X1C Gen 11 screen compatibility

[dooberspad]

Coming here with a question about screen intercompatibility in the X1 Carbon Gen 11. I've got a version with the standard, non-touch, 1920 x 1200 screen. I'm frustrated by the 60Hz limitation on the screen, which I can't seem to circumvent with CRU. Thus I'm considering putting a new screen in. I'm wondering:

- Am I right to assume I could pick up a replacement, non-touch OLED screen for the Gen 11 and install it without issue? Or is there some possible hardware compatibility issue?

- How wide is screen intercompatibility in the X1 Carbon series? For instance, I saw someone on reddit install and ASUS 144Hz screen in an X1 Carbon Gen 6 (https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comme ... ?context=3). Is it plausible to think that might be possible on the Gen 11 too?

Thanks so much.

Nice to find myself in a forum that reminds me of when the internet was good.

[mikemex]

Replacing laptop screens has always been a headache. Despite being kind of generic, there are usually many variants, and even minor differences can make huge issues in a cramped space such as an X1 Carbon's lid.

In theory, all modern screens use embedded DisplayPort (eDP) and should be compatible with each other. In practice, however, there are many revisions of the standard and several modes of operation (lanes) that have to be compatible with each other for it to work together.

All I can say to you is that X1C11 is probably no more backwards compatible than X1C10. I researched on that myself and found that the connector location for X1C9 and X1C10 are on opposite sides of the motherboard. So at least the cable is different. Older panels might still work, but you're not likely to find one with your desired refresh rate.

I'd suggest you to be really sure of what you're doing before spending money on it. Such projects tend to become money pits (I decided I wanted a high end X1C9 and I found that, in order to add WWAN, I had to replace the bottom chassis, which is expensive. I ended up buying a donor machine and swapping parts...).

[Xoosp]

The question is how far do you want to go. There is always a risk breaking the motherboard. I have replaced my screen. Only the issue is getting the correct cable. These are hard to get. I had the ePrivacy screen and replaced it with the N140JCN-GS9. Its quite ok, there are some good calibration settings available. Only I had to buy a broken screen assembly to get the correct cable

[plympton]

I put a 120 Hz screen in my X1 Gen6, but a) I got lucky finding a panel that was ALMOST a perfect fit (the eDP connector was about 1" off, if I recall correctly - enough wiggle room to make it work). Even though it fits, and it even works great (120 Hz is awesome!), I wouldn't recommend it. It was a lot of work, and whenever I reboot, I get a bunch of garbled flickering on the screen until I'm logged in - no idea why.

I am, however, really pleased it's done and working, and hopefully that doesn't sound contradictory.

[Xoosp]

@plympton how did you get that working. I have a N140GLE-GT1 laying around. But when i attach the screen to my X1 gen 10 the whole laptop does nothing. Even the power/charge led does not go on. With my genuine screen no problem. With an old gen9 screen no problem. Could it be the cable? What cable did you use