Old Thinkpad?

[Sheldon_King]

*This is directly attached to my PSU thread* *Specs in Signature*

 

First off, let me say that I am not looking for suggestion that are along the lines of "your laptop is too old, replace it". Hardware wise, it does all I ask it too and more.  The problem I have is twofold. First issue (most important) is the charger (not this is the 4th in 6 months) continuously stop functioning due to fatigue wear on the plug (the side connected to the laptop chassis). The solution seems to continue to be  replacing the cord, but seriously $50 is a lot of money for a product that fails once a quarter or more. Second problem is the lack of RAM, and that is just $$$ (accepts 8GB but DDR2 seems to be made of gold (price, not literally (even though it is iirc)).

So I guess the question becomes: Buy a new charger for the lenovo again, or get a newer laptop? I would think that at the least I would be looking at the price of a charger ($50 or a chinese knockoff) + super 88 or maybe heatshrink or something to reenforce the connection and avoid this cost again. Thoughts? The up side here being I can afford 2 R9 290s for the desktop. The downside being fixing a fixed fix.

 

The new laptop route would be something along the lines of a W520 or a M4600, or the HP competitor. There is a nice M4600 local I have my eyes on, but it is only a dual core (i5 sandybridge) with a Quadro 1000m (double precision GT540 more or less), with 4GB DDR3. The up side here being I can get USB3, DX11, a windows 7 pro key, SATA 6Gbps, and can upgrade to 8GB without any cost (sue to parts I already own). The downside being the $500 cost used is the same as a new laptop that far underperforms it, and it would mean only a single R9 290.

 

TLDR: Should I fix what I have, or upgrade for the sake of upgrading at the cost of desktop performance?

 

*Also: Sorry for long winded post.

[DigitalHermit]

For the cables, do this:

 

It works even on larger cables... (That is, if you still want to stick with your current laptop and not upgrade yet...)

[Sheldon_King]

For the cables, do this:

 

It works even on larger cables... (That is, if you still want to stick with your current laptop and not upgrade yet...)

Is that a Loaf Tie (like on bread)?   It looks similar to the idea I had with either shrink wrap or Super 88 (electricians tape), except it would not have adhesive on it, if that would even help.

 

The cables generally operate fine for 6 or so weeks, then it is intermittent operation, if you push on it it will work, but after a while of that, no amount of force makes the connection.

 

I personally see no real reason to upgrade other than the ancient (relatively) age of the system. It does what I ask it to. The only hangup is as it gets older it is going to get more and more difficult (and expensive) to find parts (like the charger, and the hinges) and software to use on it (Though Lenovo did release proper drivers for windows 8.1 for it and Nvidia is still supporting the GPU for now). I just don't know.

[DigitalHermit]

Is that a Loaf Tie (like on bread)?   It looks similar to the idea I had with either shrink wrap or Super 88 (electricians tape), except it would not have adhesive on it, if that would even help.

 

The cables generally operate fine for 6 or so weeks, then it is intermittent operation, if you push on it it will work, but after a while of that, no amount of force makes the connection.

 

I personally see no real reason to upgrade other than the ancient (relatively) age of the system. It does what I ask it to. The only hangup is as it gets older it is going to get more and more difficult (and expensive) to find parts (like the charger, and the hinges) and software to use on it (Though Lenovo did release proper drivers for windows 8.1 for it and Nvidia is still supporting the GPU for now). I just don't know.

 

It's cable twist ties... I never work on a computer without those...  Put those near the power brick and the plug... You might also want to get the charger socket checked... It might have worn down over the years...

 

Btw, there are lots of good third party repair shops where I live so devices that were designed to last 3-5 years usually last longer than that... You might want to look for those too...

[Sheldon_King]

It's cable twist ties... I never work on a computer without those...  Put those near the power brick and the plug... You might also want to get the charger socket checked... It might have worn down over the years...

 

Btw, there are lots of good third party repair shops where I live so devices that were designed to last 3-5 years usually last longer than that... You might want to look for those too...

The charger socket (the actual plug internal to the laptop) was replaced in feburaury when I replaced the LCD last, it is still functional.

 

Reapair shops here, in our area that is are no less than 30 miles away (we can either go to Danville, VA or the Triad for that. In Rockingham coounty the closest thing we have to a repair shop is the electrician, and he don't repair computers (but will solder for a fee)).

[DigitalHermit]

The charger socket (the actual plug internal to the laptop) was replaced in feburaury when I replaced the LCD last, it is still functional.

 

Reapair shops here, in our area that is are no less than 30 miles away (we can either go to Danville, VA or the Triad for that. In Rockingham coounty the closest thing we have to a repair shop is the electrician, and he don't repair computers (but will solder for a fee)).

 

It might just be the cable of the charger... (Or Lenovo's ripping you off by sending you crap chargers)

 

Have you tried looking for compatible third party chargers from companies like Huntkey or FSP?

[Sheldon_King]

It might just be the cable of the charger... (Or Lenovo's ripping you off by sending you crap chargers)

 

Have you tried looking for compatible third party chargers from companies like Huntkey or FSP?

I have not looked too hard for a compatible 3rd party charger. I checked the local Kmart and Walmart and they both offer the same 65 watt Belkin unit (the spec calls for 90watts on a 19V cycle).  Could probably ckeck best buy later in the week.

Is there any you would suggest specifically? (Might be quicker to order overnight online than to go to the city).

[DigitalHermit]

I have not looked too hard for a compatible 3rd party charger. I checked the local Kmart and Walmart and they both offer the same 65 watt Belkin unit (the spec calls for 90watts on a 19V cycle).  Could probably ckeck best buy later in the week.

Is there any you would suggest specifically? (Might be quicker to order overnight online than to go to the city).

 

Not really... I haven't had to buy a laptop charger yet (the chargers on my eMachines and Toshiba are really well built)... For one, Huntkey is a popular replacement for stock chargers in my country (only because they have no worthy competition)... You might need to do a bit more digging before heading out to buy one since this may or may not kill your device...

[Sheldon_King]

Not really... I haven't had to buy a laptop charger yet (the chargers on my eMachines and Toshiba are really well built)... For one, Huntkey is a popular replacement for stock chargers in my country (only because they have no worthy competition)... You might need to do a bit more digging before heading out to buy one since this may or may not kill your device...

Besides this Thinkpad, I have only ever had to buy one charger, and that was a PA-13 for a Dell precision. I think what I will do is replace the charger again with OEM parts and reinforce it a bit at the previous fairure points. If nothing else, then we tested a possible fix and I can always replace or upgrade later.

[DigitalHermit]

Besides this Thinkpad, I have only ever had to buy one charger, and that was a PA-13 for a Dell precision. I think what I will do is replace the charger again with OEM parts and reinforce it a bit at the previous fairure points. If nothing else, then we tested a possible fix and I can always replace or upgrade later.

 

Best of luck for your endeavors...

 

Also, if you're planning on upgrading, I recommend waiting for Broadwell-based laptops to come out (since the prices of Haswell-based laptops might drop)...

[Sheldon_King]

Best of luck for your endeavors...

 

Also, if you're planning on upgrading, I recommend waiting for Broadwell-based laptops to come out (since the prices of Haswell-based laptops might drop)...

If I upgrade, waiting for broadwell will not make that much of a difference to the overall price range for my market. I generally buy used laptops, specifically because all the bugs have been worked out, and there is a larger supply of replacement parts (not to mention cheaper upgrades).

 

The only reasons though that I could see to upgrade would be better IPC (far newer processor), USB3 (I can get an expresscard upgrade for that now), and DDR3, but that is going to be replaced next year... so yea.  It will just depend on how the wind blows. 

 

Anyway, thanks for your help.

[DigitalHermit]

If I upgrade, waiting for broadwell will not make that much of a difference to the overall price range for my market. I generally buy used laptops, specifically because all the bugs have been worked out, and there is a larger supply of replacement parts (not to mention cheaper upgrades).

 

The only reasons though that I could see to upgrade would be better IPC (far newer processor), USB3 (I can get an expresscard upgrade for that now), and DDR3, but that is going to be replaced next year... so yea.  It will just depend on how the wind blows. 

 

Anyway, thanks for your help.

 

Glad to be of service.

 

May I ask how much you would buy a used laptop for? I think that the used device market in my country is ripping people off big time...

[Sheldon_King]

Glad to be of service.

 

May I ask how much you would buy a used laptop for? I think that the used device market in my country is ripping people off big time...

It just depends on the product and age. I paid $99 for my thinkpad, but it needed a CPU and RAM. My D630 Latitude cost me $150. This HD DM3 I am using currently only cost me a days work for a family friend (~$40 if converted hours into minimum wage).

 

Generally I will never pay over 50% of the original MSRP for a laptop, which keeps me a generation or 3 behind generally.

[DigitalHermit]

It just depends on the product and age. I paid $99 for my thinkpad, but it needed a CPU and RAM. My D630 Latitude cost me $150. This HD DM3 I am using currently only cost me a days work for a family friend (~$40 if converted hours into minimum wage).

 

Generally I will never pay over 50% of the original MSRP for a laptop, which keeps me a generation or 3 behind generally.

 

Thanks for the timely response... Now I will never sell to those nasty refurbishers who buy used (perfectly working) systems for around 10-15 USD (for a P4 HT generation), refurbish them and sell them for 150 USD minimum (and advertise them as the best performing computer ever)...