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Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

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Norway Pad
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Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#1 Post by Norway Pad » Wed Jan 15, 2014 7:19 am

I am very new to the world of the R-series, as I have never owned one before. Some weeks ago I was offered a lot of 3 Thinkpads of unknown type, very cheap. From a blurry picture, I noticed they were wide screen units with an off-center screen, so I just took a chance and accepted the offer. I turned out to be 3 R61i units, two in decent shape, one worn and beaten up. Neither had HDDs, as they were used with sound equipment(?). I didn't quite understand the seller. Anyway, they all boot from a Linux live cd, so they are fine hardware-wise. Not the bargain I hoped for, but the plan is to put hard drives in two of them, and sell them to at least earn back the money that I spent. But the beaten up unit is something I really can't sell to anyone, so that might just go in the garbage or be given away along with one of the two other ones, unless there are something that makes it worth keeping.

Are these laptops basically T61 units with a cheaper shell and Intel graphics? Does the motherboard fit in a T61? In case I should ever come across a nice T61 that has died from the nVidia fault, it can be an option to use this board to make a working T61. If the board fits, and if it can cope with the screen that is in the T61. I am not sure what the Intel graphics is capable of, but I will check what I can make the R61is do.

Thank you!
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#2 Post by Medessec » Wed Jan 15, 2014 7:39 am

The R61i has got fairly up-to-date hardware for today, so they're not completely worthless... most of them are fantastic web browsers, and they're still put together pretty nicely, so as long as they don't have a hard life, they should be pretty reliable.

But yes... they only have Intel graphics, and most of the processors are the older Core Duos instead of the newer 64-bit Core 2 Duos. On top of that, there are only widescreen R61is, so to Thinkpad enthusiasts, they are fairly useless.

It's up to you what you want to do with them. Money wise- they aren't very valuable, but you can definitely hand them off to someone as a web browsing computer.


These were advertised as T43s?! Someone really needs to brush up on their Thinkpads... better yet, their reading...! It says below the screen what it is, and the T43 was never available in widescreen...
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#3 Post by Norway Pad » Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:36 am

He actually contacted me in response to my T43 WTB ad, but I think it he assumed I had a general interest in Thinkpads. Communicating with him was very hard, as his emails made little sense, and asking him questions was impossible. I only got the mentioned blurry picture. So I figured this is one of those times where you deal with someone who either sell you great stuff almost for free, or sell you trash. My hope was to get 3 good T61 units that I could sell, but it failed.. Now we look into 1/3 of the price, if I manage to sell them at all.

One of the R61is seems newer than the others, and has a 2.0 Ghz Core 2 Duo CPU. So probably ok computers for light tasks, or for giving to a kid. It is probably too bad to just throw the one unit away, so maybe I'll keep at least the motherboard.

Anybody know if it fits directly in a T61 shell?
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#4 Post by RealBlackStuff » Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:29 am

What are the TYPEs of those R61i machines? That always helps.
The keyboards alone will fit any type/size T6x, R6x, T400, T500 and a few others.
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#5 Post by Norway Pad » Wed Jan 15, 2014 2:12 pm

The two good ones are Type 8918-DMG. The banged up one is Type 8935-A13. That unit seems to be slightly lower spec, as it lacks the fingerprint reader and the Bluetooth LED. Hopefully I manage to sell the two good ones, they are definitely too good to be broken for parts.

Is it an online resource you use to find information from the type description, RBS? I think I once found information about my T43 on IBM's page while the T43 was still quite new, but that is probably moved to Lenvo's site now.

Btw. is the OS sticker on the palmrest always tied to which OS the laptop is shipped with, and what OS the COA sticker is for? The COA stickers are worn, so I can only see the license key, but not the actual text that tells which OS it is meant for. One of them has a Vista sticker on the palmrest, and the other one has a XP sticker.

Thanks!
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#6 Post by ajkula66 » Wed Jan 15, 2014 2:22 pm

Very unusual configuration...sounds like a nice machine.

ThinkPad R61i (8918-DMG)

T5750(1.83GHz), 1GB RAM, 160GB 5400rpm HD, 15.4in 1680x1050 LCD, 128MB nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader, 6c Li-Ion, WinXP Professional

And this is the lookup page:

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/default.page

What's the date code on the bottom?
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#7 Post by Norway Pad » Wed Jan 15, 2014 2:37 pm

Thanks for the info. :)

nVidia.. I thought these only came with Intel graphics? That means that these are the same internals as a T61? If so, presumably also potential for the dreaded nVidia fault. The date codes are 08/06 and 08/04 on the two 8918-DMG units. I might be wrong, but wasn't 08/08 the magical date with regards to the nVidia fault? Someone has anyway been messing with these units at one point, as one of them has a Core 2 Duo 2.0Ghz CPU, (According to the Linux live) and a Vista Basic sticker on the palmrest.

The 8935-A13 unit is dated 08/06. This unit's specs is: Based on 8935-22G: T2370(1.73GHz), 2GB RAM, 80GB 5400rpm HD, 15.4in 1280x800 LCD, Intel X3100, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11abg wireless, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, 6c Li-Ion, WinVista Home Basic 32 That's the banged up unit that I am keeping, and that will also be the motherboard it will make sense to keep for a potential T61 rebuild with Intel graphics.
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#8 Post by ajkula66 » Wed Jan 15, 2014 6:01 pm

That's why I said it's an unusual configuration...a low-end CPU matching nVidia GPU and a hi-end LCD, along with other toys... :?:

While the "magic date" is 08/08 I wouldn't lose sleep over having a machine with an earlier code, especially if it came at a reasonable price.

BTW, I'm pretty certain that you can NOT fit a 15.4" R61 planar into a T61 shell of the same size.

If it were me, I'd keep one of the nVidia machines...the specs - one you swap the CPU - are nice enough.

Good luck.
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#9 Post by Saucey » Wed Jan 15, 2014 6:06 pm

If you have wifi strong enough, you can retire that beat up R61i as a internet radio machine to a garage or backyard.
Other then the processor, my R61 T7500 can play League of Legends nicely under lowest settings.

I've dealt with a person locally who sold me a laptop. I originally thought they had learned english as a secondary language because of the mistypes and wierd emails I had gotten.
When I met the person IRL I found out it was someone who probably flunked high school here.
Plus the machine I got didn't work, paid too much and everything. -_- I now know to never pay working price for a laptop that is "working but missing charger and dead battery"
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#10 Post by Tasurinchi » Thu Jan 16, 2014 4:20 am

Any of them would run fine for browsing and easy office stuff (the Nvidia ones will probably even handle HD stuff quite well).

Weeks ago I got a heavily stripped R61i with Intel graphics, now it has 1GB and it's running Debian very well for internet use. I'm planning to put 2GB and a faster HDD soon.

I think they're worth keeping. Max them up with 4GB and an SSD and they'll run fine for some years IMO.
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#11 Post by Norway Pad » Thu Jan 16, 2014 4:45 am

Thanks for the input, George, a new perspective is always welcome. I probably choose to do exactly as you suggest, the idea came to mind last night. I found that I have a Win7 license and a spare Intel SSD lying around, so I can build one of the R61is into a decent daily driver for free. That would be a laptop I wouldn't mind dragging around the house, in the car, and literally everywhere. I am usually a little more careful with my T-series, but this will be a very small loss if it breaks, or the nVidia dies. The price was very reasonable, so after cleaning them, and discovering the nVidia, the deal was actually quite good. The other one will be sold, so I get some money back.

In case I look into upgrading the RAM and the CPU, what CPU gives the best combination of price and performance with this board? Are the CPU options the same as for the T61 board, or are there differences in what CPU it can take as well? Thanks for any input here, I am a little blank on the R-series still.

And if the motherboard doesn't fit a T61, my plans for the banged up unit won't work out. So I might as well do as Saucey suggests. I have always wanted a laptop in the basement garage. :-) Btw. my seller fits the description of the guy who sold you the laptop. Weird emails. Like I said; dealing with these kind of people can go both ways: They either sell good stuff very cheap, or they sell you junk.
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#12 Post by Saucey » Thu Jan 16, 2014 6:09 am

I had just thought it was someone unfamiliar with the laptop when I bought face to face.
I mean I hear stories all the time of people throwing away laptops because the screen broke, it was dropped or water damaged the unit.

I'm not sure what processors it is limited to, Lenovo's detailed specifications to lists that it can be equipped with a T7700. But your unit's CPU isn't listed, so maybe you can toss a T9500!! :twisted:
Going off CPU-World's comparison, the T7500 is only 13% faster than your unit. So the SSD will definately kick butt!

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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#13 Post by Tasurinchi » Thu Jan 16, 2014 6:23 am

I think a R61i would take the same CPU's as the standard R61/T61, there's even a Middleton BIOS available so you can use full SATA-II speeds

IIRC the "i" models were cheaper configs with low specs, but the upgradeability should be the same as for the non "cheap" ones.
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#14 Post by Norway Pad » Thu Jan 16, 2014 6:29 am

Yes, in another thread they mentioned the 7700 and 8300 as reasonable upgrades for the R61(i). But as far as I understand, these two are different CPU families, so to speak. Penryn and Merom. And about there is the end of my specific knowledge on this subject. Which one makes the most sense?

I am at work and in a hurry now, so haven't checked eBay for price on any of them yet. That is a factor I must consider too, seen in light of the price of the laptop itself.
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#15 Post by Tasurinchi » Thu Jan 16, 2014 6:40 am

If you apply the Middleton BIOS you can use both families. If not you have to stay with the Merom's.

Penryn runs cooler, if I were you I would doe the BIOS mod and go for a low end Penryn, they're affordable, cool and fast :wink:
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#16 Post by RealBlackStuff » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:10 am

Apply Middleton's BIOS, then get a T8100 (or T8300) CPU. Best bang for your buck.
And runs cooler than the T7xx models.
And if you got money to spare, get an SSD.
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#17 Post by Norway Pad » Thu Jan 16, 2014 11:24 am

I already have a spare Intel SSD on my shelf, and a Win7 license. I have also now priced the T8300 CPU, and had to smile. Even though quite cheap, the CPU will cost me almost the same as the laptop itself. So, not too much money tied up in this.

Is there a link to where the Middleton BIOS can be found? I presume it is a .iso file that can be made into a bootable media?
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Re: Working but beaten up R61i, worth keeping?

#18 Post by Tasurinchi » Thu Jan 16, 2014 11:59 am

Norway Pad wrote:Is there a link to where the Middleton BIOS can be found? I presume it is a .iso file that can be made into a bootable media?
Yep, this one: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo/ ... ost6501443

Check your MTM number to see which is the right BIOS to download
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