T41 thunderstorm damage: new mainboard or upgrade?

[schmaud]

Hi,

I have a t41, 14 inch sxga+ (2373 tg5), which apperantly was left out in a thunderstorm ( don`t ask... Fortunately the data is coping onto another backup drive as I type...).
Symptoms: no LEDs, no battery charging, nothing.

I started disassembling, and found some burned elements on the mainboard between the fan and the PCMCIA slot. I guess the main board is toast. Anyhow It already had the USB problem...

Can you recommend a reasonable source for a replacement mainboard which can drive the sxga+ screen?

In particulary: can an ati 7xxx series run a sxga+? does the internal graphic from a r5x drive a sxga+ does it come in 14 inch compatible?? In both cases I would need a different fan, right?

Other option is of coarse upgrading...

Any recommendation for a t4x like notebook with a good screen for outdoor work? (preferably a thinkpad, but at least a system with a decent track point). Unfortunately the displays of the recent thinkpads are not excactely getting praised...

Which parts should i be saving from the t41 to help others to keep their systems running?

cheers

Ralf

[Harryc]

Yes the R52 has a 14" Intel board in that series, but it won't run a 14" SXGA+ LCD....XGA only. You need to look for an ATI T4X board. The ATI 7xxx (or any other ATI based T40. 41, or 42) can run this LCD. I have no idea on a parts source in your country or region. You could even put in a T43 board (it will fit) ,but then you're looking at a new CPU and RAM as well. These T4X machines seem to be a dime a dozen these days, at least in US markets. Don't over spend to fix this one up. Capice? (Italian word, sounds like Ka-Peach) .

[billp117]

Lighning equals Replace the entire unit. Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Harry is correct.

[lukee]

I would recommend to obtain T43 or T43p mobo with an ATI GPU (X300, V3200 eq. to X600). In statistics it's more reliable than older units and uses more modern technologies: PCI Express, DDR2 memory bus, etc. But, you need to swap also another parts, especially RAM modules!

[schmaud]

Thanks for the replies,

at the moment I am a bit torn between the following options:

- T40/1/2 SXGA+ for ~ 200 € of ebay,
+ drop the old HDD and Akku in and go
- mainboard could fail any day again
- T60/61 SXGA+ for ~ 300-400 of ebay
+ some brick as my x60
+ newer technology ( e.g. bigger drives available)
- hidden coast ( likely soon required: new bigger HDD, new akku etc)
T410 new ~ 1050 € shipped
+ new
- price

cheers

ralf

[lukee]

You wrote three possible choices and three different levels of performance. You need to clarify what applications you need to run on the laptop? Please take in mind that T4x series was developed for using with Windows XP, T6x series was developed for Windows Vista and newest T4xx is distributed with Windows 7. However the Windows 7 will run OK on all these series. It's just about your preferences. If you want to make investment to the newest T4xx series then you can be sure you can run any application with perfect performance. Otherwise the T4x series can serve you with good performance if is equipped with maximum of RAM, with fast HDD etc. In my case, I am very glad for my 14'' T43p, it's fulfilling all my needs, it's small and lightweight and with extended battery I work about ~5 hours. With sleep mode during my T43p is not used I don't need power adapter for whole a day so I am appreciated this in school because my bag is lighter If I need to choose ThinkPad today's, I would choose X4x (Tablet also) because of dimensions, but at home desk with fully equipped docking solution. So your choice is fully up to you and your requirements