Anyone have a build quality issue with the R series ?

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wearetheborg · #1 Post by **wearetheborg** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 3:01 am

Anyone have an incident where te R series laptop got damaged and where you thought it would not have happened to a T series laptop ?

pianowizard · #2 Post by **pianowizard** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:10 am

I am sensing buyer's remorse!

wearetheborg · #3 Post by **wearetheborg** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:50 am

pianowizard wrote:I am sensing buyer's remorse!

Hell NO! I am extremely happy with the laptop. Way better than what I expected. Laptop seems minimally used, and the screen is the best. Battery has a cycle count of 4.
I'm hopped up that I have a laptop that used to cost $3500+ just 3.5 years ago

I like it so much that I want to discuss everything about it.

After my Dell M90, this is the second laptop I've fallen in love with

ajkula66 · #4 Post by **ajkula66** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:23 am

I would tend to think that that's the issue with the generation of the machine, more than particular series...

Since I imagine you're referring to your "new" R50P (welcome to the club of UXGA addicts, by the way), if I had to make Sophie's choice between dropping one of my R50Ps and my old T42P with FlexView, from a six-foot ladder, I'd drop the R50P and hope for the best. Somehow I feel that it would have a better chance of still being usable after the drop...although I don't believe that the LCD would survive on either/or...

After playing with my daughter's hi-end T30 for the last couple of days, and having its build quality compared to both my R50Ps and 2 T43s that I have lying around, I'm going to state that from the durability and abuse-tolarance side, that has been the last properly built ThinkPad...in my eyes at least.

The quality control/build issue has begun with A3 series (lousy plastic, even on high-ends such as A31Ps) and has not gotten any better, unfortunately...I'd be VERY scared to drop a T60 from the height that I've seen T23s fall from and survive...

elite-elitist · #5 Post by **elite-elitist** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 6:51 pm

Yes, the DC jack is soldered to the mobo on the R series, but not the T series. On the T series its a relatively easy fix.

DarkMark · #6 Post by **DarkMark** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 7:16 pm

Not on the R5x series though. I believe you mean the ones before or after?

elite-elitist · #7 Post by **elite-elitist** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 8:17 pm

I am referring to the R40.

#8 Post by **carbon_unit** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 7:48 am

R5x uses the same motherboard and power jack as the T4x series. Not soldered to the motherboard. Possibly the R4x series was the only later series that did solder to the motherboard.

The Spirit of X21 · #9 Post by **The Spirit of X21** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 12:06 am

Has anyone ever heard of an R-series machine suffering from the video chip issue that plagued the T4x machines?

ajkula66 · #10 Post by **ajkula66** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 12:13 am

The Spirit of X21 wrote:

Has anyone ever heard of an R-series machine suffering from the video chip issue that plagued the T4x machines ?

I've seen R40s with PM chip and Radeon card having issues similar to what T4 series has been doomed with. However, the percentile of the machines affected was nowhere near the original one...

The issues with video card go back to A3 series...the lightness and thin plastic of T4 series just made it easier for the card to get undone from the board.

In other words, once IBM moved their production to......., the QC went for a walk and never came back...

wearetheborg · #11 Post by **wearetheborg** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 12:25 am

ajkula66 wrote:
In other words, once IBM moved their production to......., the QC went for a walk and never came back...

I think its more a case of ruggedness being sacrified for aesthetics. The T4x laptops are the sexiest laptops I've handled.
The T3x series is more rugged, but not as pleasing.

The Spirit of X21 · #12 Post by **The Spirit of X21** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:26 pm

ajkula66 wrote:The Spirit of X21 wrote:

Has anyone ever heard of an R-series machine suffering from the video chip issue that plagued the T4x machines ?
I've seen R40s with PM chip and Radeon card having issues similar to what T4 series has been doomed with. However, the percentile of the machines affected was nowhere near the original one...

The issues with video card go back to A3 series...the lightness and thin plastic of T4 series just made it easier for the card to get undone from the board.

In other words, once IBM moved their production to......., the QC went for a walk and never came back...

Presumably, this same record of reliability holds true for the R5x series?

phool@round · #13 Post by **phool@round** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:53 am

I think it holds true with the R5X's. My R50 with ATI 9000/64M chip has the same issues. Of course it was just out of warranty when it went. I simply flex the machine to bring the screen back. Apparently the R50 line shares the same boards as the T40 line.

ajkula66 · #14 Post by **ajkula66** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 6:23 am

The Spirit of X21 wrote:

Presumably, this same record of reliability holds true for the R5x series?

I haven't had too many "regular" R5 series, but a bunch of R50Ps that I have had are to be complimented as great machines through and through, that I'd advise anyone to buy, since they are an awesome bargain at the current price range.

#15 Post by **schen** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 2:26 pm

carbon_unit wrote:R5x uses the same motherboard and power jack as the T4x series. Not soldered to the motherboard. Possibly the R4x series was the only later series that did solder to the motherboard.

It's an Acer thing. The R40s were the last of the Acer contracted ThinkPads going back to the iSeries. The loose jack is a common complaint on all Acer made machines of the same vintage. You can pretty much tell by looking at the back of the machine and see where the jack is. The Acer contracted machines have the jack on the left instead of the right when looking at the back. After the R40s, they were Lenovo made and and shared the MB with the T4x machines.

#16 Post by **thePCxp** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 2:00 am

I don't have any build quality issues with the R series, they are great ThinkPads.
And about the video chip issue, my R51 had to have the system board replaced 4 times because of the video chip, and my T41 has the video chip issue right now and needs a system board replacement. My boyfriend, who's an R50, has never had a video chip issue but I think that one of my friends, who is also an R50, was a victim of the issue because I was once told that his screen was sometimes flickering and going blank or something.

Pascal_TTH · #17 Post by **Pascal_TTH** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 10:02 am

I just buy a Thinkpad R61 8918 5QG for 850 €. The build quality is the same as my old A30/A31. For such a price, it's nearly unbelievable to have Core 2 Tuo T7100, Quadro NVS 140m, 15,4" 1680x1050, fingerprint, hard disk airbag, bluetooth, tv-out, firewire, dvd burner, 120 GB 5400 rpm, 1 x 1 GB and Widows Vista Business with free downgrade to Windows XP. Of course, the R61 looks less stylish then a T61. But the T61 from office costs twice the price for same hardware except size (14" 1440x900), weight and warranty (3 years).

R61 8918 is really a nice piece of hardware.

aditya1956 · #18 Post by **aditya1956** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 11:49 am

I have been using a R51 for quite sometime now, and it feels quite rugged. Only the center portion of the lid gives a slight soft feeling compared to my T20. Build quality wise T2x and T30 seem to be the strongest. Lookwise ofcourse nothing can beat a T4x with a 14" LCD. Performance wise also the R51 is quite good. The keyboard also is quite good.

Agotthelf · #19 Post by **Agotthelf** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 3:37 am

Hi,

my R60 is quick, quiet and cool!

best regards

Andrew · #20 Post by **Andrew** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 9:45 pm

I agree with the above statement.

I have had mine for two or three years and I am still loving it. I don't want to replace it with another faster laptop or anything. The battery life is great. I put a 7200RPM HDD in it. I added more RAM. I mean, it just works. It is so plain that it is beautiful.

I am hoping that this Thinkpad lasts forever as I believe it will.

The only thing(s) I plan to upgrade would be RAM to 2GB (~$100) and a new battery (~$160) when this battery starts to go.

I just love it. I trust it.

Anyone have a build quality issue with the R series ?

Anyone have a build quality issue with the R series ?

Re: A/C Jack soldered to MB

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