R51 opinions

[wolfman]

Hello all,

I am considering purchasing an R51 model 1836-Q7U as I'd like to have a higher resolution display for my main machine than the 1024x768 of my R40. The specs are: XP pro, 512 meg of ram expandable to 2 gig (and I can move 2 gig from my existing R40 to this machine), Pentium M dothan 1.7 gigahertz w/2 mb L2 cache, ATI Radeon 9000 graphics with 32 meg of ram, 15 inch 1400x1050 flexview display, 80 gig 4200 rpm drive (which I will replace with 7200 rpm I currently have), ultra-nav, dvd burner, 1 year warranty, gigabit ethernet, 56k modem, ibm 802.11 a/b/g wireless and bluetooth built in. Weight is 6.6 pounds which is a little heavier than I'd like but I use it on the desk or around the house most of the time...

Can anyone comment on the R51? Should I just wait a couple months and go for a T series with a Yonah dual core processor?

[thePCxp]

Can anyone comment on the R51?

I would like to comment on the R51 but what would you like to know.

[wolfman]

Sorry about it being so "open ended". Specifically I'm looking for things like:

1) Can you compare the build quality to an R40 or a current T series like the T42? People here rave about the T series being significantly better than the R and I'm curious if you have experience with both if you can comment on that as there is a pretty wide price difference.
2) Have you heard of or had any issues with the Radeon 9000 chipset (I was reading on the web about a possible higher rate of failure of laptop boards that have this chipset)?
3) Have you experienced any fan related problems like others with the T series have (pulsing, always on, extremely hot underside of the unit, etc)?

Thanks a lot - it looks like a very nice machine for the money.

Steve

[thePCxp]

1. I used an R40 (but I didn't own one, I used the ones in my school) and I think that the R5x's are better. I can't really compare the built quality on them because they are both good but I have to say that the keyboard on the R5x's is more confortable. I haven't used or seen a T series but I would like to one day and I also think that the R series is as good as the T series.
2. I don't think that I have heard of any issues with the Radeon 9000 chipset (and my R51 has it too) but I also think that the video card is what caused my R51's system board to fail (It happened 3 times).
3. I haven't experienced any fan problems.

[wolfman]

Thanks for the follow-up, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. So you've had the system board replaced 3 times in your R51 and you believe it was related to the video chipset? Did the video go haywire (I've read about screens that turn into squares, vertical lines, etc with the radeon 9000) or did the machine just stop working?

Thanks!

[thePCxp]

The ThinkPad just stopped working (when I turned it on, the battery and on indicators only showed and the fan was running). I do believe it was also the video chipset because the representative that I talked to also said that there might have been a problem with the video chipset, but I still don't know what was causing my ThinkPad's system board to fail (but I think that the video chipset also might had something to do with it).
I also posted a topic in this forum called "R51 doesn't start".