The end of an era: the last LED FrankenPad *HUGE PICS*

[ajkula66]

They say all good things come to an end, and in this case they are correct...

Much has been written on this forum - and elsewhere - about stunning Hydis LED-lit UXGA panels a quantity of which was dropped on the market a couple of years ago. They are undoubtedly the ultimate screen upgrade for any 15" (4:3) ThinkPad there is.

And they were somewhat inexpensive.

And people used various tweaks to get them going in our favourite laptops.

And our very own RealBlackStuff had designed a cable/inverter mod which made the whole setup both dependable and neat.

No more.

The supply of these LCDs has dried out. Nowadays, the asking price is $300+ per unit, making this upgrade a rather pricey one.

RBS has just finished building the last LED-lit T601FL FrankenPad which is the subject of this thread.

Yes, we are officially out of screens...

We made sure that the swan song that this laptop is remains second to none, though...and here's the sneak peak of the stunner, with protective plastic still on the LCD:



The specs are as follows:

T601FL (2007-DOM)

T9500(2.6GHz),
8GB RAM
256GB Lenovo-issued Micron C400 (aka Crucial M4) SSD, FRU 45N8185
15in 1600x1200 Hydis LED LCD
Intel X3100 graphics on a *native* Penryn board
CDRW/DVDRW
Atheros abgn wireless
Bluetooth
NO Modem
1Gb Ethernet
UltraNav
Secure chip
Fingerprint reader
9c Li-Ion batt
Middleton's modded BIOS

I'll be posting more pictures of this thing of beauty sometime over this weekend...

In the meantime, if you were ever seriously interested in grabbing one of these monsters, my suggestion would be to PM RealBlackStuff with your absolutely best offer right now...

[ajkula66]

And - as promised - here are additional pictures of this beauty...

[brchan]

Now that is a very fine looking Frankenpad .

[ajkula66]

Now that is a very fine looking Frankenpad .

Thank you! We do aim to please all senses...

[Temetka]

Looks great!

Remove the ATI sticker though.

[FryPpy]

No more.

NEWER SAY NEWER!

Panelook
http://www.panelook.com/modelsearch.php ... mit=Search
says that 1 supplier have 26000+ in stock. May be this info outdated... may be this seller place wrong price for these units... May be REAL thinkpadders must unite to got this stock (instead of writing petitions against BIOS whitelisting;). But time will tell.

Nice Thinpad.

PS
I have one (LCD) for me, but now i am on ccfl one which is fine and crisp. But sometimes i'll move to LED;)

[ajkula66]

Oh we are well-aware that the supply exists, but at $300 per LCD it's a bit difficult to swallow...

[Qing Dao]

So if you have to decide between the LED UXGA and the QXGA screens, what would be your ultimate decision? Does the brightness make up for the much fewer pixels?

[dr_st]

It's not the brightness that matters, IMO. QXGA on 15" yields pixels which are simply too small for any practical work in applications that render according to number of pixels (and not according to actual size), and UXGA by itself already provides a fine enough picture with respect to sharpness. Other than bragging rights, there is little point to QXGA in this size. All IMO, of course...

[ajkula66]

So if you have to decide between the LED UXGA and the QXGA screens, what would be your ultimate decision? Does the brightness make up for the much fewer pixels?

It really depends on one's eyesight. Mine is nowhere near good enough for the QXGA screen to be my "main" machine.

For the younger folk with 20/20 vision and astigmatism-free eyes, it's a joy.

I'm sticking to my UXGA and WUXGA on 15" and 15.4" for daily use...

[pianowizard]

It really depends on one's eyesight.

Brightness and contrast matter too. The pixel density of my current Sony Pro13's 13.3" 1920x1080, 165.6 DPI, is quite close to that of 15.0" QXGA, 170.7 DPI. But because the Sony's screen is much brighter and has better contrast, it's far easier on my eyes than the 15.0" QXGA panels that I used to use on my R50p's and T43p, even though I bought those panels new. When I used those Thinkpads, I often had to dim down my room so I could see them better. Such a pain!

I suspect that on an optimal LCD screen, I can handle as high as 180 DPI without scaling things up. But obviously, a lower pixel density would always be more comfortable. IMO, of all available laptop screens, 14.0" 1920x1080 (157.4 DPI) provides the best balance among viewing comfort, real estate and portability, and 13.3" 1920x1080 is a close second. 14.1" 1920x1200 (160.6 DPI) would be even nicer, but it doesn't exist.

[ajkula66]

Brightness and contrast matter too.

Of course they do.

With that said, I'm OK with the brightness/contrast aspect of the QXGA panel. When I use the LED Frankie, I have to dim the screen down to 60% or so, otherwise it starts to bother me.

Once again, for someone with better eyesight that might not be an issue whatsoever.