Thinkpads Forum

I have this amazing X61s (7668 CTO) that was working as my home server for the past few years. Recently the main fan started failing - first it started making weird noises and ultimately machine stopped booting due to "Fan error". I am not particularly attached to it, but it's nice to have a smallish server for home tasks instead of inundating my main W701 workhorse.

My dilemma (of sorts) is should go ahead and fix it (which should cost me about $50 - 60 for new fansink assembly + shipping) or should I sell it (which probably is going to earn me around $100 or so)? Is there anything more advanced (X20x something?) that can be had for around $100 (I am willing to add a little) for same home server use?

I'd say "fix it" since a non-working X61s is unlikely to bring much more than $50-60.

If it does what you need it to - which doesn't seem to be an awful lot - spending money on an upgrade is not required.

My $0.02 only...

If you are handy enough, you can just replace the fan itself for less than $10.- (check eBay for "Lenovo X61s fan").
You'll need to take the whole machine apart though, to get at the fan.
And make sure to clean off the old gunk and apply fresh thermal paste (preferably AS5) before you re-install.

Thanks for heads up, ajkula66, for $50 - 60 bucks it doesn't make much sense to sell. Fix it then

If you are handy enough, you can just replace the fan itself for less than $10.- (check eBay for "Lenovo X61s fan").

I've seen plenty of warnings saying that people on eBay aren't really conscious about marking their merchandise properly and assuming all fans from X6x line are interchangeable. Are there any specific things I need to look up to make sure I am getting a right part for X61s?

Follow up questions - I see from HMM that the part number I need is 42X3804. Is it the only compatible part or some other would do as well? Does it make sense to purchase these parts on eBay (haven't been there in a while)? Anything else I should be aware of?

You need to remove the old unit first, take a good look at it, note down P/N and FRU.
See if there is info/make/model from the fan manufacturer itself.
Place a WTB in our Marketforum, if you want to be sure you get the correct part 42X3804.

Done, thank you

Just curious - is this a correct model?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-CPU-C ... 5d3bc82f51