117u, which has the AMD Athlon L110 processor. I've upgraded it from XP to Win 7. upgraded the RAM from 1 to 2 GB, and put in a SSD today. Do you know if this model can have the processor upgraded? If so, what processors would be compatible and how do you get inside to access the processor? I've been inside a couple of laptops, and would be willing to crack this netbook open if it's not too hard.
Thanks!
Greg
 

Lastough

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Apr 2, 2016
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Steve, I'm interested!! It's a couple years after your post, but I'd love to know how you've upgraded your Lt 3103 up to now. Mine is currently unaltered except it now runs Windows 7. Id like to upgrade the hardware and the OS to windows 10.
 

StevetheIntern

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Nov 5, 2014
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Hi @gmcgrath, I'm fairly positive the LT3117u was the exact same model as the LT3103 just updated with a higher BIOS revision and the L110 instead of the dinky single-core version that shipped on the LT3013. You should be able to drop in the L310 as they are both Socket S1G1. Check out CPU World to confirm the exact specs and you should be good to go:

http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K8/AMD-Athlon%20Single-Core%20Mobile%20L110%20-%20AMML110HAX4DN.html

As far as opening the beast, it's pretty difficult to find a manual for the LT series. Luckily, some how or another thanks to global trade and rebranding of OEM products, it is actually the exact same netbook as the Packard Bell Dot M/A, whose manual is here:

http://tim.id.au/laptops/packardbell/dot%20m%20a.pdf

A bit of caution here, it is easy to damage the audio cabling and the external VGA output (mine is pink forever now and my built-in speakers dont' work at all), so take your time but you'll get there.

Hi @Lastough, you should be able to load Win10 on it OK, though I don't know if it will support some of the latest builds.