Possible to DOWNGRADE LCD Panel?

[htc4668]

I ordered an X250 from eBay with a FHD IPS panel at 1920 only to realize that I'm not as young as I used to be and my eyes are having a very hard time using such a high native resolution on a tiny screen (I miss 1366 on my X220 *SIGH*). I personally don't like using the DPI magnification on Windows 10 and really want my native resolution experience back. I have had mixed findings about the idea of replacing a panel. Is it possible to replace my 1920 resolution panel with a lower 1366 resolution panel or is that physically not possible because of motherboard restrictions? I see some replacement panels on eBay but some of the listings note that "you MUST replace your current panel with exactly the same type of panel." Some thoughts would be much appreciated on this matter.

[RealBlackStuff]

Welcome to the forum.
You can (easily?) replace the FHD screen with a HD one if you know how to take the lid apart.
Get the Hardware Maintenance Manual here:
http://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/mobil ... f30022.pdf
This is the official FRU: 00HN839 for an LGD 12.5” HD IPS screen (1366x768).
Someone on the forum might want to UPgrade.
I bet you'll be contacted soon for a swap.

[htc4668]

Your parenthetical "easy" with the question mark is what worries me most! I think that w/o the LCD pre-assembled with the bezel, this might be just a few steps beyond what I'm comfortable doing to my machine! I took a look through the manual for this very step and was sad to find that there are no instructions on popping the panel out of the bezel.

But that FRU is really helpful, thank you. I didn't spend too terribly much for my X250 thankfully. I could potentially re-purpose this and maybe get another one in the near future.

[hhhd1]

just try to run in 1366x768 resolution in your current 1080 screen and see how it looks ?

[htc4668]

just try to run in 1366x768 resolution in your current 1080 screen and see how it looks ?

Sadly, as with all LCD monitors, running anything other than native resolution makes text and image edges blurry, even after running the ClearType wizard. Even with DPI scaling in Windows 7 and Windows 10, it was not all that great. However, I can attest that for at least this size screen, I was able to achieve 1366 sized icons and menu bars using a custom DPI scaling of 133%. 125%, the standard is too small to be usable and 150% makes things look too big. Legacy apps at 150% also look horribly blurry. DPI scaling works best on apps developed specifically for Windows 7 and above. I am in one of those situations however, where I do use mostly legacy apps ... But at 133%, I found just the right balance between size and edge clarity to make this system usable.

But I am stuck on one thing ... RDP into my work server is literally unusable. Microsoft has an RDP feature to zoom in on the desktop when using a lower resolution connection but for older servers, the zoom-in feature pixelates the heck out of the icons and text making it difficult if not impossible to read. Using a lower resolution without the zoom, everything is too small anyway, scaled to the native resolution of the connected system.

I saw a couple of YouTube videos looking at how the LCD panel is replaced, and it just looks horrible (I found a compatible X250 IPS FRU panel at 1366 native). I see the techs prying the bezel off the panel and it looks like you could easily snap or crack the panel in the process. It looks difficult and painful, even for an expert. Given that this laptop was purchased refurb anyway, I might be interested in a swap if anyone could get me an X250 with an IPS display at native 1366... let me know, and we can work something out. Otherwise, I'll just compromise and stick to RDP only when absolutely needed or by using an external, large format display.

[nitrocaster]

I saw a couple of YouTube videos looking at how the LCD panel is replaced, and it just looks horrible (I found a compatible X250 IPS FRU panel at 1366 native). I see the techs prying the bezel off the panel and it looks like you could easily snap or crack the panel in the process. It looks difficult and painful, even for an expert. Given that this laptop was purchased refurb anyway, I might be interested in a swap if anyone could get me an X250 with an IPS display at native 1366... let me know, and we can work something out. Otherwise, I'll just compromise and stick to RDP only when absolutely needed or by using an external, large format display.

You got it absolutely wrong. Thinkpads were always easy to disassemble and repair. All the tools you need are a phillips screwdriver and a plastic paddle. Unlike some other manufacturers, Lenovo provides hardware maintenance manuals which can help during a disassembly process. Here's one for X250.
Just to make things clear, this is how horrible, difficuilt and painful even for an expert repair looks like.

[htc4668]

I agree with you on that one. I've had to take apart some iMacs in the home and those were an absolute pain because so much stuff was folded over other stuff! I've taken apart lots of Thinkpads over the years and really love how detailed the FRU manuals are. My only issue in this specific case is when it comes to the panel replacement, the way you gotta pry under the bezel to pop it off to get to the actual panel. It does look a little risky!

But in any case, I actually found a much better solution for my specific case just a few days ago. I downgraded to Windows 7 where XP scaling is still available as an option in the custom DPI scaling screen. Using this, all my old apps scale more appropriately and don't have any blurring issues. Everything just renders better overall. Windows 10 might have worked well, but only if my full suite of apps was all up to date, which is just more money down the drain on software that I already own outright.

I no longer feel as old and blind as I originally felt!

.... but in to rewind, in retrospect, I will have to knock my X250 just a bit. The retaining clips on the base cover are really cheap this time around. Opening and closing them just a couple of times to remove RAM caused some wear and deformation. The retainers on the backside of the laptop above the removable battery are no good. There is now a slight bulge at the top edge of the keyboard/bezel due to the retainers no longer being able to hook into whatever they were hooking into. My X220 was popped open for so many upgrades over the years but still clicked sealed nicely after each install. Oh well, can't complain overall given the price I paid for this unit and the hardware packed in!