Thinkpads Forum

Hello, I have been wondering are there any mods for X301, like for example putting in different LCD panel, for better color quality (we all know that default ones that the X301s are shipped with are one of the poorest types) or higher resolution. There were such mods for X40, 41, etc.

Thanks!

yozas wrote:Hello, I have been wondering are there any mods for X301, like for example putting in different LCD panel, for better color quality (we all know that default ones that the X301s are shipped with are one of the poorest types) or higher resolution. There were such mods for X40, 41, etc.

Thanks!

I never heard of a possible mod. Anytime it was brought up, anything close that people could find would always just be simply too thick and would not fit properly in the lid.

Something new could have come along since then, but barring that I don't think it's possible.

the panel in the X300/X301 was designed specifically for the X300/X301.   there are no direct replacements in existence.   sorry.

There aren't too many substitutes for the 13" LCD in X300/301. Check here: http://lcdtech.no-ip.info/en/data/lcd.p ... aptops.htm

It may be interesting to see if 14" LCD from T4x0 or T4x0s but that may be difficult. Not aware of IPS or AFFS substitute for X300/301.

erik wrote:the panel in the X300/X301 was designed specifically for the X300/X301.   there are no direct replacements in existence.   sorry.

erik's 100% correct. I looked high and low for any candidates, even ones that would require extensive hardware modifications. There aren't any.

yozas wrote:Hello, I have been wondering are there any mods for X301, like for example putting in different LCD panel, for better color quality (we all know that default ones that the X301s are shipped with are one of the poorest types) or higher resolution. There were such mods for X40, 41, etc.

Thanks!

It is possible to replace x301 poor quality lcd. As erik comment, direct replacement is impossible. Complex modification process is required to replace x301 lcd.

My X301 is a wide-view angle lcd with 1280x800 , AFFS+ technologies.

This is a LCD pinout for x300/X301.


LVDS Cable Pin Number Motherboard Pin Number.




**********************************************************************


LVDS PINS ( Low Voltage Differential Siganl Pins)


**********************************************************************




PIN 39 : TXCLK_UN 2

PIN 38: TXCLK_UP 3

PIN 37 : TXOUT_U2N 4

PIN 36 : TXOUT_U2P 5

PIN 35 : TXOUT_U1N 6

PIN 34 : TXOUT_U1P 7


PIN 33 : TXOUT_U0N 8


PIN 32 : TXOUT_U0P 9


PIN 31 : TXCLK_LN 10


PIN 30 : TXCLK_LP 11


PIN 29 : TXOUT_L2N 12


PIN 28 : TXOUT_L2P 13

PIN 27 : TXOUT_L1N 14

PIN 26 : TXOUT_L1P 15

PIN 25 : TXOUT_L0N 16

PIN 24 : TXOUT_LOP 17



************************************************************************

BACKLIGHT CONTROL PINS


**********************************************************************

PIN 17 : PANEL_BACKLIGHT_CONTROL 26

PIN 16 : PANEL_BACKLIGHT_ON 27


**********************************************************************

Power Supply Pins

**********************************************************************

PIN 1 : VCC_3V 38

PIN 3 : VCC_3V 37

PIN 18 : VCC_EDID 36



**********************************************************************

EDID - I2C INTERFACE

**********************************************************************

PIN 19 : SPWG_EDID_CLK

PIN 20 : SPWG_EDID_DATA


*********************************************************************

LEDBACKLIGHT POWER SUPPLY AND GROUND PINS


********************************************************************

PIN 8: VOLTAGE Backlight 20V 33

PIN 9: VOLTAGE Backlight 20V 32

PIN 11: VOLTAGE Backlight 20V 31


PIN 12 : VBL_RETRUN_PASS( Ground) 30

PIN 13 : VBL_RETRUN_PASS (Ground) 29

PIN 15 : VBL_RETRUN_PASS (Ground) 28







/

*********************************************************************

Analog and Digital Ground Pins

********************************************************************

PIN 5 : GROUND 40

PIN 7 : GROUND 39

PIN 23: GROUND 18

PIN 40: GROUND 1




For modification, refer to this pin map.

To confirm, microwave, you're talking about replacing the 13.1" LCD with one of a different physical size, correct?

knowing microwave, probably not.

i think i have a photo of his system archived somewhere.   i'll leave it up to him to share it publicly though.

erik wrote:knowing microwave, probably not.

i think i have a photo of his system archived somewhere.   i'll leave it up to him to share it publicly though.

korean guys always good at LCD mod.
looking forward for the photo.

Refer to follwing link .


http://thinkpads.kr/xe/?mid=gallery&document_srl=80883

Seems like the OP doesn't want to reduce the resolution. Would the Macbook Air's 1440x900 panel work? That's the same res as the X301 screen but far superior in quality.

The X301 LCD is pretty low rent in terms of viewing angle.... would be good to know whether the macbook air lcd works or not.

having tried an MBA display myself, it won't work.

there is no bolt-in display for the X300/X301.   the only known solution is to hack, cut, solder, and modify a fujitsu tablet display.   and frankly that solution isn't for 99.95% of users given both the difficulty and end result of 1280x800 resolution.   at that rate you might as well buy an X220.

erik wrote: at that rate you might as well buy an X220.

that is such a good idea, evil smile as i pat the X220 in front of me.

Is the soldering done at the screen end or the laptop end? Although this method is complicated if my current screen was damaged it may be a cheaper way to replace the screen.
Personally the X301 screen hasn't bothered me that much - but I don't watch movies or anything where the resolution is that relevent.
Microwave - If the mod is done at the screen end would you be interested in modifying a screen and selling it?

erik wrote:at that rate you might as well buy an X220.

Better yet, just wait for another half year or so and there will be lots of sub-3lb Ultrabooks with decent 1600x900 screens. In fact, there is already one of these: the Asus UX31.

6-row island keys?   bleh.   that's completely useless for professional apps.

besides, love or hate the current resolution offerings, this is a thinkpad forum after all.

UX31 keyboard suck big time....

lead_org wrote:UX31 keyboard suck big time....

If keyboad quality is more important to you, then stick with the X301. If screen quality is more important, get the UX31.

Hello,

I have been willing to replace the X301 panel with a Fujitsu tablet display for quite a while now. I have ordered the BOE Hydis HV133WX1-100 but have come to find that it is not frameless and thus does not fit into the X301 lid. By trying to remove the frame I have most likely destroyed the panel.

I have also found someone who was willing to solder the adapter for me. However, we were planing on using a modified X301 LCD cable which does not physically fit into the BOE Hydis.

Basically, I have no idea how to continue. I was hoping mircowave could tell us how exactly he fitted the panel into the X301 (and if the BOE Hydis is even the right panel) and which parts he used for the cable. I'd really appreciate that.

I'm really stuck here.

I too, would love to know the disposition of this. Considering the age of the X301, have any solutions now presented themselves; perhaps ones prohibitively expensive before?

Basically, the formula is as follows: HV133WX1-100 - frame + modded cable = success. However, it is so much work and so hard that I do not recommend this mod to anybody, unless you are a wizard.

I'd love to see pictures of the cable mod as well as what was done to remove the frame (sanding off standoffs?).

Thanks.

Frame removal is exactly just that: You disassemble the panel, remove the entire frame, and put it back together with tape. NO sandpaper.The risk of destroying the panel in the process is extremely high, I'd say even an experienced modder will destroy 9/10 panels. So it's better to go and order a bunch of them.

There is also nothing special about the cable itself, apart from being nearly impossible to solder due to its size. It looks like this: http://abload.de/img/kabel1jwsjf.jpg

That one doesn't work though because the cables are all different lengths. They all need to be exactly the same. If you want more details, ask el-sahef, he did the cable for me. I opened a few threads regarding the topic in the German forum, you can visit one if you want to: http://thinkpad-forum.de/threads/172669 ... mod-Take-3

You can find a pic of the frameless display here: http://thinkpad-forum.de/threads/161863 ... ost1632943

You will need an account however.

Thanks. It had been ages since I had an account there, that they seemed to have deleted it (years since I had logged in).

The cable looks nightmarish, but not impossible if one took their time. It would be no rush job, for certain. It's the panel disassembly that you have me really worried about. How exactly were the panels destroyed? Did the layers separate or crack? I'd like to know the pitfalls of that in more detail.

I've had some luck with warranty-voiding mods and upgrades, so I'm not exactly balking at the idea, but I'm not fool enough not to ask for all the information I can get.

I totally killed the first panel because the cable wasn't done properly the first time round. The second panel was killed due to invisible micro cracks. There is no visible damage on the panel, but when switched on, it is obvious that multiple layers have broken. Additionally, colorful lines appear randomly across the entire display.

Ugh. What, if you remember, did you do differently later on with additional panels? (didn't flex it a certain way, etc?) Or, was it just luck that one made it through the same process?

If the latter, then that doesn't seem too worthwhile unless one has money to burn (and I don't).

Obviously I didn't touch the panels myself. Mortals can't just remove frames like that. There is one person in the German Forum who is capable of it, so I sent it to him. He's amazing, but apparently not quite good enough.

If you ask me, you need lab conditions and special machinery for the process to be nearly 100% successful.

As I have stated before, this mod is not recommended unless you are literally married to the X301.

Considering that I'm already trying to price the common upgrades (2nd HDD adapter, battery, etc), you can say we're hot and heavy, but it's definitely a sidepiece compared to a T61.