Help on replacing A31 motherboard

[Milos]

Hi all,

I have an A31 2652-M3U, and am wondering if I can fit in it motherboards besides the ones in the hardware manual for that particular model? And can I put in a A31p motherboard if I match to the right LCD -- any other things that are different?

Details:
My A31 has video card has problems. I get sparse dots all over the screen sometimes, sometimes they go away and the screen is fine, and flexing the case (e.g. pressing the bottom of the thinkpad, under the cpu/graphics chip -- back, left) actually changes the pixel pattern.

I have had this problem before, and the motherboard got replaced under warranty and fixed the same issue (external display has same issue so it's not the LCD). Now it happened again, and it's out of warranty so I have to replace the MB myself.

The Thinkpad hardware manual says I can use system boards 26P8231 or 26P8398 - I have an SXGA+ 15" screen. The system boards are around $200 at the moment on ebay..

Questions:

1) Can I replace the motherboard with any other besides the above?

2) Can I use an IPS SXGA+ screen with the above motherboards?

3) Can I fit an A31p motherboard in my case/make it work, and a UXGA IPS LCD? Any differences between various motherboards besides LCD (i.e. video card)? Actually what are the differences between A31p motherboards and A31 in general besides the video card?

4) Is it unwise to upgrade all of the above, and add BT and the wireless antenna (each about $20-30), when an A31p can be found online for around $400?

I took really good care of this laptop, and have 1.5GB ram and a 7k100 hard drive, so I feel like it would be a waste to scrap it just because of the bad motherboard, regardless of whether I upgrade soon to a newer model. Wondering if going to A31p configuration (if that's possible) for an extra few bucks has many advantages..

Thanks,

Milos

[proaudioguy]

Hi all,

I have an A31 2652-M3U, and am wondering if I can fit in it motherboards besides the ones in the hardware manual for that particular model? And can I put in a A31p motherboard if I match to the right LCD -- any other things that are different?

Details:
My A31 has video card has problems. I get sparse dots all over the screen sometimes, sometimes they go away and the screen is fine, and flexing the case (e.g. pressing the bottom of the thinkpad, under the cpu/graphics chip -- back, left) actually changes the pixel pattern.

I have had this problem before, and the motherboard got replaced under warranty and fixed the same issue (external display has same issue so it's not the LCD). Now it happened again, and it's out of warranty so I have to replace the MB myself.

The Thinkpad hardware manual says I can use system boards 26P8231 or 26P8398 - I have an SXGA+ 15" screen. The system boards are around $200 at the moment on ebay..

Questions:

1) Can I replace the motherboard with any other besides the above?

2) Can I use an IPS SXGA+ screen with the above motherboards?

3) Can I fit an A31p motherboard in my case/make it work, and a UXGA IPS LCD? Any differences between various motherboards besides LCD (i.e. video card)? Actually what are the differences between A31p motherboards and A31 in general besides the video card?

4) Is it unwise to upgrade all of the above, and add BT and the wireless antenna (each about $20-30), when an A31p can be found online for around $400?

I took really good care of this laptop, and have 1.5GB ram and a 7k100 hard drive, so I feel like it would be a waste to scrap it just because of the bad motherboard, regardless of whether I upgrade soon to a newer model. Wondering if going to A31p configuration (if that's possible) for an extra few bucks has many advantages..

Thanks,

Milos

I can answer some of your questions. The A31 and the A31P cases are the same except for the blue tooth button which is located on the monitor trim piece near where the battery indicator is. There is a hole in the back for the S VIDEO IN, that has a sticker covering it in the A31. In the A31P there is an S video jack there. There is a ultra port connector in the top of the monitor on the A31P. If you replace the motherboard, and the entire monitor including the plastic trim and back you should be fine. You would need the blue tooth card to make use of that. Yo uwould need a wifi card and the antennas to make use of that. I use a proxim orinoco card andI'm extremely happy with it and would never go to the built in. This has external antenna jack and I have directional and omni directional antennas, as well as the built in. It only sticks out of the PCMCIA slot an inch so I remove it when stowing the computer away in the bag.

I have another A31 with the green lines/ dotes you speak of. I couldn't find a motherboard for SXGA for less than 500 on ebay, so I bought this A31 for $400. complete.

[Milos]

[..snip..]
The A31 and the A31P cases are the same except for the blue tooth button which is located on the monitor trim piece near where the battery indicator is. There is a hole in the back for the S VIDEO IN, that has a sticker covering it in the A31. In the A31P there is an S video jack there. There is a ultra port connector in the top of the monitor on the A31P. If you replace the motherboard, and the entire monitor including the plastic trim and back you should be fine. You would need the blue tooth card to make use of that. Yo uwould need a wifi card and the antennas to make use of that.

Thanks, so basically all A31/A31p MBs fit into the A31 case, the only things you have to match being the display to the video card on the MB, and the daughtercards?

I use a proxim orinoco card andI'm extremely happy with it and would never go to the built in. This has external antenna jack and I have directional and omni directional antennas, as well as the built in. It only sticks out of the PCMCIA slot an inch so I remove it when stowing the computer away in the bag.

I use a PCMCIA wireless card too.. I would have thought the antenna that can be mounted in the screen would have better range due to available length in the screen, so was considering the change. You find PCM card is better?

I have another A31 with the green lines/ dotes you speak of. I couldn't find a motherboard for SXGA for less than 500 on ebay, so I bought this A31 for $400. complete.

Is the screen dots a common problem with A31s? Is the cause known? In my case, I'm suspecting the high operating temperature of the GPU (~50-60C in normal, no particular load operation) since it has no connection to the heat sink -- really annoying b/c the CPU cools down, but the CPU fan keeps going because the GPU temp is the max temp, so the fan is waiting for that to go down, which never does since it's not in the path of the fan/heatsink.

Milos

[proaudioguy]

[..snip..]
The A31 and the A31P cases are the same except for the blue tooth button which is located on the monitor trim piece near where the battery indicator is. There is a hole in the back for the S VIDEO IN, that has a sticker covering it in the A31. In the A31P there is an S video jack there. There is a ultra port connector in the top of the monitor on the A31P. If you replace the motherboard, and the entire monitor including the plastic trim and back you should be fine. You would need the blue tooth card to make use of that. Yo uwould need a wifi card and the antennas to make use of that.

Thanks, so basically all A31/A31p MBs fit into the A31 case, the only things you have to match being the display to the video card on the MB, and the daughtercards?

I use a proxim orinoco card andI'm extremely happy with it and would never go to the built in. This has external antenna jack and I have directional and omni directional antennas, as well as the built in. It only sticks out of the PCMCIA slot an inch so I remove it when stowing the computer away in the bag.

I use a PCMCIA wireless card too.. I would have thought the antenna that can be mounted in the screen would have better range due to available length in the screen, so was considering the change. You find PCM card is better?

I have another A31 with the green lines/ dotes you speak of. I couldn't find a motherboard for SXGA for less than 500 on ebay, so I bought this A31 for $400. complete.

Is the screen dots a common problem with A31s? Is the cause known? In my case, I'm suspecting the high operating temperature of the GPU (~50-60C in normal, no particular load operation) since it has no connection to the heat sink -- really annoying b/c the CPU cools down, but the CPU fan keeps going because the GPU temp is the max temp, so the fan is waiting for that to go down, which never does since it's not in the path of the fan/heatsink.

Milos

You don't have to have special A31P daughter cards. Just the blue tooth thing if you plan to use it. Someone else will know more about that than I.

My PCMCIA WIFI card has an antenna jack that I take full advantage of when needed. Range is not an issue. There are SMC cards that have 200mw and a par of antenna jacks. Nothing built in is going to keep up with a 18dB high gain antenna on top of a mic stand (I carry that for other reasons).