Thinkpads Forum

Hello,

I am looking to replace the system board of my R50 1829-7RG Thinkpad. All of a sudden the screen (1400x1050 SXGA+ Flexview) was garbled and would stay garbled after cold reboot. The board I want to replace (P/N 91P7334) has security chip, Gbit Lan and ATI Mobility 9000 Radeon (M9-32).

Does anyone have an old Thinkpad or bare board with similar spec lying about willing to sell? I am desperate to repair this delicate laptop as it has served me very well indeed. I feel it is still too young for the computer graveyard.

Also, has anybody experience which alternative boards would fit, maybe with the ATI FireGL 128 MB option (M10-128)?

Any help is very appreciated.
Alexander Pohl

Any board from a T41, T42, T43, R50, R51, or R52 would fit. If your current machine has firewire, you'd lose that by using a T4X board. It sounds like the GPU is loose. It is a common problem on Thinkpads of the R5X and similar T4X models. We have shops in the US where they offer GPU reballing service because it is so common. There is a thread by Underclocker that discusses using replacement boards with Intel chipsets. These are not prone to this failure.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... highlight=

So, my advice is to replace it with an Intel chipset board unless you absolutely need the extra GPU performance. The only gotcha is the SXGA+ LCD, it 'should' work on an Intel chipset board. There have been reports of it not working, and some that say it works. If you know anyone in the States who you can ship the board to, Superior Reball is offering a reballng service for $50. Plan on being without the machine for 3 weeks to a month including ship time.

get an R5x intel gpu board... not another ATi...

Harryc wrote:If you know anyone in the States who you can ship the board to, Superior Reball is offering a reballing service for $50. Plan on being without the machine for 3 weeks to a month including ship time.

I offer to receive/return your laptop and send it to Superior.
You only pay my effective costs + 3% for payment via PayPal.
PM me if interested.

Very generous offer RBS. This member from the UK would do well to seriously consider taking you up on it.