Thinkpads Forum

Has anyone thought about swapping out the X1C panel with a better one that has smaller dot pitch? I have been reading in the classic T6x forums that people are doing this (and flashing their EDID accordingly so the panel is accepted by the system). And it seems that T420 owners have also been looking into this as well.

It seems like no manufacturer produces 14" IPS panels. What we do have are 1600x900 panels that either have large dot pitches leading to screen-door effect, and small/fine dot pitches which are used in laptops such as DELL. I tried to do a hwinfo on my X1C and all it shows is a "1600x900 Maxbright" display and nothing else. However, someone did mention that the panels are LG/Philips (type LP140WD2).

Could it be as easy to purchase an alternative panel and just plug it straight into the laptop?

I believe and I could be wrong, the HP Spectre has a 14" IPS display. As to whether it would work or not, your guess is as good as mine. It's fairly unusual for one notebook screen to work in another. The HP is also covered in Gorilla Glass, which will complicate things.

The X1C is the best 14" ThinkPad screen I've seen. It's got decent contrast and a nice sweet spot for the angles, though is no IPS. I know some are bothered by the grid, but I personally didn't see it. Given the thinness of the screen, I don't see this being an easy job and doing so will void your warranty if you care.