ThinkPad R51 and R52 15" - are the LCDs the same?

[JaYp146]

Okay,

So my R52's LCD is on the fritz. A blue line of pixels is appearing, at random, like this: http://terminalapp.net/wp-content/uploa ... ueline.jpg

From what I know, my best course of action is to get a new LCD.

Someone is selling an R52 locally for cheap. It, too, has a 15" screen. Question being - can I install the R51's LCD on the R52? I'm a poor college student and would save approximately $50 by buying this locally (as opposed to getting an LCD from eBay).

[underclocker]

Absolutely, just make sure they are the same resolution, or if changing the resolution, ensure that your motherboard support the new resolution and you have the correct cable/inverter, too.

I've swapped LCD's between R50/R51/R52's myself.

[sjthinkpader]

If you have a SXGA+ R52, the R51 SXGA+ LCD is a IPS version. In any case, any full LCD housing with cable and all will work, regardless of the resolution.

[underclocker]

In any case, any full LCD housing with cable and all will work, regardless of the resolution.

This is true with ATI GPU R52's, but I'm not sure it's true with all Intel GPU R52's. For instance, I'm not certain that you can swap a SXGA+ assembly in on a 15" R52 that was originally Celeron and XGA. I'm not sure that motherboard supports SXGA+. If someone has tested it, then please update us.

[sjthinkpader]

You are correct, Celeron MB can't drive SXGA+ but these are R50e and R51e? Both ATI and intel GPU in non-e versions will drive SXGA+.

[underclocker]

You are correct, Celeron MB can't drive SXGA+ but these are R50e and R51e? Both ATI and intel GPU in non-e versions will drive SXGA+.

FYI, there were no R52e's, but there were Celeron R52's, 1848-4UU, for instance, is a 15" XGA Celeron R52. These came with a slightly different Intel GPU mobos than Pentium M R52's, 910GML vs. 915GM Express Chipset. (I found out the hard way what the difference means - fast Pentium M CPUs are not stable on the Celeron mobos.)

Will an SXGA+ assembly work on that mobo? Maybe yes, maybe no -- until someone tests it...