R61 Reliability?

[CRAZYBUBBA]

I've seen it implied in many places that the r61s are less reliable and sturdy than the other thinkpads. Can anyone please explain if there any issues? Should i be concerned?

[ajkula66]

Do you own one or you plan to buy it?

[ryengineer]

Thinkpad R61/i 14.1'' W has identical build as T61 series do. Both come dual Roll Cages (Thinkpad Roll Cage and Top Cover Roll Cage):

ThinkPad® Roll Cage
The ThinkPad® Roll Cage protects critical system components in case of accidents or jolts. The magnesium alloy frame that surrounds ThinkPad parts absorbs shock on drop – reducing failures and improving durability and reliability.

ThinkPad® Top Cover Roll Cage
The ThinkPad® Top Cover Roll Cage is a magnesium shell inside the ThinkPad notebook cover that's designed to give extra protection to the wireless antenna, LCD screen and other critical components. It's lightweight, very strong, and provides additional structural support to the entire notebook.

Here is a review by a user:

NoteBookReview.com - Lenovo ThinkPad R61 Review

His/Her impression:

Conclusion

Overall, I would highly recommend the Thinkpad R61 to anyone looking for a lower price notebook (compared to T61) with a very durable build and excellent performance.

Pros

-Superior build quality with magnesium roll cage and extra hard drive protection
-One of the best keyboards in notebooks
-Fairly good battery life (only 4-cells) with a much high run time when upgraded to a 7-cell battery
-Cool and quiet under normal usage and idling
-Great performance on an integrated graphics chip
-Less expensive than the T61

Lastly, I too have used R61 for a while, based on that I would rate it as robust and efficient in terms of architecture and performance respectively; as compared to any new T series machine.

Here is another live proof:

Motorcycle on ThinkPad R61 with Display Roll Cage.

[ZaZ]

They I think are offering a 14" R61 at Circuit City if you want to go have a lookie.

[ANDS]

Have had mine for a couple of months. I think I've restarted it less than 10 times (mostly when I had to recapture new network settings), and thats it.

The only problem I've had, are stubborn keys that seem to just, pop off - but that could be a specific design to aid in replacement, as the keys just as easily go right back on.

[andyP]

From my experience I can say there is no real difference with reliability. The components are similar as is the software install. The difference is in the "body". The Ts will take more punishment than an R before they start cracking up.
n.b. waiting to see what the screen roll cage makes for a difference - can only be positive.