So I have this R61i (7650DHU, 2GB RAM, no Ultrabay); got it in 2008 but I'm pretty sure it was already refurbished when it came my way. I just spent some time cleaning it up, getting it looking nice, fixing a noisy fan and replacing the battery. This all cost me about $50 or so. Then I threw a 250GB hard drive that I had sitting around in there and ditched XP for Ubuntu, and it's really a pretty sweet setup for a spare laptop/media server type thing.

However, it is a tad sluggish when opening programs by modern standards and the keyboard is starting to go. I'm considering spending $50 on 4GB of DDR2 RAM and $50 on a replacement keyboard, but I'd hate to do it if the motherboard or something is going to die within the next year (I'm a poor graduate student, so $100 is a lot of money to me!) If it was really going to last, I might even buy a refurbished 7200RPM hard drive for another $50.

What do you folks think? Is it worth investing more money in, or should I just be thankful it's still going after 4 years? I

Thanks!

You could buy those parts cheaper in our Marketforum.
I would advise against a refurb HD. Buy a new one instead (with warranty).
Maybe look for a better Linux distro, Ubuntu should be flying with your current specs!

More RAM probably won't make opening programs much if any faster, but it might give a performance boost for certain apps. A fast solid state hard drive would make apps open faster, but I can't say if it would be worth the cost to you.

I would say, just use it as is, if it does the job for you. Most of us don't really need all the speed, bells and whistles that we think we do.

What Ubuntu are you running on it? Like RealBlackStuff said, if you can get the parts cheaper in the forum, I'd do that. Also, I'd consider getting an SSD - newegg just had the 128gb Samsung 830 series on sale for $89.99 today. I know you are a student, but an SSD would breath new life into that machine. Worth considering. My R40 that was used hard for years was purchased almost 8 and a half years ago and still works fine. I'd get the SSD and then shop for a bargain on the RAM over time myself... good luck!

Hey there. I have sent you a PM.

Yeah sure, put a few bucks into the old gal. Fix her up a bit. Don't go running after the newest model She's been a good, trusty machine for 4 years and can serve you a while more if you take good care of her.

I have fans, CPU's, optical drives, DVD Burners, memory, hard drives, MINT condition NMB keyboards and batteries available here:

FS: Memory,Drives,Docks,KB,WIFI,Battery,AC,SXGA+ LCD: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=97374
x200,x60 Tablet,x61,T42,T60,R60,T61,R61,T400 BATTERY: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=99121

I don't have time to list everything I have, so ask me if there's anything you don't see. I might have it.
You'll find my prices lower and service faster and better than what you've quoted above. It won't cost you much to spruce up that old gal.

Daniel (Tiger).