44C9909 (CCFL LVDS cable with bluetooth and camera connections)

42W8009 or 42W8010 (inverter)

that's it.

Thank's a lot. Are you sure that it's all what is indispensable in order to update x201 with AFFS screen ?

I've done it and that's all you need.

100% positive.

I guess it's the LCD upgrade time of the year. In addition to upgrading the panel on my trusty T60 (to UXGA), I recently picked up an X201 off Lenovo's outlet site and just swapped out its crappy panel for an HV121WX4-120 I picked up on E-bay. This is the matte version of the AFFS screen people rave about. Wow - what a difference - the new panel is fantastic! Black level is great, viewing angles is great, brightness is great. Video looks amazing. I got mine for $200 and then spent another $100 on the inverter and new cable assembly. The actual job of swapping displays was a bit tougher than I'd expected - you have to disassemble a fair amount of the machine, and it took me about 1-1/2 hours total. But, for me at least, it was totally worth it (I'm really picky about laptop displays). The machine, which is otherwise very nice (in terms of performance and form-factor), is now really exceptional.

Unfortunately the supply of HV121WX4-120s seems to be pretty variable, and the asking prices can be high, but I understand there's another AFFS or similar panel that also fits (there's a thread about it in here someplace).


- Jay

PS: One warning about the conversion. In addition to the new panel, you also need to get a CCFL inverter and new LCD cable assembly (the inverter is 42W8010 and the cable is 44C9909). I purchased a cable off Ebay from a supplier in Hong Kong (because it was cheap) and, when I received it, found that it was identical to the cable for the LED-backlit display (44C9991), even though it was clearly labeled as 44C9909 (which is the assy for the CCFL panel). They were selling a mis-labeled assembly. After spending a fair amount of time sending pictures and explaining this to them they refunded my money and removed the erroneous listings from ebay, but overall this delayed things by almost 3 weeks. I ended up buying a cable directly from Lenovo/IBM which cost almost twice as much but was, of course, the correct part (and also was packaged much better than the one from HK).


mod note: merged post with existing thread.

So, just looking for some help in putting together a screen upgrade for my 201.

I am looking at this screen,

http://cgi.ebay.com/Boehydis-AFFS-LCD-s ... 5037wt_754

Any feedback on that screen on how it looks?

plus,

44C9909 (CCFL LVDS cable with bluetooth and camera connections)

42W8009 or 42W8010 (inverter), whats the difference in these two parts?

Is that all I need?

Thanks
Matt

functionally speaking, there's absolutely no difference at all.

Can you guys tell me what I should do to successfully remove touch panel from the screen?
Is the LCD underneath matte or glossy?
I can buy used touchscreen for 30 USD and rip it apart so it seems to by worth at least to try.

Use a razor blade to cut between the touch layer and the LCD. If it's the 110 or 100 it's glossy. If it's the 120 it's matte.

I received my HV121WX4-110 on friday, and removed the digitiser with a surgical scalpel - quite an effort.

after fitting it i've noticed one thing; due to the extra layer on the back of the screen from the digitiser electronics, the new panel is thicker than the old panel meaning that the lid doesn't close properly, now requiring quite a bit of force to allow the catches to engage on the hooks. i surmised that the screen is thicker meaning that the bezel doesn't fit as flush as it did before, causing the hooks to be, in effect, slightly shorter.

has anyone else had any issues like this?

I used the same such screen and had no issues with fit whatsoever. I left the digitizer as well. Did you remove the touch surface?

Yes, i removed the touch-surface (the touch-surface is the digitiser afaik?)
i didn't remove the extra circuit-board from the back which the touch-surface connected to.

the touch surface is just a touch surface, not a digitizer.   the digitizer is the large, green RFID matrix on the back of the display (what you refer to as a 'circuit board').

you might need to remove the digitizer for the display to fit properly.

Chances are if the digitizer was on there, the touch surface is too and that's why the LCD does not fit. You'll need to bust that scalpel out again to remove the touch surface. The digitizer is so thin I can't it making a difference in the fit. As I said I left mine as the wiring went into the LCD and I didn't want to cut it, but the glass on the front is much thicker.

I am new to the X200 family. Recently got an X200T (7450-BP8).

1. How hard is it to install this panel in a tablet?
2. Do I need to separate a touch screen?
3. How do I know if this panel is compatible with my tablet (e.g. LED vs CCFL etc.)?

Thanks.

The reason people do the AFFS mod is because the Hydis LCD, which is compatible with the X200 and X201, is a much better screen than the LCDs Lenovo offers in the X200 or X201, but the tablets already have good displays. It looks like 7450-BP8 has the touch screen. Do you not like it? Some people do not because of the extra grain the touch layer adds. If you don't like it probably your best course of action from a cost and effort perspective is to sell it and get the one you want. I have the Hydis LED in my X200t. It's quite excellent. Good luck and welcome to TPF.

I very very definitely removed the touch surface from the front of the LCD panel. your terminology may differ from mine but i am an electrical engineer (technically anyway)

i should point out that with cell-phone hardware, the digitiser always refers to the physical touch surface.

I have few questions regarding touchscreen version:
Is it glossy after touch panel removal?
Is it possible to do that without leaving any marks on the LCD surface?

I've contacted ebay seller - rakicomputers and he told me that I have to pay 50$ for shipping!
Do you know any cheaper sources of this LCD?

Yes, if you start with a HV121WX4-110 and remove the writing surface the underlying LCD is glossy. It can be done (very carefully) without scratching the surface. Shipping to Poland from the US is very expensive, You're better off trying to source the part in Europe.

*****Expletives removed by Moderator*****. 120's are rare and expensive...
It seems that I'll have to live with it...

Can the touch panel be used with the normal X200? Anyway to connect it to anything?

no and no.   not only is there not enough room for the LCD panel, touch surface, and digitizer, but the tablet LCD cable is too short to work on notebooks.

you'll have to buy a tablet.

Gentlemen - did anyone removed digitizer from HV121WX4-110? I've got this panel with digitizer, removed touch panel, installed it into my X200s.... works fine, but I have a feeling that the panel is slightly thicker than it should be, especially on the right, where the digitizer circuit board is. And I need to press it a bit harder to lock the lid.

So I have a feeling that removing digitizer circuit board would help. Anyone did this?

Again, I have X200s, not regular X200.

I know for a fact the leaving the digitizer board in place on an X200 mod does not matter, but I also know that an X200s LCD is thinner, so it might do to remove it to see if it helps. Just be careful peeling it up that you don't lift anything else up with it. Easy does it ...

I'm sure this has been covered before, but why can't the led tablet screens be fitted to X201's?

I removed the digitizer. I peeled it off carefully, cut the cable with scissors and wrapped the left over bit of cable with electrical tape.

Harryc - I peeled off the board itself, but it's connected to the rest of the panel with a wide cable..... can I just cut it off?

vinuneuro - primarily because they sell tablet's screens on eBay for $400, while you can get a regular one for just over $100....

Yes anything coming off of the digitizer can be cut because it is inoperative without the main LCD cable connection.

the sockets are vastly different on LED notebook LVDS cables.   the notebooks have 40-pin 40mm sockets where the LED tablets require 40-pin 25mm sockets.   it can be made to work but requires soldering connections by hand directly to the controller board.



with all due respect, that makes absolutely no sense.   cost has nothing to do with the question at hand.

as a point of clarification, the AFFS panel will not fit in an WXGA+ X200s LCD housing.   unfortunately no amount of removing anything will help.   the thicker panel uses a completely different bolt pattern and is too thick for the housing even with the writing surface and digitizer removed.

anyone with a WXGA+ X200s or X201s needs to source the LCD housing, hinges, and antenna array from a WXGA panel to make such a mod work.

this mod will work on X200s/X201s systems shipped with WXGA panels.