R60 owner with ambitious plans for LCD and various addons

[Rizo]

I've been a Thinkpad fan since I first tried the R40 (and successfully ran UT2004 on it)
I have been through a few models since, loved the R51!
But to get to my point, I had to get the R60 with strict specs to comply with my college's terms. Here is where I was hit hard:
I have an XGA screen. I have plans of upgrading this to a SXGA+(1400x1050)

1.66ghz Core Duo T2300(not Core 2 Duo) I have plans of upgrading this in the future to T5500 or T7600 if I can find a good deal and if my R60 supports the same CPU's as the T60 for this revision.

The biggest issue I want to ask about is the screens. What is you opinion on the options? The Specs of my laptop on the Lenovo site tell me these manufacturers and FRUs:
Samsung 13N7118
BOE-Hydis 13N7120
TMD 13N7132

I have seen one or two good words on the Samsung SXGA+'s (the 4x3) after a lot of searching. Anyone have advice or opinions to lend? Will Toshiba SXGA+ work and are they better than Samsungs? What is the best source to purchase the LCD's?

I am sorry for the ranting and tonnes of questions, I am new to the forums and have been wondering this for a while...
Thanks,
Rizo

[dr_st]

About the screen, here is something to consider: Lenovo doesn't put Flexview screens in their R-series laptops anymore, but up until R51 they did, and it was the same screens used in the T-series. I don't know if there are differences between the physical parameters and compatibility of the LCD panels in the T60 and R60, but it's possible that they are still compatible. In which case, you can upgrade to a Flexview SXGA+ panel, and make your R60 better than any original R60.

I'm waiting on input from others who might know if it's possible or not.

[Rizo]

Flexview or not, I dont really mind the not having flexview. As long as its 1400x1050 and good quality from the front.. of course having flexview cant HURT

Think it would be possible to order the screens through IBM or is it better for me to look for forum trades/ebay?

[dr_st]

You can order from Lenovo. The advantage is that you get something that definitely matches, and if there's a problem, you have someone to talk to. The disadvantage is that they may ask for double the price that you can get on eBay or from a vendor like ScreenTec.

[DB2Dude]

I didn't have any trouble replacing my Thinkpad R60's internal sxga screen with the UXGA panel which came out of my R50p. So if you're interested in a non-flexview 1400x1050 screen original to a Thinkpad R60 I can supply you with that. You likely won't need a different LCD cable but I purchased those new from IBM with the intentions of using the cable in a future R60e I had hoped to upgrade as well.

[Rizo]

Thanks for the offer DB2Dude but I need 14.1 inch SXGA+