Known common hardware failures across recent thinkpad models

[kayle]

I have an R51 and through other topics on this forum was able to diagnose it with the motherboard failing due to the ATI gpu problem. I'm therefore looking into getting a replacement used laptop. Is there a list somewhere of the common known failure points across all models that I should avoid? From this forum, it looks like most of the T4x series suffers from the same ATI issue. Also, I saw that newer nVidia cards are known to fail after a couple years. It'd be helpful to buyers to have a list of what to watch out for across the various configurations. I'm happy with the R51 lasting 5 years, but it'd be nice to know if there's obvious configurations to avoid when replacing it.

-Kayle

[Harryc]

Well, how far back do you want to go....here's a quick list of issues over the past 8 years.

T20/21's - Blink of death (search the forum for BOD)
T23 - loose Inductors
T30's - loose solder joints in the front RAM slot
A3X's - loose ATI GPU issue, not at bad as T4X series but still there
T4X's - loose ATI GPU, Intel OK.
R5X's - loose ATI GPU, Intel OK.
T61/R61 - defective NVIDIA Quadro NVS 120M

Many here would agree that in today's market a higher end T60 model is the best buy.

[RealBlackStuff]

With the exception of the T20/21 and T61/R61, solutions have been found for the other problems.
T23: resolder inductors, needs complete disassembly, but the soldering takes only a few minutes. No extra cost.
T30: resoldering, using flux, takes 10-20 minutes. No disassembly required. No extra cost.
A3x, T4x, R5x: reflowing/reballing of ATI GPU (and sometimes of Southbridge in T43/R52) solves those problems permanently.
Costs anywhere from $45.- upwards. Still cheaper than buying a new laptop.