Thinkpads Forum

just got a new t400 with sharp ccfl and i am not terribly impressed,

are the led any better, what are the positive/negative if any to ccfl

thanks

It doesn't matter. You get horrible display notebook quality with both options these days. It is similar to lets say: would a display mounted with 12 screws have better display quality than a display mounted with 10 screws ? Probably not. The backlight technology (CCFL versus LED) is almost unimportant. The important is the technology which is in front of the backlight where you don't have any choices right now and you are forced to stick with completely outdated technology (TN) there. The "LED" word is just typical buzzword.

this how it seems man, been reading and there is nothing conclusive as far as energy/brightness/lifespan

i was wpndring if any of the service guys or someone like bill who saw the same configuration (apart from the diffrent screen) can make comments to which is better

Depends on what parameter you consinder better. I'd guess that the CCFL one might be better because it is not that overbrighted so there might be some signs of contrast.

easy metrics will be battery life and brightness.

i am with you on the define better issue however we all have prefrences and things we like or not. one thing is for sure my ccfl is not impressive for color, contrast is optimal 4 bars away from full on room lighting, vertical veiwing angles are really bad, there is noticeable change in color and brightness with every 10 degrees. horizontal is not as bad but over 40 degrees its getting bad.

compared to my z60m this one is not too impressive to say the least.

The only decent LCD panel (besides FlexView which I had not opporunity to try anyway) on ThinkPads I have seen was WSXGA+ 15." display on R61 I bought a couple of years ago. In fact I realized it after I bought a T61 with SXGA+ 14.1". In terms of LCD panels this was downgrade and not an upgrade as I thought. The contrast is poor and the picture is grainy; the viewing angles horrible to say the least. In comparison to that the screen on may R61 (which I sold to buy a T61) was really beautiful.
This is why I bought a T500 recently which (as I think) uses the same panel.

Eudoxus wrote:The only decent LCD panel (besides FlexView which I had not opporunity to try anyway) on ThinkPads I have seen was WSXGA+ 15." display on R61

Yep, the 15" WSXGA+ panel I've seen in T500 is probably (and sadly) the best option you can get now. The worst ever is the X301 one followed by T400s one.

As for the topic of this thread, the quality depends on the panel vendor. If there are lets say two vendors of TN + CCLF panel (call them A and B) and two of TN + LED panel (call them C and D), you can not make the desicion which is better just by inspecting the backlight type. The A could be better than C but D could be better than B.

thank you for all the information, much appriciated

Puppy wrote:As for the topic of this thread, the quality depends on the panel vendor. If there are lets say two vendors of TN + CCLF panel (call them A and B) and two of TN + LED panel (call them C and D), you can not make the desicion which is better just by inspecting the backlight type. The A could be better than C but D could be better than B.

So true and definitely something that everyone should consider when buying a Thinkpad!

Hi Y'all,

CCFLs have Mercury in them.
What nasty materials are part of LED manufacturer I don't know.

CCLFs go dimmer much more quickly than LEDs.

I have been reading that LEDs change color value over time, and that a batch may not do so consistently, so color-balancing a screen lit by several LEDs may be iffy over time.
My guess is that as LEDs become more common, they will get higher production consistency.

LEDs can produce more light with less energy than CCFLs.
For high-quality light with a fairly balanced spectrum, the energy savings don't appear to be as big as some of the early LED claims said they would be.
Again, over time this will likely improve.

Long-term, I see LEDs as a better choice.

Good health, Weogo