Are T4xps as prone to the graphics card issue as the T4xs?

[Outatime1989]

Since the t4xs came with the radeon card and the T4xps came with the FireGLs are they still as prone to the graphics card issues? I know the Chip is still in the same place but are the ps any better?

[ajkula66]

The short answer would be "yes", the more precise one " it depends"...

The least prone - in my experience - are T43/p units.

The most prone - T40/41 with the Radeon 7500 GPU.

Everything else is "middle of the road".

The machines built after spring of 2005 have the improved soldering process in place. This includes all of T43/p models, as well as some of the "late" T42/p units. Some boars which were replaced under warranty on the older machines also have this adjustment, commonly known as "the red dots".

Happy hunting.

[Neil]

But, there have been reports of boards with the red dots that have developed GPU problems, so I guess "it depends" is still the best answer. Plus, we are now seeing quite a number of these boards developing southbridge issues similar to the GPU. Is there any advantage to the "p" models there?

[dr_st]

Plus, we are now seeing quite a number of these boards developing southbridge issues similar to the GPU. Is there any advantage to the "p" models there?

Logic says "no". It's the same southbridge chip. The "p" models weren't any better built or anything. They just shipped them with more powerful GPUs, and typically configured with more high-end options (faster CPU, more RAM, bigger/faster HD...). Other than that, T4x and T4xp are the same laptop.

[poshgeordie]

As repairers of the chips we are finding that T4X with metal topped GPU's tend to suffer from unsoldered Southbridge (SB) chips rather than GPU's, whereas anything with Radeon 7500 GPU's are the GPU's.
T4X's with FireGL GPU's tend to be the GPU rather than the SB.

We're also seeing more unsoldered SB in the last 6 - 9 months, maybe reflecting the fact that as the laptops are getting older this problem is becoming more prevalent.

I realise we see the worst side of these laptops, and we aren't keeping records of the dates of manufacture of the boards so can't comment on years of manufacturer etc.