Bought a used T61 and will use till 2012

I've just bought a used T61 for a good price ($200). The laptop is still on good condition, and plan to use for another year (so from 2011 to 2012). Main uses are doing web development, and probably a .NET development no 3d games or graphics programming.

Is the machine (C2D 2.40ghz, 3GB DDR2 RAM, 250HD) could handle these tasks? I'm saving for a new X or W premium series and it would probably take me year to get one.

Thanks

 

Yes that should be fine. By the way does your T61 have the Nvidia graphics?

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

Yes a nvidia quadro 140m, some say it has issues, but the seller said it was a new batch of T61 with the updated nvidia 140m. I still have a 2 months warranty on this machine.

 

That's a good buy, congrats!

 

nice, since you bought it now, the T61 price will depreciate very little. So even when you sell it in a year, you can still recover around 70% of the price back.

 

Ehh I'm wary of any laptops between 2005-2008 with Nvidia graphics. Guess the worst case you can rebake your motherboard if it fails.

 

You should be fine. I have a T61 I bought new just before the 140m was "fixed" and have never had any trouble with it.

 

"Main uses are doing web development, and probably a .NET development no 3d games or graphics programming."

I would say the system is large enough but just barely.

Renee

 

Look at the date on the bottom label. A date code of 08/08, 08/09, or 08/10 should be free from the defective nVidia chip. a date of 08/07 probably has about 50/50 chance of the updated chip, prior dates have increasing risk of the unreliable chip.

Most sellers claim it's free from defect, but there is no real way to tell, all we can do is hope lenovo did a good job of removing the old boards back in July 2008.

However, even one with the questionable chip could perform reliably for years to come, thousands are still in use and have no issues.

 

Nice. I plan to use my T500 until the END of 2013 before my next upgrade. I may upgrade to 8gb of ram since its quite cheap but the most i've seen my ram in use was 3200mb.

 

It can probably handle it. I'd love to replace my W520 in mid-2013 or 2014, but I probably can't afford to do it as an undergrad student. As things are going right now, my W520 is gonna stay with me for a looooooooong time (late 2016 at least) as long as it remains problem free and fast enough for my purposes.

 

I highly recommend stressing that quadro card of yours while the machine is still in warranty. Use a benchmarking program like 3DMark and run it a couple of times in a row to see if any problems occur. I did so w/ my T61p and the system blue-screened. Lenovo ended up replacing the motherboard free-of-charge. Also, make sure to do the same test following repairs.

 

Thanks for the reply guys! Really appreciated.

The date code is 08/05, so probably this machine has the defective gpu chip.

I've stress tested the machine by playing a 3d games (Warcraft and HoN) for a whole day. No issues so far, but the temperature is alarming. About 70 celsius idle, and 92 celsius on full load.

I've cleaned the fan, and reapplied a thermal paste both on the cpu and gpu.
The new gpu temperature is now 55 celsius idle, 70~75 on full load.

I've also noted the date code of the chip
14N3X9 0814A2
NF 2492
G86-740-A2

14th week of 2008, (March 2008)

Does this machine belongs in the batch with a defective gpu chip?

 

Unfortunately yes, it most likely has a GPU manufactured before the process was updated. nVidia updated the manufacturing process to correct the problem, but did it in a sneaky way, without full disclosure. When it became widely known, Lenovo pull all system boards from production in mid July 2008 and replaced them with the new model. Prior to that any board that has the updated chip is just by luck. There is no way to tell by looking at the chip, the updated ones weren't changed in appearance or numbering. To be sure you have a good one, you want a date code of 08/08, 08/09, or 08/10. I've never seen any made in November, but if they exist, they will be good too.

As for stressing your GPU to get a free warranty replacement, your just as likely to make it die in 6months instead of six years as you are to get it to die today, so I'm not sure I'd want to do that.

Just keep it clean, use some Artic Silver #5 paste and thinkpad fan control. I run the fan on manual when I'm using it, and set it on auto when I'm not. It stays pretty cool and even a less reliable chip could last you many years. Common wisdom is that not all will fail.

ps. I have a T61 with date code 08/09 in nearly mint condition that I'd sell for the right price, as well as a nice 08/05 that has never had any issues, that I'd sell in the 200 ballpark.

 

just undervolt the cpu and run tpfancontrol to ensure your cpu/gpu will not get past the 80 deg mark ... and there should be no problems.

I'm using mine for 4 years already, and my gpu has been heavily overclocked for 90% of the time

yey

good luck

 

I had a similar computer for several years during undergrad. I bought it for $300 as an off-lease model from the business school, but it still came with the Quadro card. It was a great machine that got me through lots of engineering and programming work. Crappy screen, though.

 

Same situation as you are in, though I plan on keeping mine until 2015 when I get my BS. Bought more RAM while DDR3 is cheap, and I might upgrade to a SATAIII and/or bigger SSD in a year or so (and move the 320 to the ODD). Currently have the 2yr TPP warranty, and I'll have to see if it's worth upgrading in two years.

 

I plan to keep my Thinkpad until 2013 mine has warrenty until than. An i5 is still pretty fast

 

I plan to keep my T60p until a new thinkpad line is out with Ivy Bridge, but I will still miss 4:3 screen.

 

I plan on keeping my T61 until it breaks so bad that it's beyond repair. So I'm hoping I can manage at LEAST another 3-4 years out of it.

Although in the mean time, I WILL be getting an iPad 3 when it comes out next year, but that will be it for computers for awhile ( that, and my T61 will still remain as my daily PC ).

So far (knock on wood) my T61 hasn't skipped a beat yet ! ( and that's after almost 4 years of DAILY 4-6 hours of use since new ).

 

The Thinkpad is a tough old bird.... my T40 is still faithfully chuckling along after 9 years, only needed a new fan since then.

 

Nine....years....? I didn't know any laptop could ever last that long. Nice

 

there are many thinkpads that is 12 years old that is still running.