Planning an R51 Screen Swap--some help?

[sysiphus]

Hi all,

It looks like I get to make my R51 a full time machine for a while...as such, I'd like to put a new screen in it if possible.

Having never done a screen swap before, I've read the HMM to see what the job entails, and I'm confident I can do it. My primary questions are as follows: do I need to buy anything other than the new panel? (I'd ideally like to put an SXGA+ panel in place of the stock XGA--according to this thread http://www.thinkpads.com/forum/viewtopi ... 79&start=0, (George's post, second on the thread), I inferred that an R51 Intel-graphics board can drive a 15" SXGA+ screen (but not the 14" model, for whatever reason.) Happily, my R is the 15" model, so I'd like to put a new screen in it (XGA is a bit less than ideal)).

Also, is there a particular seller/source you'd recommend for the part(s) needed? (I know that putting much $ into this machine isn't massively practical, but my alternative is getting a laundry list of expensive replacement parts for the dead T60...motherboard, screen, battery, some plastics...)

[RealBlackStuff]

Sorry to put a damper on your enthusiasm.
Only the R52 mobo with Intel graphics can also support SXGA+ on a 15" LCD.

[sysiphus]

Hmm, sorry to hear it--but thanks for straightening me out. All the same, if I can get my hands on an inexpensive XGA display, I'll probably do a swap--this isn't the brightest screen in the world.

[ajkula66]

I'd still give it a shot with SXGA+...they were some "weird duck" Intel-based R51s with IPS displays, but these were not common, and most likely a part of some "one-off" corporate orders.

Will the swap work? I can't say I'm a 100% certain, but you won't ruin anything by trying it out. And there's always a market for reasonably-priced FlexView LCDs should your attempt fail...

My $0.02 only...

Good luck.

[sysiphus]

Hmm, interesting about the odd-duck Intel/Flexview combos, George. It didn't occur to me that a 15" SXGA+ would be Flexview; that makes it ever so much more tempting. Well, I found a stripper SXGA+ R51 (no battery, hard drive, power supply etc) on eBay; with any luck, the price will stay low and I can pick it up and combine my machine with the goods from that one to make an ultimate R51. Obviously I'd rather keep the Intel board (even though I've only got 10/100 Ethernet and no i1394) for heat/reliability reasons, but one way or the other, if I can get that machine, I think I'll be able to come out with a very workable/cheap replacement for my poor mangled T60.

[sysiphus]

Well, I've got the stripped Flexview model coming in the mail
Obviously, it has the ATI 9000 chip; if the computer doesn't show any signs of video failure, is it something to be concerned about as an eventuality, or will careful use (not lifting from corners etc) keep the bogeyman away?

[jronald]

The R's were/are less problematic than the T's. That said, dont assume anything, its going to fail sooner or later, and it will probably be the GPU when it goes. For that matter, swap the HDD into it as is. It will whine about the ATI driver, so make sure you have it handy. My wife's Intel graphics died, and picked up a bare bones ATI. Slapped the HDD in it, loaded the right driver, and she has been using it for several months.

Ron

[RealBlackStuff]

Obviously, it has the ATI 9000 chip;

Not so, your machine has Intel graphics, not suited for anything higher than XGA!

Product: ThinkPad R51 2883-GKU [change]
Operating system: All [change]

Original description: P M 725, 256MB RAM, 30GB 4200rpm HDD, 15 XGA(1024x768) TFT LCD, Intel Extreme, 24x24x24x/8x CD-RW/DVD, Intel 802.11b/g wireless(MPCI), Modem(CDC), 10/100 Ethernet(LOM), UltraNav, Secure Chip, 6 cell Li-Ion battery, WinXP Pro

[sysiphus]

Not so, your machine has Intel graphics, not suited for anything higher than XGA!

Product: ThinkPad R51 2883-GKU [change]
Operating system: All [change]

Original description: P M 725, 256MB RAM, 30GB 4200rpm HDD, 15 XGA(1024x768) TFT LCD, Intel Extreme, 24x24x24x/8x CD-RW/DVD, Intel 802.11b/g wireless(MPCI), Modem(CDC), 10/100 Ethernet(LOM), UltraNav, Secure Chip, 6 cell Li-Ion battery, WinXP Pro

I appreciate your vigilance, but I guess I wasn't clear enough--I obtained a stripper 15" SXGA+ model, which I'm going to try and use with the parts from the 2883-GKU

[RealBlackStuff]

Suit yourself.

[sysiphus]

Suit yourself.

(I'm just going to stick with the ATI/sure-thing-SXGA-compatible board if it works fine...while George's idea is interesting, given that I'm getting a sure-thing compatible board, I might as well just use it--besides, the Firewire port will come in handy. I'll never understand why the T60 never got Firewire or S-Video out)

[msnuser111]

Not that I doubt that they are failing,but what is it about the thinkpads that is making the radeon 9000s fail? I have 3 dell latitude d600s that have the same video card,and they have no issues,I wonder what the issue is in the thinkpads that isnt happening with dells. The dells have a different issue,the ethernet chip separates from the board like the gpus are in thinkpads,resulting in freezing during boot unless ethernet is disabled in the bios.

[RealBlackStuff]

You have to blame RoHS for that
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictio ... _Directive
Their crummy regulations forced manufacturers to use lead-free solder, which they did, but not have a chance to test for long-time stability.
The poor quality of RoHS-compliant soldering causes the BGA (Ball Grid Array) solder balls to come unsoldered.
In the design of the T4x, too much "flexing" also contributes to the same problem.