What is the "most common" screen res for a 15" R61 please?

[glossywhite]

Hello all!

I hope you are all enjoying the weekend, thus far?

I'd like to ask... What is the "most common" screen res for a 15" R61 please? I have just bought this beauty:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111065320703? ... 1439.l2649

... but by the time I was able to question him about in-depth specs and "FRU" (is that the right term?), it was packed and shipped.

Also...

#1 What CPU and RAM am I able to upgrade to, max?

#2 Does the 15" have a "roll cage", and if not, is this variation well built?

#3 Where would one (UK) get a replacement screen lid, as the guy says he had to sand off some etched logo - I may place my own logo/sticker over it, but it would be great to know I could buy a lid, if need be?

#4 If there is anything else you feel I should know, I'll leave it to your discretion to add it below.



### EDIT ###


Are there any 15" models which have the infamous Nvidia issues? :p

Thank you very much!

God bless you.

[Neil]

Hi there glossywhite, welcome to thinkpads.com!

Not sure if there is a "most common" resolution, but my guess would be XGA, as I've seen plenty of them up for sale on eBay.

Q#1 T7700 was the fastest CPU shipped from factory in a R61. As for RAM due to Intel 965 chipset limitation, max addressable memory is 4GB.

Q#2 I don't actually have an "R" series here at the moment, but I recall the build quality to be very similar.

Q#3 Either in this forum's marketplace or eBay.

Q#4 Don't have anything in mind, but yes some shipped with the nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M GPU.

With a little patience you will know exactly what you bought in due time. No need to try and guess right now.

[glossywhite]

Hi there glossywhite, welcome to thinkpads.com!

Not sure if there is a "most common" resolution, but my guess would be XGA, as I've seen plenty of them up for sale on eBay.

Q#1 T7700 was the fastest CPU shipped from factory in a R61. As for RAM due to Intel 965 chipset limitation, max addressable memory is 4GB.

Q#2 I don't actually have an "R" series here at the moment, but I recall the build quality to be very similar.

Q#3 Either in this forum's marketplace or eBay.

Q#4 Don't have anything in mind, but yes some shipped with the nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M GPU.

With a little patience you will know exactly what you bought in due time. No need to try and guess right now.

So true!

As for the RAM... I was under the impression that there's a modded BIOS which allows 8Gb and SATA II?

XGA? Did you mean WXGA? Surely 1024x768 is... 1999 res? :p

Thank you so much for your insightful reply, I value that a great deal.

take care

[fleming164]

I believe you're right on the 8GB RAM limitation and I don't think any 15" 4:3 T/R61 units were ever produced so you're probably looking at 15.4" WXGA (1280x800) which should be upgradable to WUXGA (1920x1200).

As for a max CPU, technically you could go for an X9000 but they're pretty hot, a T9500 or T9300 would be a better choice based on price and heat, with the latter being considerably cheaper without much of a performance hit.

Once you've upgraded the RAM and CPU, have a look into an SSD, with Middleton's bios which enable SATA2 speeds this machine will fly!

Have a poke around in the forums, there are plenty of threads on people upgrading T/R61's.

Happy tinkering

[ajkula66]

I believe you're right on the 8GB RAM limitation and I don't think any 15" 4:3 T/R61 units were ever produced so you're probably looking at 15.4" WXGA (1280x800) which should be upgradable to WUXGA (1920x1200).

A standard 4:3 version of R61 was offered in Europe only, and is fairly rare, but some folks on the forum do own those...

As for a max CPU, technically you could go for an X9000 but they're pretty hot, a T9500 or T9300 would be a better choice based on price and heat, with the latter being considerably cheaper without much of a performance hit.

Once you've upgraded the RAM and CPU, have a look into an SSD, with Middleton's bios which enable SATA2 speeds this machine will fly!

Have a poke around in the forums, there are plenty of threads on people upgrading T/R61's.

Happy tinkering

Middleton's BIOS first, because of a possible "thermal sensing error" that a Merom board will throw when a Penryn CPU is installed...everything else is exactly like fleming164 has stated...

[glossywhite]

I believe you're right on the 8GB RAM limitation and I don't think any 15" 4:3 T/R61 units were ever produced so you're probably looking at 15.4" WXGA (1280x800) which should be upgradable to WUXGA (1920x1200).

As for a max CPU, technically you could go for an X9000 but they're pretty hot, a T9500 or T9300 would be a better choice based on price and heat, with the latter being considerably cheaper without much of a performance hit.

Once you've upgraded the RAM and CPU, have a look into an SSD, with Middleton's bios which enable SATA2 speeds this machine will fly!

Have a poke around in the forums, there are plenty of threads on people upgrading T/R61's.

Happy tinkering

Gosh, you folks sure do know your ThinkPads!

I'm currently doing a "perspective correction" in GIMP, since the eBay picture is a frightfully shot mess...




~~~~ EDIT ~~~~

Regarding the comment about the 4:3 R61 being rare...

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 20#p687620


and it's looking as if it's a widescreen model. Ah! Need to be patient - :p

Thank you so much

[Neil]

XGA? Did you mean WXGA? Surely 1024x768 is... 1999 res? :p

Yeah, you caught me! Since you asked about 15", and not 15.4", I was actually thinking about R60 models with the 4x3 screen, and not the R61 at all.

[glossywhite]

Yeah, you caught me! Since you asked about 15", and not 15.4", I was actually thinking about R60 models with the 4x3 screen, and not the R61 at all.

It's okay

Then again, Lenovo's R61 site mentions a 1024x768 15" model... surely not? Not in 2007! LOL!

Mis-print? Can you give me a rough verdict, based on the photo I've put, above?

[ajkula66]

Photo is of a 15.4" model, but yes, standard 4:3 R61 units were built in 2007 as a part of that "rare offering" that I was previously referring to...both in XGA and SXGA+...

[glossywhite]

Photo is of a 15.4" model, but yes, standard 4:3 R61 units were built in 2007 as a part of that "rare offering" that I was previously referring to...both in XGA and SXGA+...

Phew! What a relief! I didn't mind the prospect of 4:3 at all, but XGA? Hmmmm... ^_^

[EDIT]

I'm very impressed how the forum says my location is Cambridge... when it isn't (I'm in Northamptonshire, UK) ... but I was born in Cambridge, so that's a nice touch!

[glossywhite]

Hello again

Are the screens on TPs ever glossy, or does matte reign supreme?

Thank you

[ajkula66]

All "conventional" ThinkPads such as R series were matte only.

[glossywhite]

All "conventional" ThinkPads such as R series were matte only.

Great

Thanks again. I cannot wait to take delivery, tomorrow


#### EDIT ####

I hear that the 15.4 R61 does *not* have the "roll cage"... so how rigid IS it, and how is it protected from shock/stress? Seems a bit odd to not add it.

[glossywhite]

Okay, the R61 has arrived in *sparkling* condition... and it is the 1280x800, 15.4" variety

Very, VERY pleased with it.

[edit]

Oh, and it has Intel graphics


[edit #2]

And now it has Middleton's BIOS


[edit #3]

Just ordered a T7500 2.2Ghz C2D, 4M cache - decided the extra 0.2Ghz wasn't worth £7, for such a negligible difference in speed. Heatsink compound ordered, now for some RAM... :p

[glossywhite]

Hello

I've just upgraded the CPU from a Celeron M 550 to a Core 2 Duo T7500, and I thought that you'd like to see inside the machine, since I was *astounded* at what I found... or didn't find... NOT ONE BIT of dust, nowhere AT ALL!

What you see in the following photos is what I saw - I've not cleaned this machine inside at all, as it doesn't look like it has ever been used. The keyboard has no shining or wear on it whatsoever, and apart from the logo having been sanded off the lid, there are positively no signs of it having ever been used! For £55!!!

Photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22008695@N ... 442060429/


Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... WsDmiMVb70

[RealBlackStuff]

Please edit that post, remove those huge pictures and just post the LINKS to it.

Read the RULES of the ROAD
5. IF you must add a photograph to your post, PLEASE limit the size to 50k or less and place a warning in the subject line.

[glossywhite]

Please edit that post, remove those huge pictures and just post the LINKS to it.

Read the RULES of the ROAD
5. IF you must add a photograph to your post, PLEASE limit the size to 50k or less and place a warning in the subject line.

So sorry, I'll edit it now; with hindsight, they were rather large - I was so chuffed, and wanted to show it off.

Thank you


~~ [UPDATE ~~

I just ran "CrystalDiskInfo", and it says that my hard disk has only been on for 192 hours *total*, which is as good as new!