Thinkpads Forum

Hey guys,
Happy to have found a ThinkPad-specific forum. I've been a loyalist since I received a hand-me-down T21 way back when.

Anyway, I'm one of the few who purchased the original X1 (mac type 1292-CTO) - not the Carbon, nor the "Edge" or whatever it was called. I absolutely love the thing - it hasn't been without its issues, but it's a pleasure to use and travel with, so I intend to use it daily for at least another three years. That said, the 1366x768 panel is killing me.

I've been considering picking up a 1600x900 panel from an X1 Carbon and retrofitting it onto my X1. I know this was fairly commonplace between T60/61 models, but I haven't heard of anyone doing (or even mentioning) this swap yet. I know it's a long shot, but has anyone heard of anything like this? Does anything stick out to anyone in terms of obvious reasons why it might not work?

I've never seen an X1 Carbon in person so I can't be sure, but I'm hoping the Carbon and the original both used the same physical screen dimensions for their panels so there's no overlap of the black edging when/if I go through with this, as I obviously intend to keep the original bezel and just replace the panel itself. That aside, and assuming the panels both use the same connector (I'm working to verify this at the moment), I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Normally I'd just buy the part and take the plunge, but I'm waiting around until I have enough money to throw away on a project that might fail miserably. Oh well.

Thoughts?


PS- any and all upgrade ideas/recommendations from other X1 owners are welcome; glad to make everyone's acquaintance!

X1 carbon is 14 inch; original X1 is 13.3inch.

It is not possible to do any screen mods since the panel is glued to the gorilla glass. If you feel like you are up to the challenge though, there is one display that might fit: http://www.panelook.com/LP133WD2-SLB1_L ... 16742.html

The Display was used in the IdeaPad Yoga. You will probably need to modify the BIOS (due to increased resolution) and most likely solder a new display cable since I doubt the PIN layout will be the same. Not to forget the physical problems like the glued sheet of glass.

exTPfan wrote:X1 carbon is 14 inch; original X1 is 13.3inch.

Well, there's an embarrassing mistake. Hah, thanks!

Aurora wrote:The Display was used in the IdeaPad Yoga. You will probably need to modify the BIOS (due to increased resolution) and most likely solder a new display cable since I doubt the PIN layout will be the same. Not to forget the physical problems like the glued sheet of glass.

Hmm, I'd wondered how I would disassemble the panel bezel and such. Glued on, yikes. I suppose I'll nix the plan for how, but once I retire this guy in a few years for something with a bit more GPU power, I'll likely take a stab at the mod using that screen. Thanks for the tip, bookmarked it!

I had actually been watching an eBay auction for the past few days for a T420 with an i7 and an Nvidia something-or-other, but passed on it due to cold feet. For me, the GPU upgrade didn't offset the added bulk/weight, and I read a few reviews from people absolutely trashing the screen on those models, though I hear they're a popular candidate for screen upgrades... from the newer X1 Carbons.

Thanks again for the help, guys!