Hows the failure rate of the T61 Nvidia video?

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SaberX · #1 Post by **SaberX** » Fri May 06, 2011 8:34 am

Been out of the thinkpad game for a while. Got a chance to pick up a used T61 with 128mb Nvidia video. I know there was some problems with them. Do they have a high failure rate like some dell's and acers?

Thx
Bill

hunterman223 · #2 Post by **hunterman223** » Fri May 06, 2011 9:21 am

They have an incredibly high failure rate. As several have put it, it's not if it will fail, it's a matter of when.

Ask the seller what the manufacture date is. I believe if it is after 08/08 it was a newer revision nvidia GPU, and is free of the defect. If not, i would pass unless you are okay with that lack of reliability.

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SaberX · #3 Post by **SaberX** » Fri May 06, 2011 9:45 am

Thx for the info.
I'll ask about the date .
After a few emails I found the model number 6457-4XU
Edit.
Just found out it's date is 07/09.
I'm going for it. Sounds like a nice system.

#4 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Fri May 06, 2011 1:16 pm

08/08 means 2008/August. Anything newer is OK
07/09 means 2007/September; this machine WILL crap out unless the mobo has been exchanged after 2008/August!

hunterman223 · #5 Post by **hunterman223** » Fri May 06, 2011 1:51 pm

Like I said, it's your choice. You will be sacrificing reliability, but if you can live with it it will be a nice machine.

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SaberX · #6 Post by **SaberX** » Fri May 06, 2011 2:11 pm

RealBlackStuff wrote:08/08 means 2008/August. Anything newer is OK
07/09 means 2007/September; this machine WILL crap out unless the mobo has been exchanged after 2008/August!

Ok
I thought it was the other way around.
Also just found out it had ext warranty and just ran out in 2010-oct.
Also said the system was sent in and had the board replaced just befor the warranty ran out.
How can I tell the date on the board when I get it?
Getting the whole system with good battery and dock for good price(under 200.00) so I'll take a chance on it.
I guess if the board does give out I can always replace it.

rumbero · #7 Post by **rumbero** » Fri May 06, 2011 3:35 pm

SaberX wrote:How can I tell the date on the board when I get it?

There is, unfortunately, no way to find out any significant information of the nVIDIA chip revision or production date via any software. I had a motherboard replacement a few weeks ago for the very same reason. One has to actually open up the machine by removing the keyboard and fan, and wipe the thermal grease from the nVIDIA chip, in order to see its production date. This is what i actually did, and the nVIDIA chip had the following info engraved/printed on it:

Code: Select all

nVIDIA
UA10B165 1041A2
S TAIWAN
P3U612.M2W
G84-950-A2

The most interesting information is contained in the second half of the second line. It states 1041A2, which according to informed rumours on this and other Thinkpad related forums refers to the production date. In the case of this sample, this would be the 41st week of 2010, with revision A2. So, in my case, this chip should be okay, as it was produced far later than August 2008, obviously.

On http://www.lenovoservicetraining.com/io ... index.html you can find some very well done traininig videos which explain how to disassemble, and later reassemble the mentioned parts, in case you want to go for it and check on your own. Just take care to reapply sufficient thermal grease to the nVIDIA chip once you reassemble the fan assembly, or it will be fried by excess heat in no time.

SaberX · #8 Post by **SaberX** » Fri May 06, 2011 4:30 pm

Thx for all the info and help.
After reading here and the sticky post ,I'm getting a deal so I'll go for it.
But now on a side note ,if it does fail at some point, and have to look for a mobo for it.
What mother boards will fit the T61 -15.4" ?
Will a T60 or newer T500 board work?
What about the intel video T61 ?

rumbero · #9 Post by **rumbero** » Fri May 06, 2011 5:13 pm

SaberX wrote:What mother boards will fit the T61 -15.4" ?
Will a T60 or newer T500 board work?
What about the intel video T61 ?

I doubt that a T60 board would be a good choice, as you wouldn't be able to reuse your existing CPU. And a T500 board has a completely different connector layout, so it wouldn't fit either. Using an Intel graphics based T61 board would probably be the perfect choice.

For another broken nVIDIA based T61 which had no more warranty i bought a used Intel graphics board and swapped it on my own. The machine works fine again, and more than that, it now runs lots cooler and much more quiet than before. I really don't miss any nVIDIA graphics as the Intel graphic chip is powerful enough for my usual daily tasks (which don't include any games or other pointless time wasting activities).

There is a nice listing of compatible mainboards for each existing T61 variation on the German Thinkpad-Forum at http://thinkpad-forum.de/threads/112458 ... ost1063740 which shows all the possible combinations. Here is the relevant data copied over from there:

---------- snip ----------
14.1" 4:3
Intel GM965
42W7648 Merom, FPR
42W7872 Penryn

Nvidia NVS140
42W7649 Merom
42W7873 Penryn

Nvidia Quadro FX 570M (T61p)
42W7650 Merom
42W7874 Penryn

14.1" 16:10
Intel GM965
41W1487 Merom
42W7866 Penryn

Nvidia NVS140
41W1489 Merom
44C3933/42W7867 Penryn (s. Beiträge 9&10)

15.4" 16:10
Intel GM965
42W7651 Merom
42W7875 Penryn

Nvidia NVS140
42W7652 Merom
42W7876 Penryn

Nvidia Quadro FX 570M (T61p)
42W7653 Merom
42W7877 Penryn

Merom CPUs: T7100, T7300, T7500, T7700, T7800, X7800, X7900
Penyryn CPUs: T8100, T8300, T9300, T9500, X9000
---------- snip ----------

Since your T61 6457-4XU is a 15.4 inch 16:10 model, the following two boards (omitting the nVIDIA based ones) will fit your machine:

15.4" 16:10
Intel GM965
42W7651 Merom
42W7875 Penryn

Please note that the Penryn capable board is backwards compatible for the Merom CPU's, but the Merom boards are not upward compatible with Penryn CPU's. In your case, the 6457-4XU is equipped with a T7500 Merom CPU, so either choice would be fine.

If you'd prefer to have yet another nVIDIA based replacement board, which i would strongly suggest to avoid, you'll find the relevant mainboard FRUs listed further above.

crashnburn · #10 Post by **crashnburn** » Fri May 06, 2011 7:56 pm

How did you do that? Which chip did you put in?

rumbero · #11 Post by **rumbero** » Sat May 07, 2011 8:01 am

crashnburn wrote:How did you do that? Which chip did you put in?

How did i do what? If you refer to the mainboard swap i mentioned in my last post:

I bought a broken T61 8889-2BG (14.1" 4:3) with mainboard FRU 42W7649 from eBay, which suffered from the dreaded nVIDIA issue. In parallel, i also bought a used intel graphics mainboard with FRU 42W7648 from a professional vendor who was giving a function guaranty for the item.
Then i disassembled the broken T61 according to the detailed procedure outlined in the Hardware Maintenance Manual, swapped the broken board with the good one, switched over the CPU (Merom T7300) to the "new' board, and applied some fresh thermal grease (very important!) before finally reassembling and testing the machine.
As this was the first time i ever performed such a mainboard swap, i was very happy to see how easy it was to be done and that the T61 worked out of the box afterwards.

It is a straight procedure, and if you invest some time, patience and lots of care, anybody with some basic skills can do it, following the great documentation provided via the http://www.lenovoservicetraining.com/io ... index.html web site and the HMM (Hardware Maintenance Manual) for the machine. The appropriate HMM for your particular machine can be found via the www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/migr-39298.html listing of all available Hardware Maintenance Manuals. Just pick the right one and carefully read and understand the relevant pages before starting to take apart your Thinkpad.

SaberX · #12 Post by **SaberX** » Sat May 07, 2011 8:26 am

Sounds like the intel board is the way to go.
I picked up the T61 last night. System is mint. Pass all video tests I did on it. But still never know about it. It was also sent in last year for overheating problem and got the board replaced. The LCD hinges have little play in them. That's the only con with it.

rumbero · #13 Post by **rumbero** » Sat May 07, 2011 9:00 am

SaberX wrote:I picked up the T61 last night. System is mint. Pass all video tests I did on it. But still never know about it. It was also sent in last year for overheating problem and got the board replaced.

If the board was already once replaced as late as in 2010, you stand a good chance to already have a fixed nVIDIA chip. So just enjoy your new machine and be happy with it.

During the time enjoying your currently well running machine you might want to look for a cheap Intel graphics replacement board with Penryn capability, and store that in a secure place as a future fallback. I am pretty sure that such boards will be well sought after in the future, given the failure rate of older broken nVIDIA chips, and that this might even be a good investment. Good luck!