Thinkpad R51 built quality

I'd like to know this as well...any help?

I can tell about ThinkPad G41....

The G-series are very well built - only quality components inside and outside, I think the same is valid for all ThinkPads, the difference is that G-series are more bigger than R and T series. I just got my new ThinkPad G41 from www.ibm.com for $1333 (with 512MB RAM) + tax and free shipping. I had 3 laptops before the ThinkPad, all eMachines. M5309 and 2 - M6805. The M5309 was working fine, the only problem was - is getting very hot, you can fry a egg on it )), AMD CPU 2500+, 60GB HDD(5400rpm), 512 RAM, ATI 64MB shared, 15.4” wide screen - one dead pixel. The M6805 is more powerful, AMD 64 3000+, 60GB(5400rpm), 512RAM, ATI Radeon 9600 with own 64MB Video Memory, 15.4” wide - first (no dead pixels) second (one dead pixel). I had too many problems with M6805.

1. Getting very hot.
2.Screen start flickering. (Was 3 times for repair, they didn’t fixed and I got a new one (refurbished))
3.Offen getting the “blue screen of dead” (fixed by eMachines, when main board was replaced)

I know that ATI Radeon 9600 is better than GeForce FX Go 5200 - both are with 64MB RAM. But it’s a fact that the GeForce on my new ThinkPad performing better than the ATI on my M6805, maybe due to the cheap motherboard with VIA chips, even the M5309 has a better motherboard - made by ACER with ALI chips, never had a problem with this one, only running very hot. The integrated modem on M6805 has a very poor performance, the fastest speed I can connect was a 49.2 and the line was dropping all the time. The M5309 was on 52.2 on the same line and a few drops. The ThinkPad is Rock Solid and connects on 53.3 and Up.

ThinkPad G41- no dead pixels, has also better wireless reception over M6805, better battery life - about 2 hours and something ( M6805 - hardly last for 1hour), The Pentium P4 3.05 Ghz 1mb L2 is faster than AMD 64 3000+ 1MB L2 of the M6805 on my own tests. The ThinkPad is running a lot cooler and silent than M6805.

The materials from which the cases are built are very different. The ThinkPad uses a High Quality Carbon Fibre plastic, the hinges are made from thick stainless steel, eMachines uses ordinary plastic and aluminum hinges with plastic covers - that’s why they have so many recalls for cracked hinges on M6805.

Tank’s to the excellent customer service of eMachines, but I can’t take it anymore. My M6805 was traveling all the time - to eMachines repair facility and back, yes the shipment was prepaid by eMachines.

I have got my new ThinkPad G41 for a week and I’m very happy with it. The feeling is like you trade your old Ford escort for a new BMW. I am telling you , I’ve been playing with HP, Compaq and Dell - nothing comes even close to IBM ThinkPad if you compare built quality.

Good Luck


General
Model name 288692U
Description ThinkPad G41(IBM Think Express Program)
IBM Web Price* $1,249.00
SuccessLease® for Small Business*** $45.00/mo. for 36 mos.


Operating System
Operating System Title Microsoft Windows XP Professional


Architecture
Bus type/architecture PCI
Indicator light Yes
PC Card support 2 Type II or I Type III


Display
External display supported Yes
Simultaneous external display Yes
Screen type description TFT
Viewable image size (diagonal) inches 15.0
Screen illumination Backlit
Max colors or gray shades 16777216
Maximum Resolution 1024x768


Graphics
Video RAM std/max 64MB
Description NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200
Graphics type SXGA+
Video RAM type DDR SDRAM
Max resolution 2048x1536 16777216 colors
Max colors (with max video RAM) 16777216
Graphics bus interface AGP 4X
Video on Planar Yes


Processor
Processor (CPU) Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor 532 with HT Technology
Processor speed[1] 3.06 GHz
Front side bus (FSB) 533 MHz
Internal L2 cache memory size 1 MB


System memory
Memory (RAM) std/max[8] 256MB / 2GB
RAM slots total 2 SODIMM
RAM slots available 1 SODIMM
Memory speed 333 MHz
RAM type DDR SDRAM
Module specifications PC2700


Hard drive
Hard disk size (GB)[4] 40 GB
Interface type ATA-100 (Enhanced IDE)
Hard drive speed (RPM) 5400


Optical device
Optical device CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo IV
Device interface EIDE
Optical device speed[5] 24X/10X/24X/8X Max


Audio
Integrated speakers 1
Speaker power rating 2 Watts
Volume control buttons Yes
Speaker Quantity 1 (Internal Speaker)
Number of speakers 1
Audio chipset SoundMAX
Audio data width n/a
Audio on planar Yes


Communications
Fax/modem description 56K V.92 designed modem
Fax/modem speed[3] 56Kbps data/14.4Kbps fax
Infrared port No
Ethernet description Integrated Gigabit Ethernet
Ethernet interface type Gigabit Ethernet- Integrated
Ethernet on motherboard Yes


Wireless Networking Components
Wireless speed 11b:11Mbps, 11g:54Mbps
Wireless Standard[10] IBM 11b/g Wi-Fi wireless
Wireless Type LAN
Antenna Ultra Connect
Description IBM 11b/g Wi-Fi Wireless
Frequency 802.11b/g: 2.4GHz
Wireless Implementation (Form Factor) Mini PCI


Accessories
A/C adapter 120 watt
Port replication NONE
Docking station None


Standard features
Pointing Device Type TrackPoint with "Press-to-Select"
Keyboard type[11] Full size
Keyboard light No


Expansion options
Plug and play support Yes
Port connectors 4 USB 2.0, AC adapter, External Display, External microphone, Headphone jack, Keyboard/mouse common port, Parallel, RJ-11, RJ-45
BIOS type Flash ROM
Infrared Support No


Weight & dimensions
Weight[2] 8.36 lbs
Height 2.0 in
Depth 11.12 in
Width 12.95 in
Travel weight 8.36 lbs


Security
Security features Hard disk drive password, Power-on password, Supervisor password, IBM Security Slot
Security identification technology None


Limited warranty[7]
Type of service[13] Customer Carry-in Repair or ThinkPad EasyServ
Limited warranty period One year parts and labor (system battery: one year)


Battery
Battery Types 12 Cell Lithium-Ion
Battery Voltage 10.8 V


Software[12]
Operating system provided Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Communications applications[9] Adobe Acrobat Reader;IBM Access Connections
Utility applications IBM Rapid Restore PC;Norton AntiVirus 2004 with 90 days of virus definition upgrades;PC Doctor diagnostics;ThinkPad Configuration Utility
Productivity applications Access IBM
Other applications provided IBM Drive Letter Access
Supported operating system Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

I can post pictures...........

If you want I can post some pics.

I have had a 6805 for over 1 year,and it runs cooler than any notebook I have
ever seen,I have owned or currently own a IBM T40,Aopen 1557gls,Compaq
v2000,Averatec 3200,Dell I8000,Latatude CPt,and many more and the 6805
runs at least 700 percent cooler,I just finished mixing and enconding a music
cd ,10 tracks using sound forge,a midi interface,a usb2 hd,a firewire drive ,a
mixer,lame all at the same time for over 8 hrs and you can cool a beer on the
bottom of the computer.I can run HL2 for hours with no heat at all,from my
point of view the 6805 is the coolest(temp wise) running notebook ever,the only
drawback is it cann't run protools.By the way I built my first recording studio in 1973 .

.....just put your hand under the laptop

......just put your left hand under your M6805 after 30 min of work, thеn your right hand over your heart and say it again ))))

If you are not completely satisfied go to the eMachines section of this forum and search for cracked hinges and flickering screen problems, upgrading your BIOS for WinXP SP2 and etc.

If the only reason your choosing IBM is because you like well built things. Then I personally would rather opt for a Panasonic Toughbook. Built from the ground up as a rugged, well built, strong notebook. More so then any other IBM.

I'm typing this from an R50p, and I have to say, it's a tank. The screen is UXGA and it's just gorgeous. The dimensions are significantly larger than my T42 (I have one of each for work), but not unmanageable. I really like the tactile feel of the chassis, it's very solid. Actually, both are really nice lappys.

If I had to choose, one over the other -- I would have to go with the T42 (T43 should be getting some higher-end models soon), as it's smaller, and you can configure it to have the same speed/capacity components.

But that is to say, the components are not the latest/greatest. You'll have to go to Sager for that.

Anyway, I have to say that these are the nicest laptops I've had.

Other than a Mac, of course.

Please do!

.... I agree with that, Panasonic know how to make tough things. My Pansonic TV still running without any problems 12 years! But the Panasonic Toughbook 51 - (15" screen) is $1000 more than ThinkPad G41 ($1333)

....actually I can't, the moderator must add this function to my acc.

Naw, all you need to do is upload pictures to a remote server such as TinyPic and either link to them via text links (TinyPic allows ONLY text links) using the forum [url] tag.

OR: if you have a different remote server that allows off-side image linking (ie.: webspace provided by your ISP), you can use the forum [IMG] tag to show them directly in your post.

I dont know about the R Series but I am extremely happy with the Thinkpad T30 I just bought (Dont game much so dont need all that power from the newer models). Compared to the old Dell Inspiron 1150 I used to have this thing is really built like a tank. The screen is 100x better too, no eye fatigue at all after extended use unlike the Inspiron where my eyes start hurting after about an hour. Of course I read as much info as I could off this forum before I made my purchase and let me tell ya the feedback is dead on. Besides the nice screen and build quality the other thing that is of major importance to me is the keyboard. The keyboard on the Thinkpad to me is even more comfortable than desktop keyboards, minus the oddly placed left ctrl key that is.

Ok! Then TinyPic

http://tinypic.com/1rtabm - G41-1

http://tinypic.com/1rtahl - G41-2

http://tinypic.com/1rtbv8 - G41-3

http://tinypic.com/1rtc03 - G41-4

http://tinypic.com/1rtc0z - G41-5

http://tinypic.com/1rtc2e - G41-6

http://tinypic.com/1rtc94 - G41-7

http://tinypic.com/1rtcao - G41-8

Nice pics alex . The rear looks pretty thick but much better ventilation compared to my T30.

Nice pictures. Man, IBMs make me drool!

More pics

...easy upgradeable RAM !!! The two chips in your hands !!!


http://tinypic.com/view.html?pic=1t6cl0

http://tinypic.com/view.html?pic=1t6cme

http://tinypic.com/view.html?pic=1t6cnk

http://tinypic.com/view.html?pic=1t6crl


....on my eMachines M6805 one chip of the RAM was on the back, the other one under the keyboard - far more complicated to upgrade !!!

i have to admit.. IBM's are very well built... used to have an old T21... my first laptop... great piece of harware from them though.

That picture seems to make the laptop look thick... whats the measurements like?

2" according to IBM. BUT, that thing is a powerhouse because it's large space allows for faster (and hotter) components.