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DejaWiz
Fully [H]
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2005
- Messages
- 21,826
Well, after a lot of research, I was able to determine that my older Asus R704a (came equipped with an i5-3210M, 4GB DDR3L-1600, 750GB HDD, and iGPU HD 4000 driving a 1600x900 17.3" screen) could be fitted with a 1080p LVDS 2 channel 40pin panel.
Using a variety of websites that review or sell (or simply act as a specs database for) all the different panels out there, I concluded that the AU Optronics B173HW01 series was usually the defacto go-to for getting better image quality and viewing angle out of a non-IPS panel. Almost all compatible panels have a lower 72% gamut, but still a step from my 60% 900p screen. The short-lived 1080p "V.4" version has a >=90% gamut, but has been long out of production and available pretty much nowhere.
Jumped on eBay and found a confirmed brand new panel out of Europe for around $250 plus $50 shipping...shit, that's more than the residual value of my laptop.
On a whim, I reeled in the criteria and did a basic search on eBay for just the keyword B173HW01, and found a listing from California. Upon looking at the pictures, it was the majestic V.4 pulled from a Sager! Buy It Now price was $69 free shipping, or Best Offer. Contacted the seller to ask if it had any dead pixels or other anomalies, and the response was that everything was in good working order. Not a 100% vote of confidence, but I took a chance and submitted an offer of $50. Within about 30 minutes, I was alerted that I needed to pay...woohoo!
Got delivered Friday only 2 days after payment, and was able to get it installed last night in about 45 minutes. Had to remove the existing drivers for the display and Intel HD 4000 from the Control Panel, rebooted, reinstalled the video driver, and all was perfect!
Along with the 240GB SSD and Blu-ray drive (carried over from a previous laptop) that've resided in it for a while, it feels like a bit of a new laptop, and I'm super happy, overall.
Ever thought about upgrading your laptop's LCD panel? With just a bit of research, you may very well be able to!
Cell phone quality pics, but here it is up and running:
Using a variety of websites that review or sell (or simply act as a specs database for) all the different panels out there, I concluded that the AU Optronics B173HW01 series was usually the defacto go-to for getting better image quality and viewing angle out of a non-IPS panel. Almost all compatible panels have a lower 72% gamut, but still a step from my 60% 900p screen. The short-lived 1080p "V.4" version has a >=90% gamut, but has been long out of production and available pretty much nowhere.
Jumped on eBay and found a confirmed brand new panel out of Europe for around $250 plus $50 shipping...shit, that's more than the residual value of my laptop.
On a whim, I reeled in the criteria and did a basic search on eBay for just the keyword B173HW01, and found a listing from California. Upon looking at the pictures, it was the majestic V.4 pulled from a Sager! Buy It Now price was $69 free shipping, or Best Offer. Contacted the seller to ask if it had any dead pixels or other anomalies, and the response was that everything was in good working order. Not a 100% vote of confidence, but I took a chance and submitted an offer of $50. Within about 30 minutes, I was alerted that I needed to pay...woohoo!
Got delivered Friday only 2 days after payment, and was able to get it installed last night in about 45 minutes. Had to remove the existing drivers for the display and Intel HD 4000 from the Control Panel, rebooted, reinstalled the video driver, and all was perfect!
Along with the 240GB SSD and Blu-ray drive (carried over from a previous laptop) that've resided in it for a while, it feels like a bit of a new laptop, and I'm super happy, overall.
Ever thought about upgrading your laptop's LCD panel? With just a bit of research, you may very well be able to!
Cell phone quality pics, but here it is up and running:
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