Thinkpads Forum

From what I can tell after reading some posts and a few reviews of the widescreen T60, the WSXGA +LG panel is superior to the Samsung panel. does anyone have a different opinion?

just curious, how do you check to see if your lcd was manufactured by LG or Samsung?

I've got a Samsung panel on my T60. I'm don't think it's as crappy as some have made it out to be. Yes there is some heavy light leakage from the bottom edge(really only noticeable when then screensaver is on). On the other hand, I seem to have a pretty evenly lit screen from left to right - I'm not seeing the dark areas when moving my head that others are complaining about.

I'd have to see some other matte 15.4" WSXGA+ screens (this is the only one I've ever seen) before I passed judgement.

absolut 0 wrote:just curious, how do you check to see if your lcd was manufactured by LG or Samsung?

see my posts on this page:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?p=249333

Mine is a Samsung, and it suffers from this shimmer as best described in the Dell 1505 - which is puzzling, since the T60 is matte and the Dell is glossy, and my previous matte Dell had no shimmer at all. There is also some uneven backlighting, and the "T60 characteristic" dimness, but i think those would be tolerable if not combined with the shimmer (this was also present on the matte MBP I just looked at, but the brighter MBP minimized the distracting effects).
I have no idea if the matte LG is any better, but it does appear to be the only exchangeable LCD part that could explain the variation. Although I'm not sure how to ensure actually receiving the LG part...

My T60p came with a Samsung panel, it's not the best, but it's acceptable. Crappy top to bottom viewing angle, but side to side is good. Colors are a little washed out compared to a Sony laptop with the gloss screen, but text is sharp and the colors are uniform. I do recall a post where a user changed his LCD to a glossy one for his T60.

Mine just arrived today and I fortunately got an LG... there's a tiny bit of sparkle but overall it's a very nice panel. definitely something I could keep and be happy with (which is saying a lot!)

Congrats! I'm loving the chassis, getting used to the keyboard and palm-creaks, but unfortunately not the screen... I hate to be a moron, but does anyone kow why the 15.4" mattes have any sparkle when previous 14" 4:3's had none? It has nothing to do with res, since the WSXGA is great... have mfgs started using different coatings (it's present in the 15" MBPs too, but not the 17" MBPs)? This technical question really has me curious...

I have an order in for a T60 WSXGA+ (87745BU). I ordered it from Buy.com two days ago and am waiting for it to ship. I'm really hoping that it'll be from the same batch as hoya since he/she got an LG panel.

The one big reservation I have in buying from Buy.com is that they have a 15% restocking fee for any opened items. If I end up with a Samsung screen and I can't bear it's quality (as many weren't able to do), I will suffer a huge penalty if I try to return it.

I understand that to pull up the lcd manufacturer info, all you need is a serial number of the machine. Is there any way of getting the serial number of the machine without opening the factory box? Is there a label on the box with the serial number? If I can find out if I got a samsung panel before opening the box, I'd probably return it for a full refund.

Has anyone else received the 87445BU from buy.com recently? Did you get an LG or Samsung panel? Thanks a bunch!

casper7777 wrote:I have an order in for a T60 WSXGA+ (87745BU). I ordered it from Buy.com two days ago and am waiting for it to ship. I'm really hoping that it'll be from the same batch as hoya since he/she got an LG panel.

The one big reservation I have in buying from Buy.com is that they have a 15% restocking fee for any opened items. If I end up with a Samsung screen and I can't bear it's quality (as many weren't able to do), I will suffer a huge penalty if I try to return it.

I understand that to pull up the lcd manufacturer info, all you need is a serial number of the machine. Is there any way of getting the serial number of the machine without opening the factory box? Is there a label on the box with the serial number? If I can find out if I got a samsung panel before opening the box, I'd probably return it for a full refund.

Has anyone else received the 87445BU from buy.com recently? Did you get an LG or Samsung panel? Thanks a bunch!

I have exactly the same T60 8774-5BU, the only difference is that I ordered directly from Lenovo. It came with LG-Philips panel.

If the factory box is original as Lenovo sends then they put Serial number on their boxes.

Good Luck.

ryengineer wrote:If the factory box is original as Lenovo sends then they put Serial number on their boxes.

My boss ordered his T60p from Buy.com and I vaguely recall that the factory box was included, but it was shipped in a bigger Buy.com box. Would opening the Buy.com box (to read the serial number on the Lenovo box) cause casper7777 to be charged the restocking fee?

Great! Thanks ryengineer! I called a lenovo sales rep earlier today and he had absolutely no idea whether a serial number is printed on the packaging (even for those that ship from lenovo). It seemed like a basic question for a sales rep.

It does seem like a trend that recent T60 WSXGA+ shipments are coming with LG. Maybe lenovo has gotten the hint. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

Pianowizard, thanks for the input. Here's a snippet from buy.com's refund policy:

"All products are subject to a 15% restocking fee (except where prohibited by law) if returned opened or in a non-factory sealed box"

I'm assuming this only applies to the Lenovo box and not the larger buy.com box it gets shipped in.

Below is the link to Buy.com's refund policy. I haven't bought from then in a while. They seem to have become much more stringent.

Buy.com's Return Policy

pianowizard wrote:

ryengineer wrote:If the factory box is original as Lenovo sends then they put Serial number on their boxes.

My boss ordered his T60p from Buy.com and I vaguely recall that the factory box was included, but it was shipped in a bigger Buy.com box. Would opening the Buy.com box (to read the serial number on the Lenovo box) cause casper7777 to be charged the restocking fee?

You have to ask this specific thing from Buy.com personnel. What I believe is there should be a difference between opening the box and opening the actual item from the 2nd box.

You're very welcome casper7777.

Hhow do you find lcd mfr from serial#?

ibm meister wrote:Hhow do you find lcd mfr from serial#?

Here, then search for the LCD's FRU # in the search box at the top right corner.

Has anyone else received a T60 widescreen order recently? I'm particularly interested in 87445BU purchases made in the last few weeks (this is what I ordered). I just want to see what LCD panel you've been getting -- either the LG or Samsung. My order from Buy.com has not shipped yet but when I receive it, I'll report back who the LCD manufacturer of my machine is.

Thanks guys.

casper7777 wrote:Has anyone else received a T60 widescreen order recently? I'm particularly interested in 87445BU purchases made in the last few weeks (this is what I ordered). I just want to see what LCD panel you've been getting -- either the LG or Samsung. My order from Buy.com has not shipped yet but when I receive it, I'll report back who the LCD manufacturer of my machine is.

Thanks guys.

We are looking forward to it.

casper7777 wrote:Has anyone else received a T60 widescreen order recently? I'm particularly interested in 87445BU purchases made in the last few weeks (this is what I ordered). I just want to see what LCD panel you've been getting -- either the LG or Samsung. My order from Buy.com has not shipped yet but when I receive it, I'll report back who the LCD manufacturer of my machine is.

Thanks guys.

The T60p 8744-C9U I received yesterday has the LG-Phillips 15.4" WSXGA+ LCD.

Thanks Eric. Do you have any comments on display quality, i.e. brightness, viewing angle, light leakage, color, etc?

Again, it looks like there's been a general trend for recent shipments of T60 widescreens to come with lcd panels from LG. I just hope I'm not the odd man out and end up with the Samsung panel . . .

casper7777 wrote:Thanks Eric. Do you have any comments on display quality, i.e. brightness, viewing angle, light leakage, color, etc?

Again, it looks like there's been a general trend for recent shipments of T60 widescreens to come with lcd panels from LG. I just hope I'm not the odd man out and end up with the Samsung panel . . .

Display quality is fine in my opinion-the resolution and detail is great. Viewing angle is also very good-I can get off to the side and still see it fine. On a black background there is a bit of light leakage at the bottom and to a lesser extent at the top, but its not too bad.
The screen is bright, but at the extreme sides there is a slight darkening. Color seems to be great to my eyes.

Overall, its a great panel!

Sounds great. Thanks for the comments Eric. I think the LG panel used on the T60 WS is some version of the LP154W02 model which is listed here:

LG Notebook LCD

Lenovo claims 200 cd/㎡ of brightness but the LP154W02 is spec'd at 185 cd/㎡.

One more question for Eric (and anyone else who received a Thinkpad from a reseller): Was your laptop's serial number printed anywhere on the factory packaging? I'm hoping to do a parts lookup before I open the box. I don't want to be charged a ridiculous 15% restocking fee if I open the box and try to return it - that is, if I get a Samsung lcd and can't stand it.

Yes, if I am not mistaken, there is a white Lenovo label on one side of the box that states the model number and the serial number of the unit. I will verify that in the morning when I can see my box again at work.

Eric Giles wrote:Yes, if I am not mistaken, there is a white Lenovo label on one side of the box that states the model number and the serial number of the unit. I will verify that in the morning when I can see my box again at work.

Cool. Thanks a lot Eric.

I bought multiple T60's from Buy.com in the past and they call have Lenovo box with Serial#, model# sticker outside.

Can't wait for my T60 wide to arrive.

Thanks thematrixz. That puts my mind more at ease. My order finally shipped today - it is expected to arrive in the middle of next week. So much for getting it before this holiday weekend. . .

Eric, any chance you checked your box today? Did it have a label with the serial no?

yes the serial number is printed on the box

casper7777 wrote:Eric, any chance you checked your box today? Did it have a label with the serial no?

Yes, it does.

This is kind of off topic, but I was curious... does this issue with the Samsung displays affect the WXGA displays or just the WXGA+ displays?

Hi everyone,

Just received my t60 (87445bu) from buy.com and the serial number points to it being a Samsung panel. I haven't opened it yet as I'm considering returning it.

I really hate these return policies with %15 restocking fees. On the other hand, fifteen hundred $ is less than the cost on the lenovo web site. I considered ordering a second one but it seem that these units are running out of stock all over. In fact, I don't see them at the lenovo website at all. Which, IMO is totally understocked.

I came upon this site that has a mock up of what the sparkles look like : grainy image on left and normal on the right.
http://homepage.mac.com/justspaztik/noisescreen.png

Does the image seem about right or is it more visible?

I may be OK with the panel, on the other hand it's difficult to ignore the commentary here. I have not seen this shimmering in person. It seems that this shimmering is an adverse effect of the antireflective coating that will probably get resolved in due time.

I'm inclined to return it and ride out this wave of bad or excessive antireflective coating on LCD panels. On the other hand the box is sitting in from of me

If you were in my shoes, what would you do?
Martin