Refurbishing a Thinkpad R51 (Myself, need some help...)

I was (still am) looking for a 14"-15.4" notebook for college in September. I was going to go with the Dell M1530 or the Asus A1 but the 128bit GPU's are very unappealing to me personally (The 9600M GT & ATI mobility 3650 aren't creating interest with me either). I can still go with the Clevo m86tu, but it would really put a burden on my expenses, especially if I have to purchase 'some' of it on credit, or use a greater percentage of my student loans to finance/purchase a laptop, which I don't want to do right now.

My alternative? My brother has a 3-year old thinkpad r51 that he seldom uses, it looks fine, and runs as it should. It doesn't have 256-bit gpu , but a PS3 ($399) would do fine (Please don't start flamming/telling me a 1080p TV + PS3 means I might as well go with an m86tu, I've played every pc game there is to play for now ) and this is definitely a cheaper/smarter option. I'm going to hold off until 256-bit/512bit GPU's are available in 15.4" notebooks at a price I'm satisfied with (at least 6 months, if not more).

I checked ebay and used R51's are going for $171-$500. So I'll just offer my bro $150 for it (tell me if its worth more (or less), so I can give him 'fair market value' ).

Specs/Problems:

- Windows XP

- 1 stick of 256mb of SDRAM , 2 slots. I'm looking for 1.5GB*2 or 1GB*2 RAM

- A letter key does not make contact on the first press (sticky key). So that needs to be fixed... I can fix this myself, right?

- Intel Pentium M 725, 1.60Ghz, 90nm, (1 core) [Is this CPU (combined with 2 or 3 GB's of RAM) strong enough to run Windows Vista Business Edition fluently? (32-bit)| I need that particular operating system

- Fingerprints, smudge marks on the screen & dust that needs to be sprayed out of the keyboard...Anyone know of any good products that will clean this up? without damaging the notebook. Also, any good 'wax'/shine type products?

- Only a 50 GB's of hard drive space, even on two separate drives. This may or may not need to be replaced. I don't have Vista, so I'm not sure whats necessary. There won't be any games, very much music or movie files, so you tell/suggest to me what's necessary

- Batter Life, The battery is just about dead because this thing gets 28min on a full charge . Need to replace the battery

- Wireless connection, I'm not sure whats in there, I heard it use to give problems know and then, but it works fine. How can I find out the wireless card he is using? Are there any wireless cards in particular that I should know about? The school I'm going to recommends the 802.11a/g wireless Mini-card.

In short, I'm looking to purchase:
- More RAM (only 2 slots)
- Notebook cleaning products (screen & keyboard)
- Hard drive upgrade
- New Battery
- New Wireless card

For as little $ as possible, I don't want to start spending the kind of money I would buying a brand spanking new mobile laptop.

Newegg does not deliver to Canada (apparently), but you can still link the hardware/products and I will find it at Tigerdirect.ca or NCIX.ca

Thanks.

 

How is a 128-bit GPU unappealing? Just... buy a new laptop.

 

lol. It's unappealing to me because I have an ATI X1950GT (256bit), very big card, in my desktop (that I won't be taking with me) that I play all current games maxed out on. (Cod4|1400*900, Ultra/High 30-60fps) , (Crysis| All High|3 On Medium| 1280*1024| 22-49fps). It was 129.99 back in January and it outperforms the 8700M GT. I'm used to a certain kind of visual quality (and I spent so little for it..) that I simply cannot spend upwards of $1500 on any laptop that doesn't have at least a 256bit interface.

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=500&card2=535

Jeez, you make it sound so simple... Send me some cash through paypal & I'll do that, just for you

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. I'm still searching for hardware

 

There is a really good guide for cleaning your notebook here:

Part 1 http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4020

for some reason the different sections don't link to each other so here are the other three parts of the above guide:

Part 2 http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4021
Part 3 http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4023
Part 4 http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4024

The guide suggests the products you will need.

As far as the keyboard you might be able to fix it. It is hard to fix those little plastic things, but it is worth a try. If you ultimately cannot fix it, replacement keyboards are pretty inexpensive on Ebay.

However, I suggest you buy something from the Dell Outlet instead. You can get a refurbished for only a little more than your total cost of upgrading the Thinkpad will be. For that little extra you will get a faster & newer notebook.

Dell Outlet http://www.dell.com/outlet

 

Awesome, Thanks.

OK

Sure, I'll take a look.

Edit: Those start at around $600. Which means I'd rather save that $600 towards a high-end laptop to purchase in December...

 

The Vostro 1000 models start at $489. They aren't the most powerful machines, but they would beat the upgraded Thinkpad.

There is a pretty nice on for $519, but I can't link to it because the Dell Outlet seems to disallow doing such. Give it a search through.

 

- Intel Pentium M 725, 1.60Ghz, 90nm, (1 core) [Is this CPU (combined with 2 or 3 GB's of RAM) strong enough to run Windows Vista Business Edition fluently? (32-bit)| I need that particular operating system


It will not be a question of rather the CPU can handle Vista (it can), but will Vista even install on the system because of the graphics solution. And if it does, will that cause you a problem.

 

Thanks for pointing that out to me. I still have to confirm if the University needs or wants Vista business, but I think your correct. Lenovo's website claims that the r51's are not 'Vista Capable'. But I have found sites where people run it find just as long as they upgrade from that ridiculous 256mb RAM. It probably will give problems though.

argh, back to square one.

 

lol, I really can't stand those Dell's. I can tolerate the M1330/M1530, but I'm not a Dell fan, at all.

 

Maybe you can work something out with this user?


http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=265861

If you're really needing something for College, this would be a perfect fit!

 

Don't like Dell's very much. But I'll take a look...

 

I’m not here to sell you on anything; I’m just going by what you posted as far as needs, and what you don’t want to do. I upgrade old laptops all the time, and the price stays pretty low. But since you would need Vista, your options with the notebook you have now are minimal. I’m not pointing you to anything above $400, since you already stated you didn’t want to spend much. But if you just want a cheap solution to your problem, then that notebook would be it. It’s almost in the price range of upgrading your notebook (batteries cost), and it’s a better overall solution, period. Now if the Dell name will cause you to turn elsewhere, sorry. People have their motives to like or dislike a brand, and that’s respectable. I hope you do find what you’re looking for, and good luck in School!

 

Ok thanks man. You make me feel sort of guilty , I'll look out for that model.