Laptop upgrade advice try #2

[ratdude747]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

Ratdude:

It occured to me today... I have an Asus M6000 that I was supposed to fix for someone for a while. Basically the DC jack needed to be replaced. I did so, it was a breeze, and everything works great now. The old jack was loose and the connector would get very hot because of the friction, and when I took it out it was all brown and corroded.

But my point is that Asus released a series of "barebones" laptops back in the day (~2004). These are great to work on as they're built very well, the screen on this particular model is the best LCD I've ever seen on a laptop, and it comes with the Radeon 9700 Pro Mobility (Well actually the "mobility" version of the 9700 was really just a 9600). It has a parallel port, firewire, PCMCIA, IR, etc...

This particular model is the M6BNe. The "B" denotes the thankfully lower resolution screen (Goodness I don't like high resolution screens on laptops), and the "e" denotes that this version has the Mobility 9700 and not the 9600.

If you can get your hands on one of these I would grab it. The chipset is 855M and the CPU is the newer Centrino, and in general these are sort of modular in a sense that they're built to be taken apart and put back together easily. The quality is also very good.

sounds like an amped version of what i have. newer pentium m? check. i855? check.

I like higher resolutions... i might look up the prices on those....

edit- crap, no bluetooth option or serial.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

hence why we still see morons buying crap power supplies, knockoff laptop bricks, etc, sad but true

Agree... ... .... How'd that happen?

[ratdude747]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

Agree... ... .... How'd that happen?

wally world mentality. F*ck you sam walton!

[brethin]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

I have 2 laptops that need work I just do not have time to mess with them.

1) Acer Aspire 3100
I am told the Acer needs a reball/reflow of the southbridge because the keyboard and USB ports do not work. Other than that is its very clean and complete with good a battery and charger.

2) Dell Inspiron 1100
Needs a new battery for sure.
Comes with charger.

Both have hard drives but are questionable, sometimes they boot sometimes they don't.

If either of these are something you want to mess with let me know or I will be sticking them on Ebay.

[ratdude747]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

the acer:

i'd be interested if it came with the hot air gun... no heat gur or hot air tools in my possesion... i wish i could fix that. you make it sound like it is not in your possesion. if you do have it, could you confirm the symptoms? also, is it the kind with the sempron?

edit- research shows that nobody responds to people asking about this problem... only advice is to reinstall devices in windows. you are sure it is malfunctioning in BIOS and not just windows (if it has it- some came with linux from what i was reading)

the dell:

a bit old... i know someone who killed one taking it apart... they are very plastic-ish from what i hear. which CPU does it have? if it were newer or if the price was low enough i might consider it. if you are interested in selling it, PM me.

[yyonline]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

The Inspiron 1100 shares a lot of parts with the 5100, which I've worked on frequently. The chassis is metal-reinforced plastic. It's not a business grade machine by any means, but I wouldn't call it flimsy either. So, I wouldn't let the plastic deter you. If anything, it's sturdier than the Acer 3100, which is plastic with no metal reinforcement. I've worked on quite a few of the Aspire 3100 series, but I don't recall seeing any with failed USB ports.

[ratdude747]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

i remember seeing an inspiron 1100 in pieces (had i not told them the guts not destroyed were worth something)... it was plastic.

maybe i like the metal outer shell of my d400... from my experience, plastic is plastic. the metal reinforcements don'[t break, but the plastic still will.

I had always gotten the impression inspirons were the models there the phrase "dumb@$$ got a dell" applied. then again, same for the aspire (as opposed to the travelmate?)

that, and celerons are a turnoff to me, but so are semperons. but with my funds, maybe crap-bucked CPUs are what i can afford.

I do have a question: will pentium dual core laptops ever go down in price with the cpu's being one generation old? my understanding is that the PDC is not too bad... no c2d, but not a celeron either? (my main rig has a PDC right now, i know, LAME).

[Wizard]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

Pentium dual core mobile is significant performance bump (Around 2.0GHz-2.5GHz) compared to still wonderful Pentium M (2.0GHz).

Cheers, Wizard

[brethin]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

the acer:

i'd be interested if it came with the hot air gun... no heat gur or hot air tools in my possesion... i wish i could fix that. you make it sound like it is not in your possesion. if you do have it, could you confirm the symptoms? also, is it the kind with the sempron?

edit- research shows that nobody responds to people asking about this problem... only advice is to reinstall devices in windows. you are sure it is malfunctioning in BIOS and not just windows (if it has it- some came with linux from what i was reading)

Yes its in my possession and I can confirm the keyboard and USB ports do not work (cant even hit F2 to enter the bios). Sorry if I had the gear to reball/reflow it I would fix it myself self and sell it working, prolly $200 working. I have seen working motherboards for these for around $60 on ebay.

the dell:

a bit old... i know someone who killed one taking it apart... they are very plastic-ish from what i hear. which CPU does it have? if it were newer or if the price was low enough i might consider it. if you are interested in selling it, PM me.

It has plastic over metal and is much tougher than the Acer. It has a P4 2.4

I will consider all offers.

[ratdude747]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

Yes its in my possession and I can confirm the keyboard and USB ports do not work (cant even hit F2 to enter the bios). Sorry if I had the gear to reball/reflow it I would fix it myself self and sell it working, prolly $200 working. I have seen working motherboards for these for around $60 on ebay.


It has plastic over metal and is much tougher than the Acer. It has a P4 2.4

I will consider all offers.

i think ther is a problem.

the dell uses intel i845 chipset and uses intel graphics according to that model's user manual. that doesn't help me much. i am not going to buy another laptop with the same issue i currently have to deal with. not to mention it maxes out at 1gb... my only compatible modules are 2 256mb units, and my experience was 512mb didn't quite cut ti (1gb did, my 2gb i have now is kick-a**).

the acer is tempting but if it is a common issue then i might want to stay away... periodically replacing mainboards like you replace tires on a car gets expensive. if ther was hope for a 1 mainboard fix i'd try it... maybe.

my research shows PDC units are out of price range unless i get barebones (every part stripped). I might keep looking.

[yyonline]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

not to mention it maxes out at 1gb...

2 GB will work fine in it. I've done the upgrade before. i845 supports it. Dell likely never updated the specs from when it was new.

[ratdude747]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

still, i8xx graphics is what i am trying to avoid (sole reason why i might need to change laptops)

[Digital Technophile]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

Hey ratdude, just stumbled upon this site that recycle old PCs and saw this Dell d620 that might interest you.

just thought it was a maybe...

[Wizard]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

D.T., bad pricing. Ebay routinely sells D620 on average of 200-250 or so.

Cheers, Wizard

[Digital Technophile]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

D.T., bad pricing. Ebay routinely sells D620 on average of 200-250 or so.

Cheers, Wizard

Sometimes you can find 'em for free too. Good pricing.

[ratdude747]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

found out no laptop is required for college (they have 5 zillon computer labs). so i may not upgrade... unless i see a good deal or come into another fixable freebie.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

Maybe you can get a job at the college as a PC tech.....
-
Also you asked about military surplus auctions a while back.
Many colleges liquidate by surplus auctions too.
There is one down in Tucson that sells PC stuff [including servers] by the pallet.
Might check if your school does that. [Side business selling parts.]
.

[Wizard]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

That's the start. We had to start somewhere, I had to get job to earn money to get what I wanted and for needs.

Cheers, Wizard

[ratdude747]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

Maybe you can get a job at the college as a PC tech.....
-
Also you asked about military surplus auctions a while back.
Many colleges liquidate by surplus auctions too.
There is one down in Tucson that sells PC stuff [including servers] by the pallet.
Might check if your school does that. [Side business selling parts.]
.

all of thier stuff goes back to purdue's main campus in west lafayette, which is also where I used to live....

I know almost everybody in the liquidation dept. at the main campus... they sell the stuff tot he public. I have gotten a lot of old pII laptops out of the "crate" before (forklift box full of old laptops). they sometimes get newer stuff in, but last time it was $300 a pop for anything better than a pIII katmai (which would be $10-$20). they had more variety in desktops... I bough a few cheapies there (2 gx260's, a gx240, a dimension 2400, an evo d350, and a powermac g4 sawtooth)... if only you saw the reformatting room (shelves with lcd monitors attached to reformat 10 computers at a time, I once read a few keys for them in exchage for $5 off some junk )... for the old and broken drives, they have a giant crusher... and they have a huge warehouse full of old computers... i even saw some vintage sunstations there. lots of old and even some newer stuff.

even small things... got an old palm Vx for $10 once. too bad it died. found cufflinks and shirtstuds for a buck. $5 a pop for old mice (got 3 microsoft 5 button optical usb's once, wish i grabbed more).

yes, they are in crateloads, but they sell it that way or by the part in bins...


they also sell furniture, equipment (even saw a few mills and a lathe there), lab tools (nice stuff), and they auction old cars/boats (almost scored a '89 astro van for $500, winning sealed bid was $650). which reminds me, i need to get another desk... solid desks go for no more than $50 there. i mean hard wood or metal, no fiberboard bullcrap like my old one that half broke (and when i tied to fix it, it broke worse, at least enough of it survived to be a minidesk). my mom got a solid 4 drawer filing cabinet (old and heavy, took an appliance cart to move). found a bunch of nice office chairs for $5 a pop (sitting on one now, nice and solid).


next time i am in W. Lafayette on a weekday, I will check them out (they are open all summer).

[ratdude747]

Re: Laptop upgrade advice try #2

all of thier stuff goes back to purdue's main campus in west lafayette, which is also where I used to live....

I know almost everybody in the liquidation dept. at the main campus... they sell the stuff tot he public. I have gotten a lot of old pII laptops out of the "crate" before (forklift box full of old laptops). they sometimes get newer stuff in, but last time it was $300 a pop for anything better than a pIII katmai (which would be $10-$20). they had more variety in desktops... I bough a few cheapies there (2 gx260's, a gx240, a dimension 2400, an evo d350, and a powermac g4 sawtooth)... if only you saw the reformatting room (shelves with lcd monitors attached to reformat 10 computers at a time, I once read a few keys for them in exchage for $5 off some junk )... for the old and broken drives, they have a giant crusher... and they have a huge warehouse full of old computers... i even saw some vintage sunstations there. lots of old and even some newer stuff.

even small things... got an old palm Vx for $10 once. too bad it died. found cufflinks and shirtstuds for a buck. $5 a pop for old mice (got 3 microsoft 5 button optical usb's once, wish i grabbed more).

yes, they are in crateloads, but they sell it that way or by the part in bins...


they also sell furniture, equipment (even saw a few mills and a lathe there), lab tools (nice stuff), and they auction old cars/boats (almost scored a '89 astro van for $500, winning sealed bid was $650). which reminds me, i need to get another desk... solid desks go for no more than $50 there. i mean hard wood or metal, no fiberboard bullcrap like my old one that half broke (and when i tied to fix it, it broke worse, at least enough of it survived to be a minidesk). my mom got a solid 4 drawer filing cabinet (old and heavy, took an appliance cart to move). found a bunch of nice office chairs for $5 a pop (sitting on one now, nice and solid).


next time i am in W. Lafayette on a weekday, I will check them out (they are open all summer).

SCORE!

i went there 30 min ago and walked out with a latitude d630

specs:
c2d 2.4ghz
2gb ddr2
160gb hdd
dvd rw
vista home basic
pa-10 brick (non-grounded version)
large virtually new targus bag


all runs... it was $250.

my mom saw me looking and knew that look... and since my birthday is tomorrow, she said "happy birthday" and paid for it

i plan to keep vista on it for now, resize the partition and run fedora on it (doing it right now) as well. purdue students get huge MS discounts so i may upgrade the windows half to 7.

good buy?

I also got:

6A 5v adapter for my 16 port switch (free!)
vga adapter for imacs (free!)
vintage pIII mousepad, NOS (free!)
hard to find power adapter for my pantch phone (free!)
mac usb pro keyboard ($5) (for my imac G5)

as you can tell, they know me over there...