Thinkpads Forum

So I have found a board with s/n stating it was made with the good nvidia gpu (october 08). So I got really excited thinking this is going to be my backup plan. Then I look at the picture of the gpu chip and see that it has "0742a2" on it. How can this be? Does the date on the chip mean more than the s/n on the actual machine or vis versa?

Where did you get the board? Did you pull it from a machine from a reputable source?

Welcome to the forum!

What's the production date shown on the sticker at the bottom of the laptop? It's the same sticker that holds the 7-character model number and the serial #, and is in yy/mm format, 07/12 = December of 2007 etc...

I have not bought it yet and I can't say if its reputable or not but I have seen pictures and at the price I'm not going to loose sleep if I make a mistake.

With that in mind the s/n on the bottom of the machine is "LK-NFBKM 08/10" so that would be October 2008 and in good shape. The problem is that the nvidia chip itself says "0742a2" which is the 42nd week of 07 right? So I am assuming that the chip is still a bad chip or am I mistaken somewhere?

cblair426 wrote:I have not bought it yet and I can't say if its reputable or not but I have seen pictures and at the price I'm not going to loose sleep if I make a mistake.

Then feel free to proceed with the purchase...

With that in mind the s/n on the bottom of the machine is "LK-NFBKM 08/10" so that would be October 2008 and in good shape. The problem is that the nvidia chip itself says "0742a2" which is the 42nd week of 07 right? So I am assuming that the chip is still a bad chip or am I mistaken somewhere?

I'd trust the base - presuming I knew who I was buying the machine from in the first place - more than engraving on the chip itself, and here's why: no one - and I mean NO ONE - will tell you when nVidia started rolling out the "updated" version of these chips. I've read a lot of hogwash on the web regarding this particular issue, but there really isn't any information that can be reliably traced to the source...as in nVidia, that is...

Yea I get what your saying. I bought my current T61p used without any knowledge of this problem about 8 months ago and I'm a little concerned that one day she might decide to start beeping at me. I have done the usual application of arctic #5 and everything idles in the mid to lower 40C. I would just be devistated if I went to work one day and it it decided it was done. So far there have been no signs but from everything I have read there aren't any so that would be one of the worst days of my life. I think I might open her back up and see if the previous owner had it worked on by looking at the numbers on the gpu and re-apply some paste while I'm at it.

They are great machines, but I'm afraid I have fallen in love with a time bomb with no visible countdown to watch.

Thanks for the replies, I will have to give all this some thought before I drop any more money into an aging machine.

I just completely ignore the Nvidia boards and use Intel instead. (Dead Nvidia T61Ps do make nice WUXGA screen donors.)

I prefer to buy bases instead of loose boards since everyone who pulls loose boards wants more money and there's no point in pulling a good board out of a good base. Bases often come with CPU, cooler and other useful parts installed saving assembly time. For well under a hundred bucks you'll be good to go. The last one I bought was forty shipped.

Just grab an Intel board and be happy for years.

I like the idea of a powerful display in my laptop (unless of course there is the certainty it will fail). I am now wondering if my board was replaced by the previous owner considering the punishment I have put this machine through in my day to day work, school, and obsession with constant improvement in the system itself (i.e. lots of power cycles). Kind of makes me wonder why the gpu hasn't given out yet.


While an Intel board is a good alternative, I bought this machine because I wanted something that would suite my needs all around which includes a little gaming and minor graphic design. I think at this point I am going to run my t61p till the wheels fall off and then see if I can find a w500 which is pretty close to what I am running now.

@cblair426:

On another note...is that a typo in your signature, or you've actually gone through the trouble of pinmodding a T9600 to get it to run in a T61p?

indeed it is....the t9300 is what I have. Thank you for pointing that out. Fingers got away from my brain while I was typing.

There we go, that's a little more accurate. Can you even pin mod the t9600 since it is the 1066mhz fsb?

cblair426 wrote: Can you even pin mod the t9600 since it is the 1066mhz fsb?

Yep, there's a thread on NBR on getting the X9100 to work on 965 chipset...

I've got no time for that, hence I just threw a X9000 in mine...

I didn't read this entire thread, but wanted to point out that a unit with 08/10 date code shouldn't have a gpu from 2007, so it looks like the board was replaced. This could have been done by lenovo warranty, a previous owner, or it could be someone trying to scam someone. The dates on the chip do vary and if it's the original board from october 2008, then it should be good, but I'll also add that I have yet to see a T61p from october 2008. I've seen a few from september, and I'm typing on a T61 from october. The series was cancelled after august so few were made since then.

Another telltale sign is if you look on the upper ram socket and see if there is a sticker attached with some tape. A lenovo refurbished board has an extra mac address sticker attached there, it's intended to be affixed to the bottom of the laptop to comply with laws, but the repair techs rarely bother with it. It's a sure sign the board has been replaced if you see that sticker.


ps. out of all the 08/08 or newer boards I've seen (over 100), they generally range from 0820 to 0829 on the chips, but these dates alone are no assurance the chip is good as it's believed that the old and new design were manufactured concurrently. I've also never seen any reports of an 08/08 or newer system with confirmed original board ever dying of gpu failure. I'm not saying it can't happen, all electronics can fail, but the evidence is pretty clear that nVidia did effectively solve this problem, even if they did a horrible job of handling the aftermath from the bad ones.