Succeed to install a 12.1" SXGA+ LCD for thinkpad x40 / x41

[plympton]

So, I need (in summary):
1 x HV121P01-100 SXGA+ display panel
1 x modified X31 BIOS
1 x Plenty Of Time To Do This

1 x fasterbybike's hotline number

-Dan

[Terrahawk]

1 x fasterbybike's hotline number

-Dan

Just as well we're in the same country then!

[plympton]

1 x fasterbybike's hotline number

-Dan

Just as well we're in the same country then!

I was going to say, "Whuh.. idn't he like jus' down da block from ya's?", but I couldn't pull off my New Yawk in text.

[fasterbybike]

Geoff - you beat me to it.

There's always skype for those wanting to know more ... he said, typing on the SXGA+ X32.

Cheers

D

[Terrahawk]

Where did you buy the panel from, and for how much?

[fasterbybike]

And the HV121P01-101 will fit as well. This screen comes with a shiny surface finish.

HTH

D

[fasterbybike]

I got a screen from a forum member in Australia.

There are a few advertised on Ebay too.

[pianowizard]

fasterbybike, congratulations on getting this difficult mod to work on your X32! If you ever want to sell this X32, I might be interested in buying it. I've been thinking about what laptop to upgrade to from my 240Z and concluded that an X32 with SXGA+ might be the best option. I've done a few Thinkpad mods myself and while I liked the finished products, I never really enjoyed the process, so I doubt I would ever attempt this even harder mod that you just did! Hopefully the postage to the U.S. wouldn't be too bad.

[mojo-chan]

How usable is a 12" SXGA screen?

I think I would have to increase the font size, but would still benefit from being able to show more of a web page (due to images etc staying the same size) and of course having sharper text due to increased DPI.

[plympton]

How usable is a 12" SXGA screen?

I think I would have to increase the font size, but would still benefit from being able to show more of a web page (due to images etc staying the same size) and of course having sharper text due to increased DPI.

My hunch, since I don't have one (yet), is that for your desktop it'll be fine, and for web browsing it'll be fine since in IE or Firefox you can resize on the fly (ctrl+/-). For some older apps, though, they don't like increased DPI. Usually Visual Basic type stuff in my experience, when buttons are placed by the pixel and not by the Texel or some such unit MS uses.

-Dan

[mojo-chan]

Yeah... I was also wondering how well the 16MB Radeon GPU copes with it. 1024x768x16 is 1.5MB, or 3MB for 32 bit colour. At SXGA 1400x1050x16 it is 2.8MB or 4.6MB for 32 bit. Should be okay even if Google Earth struggles a bit

[virge]

Oops. Posted in wrong location. Please delete.

[Terrahawk]

I suppose what would be really cool would be if someone with the right equipment removed the 16MB Mobility Radeon and replaced it with a 64 MB Mobility Radeon 9600, after figuring out how to heatsink it. The Mobility Radeon, Mobility Radeon 7500, Mobility Radeon 9000 and Mobility Radeon 9600 are all pin-compatible.

[fasterbybike]

I've been using this setup for just over a week, and really like the resolution.

I'm finding that I'm using it instead of my T42P with a 15" UXGA screen becaus eof the portability. I previously had a T40P with a 14" SXGA+ but find the contrast and brightness of this screen better than any 14".

I found on the T42P I had to run the resolution at 120 dpi to get a comfortable view, whereas I'm happy to run the 12.1" SXGA+ as the native 96 dpi.

T42P 15" @ UXGA = 133 dpi
X32 12/1" @ SXGA+ = 145 dpi

Doesn't seem to make sense from the raw numbers but my eyes are enjoying it. I don't wear specs and have OK vision for a guy in his mid 40s.

HTH

D

[fasterbybike]

fasterbybike, congratulations on getting this difficult mod to work on your X32! If you ever want to sell this X32, I might be interested in buying it. I've been thinking about what laptop to upgrade to from my 240Z and concluded that an X32 with SXGA+ might be the best option. I've done a few Thinkpad mods myself and while I liked the finished products, I never really enjoyed the process, so I doubt I would ever attempt this even harder mod that you just did! Hopefully the postage to the U.S. wouldn't be too bad.

Don't tempt me
But seriously this machine has got a nice balance of power, good battery life, and a decent screen now.

To be honest the process was not too bad - just take you time removing the tabs from the LCD and be methodical in making the BIOS changes. Almost everything else is std TP maintenance manual stuff.

[plympton]

I suppose what would be really cool would be if someone with the right equipment removed the 16MB Mobility Radeon and replaced it with a 64 MB Mobility Radeon 9600, after figuring out how to heatsink it. The Mobility Radeon, Mobility Radeon 7500, Mobility Radeon 9000 and Mobility Radeon 9600 are all pin-compatible.

I've got a donor X31 if anyone has a reflow (?) machine with the chip!

Can't really see the benefit unless it's for Games or Aero, as it brings you from DX7 -> DX9, and a slight boost in clock speed, and 200 -> 300 MHz in memory speed (that could be good)

http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobili ... 171.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobili ... 941.0.html

-Dan

[fasterbybike]

I wonder if Nick (poshgeordie in the UK) would be interested in doing the chip transplant. There's also James Arndt (jamiphar) and another forum member whose names escapes me at the moment.

[Terrahawk]

I've just (so far) successfully reflowed my T41's Mobility Radeon 9000 GPU using some equipment at work. I notice there that they have a surface mount reqork station, which could really come in handy. I've been able to remove BGA chips easily before but removing them while leaving the surrounding components on could be very tricky with the equipment available to me. As far as I have seen, I would need to get the M6 Radeon GPU in the X31 up to about 250 degrees C to easily remove it from the board, but to get it up to that temperature and remove it without bumping any of the other chips (CPU and northbridge) is where the difficulty would lie.

The next step then would be to clean up the pads on the X31 motherboard's GPU location which is fairly straightforward and only requires me to be careful to not destroy any pads. Easy in theory.

Subsequent to that is to reball the new GPU, whatever that may be. My basis on the pin compatibility of the M6, 7500, 9000 and 9600 Mobility Radeons is the fact that:

• R40 can have either M6 or 7500.
• T4x series can have 7500, 9000 or 9600.
• AMD's web site states that the M6, 7500 and 9000 are pin-compatible.
• Therefore, the M6 is pin-compatible with the 9600.

Does that sound fair enough? I hope so. Anyway, the hold-up in this is the lack of a spare Radeon 9600, and a way to heatsink it in the X31. Given that, it doesn't look like I'll be able to try it out in any greeat rush.

[fasterbybike]

Interesting stuff Geoff - and then we'd need some brave soul to come up with a modded BIOS to suit the new chip.

[Terrahawk]

My goodness... I have found Radeon 7500s, 9000s and 9600 mobile chipsets for sale on Ebay for reasonable prices. I didn't even know you could still get the things. The 7500 doesn't require a heatsink so that might just be the first chip to try out on a spare X31 board... once I get one. I hope that the BIOS won't need any modification due to the two being architecturally similar (at least from a VGA point of view).

I don't think I'll get onto this particularly quickly though, but I'll keep you all posted.

*additional*
I've ben looking for Mobility Radeon 7500 CSP32 datasheets, and the M6 CSP16 datasheets too. I suspect that there are some different variants with different numbers of connections. No luck so far.

[fasterbybike]

OK, this is the one month on report. I have moved all my day to day apps off the T42p onto this X32.

I love the balance between performance, portability and the display. This machine has now become my number one machine (out of a choice of my 4 thinkpads). I recently bought a Waterfield sleeve and piggyback and carry it everywhere whereas before the size of the 15" T42p meant I'd often leave the laptop in the office.

If anyone needs technical advice for this mod please ask. I'm happy to provide assistance as possible.

[force]

=) Congrats one again on your successful mod. I ran out of time to finish mine, so I'm carrying around an X60s with XGA. It's definitely not enough screen real-estate to do real work (writing code in multiple documents) like I'm used to.

Seeing my uncle's widescreen T61 just reinforces my like for the X-series while traveling. I'll be able to compare with a X200 later today. =) Thinkpad family reunion!

[bgx]

I am now considering putting a new screen on my X40...

after a lot of reading, i am leaning towards the X60tablet screen, the HV121X03.
It is a AFFS+ XGA screen (89° viewing angle, 500:1 contrast - that is double of the [censored] i have). I dont want SXGA (no bios to change, and anyway, i think 1400x1050 is too much in a 12").

It is exacty the same size as the HT12X21 in the X41t, and the same electrical cabling, so i guess the usual mod should work.

Am i right that the only thing i would need to do is take off the digitizer (touch part of the touch screen), and cut all the holes around to make it fit? Or shall i look for something more. For the HT12X21, i saw it comes in many different flavour (HT12X21-100,210,220,221,240,351 - and i have information that both 100 and 351 were used with the X41t, while the 221 seems to have been used by HPaq on its tablet). Also, babelfish used for 2 chinese stories of moding X40 seems to indicate that there is a crucial step about where the frame of the X40 comes 'inside' the screen. I am not totally sure of it though, can anyone explain me the problem in english? .

Thanks for the feedback!

[bgx]

SO i opened up my X40 yeasterday, so an infamous IAXG02M inside.

It uses the right hirose cable/plugs (L kind, not KR or K as in X31), but the cabling is different (same as X60 non t if i can tell)...
So i need an adaptor... I never solder anything, nor do i own a solder tool...

where can i buy the adaptor i wanna (i know exactly which pins needs to go to which pin, i just cant built the things myself)?

If some day i can find an adaptor, i ll buy the screen and do the mod....

EDIT: read the equivalent X60 thread, where some people propose to ingeneer the cable...

[Mooseifer]

After reading about this modification on the X61s, I did a little more research and came across this mod for the X32. I have a couple of these laptops and an X31 and I've always liked them, but have always wanted a higher resolution display. After a little searching and a little luck, I managed to get my hands on a -100 panel and have tried the first stage of the mod on the X31 as a test bed. It works! The screen looks fantastic, but there is a problem: the BIOS.

I mainly use linux and was hoping I may have been able to figure out a way around the XGA limitation without a BIOS hack, but I've had no such luck. I was thinking that 915Resolution would work to effect a change for the X61s - fine if I'm not using Windows - but it won't work on the X31/2 since it uses an ATI graphics chip.

So, since this has been done, is there anyone could give me some advice on how I may modify the BIOS to use the sxga+ resolution?

Thanks guys.

[fasterbybike]

Welcome to the forum. Check your private messages

[Mooseifer]

Well, I've now got the X32 fully setup and it is fantastic and well worth the effort. The display is perfect in the laptop, it is very usable and I've already found it displacing my larger laptops for regular use. It's a shame that this was never a factory option.

I'd just like to say thanks for all the help I've received from the members of the forum, they've been a great bunch of people!

[pianowizard]

I am not interested in this mod any more because I'm more keen on getting a 1366x768 netbook instead (smaller, lighter and has touchpad) but am curious about one thing: Does anyone know how the SXGA+ panel affects battery duration? I bet it uses significantly more power than the original XGA screen.

[charles.atcher]

I am not interested in this mod any more because I'm more keen on getting a 1366x768 netbook instead (smaller, lighter and has touchpad) but am curious about one thing: Does anyone know how the SXGA+ panel affects battery duration? I bet it uses significantly more power than the original XGA screen.

The XGA LG panel in my X31 draws a typical 4.27 watts.

The SXGA+ panel I'm replacing it with draws a typical 4.1 watts.

I'd say that the battery life should be better, if not exactly the same.

[Mooseifer]

I haven't tried any specific, timed measurements on the battery life, but so far there seems to be no discernible difference in the running time with the SXGA+ panel - in fact, it may even be a little better, though only marginally, than with the original panel.