X200 upgrades

[bit_twiddler]

I recently bought an X200s on ebay, a 7470-AA4, under the impression that it would come with a 1440x900 display,
but, much to my surprise, it came with a 1280x800. (So much for the accuracy of the Lenovo support site!)
After using it for a few days, I have come to the conclusion that I don't need more resolution, but I still pine for
the contrasty IPS display on my X61T.

Having pawed through past threads my understanding is that a Boehydis AFFS display like the following:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Boehydis-AFFS-L ... 0546171125

is an easy upgrade (i.e., no change to cables, etc.)

Is this true - are all X200s with 1280x800 displays CFFL, and is there a way to verify this without taking the unit
apart? Also, is there a way to put a webcam in the unit (which currently has none), and what parts would I need
to do that?

[ZaZ]

Lenovo's support site does indeed list 7470-AA4 as having the WXGA+ LCD. My guess would be someone swapped it later. If it's not listed in the item description as having the WXGA LCD, you'd have grounds to dispute the eBay auction as being not as described and the chances you'd lose are pretty slim. That's if you're inclined.

All WXGA X200s that came from the factory use CFFL LCDs to the best of my knowledge. Given that it's been swapped with the WXGA LCD, I'd suspect it's got the LCD housing for the WXGA LCD, including CFFL cable, because the WXGA+ LCD/cable housing is not compatible with WXGA LCD and vice versa. If that's the case, hard to say since it's already been tinkered with, then it should be a straight swap with the Hydis you linked. Keep in mind the 110 version of the Hydis you linked is the glossy version of the screen, which will works and looks good, I had it in my X200, but can be reflective, i.e. annoying, at times. The 120 version of the screen, seen here, is the matte version of the screen if you'd like less reflections.

I believe all X200s with WXGA LCDs, again if that's what you got, are compatible with the camera. You'd just need to buy the parts and install it.

[bit_twiddler]

Thanks for the quick reply at this hour - Does the cable that you're referring to go between the base unit and the lid,
or is it internal to the lid? In any case, the unit works perfectly, I just don't like the screen.

On ebay one of my favorite sellers has this available:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WebCam-Camera-2 ... 460cbdd4b3

but there does not appear to be a cable included. Do I need another cable, or does it plug into some wiring in the lid?

I was thinking of putting a screen protector on top, anyway, so it probably wouldn't matter whether
I went with the glossy or matte version, as long as the protector was anti-glare.

I don't know if this is actually true, but all of the listings for X200s that advertise 1440x900 have the lenovo
logo to the left of the activity LEDs, and the 1280x800 have the logo to the right. Shame I
didn't know this ahead of time, but now I know that resolution isn't really the issue for me, anyway.

[ZaZ]

The LCD cable plugs into the motherboard, then runs up behind the screen and attaches to the LCD. It also has the ThinkLight and camera connector that extend to the top of the screen. I seem to recall, now that I think of it, there were some LED WXGA LCDs offered on the X200/X200s. You should probably figure out what you've got because if it's the LED LCD you'll need the other cable.

[bit_twiddler]

Thanks for the info! I should probably tear it apart and take a look before I buy anything.
Are the motherboards all the same w/respect to the lid? I.E., in the worst case would I
just have to buy an extra cable?

[ZaZ]

You don't need to tear it apart to see which screen you've got. You can use software like Everest to see which screen it's got. I believe it should work if you have the correct cable, regardless of which board you have.

[bit_twiddler]

Unfortunately, I only have linux on this machine, and when I run hwinfo on it I get:

32: None 00.0: 10002 LCD Monitor
[Created at monitor.95]
Unique ID: rdCR.UBzbFcOdJ9D
Hardware Class: monitor
Model: "Lenovo LCD Monitor"
Vendor: LEN "Lenovo"
Device: eisa 0x4011
Resolution: 1280x800@60Hz
Size: 261x163 mm
Detailed Timings #0:
Resolution: 1280x800
Horizontal: 1280 1328 1360 1478 (+48 +80 +198) -hsync
Vertical: 800 803 809 825 (+3 +9 +25) -vsync
Frequencies: 60.96 MHz, 41.24 kHz, 49.99 Hz
Detailed Timings #1:
Resolution: 1280x800
Horizontal: 1280 1296 1344 1408 (+16 +64 +128) -hsync
Vertical: 800 801 804 816 (+1 +4 +16) -vsync
Frequencies: 68.94 MHz, 48.96 kHz, 60.00 Hz
Config Status: cfg=new, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown

Which doesn't give me the level of detail that I would need to know if it was an LED or CFFL
unit. Guess it's back to the HMM to see how many different types of 1280x800 displays
they made...

[Tasurinchi]

Under linux you'll need to open this file: /var/log/Xorg.0.log

Then do a search for "EDID", there will be several hits, but scroll down till you get something like this:

Code: Select all

[    19.065] (II) intel(0): Unknown vendor-specific block f[    19.065] (II) intel(0):  [b]LP154WU1-TLB1[/b]
[    19.065] (II) intel(0): EDID (in hex):
[    19.065] (II) intel(0):     00ffffffffffff0030ae554000000000

You'll see in the first line the monitor model# (the example above is from one of my modded T61), Google should do the rest

[czpath2]

Side note: there's a seller with pulled Gateway -110 screens @$25 w/free shipping. http://www.ebay.com/itm/FREE-S-H-VIEWIZ ... 0036107597 (US only)

Your mileage may vary, but I had no issues plugging into a CCFL X200.

In fact, the one I got had the plexiglass writing surface attached with black foam tape which makes for easy removal. But that may just be the luck of the draw.

[In addition, I discovered on this particular one, the matte surface was actually a very thin layer of plastic on top of the plexiglass. There was only what appears to be double stick tape around the edges and it pulled easily right off the plexi.

I think it's actually a (finger) touch surface; there are gold leads running around the edges and leads running from this layer back to the digitizer card.

I think it's thin enough to place back onto the screen & still allow things to close up properly. I didn't bother because it's a bit sparkly and also I didn't figure out it was separable from the plexi until I got used to the glossy.]

[bit_twiddler]

This what I get out of the log:

30.800] (II) intel(0): Unknown vendor-specific block f
[ 30.800] (II) intel(0): LTN121AT07L02

and according to Mr. Google, it is a Samsung part, and, according to several sellers, it uses
an LED backlight.

http://www.powertoolbattery.co.uk/121-w ... 18977.html

I'm not sure if this is accurate, but it sounds like I need to round up a different cable.
Any ideas on how to get one?

[bit_twiddler]

Does this look like the right cable?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-OEM-NEW-IBM ... 58a371d6e2

[ZaZ]

The part number is 44C9909.

[bit_twiddler]

After totalling up the cost of components required to do the conversion, I'm considering getting a plain vanilla
CCFL X200 instead. That way, I wind up with 2 X200-type machines, including one that I can take to bad neighborhoods.

So, I've been been looking at X200 listings and wondering if there is a date code hidden in Lenovo serial numbers,
and if this would be useful in my case. Was there a cut-off date before which I could be assured of buying an X200
with a CCFL display? Or, if the machine came loaded with XP, would that be enough to determine the type of display
(LED vs. CCFL)?

[ZaZ]

one that I can take to bad neighborhoods.

Is it really that bad?

If you bought the X200s on eBay and they didn't mention the screen swap, I think the chances you'd lose a dispute with the seller is almost zero. Do you have a link to the auction?

The switch to LED came about half way through the X200 run. I don't think there's any way you could tell from the machine type or OS. If you can get he serial number and machine type from seller, you can do the parts look up on Lenovo's website. It should tell which screen it is and you can search for it on Google. That should tell you whether it's LED or CFFL. You could also just ask the seller. They might know and would tell you to avoid having you ask to return it.

[bit_twiddler]

My neighborhood is pretty bad - Oh, you meant the screen! Yes, it's pretty awful.

The problem is not the resolution, but that contrast when viewed head-on is low.
So, I wind up having to tilt the display back to get decent contrast, which means that
I have to refocus my eyes to look at different portions of the screen.

I've had numerous thinkpads over the years, and while they haven't always had
the best screens, they were all quite usable for textual work.

I'm not sure that the high resolution screen would be any better in this respect.
I have read complaints by reviewers on both types of screens.
Perhaps someone on this forum who has experience with both types of
screens could provide an opinion on that.

I don't hold the seller responsible. Here is a similar listing by that seller:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LENOVO-THINKPAD ... 53fcbb3740

The model number is correct. He is probably completely unaware that the unit has
been modified. In any case, nowhere in the description does he list the screen
resolution, and nowhere does he say that the unit has not been modified.

BTW, I have discovered several sources of information on LCD panels, including this page:

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/TFT_display

which is actually quite interesting because it lists 7 different 1280x800 panels as being shipped with
the X200s. Unfortunately, I can't tell from the Lenovo support site which panel was shipped for
a particular serial number - it just lists compatible replacement parts.

So, I think that probably the lowest risk option is to convert to an AFFS screen. I'm just annoyed that
the parts cost so much, although now that I've seen a few listings whiz past, I'm coming around to
the idea of paying $40 for the right cable.

[ZaZ]

He is probably completely unaware that the unit has been modified. In any case, nowhere in the description does he list the screen resolution, and nowhere does he say that the unit has not been modified.

Even if they're unaware, they're still selling a different product than they describe by giving you the machine type. It's a disservice to the buyer if you ask me. Again, I think the chances you'd a dispute with the seller is practically nil. I don't know why you'd want two of the almost same notebook, but it's your money to do with as you please.

[bit_twiddler]

You're probably right, but my expectations as to what you get when you buy used stuff on ebay
are pretty low - it's only when there is outright fraud that I file a case.

I can't think of the last time that I bought something on ebay which wasn't defective or different
than specified in at least one minor category.

Now, if I had paid $1500 for an item new from Lenovo and it had a defective keyboard, or something
like that I would raise holy ...

Fortunately, I rarely need the newest stuff, and sometimes the old stuff is better!

I have encountered a source of information which might prove useful in determining screen types,
but I don't know how accurate it is or how they obtained their data:

There is this company:

http://www.screencountry.com/?section=d ... 1235933534

and if you enter, say "Lenovo x200" you'll get back a list of model numbers which you can click
on to obtain more information.

[ZaZ]

it's only when there is outright fraud that I file a case.

If they told you it was one thing by giving you the machine type, then sold you something else and failed to mention the modifications, that could be considered fraud. It's at a minimum dishonest or they're idiots. It's your choice.