Questions about R50P Upgrade-QXGA and CPU

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chazz · #1 Post by **chazz** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 9:13 pm

(Hi Bill, sorry for the mix up during the sign up..Thanks again)

Hi everyone, I really enjoy this site the over the past few years...after reading the QXGA upgrade on the R50P by pianowizer and others, i just couldn't resist ..I didn't know it was even possible..
So last week I've ordered a used R50P via IBM (very surprised ..Clean and in great condition, PUURFECT SCREEN.. the flexview screen is like watching HD TV without the gloss...amazing...
Pianowizer and others who did the QXGA modification, Can you please help me out with your experiences...
I am planning to upgrade the CPU from the stock Banias 1.7 to Dothan 2.0 765 (SL7EM) which i already have now..
and UXGA Flex to QXGA

1) the LCD QXGA, Inverter (91p7339) and Cable (91P6837) I will get very soon But do I need to get new hinges as well? (13N5176) according to the R50P manual..it is different from the UXGA ones... some one here did the QXGA modifiction and said the Hinges are the same as the existing UXGA hinges...can anyone confirm this?

2)How does DVD Movies look on a QXGA? same as UXGA? if so I will be very happy

3)What differences between the UXGA compare to the QXGA other then the extra "space" (I saw pianowizers pics) what i mean is the :color contrast, brightness,ghosting? and clearity... I am really impressed with this UXGA already..I am very, very picky with my screens...I guess thats why people goes to great length to modify their LCDs..

now i hit a snag
I just got the R50P yesterday the HD (Hitachi) is clicky and i have another Seagate HD waiting...
Then I realized that it does not come with Recovery Cd and I don't think i can burn another set (the previous owner probally did it already) so now i have to buy a new set of recovery CD (24R8116) But its Window XP SP1!! and I would like to have Win XP SP2 instead. How will i go about upgrading from SP1 to SP2 if the stock recovery CD is SP1? like My X60 tablet recovery Cd is all boundle together and you can't seperate the OS from the drivers...sorry for the dumb question.
(sorry maybe I should post the software questions in the window forum)

please if you have any advice and answers please let me know.

Thank you very much everybody..

#2 Post by **Harryc** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 9:23 pm

If the Hitachi has a recovery partition, just use it to reimage the drive, then burn a fresh set of recovery CD's. Another option is to make an image of the C: and recovery partitions, then copy them onto the new drive using Acronis True image. You'd need an external drive or a 2nd hdd adapter for staging the copies to do this. The free True image trial is 100% functional.

The Spirit of X21 · #3 Post by **The Spirit of X21** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 1:06 am

Welcome to the forum!

While there were special hinges made for the QXGA screen, they are not really necessary. Pianowizard kept the original hinges in his R50p and has not had a problem.

DVD movies should look the same as on any other LCD screen - the images don't get any smaller or larger.

pianowizard · #4 Post by **pianowizard** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 5:16 am

chazz wrote:So last week I've ordered a used R50P via IBM

I saw it and the price was EXTREMELY tempting. I almost bought a third one!

chazz wrote:But do I need to get new hinges as well? (13N5176)

Nope. Just keep using the original hinges. I do open and close the lid more carefully than usual though, just to be safe. After more than three months, the hinges still feel very tight.

chazz wrote:2)How does DVD Movies look on a QXGA? same as UXGA? if so I will be very happy

Same.

chazz wrote:)What differences between the UXGA compare to the QXGA other then the extra "space" (I saw pianowizers pics) what i mean is the :color contrast, brightness,ghosting? and clearity...

The QXGA screen is, just like the UXGA screen, Flexview. They are equally good. I don't notice any ghosting.

chazz wrote:How will i go about upgrading from SP1 to SP2 if the stock recovery CD is SP1?

Just use Windows Update. It takes about an hour, so find something else to do during that hour!

crashnburn · #5 Post by **crashnburn** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:30 am

Where on IBM? How? Whats the price? Link please.. pianowizard

#6 Post by **gator** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:33 am

crashnburn, IBM certified used had them a while ago. You can check regularly to see if it comes back.

crashnburn · #7 Post by **crashnburn** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:43 am

http://www.directlenovo.com/public/

Is this the new IBM / Lenovo Thinkpad Outlet?

I kept looking for it and never found this website or is there another location as well?

Also - Which of the other R-series laptops can be upgraded to QXGA? R52s ?

crashnburn · #8 Post by **crashnburn** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:50 am

Chazz, PW - What price did you guys buy it / see it at?

chazz · #9 Post by **chazz** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 1:45 pm

Thanks everyone..
the Window update did the trick..
I've just ordered a set of recovery CD

wow. the QXGA must be really heavy..
thanks pianowizer...

about the prices of the R50P...I don't know if your allow to give out the prices on this forum...but the going rate is around $500-600ish
theres' a seller on e#ay who has a collections of R50Ps for sale ...all in very good to excellent conditions...so u have to check up at e%ay

you have to take into consideration that the screen, inverter, cable and anything that will go wrong with a used machine will tally up another $500...so its going to be around 1G after your done with the modification ...
If not--theres a certified (at IBM) T42p for around 800ish plus 10% off...thats a pretty good deal..

netvista · #10 Post by **netvista** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 5:49 pm

Does anybody know where to get the QXGA screen? There are none available on ebay for th elast couple of weeks...

pianowizard · #11 Post by **pianowizard** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 9:05 pm

crashnburn wrote:Chazz, PW - What price did you guys buy it / see it at?

Around $510 plus sales tax, shipped.

chazz wrote:wow. the QXGA must be really heavy..
thanks pianowizer...

The QXGA is about 0.3 lbs heavier than the UXGA.

chazz wrote:so its going to be around 1G after your done with the modification ...

Yep, that's how much I spent on each of my R50p's.

netvista wrote:Does anybody know where to get the QXGA screen? There are none available on ebay for th elast couple of weeks...

The seller made a mistake and called it a QXGA for the R50. Search for "R50 QXGA". If you search for "R50p QXGA", you won't get anything. A forum member tried it on her R50 and all she got was a blank white screen.

crashnburn wrote:Also - Which of the other R-series laptops can be upgraded to QXGA? R52s?

I really don't know. In terms of the graphics card, I think the R50p has the best among the R5*, so even if the R52 could use this panel, I would still rather install it in an R50p.

With drastic, irreversible modifications to several pins on the back of the panel, it's possible to install it in a T60p.

crashnburn · #12 Post by **crashnburn** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:31 am

With drastic, irreversible modifications to several pins on the back of the panel, it's possible to install it in a T60p.

pw - Do we have enough details from these guys at this point?

pianowizard · #13 Post by **pianowizard** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:40 am

crashnburn wrote:pw - Do we have enough details from these guys at this point?

I don't know because that's a Chinese forum and I can't read Chinese well enough to understand much. I can tell you that I saw a photo of the back of the LCD panel showing which pins need to be modified. I can also tell you that these guys have access to some sort of funding mechanism to finance these experiments. Without such financial support, I am hesitant to do such risky and costly stuff.

chazz · #14 Post by **chazz** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 3:51 pm

IBM is out of the Qxga inverter (91P7339 now is 27K9953)
tried all other parts stores on line...they all get it from the same source: IBM..I end up calling IBM and they said the part is on back order and to check back in 2 weeks...I hope they will get this invertor,,,if not i will have one very nice 350 bucks QXGA paper weight...PW if you got other sources to get this inverter let me know..
Sparepart Warehouse is out as well as all other distributer...There's a seller on E$ay who's selling 10 for $100 shipped from China, i need one not ten...and I am not sure how reliable is this guy..(needs my phone number to ship?)

Can't read the simpilfide chinese..but if you get the courage to build a QXGA in a t61(p) Please let us know..show us the list of parts needed...so we can follow..

But it would be just as nice to put a t60p/61p motherboard in a R50P/Qxga (if possible)..the motherboard itself would be like $1200 a piece..ouch! not cheap modifications...But.ohh these flexviews are so worthy of such configurations...

I will try to upgrade the CPU soon while Iam waiting for my backorder ..
wish me luck...thanks.

crashnburn · #15 Post by **crashnburn** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 7:20 pm

Any updates here?

chazz · #16 Post by **chazz** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 12:29 am

Oh.. hi everyone ...update yes...First the rants.. then the praises
after getting all the parts together...the inverter was a real problem. I called IBM and got a different answer every time so I end up contacting the guy from China who's selling QXGA inverter (91p7339)
He/she was kind enough to sell me 2 ...Yes They worked like a charm..I maybe wrong.. but I don't know if IBM will get those QXGA inverter back again (or not)...

about the Hinges...Yes you do need the special QXGA 15" hinges..(13N5637) At first when I got them I was a little surprized "THEY are the same as my existing hinges! $ wasted" the QXGA ones where lighter and thiner metal. I thought they feel cheap compared to the stock R50P hinges...So first I decided to keep the Old hinges on the QXGA... Guess what ...they don't fit... as nice.. the LCD benzel was stuffed and ripping at the seam..and when when I try to mount the LCD back on to the notebook.. it kinda warped a little on the whole machine.. the back screws where out of alinement...SO then I had to take everything off (again)...and then I realized why the thinner metal was need..(believe me I took this thing apart like 4-5 times already...I can do it with my eyes closed now)...
QXGA...sigh...another problem The first screen that I've received--My package was badly damaged (crushed on one side) during the shippment...IT had a strong light leakage on the left side of the screen may have been cause by the bruising of the crush(?) In black it was very noticeable and to go through all "this"...AND come up with a damaged screen was "disappointing"
So i called AG PArts back, this was on a Friday..the replacement was in front of my door on Monday.(I highly recommend ordering from AG Parts..not to sound like a commercial but the service, ship and product was very good)

another issue that was mentioned before on other post was putting back the LCD bezel...This was a pain the butt to put back and try to get it to fit flush it took me like 8 tries/3 days to toying with it until I can get it back correctly...the one corner keeps poping up...and would not sit correctly...later I realized that on that corner the plastic hook inside was bent so of course it keep poping out.it need to be hooked on the top corners of the screen so the remaining LCD bezel can be snapped together..Finally my LCD bezel sits like its an UXGA (orgianl) wink wink...

Tips...
try to get the QXGA inverter first (if you can find one) before you order anything else...I did the opposite.
Get the qxga hinge
Double side tape is your friend. cut thin strips of double side tape and tape the LCD metal part that touches the plastic LCD bezel so it just sits much nicer...In the factory they actually double side tape right above where the inverter sits...I just end up taping left and right side to have a nicer fit...

Now the SCREEN...

YES. the color/contrast is Bold and Beautiful. i have to say its better then the stock UXGA, very bright...brighter then my x60t sxga at 180 nit...so it looks like its a true 200 nit (not scientific)...
the whites are very white...compare to the Boe Hydis X60T is more "yellow" This is very clean white, photos and movies looks great on this..BUT on fast action films i can seem alittle blur maybe due to limited video card or response time of the screen..
Its sharp. sharp sharp..crystal clear...no dead pixel, excellent viewing angle
still a hint of light leakage on the left side of the screen (alot less-but this is only visible in black ie boot up screen-other times you'll never its there )
the fonts are small, small, small ...but after tweeking with font size its acceptable..but on some sits the letters are tiny (so i would not recommend reading any legal documents with this screen...you might/will miss something) ...but man! you almost get the whole page on this screen...luv that...

The con...(or pro depends on your point of view)
after this screen or any flexview in general its going to be really hard to use anything else... I would like to have a faster C2D-- but the screen is such a downgrade... so i put this as "con"

final thought...would I have gone through all this trouble for just one screen? Maybe not. If you have all parts ready and available.. i say go for it-- but the (QXGA) parts are hard to find. and i made many mistakes along the way... But after taking one apart I am really impressed on how well these thinkpads are designed and made from the inside...I definately can appreciate it MUCH MORE now then before..
I hope this may help anyone who's thinking about doing this upgrade..It was fun doing it now iam moving on to another project... how about a 600 series? anybody got any ideas on a good "worthy" model to upgrade? (can't find S30)
thanks again all...

DarkMark · #17 Post by **DarkMark** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 4:30 am

Hello,

Thank you for the information. You mentioned that you got two inverters, did you convert two r50p's?

If not and you have one inverter left, would you be willing to sell me it? If not could you give me the adress of the chinese seller?

I'm very eager to get the qxga mod done myself, but I as you suggest I would like the parts before I buy the screen.

Thanks,
Mark

netvista · #18 Post by **netvista** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 11:59 am

Chazz,

Thanks for sharing your experience with the QXGA screen. I think it is still tempting..so maybe one day i will actually do it. Only thing is that i am afraid that the readibility will be much less then with the current UXGA screen.

All,

Regarding that CPU upgrade, i want to upgrade the CPU in my R50p. Which one is the fastest CPU that the R50P can handle for sure?

Thanks!

chazz · #19 Post by **chazz** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 12:33 pm

I bought the extra inverter just incase if something goes wrong...who knows..anyway ..I looked up my ebay and the guys store is pc_digi_wireless...you may be able to contact him to sell you one or many...make sure give him the correct part number (91P7339)
he/she was selling 10 for $100 (US) plus $20 ship...I bought 2 @ $12 each plus $20 ship ...it looks legit...it was shipped out very quickly...it was shipped out from some computer factory or computer zone in China...so i wouldn't be surpized if its Lenovo or some distributer whos dumping out all the left over parts. you need to give him your phone number because the chinese "UPS" need you phone number if the package gets lost or the address can't be found..good luck on your end.

the CPU i got was Dothan 755 2.0 GHZ (SL7EM) make sure its 478 pin and 400 fsb the 500's one' will not work...must be 400
you can try to get the 2.1 GHZ-765 (SL7V3) but its still around $200 ...you can get a 2.0 for around $120-150 and save 50 bucks but less bragging rights...that should bring you R50P up to par with a T42P...almost a T43P
the CPU was very EZ to upgrade...
Oh ya use that Articsilver thingy..
just a quick comment.. the machine nows runs MUCH Cooler then the stock CPU...i checked with speedfan and its around 35C-39C when burning movies...so temp wise its a good upgrade.
and upgrade the bio after your done with all this. the new bio is from 2007--- 3.13 (1RETDHWW) Follow the instruction and it takes like 3min to complete...
good luck, Iam going to have my lunch now.

netvista · #20 Post by **netvista** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 12:54 pm

Thanks chazz,

Enjoy your lunch.

According to lenovo, i already have the latest bios installed:

Machine type/model: 1832-23G
Your BIOS version: 1RETDRWW (3.23 )

You have the latest available BIOS installed on the system you are currently using.

I send an email to pc_digi for the inverter...alltough his store is empty...

We'll see

DarkMark · #21 Post by **DarkMark** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 3:41 pm

Thank you, chazz

I wrote to the fellow and hope he'll answer.
He hasn't got anything listed at the moment, so I hope still active.

pianowizard · #22 Post by **pianowizard** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 4:57 pm

chazz wrote:So first I decided to keep the Old hinges on the QXGA... Guess what ...they don't fit... as nice.. the LCD benzel was stuffed and ripping at the seam..and when when I try to mount the LCD back on to the notebook.. it kinda warped a little on the whole machine.. the back screws where out of alinement

Interesting. I didn't have these problems with the original hinges of my R50p's.

adj · #23 Post by **adj** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 11:15 am

Apologies for resurrecting an old post.

I have an R50p and will hopefully have in the next few days a QXGA panel.

Would someone please point me at the post for "the QXGA upgrade on the R50P by pianowizer and others" referred to in the first post of this thread.

Thank you very much.

#24 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 11:32 am

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_ ... as_rights=

adj · #25 Post by **adj** » Tue Sep 24, 2013 11:51 pm

Thank you for the response.

I think that I now have all that is needed for the upgrade;

- R50p in-hand,

- panel should arrive today from a UK source,

- inverter and cable on order from the US.

adj · #26 Post by **adj** » Fri Nov 01, 2013 9:52 am

I have successfully completed the upgrade and the R50p now sports a bright QXGA panel and for good measure has an upgraded M765 CPU.

If you'd like to see the result please view
http://picasaweb.google.com/ivories.wh ... inkPads02

When I was working with Hi-res panels many years ago, we talked of the benefits of hi-res in terms of Quality and Quantity. The two images are therefore not surprisingly titled Quality and Quantity.

Please enjoy!!

Questions about R50P Upgrade-QXGA and CPU

Questions about R50P Upgrade-QXGA and CPU

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NNNooo..out of Inverter

Hi

thanks for the interest...

Re: Hi

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