Swapping my M17x R4 Screen

I know many have asked this question and have been directed to tutorials and videos but exactly how difficult is it to swap the screen on my R4? Im looking to upgrade it to the 1920x1080 screen for about 180 bucks and don't know it its worth buying. The screen will come with the alienware panel, hinges, and cables, so im worried about the back plate with the alienhead and how tough it will be to remove that and apply it to the new screen. Any thoughts, opinions, or suggestions?

 

the lid is just held on by two screws and then you slide it up to take it off. It's not hard at all.

 

Where are you getting the screen from? I may also do the same.

I would appreciate pointed out these tutorials/videos as well. I searched this forum and others and did not find what I was looking for. Thanks!

 

Why on earth did you buy it without the 1080p display *facepalm*

 

I have an external monitor at 1200p resolution, and I usually use that with all my laptops. But if I can use my Dell gift card (5% of what I spent on the M17x) on buying a new screen and replacing it myself, it will come out to pretty much nothing. So why not?

 

Pretty much plug and play. Remove a couple of screws. Take the LCD out and put the new one.

 

Lol.... how much of a gift card do you have? A screen straight from dell is gonna cost you around 700$-800$. Better off just getting a screen off eBay as they are much much cheaper.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 running Resurrection Remix

 

He already said around 180. From 1600x900 the 1080p panels tend to be of higher quality and when putting documents together that extra res helps and the vertical pixels are always nice.

 

NEW OEM Dell Alienware M17x R3 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080 Led LCD Screen

that is the screen he is probably talking about right there.

 

The auction says no webcam or back board? Id the Back Board the same on both screens?

 

it should be right? same size screens so why wouldnt the backboard fit?

 

just bought the screen on ebay, will be here tomorrow, wonder how much i can sell my 1600x900 screen for?

 

I will be very interested in your progress.

 

nevermind, seller told me it has scratches, guess ill stick with my 1600x900 for a while longer. Is the difference for gaming only that big between the 900p and 1080p screens?

 

Yup it should be the the same on both.

difference for me personally was night and day. The 1080p panel is a lot more vibrant and just looks better. I'd keep an eye on ebay and look for a good deal. I picked up my new panel for about $130 plus shipping.

 

found another seller, they want 190 and will do overnight shipping. Maybe ill go for it. The thing i loomforward to most is the better colors and angles/contrast ratio, hope its better cause in dark games its hard to see on the 900p screen from the blacks turning greyish

 

yea the contrast seems a lot better especially after you get the screen calibrated properly.

 

Sorry man nothing can help the 900p screen it's just a low grade crap panel thats used in $300 17" laptops. It has no business being in an Alienware in my opinion.

 

yea I agree it stinks too. I was referring to a calibrated 1080p panel.

 

In my opinion when gaming... Putting resolution on the second highest, is barely noticeable. Hmm well I haven't done that on my Alienware yet, but on my work laptop I tested some games and to get 60+ fps I dropped resolution a bit. And honestly I can barely tell the difference, if I had to improve my fps... The first 2 things I would do are, turn off antialiasing... then turn the resolution down a tiny bit..

So yeah I don't believe 1080p vs 900p is a HUGE difference, but buying an Alienware without a full-HD screen is just... i dno.

Edit: the laptop screen I did reduce resolution on was 1366x768, and I believe I dropped it to 1280x800... Don't know about going down from 1080p tho

 

just swapped my screen to the full 1080p lcd and WOW, major difference! the clarity, color quality, and contrast are so much better. Ill never be able to look back at my 900p screen again! best upgrade for 190 bucks

 

congrats on the new screen!!!

 

Hey HaloGod, I'm on your shoes right now (or should I say old shoes). I bought my m17xr4 from amazon with a 900p display and to me its the only disappointing thing in this machine. I gave a thought on buying a new 1080p panel these days but didn't do it 'cause I'm kind of a noob in the screen swaping department, so I gave up.

Hearing from you now gave me hope to get a new flat panel in order to replace the one it came with. Would you mind sharing some info or maybe a tutorial on how you did it? And the ebay link to where you bought it?

Thanks!

 

pm sent!!!!

 

Was it meant for me? I didn't receive any...

 

What are the part #'s that will fit the R4? Will the R3 screen fit?

 

yes the r3 screen is the same. on ebay i ordered an R3 screen and it works perfect. There are many different part numbers for different screens I dont know what the differences are. Some screen are made by AU and some LG. Just make sure you dont only buy the panel itself, make sure it has the alienware assembly and screen all together with hinges.

 

When people said the 900p screen was bad I took it with a grain of salt and ordered a M7x R3 with one anyway as it was a fantastic deal. I also ordered a M17x R2 with the 1200p RGB screen and from that point on I knew there was no way I was keeping the R3 with that pretty horrible 900p screen. I have a cheap Toshiba L775 which is a budget 17" machine and side by side with the M17x r3 looks like that have the same exact low quality screen. How this screen ever made it into an Alienware is a mystery to me. Don't get me wrong the 900p screen is tolerable but if you own one don't compare it to the 1080p screen or you will be swapping it out for sure. Also to be clear this has nothing to do with the 900p vs 1080p its the contrast ratio and picture quality. I'd be happy with the 900p resolution it's just the image quality that comes with this 900p screen is really that bad. Viewing angle are tiny. I think these pictures speak louder than my words.

View attachment 87249

View attachment 87250

View attachment 87251

 

Her's a vid as well

 

Wow the 900p one is so washed out.

 

I also forgot to mention the brightness level on the 900p screen is only like 2 bars up from it's lowest setting. The R2's 1200p screen is on Max.

 

Does that include the top cover? Does the R3 cover have the same soft touch finish?

Thanks for the info!

 

no it did not include the back board with the alien head. But the chassis and cover on the r3 and thr r4 are the same so they are both compatible.

 

Will any of these screens work?

Alienware M17XI7 replacement Laptop LCD Screen from $84.99 Brand-new screens (never used).

Or the third one here?

Alienware AREA M17X-R3 replacement Laptop LCD Screen from $94.99 Brand-new screens (never used).

 

Nope you need a screen that includes the full hinge assembely and bezel. Plus those screen's you linked are for the M17x r2 and won't fit properly. Link down below is what you need.

OEM Dell Alienware M17x R3 M17xR3 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080 Led LCD Screen MGNC7

 

Just wonder if you ever need a webcam, then you are pretty much have to go with an external webcam? It doesn't look like you can just take the webcam out and put into one of these.

 

There are still two left of these screens as of now. They look to be the same as the others linked here. For $120 shipped it doesn't sound like a bad deal. The one person that had already bought one left feedback that it was like new.

Dell Alienware M17x R4 17 3" LCD Screen LED Panel LP173WF1 TL B3 MGNC7 | eBay

I would like to know if the webcam can be switched over or not.

 

According to this post http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/587741-m17x-r3-screen-disassembly-guide-3.html#post8017593

You can take the webcam out, so apparently, you can also put the webcam back in. The metal back plate looks just like one of those on eBay.

 

Yes you can, we used to ship the cam separately when it was merely a mic/cam issue. If you need a part number shoot me a PM and I'll hook you up.

 

Haha thank you. I do need to replace my screen but I'm still waiting for the confirmation of transferring ownership. Just filed it last Thursday and hopefully, it can get done soon so I can get rid of the yellow hairline on my screen.

 

Its easy to swap the webcam once you take the lid off. My replacement screen came with it already installed. Maybe I was lucky idk.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 running Resurrection Remix

 

I believe Dell will replace the whole screen assembly so I'm not quite worried about it. But you know, no knowledge is ever useless .

 

Well when I had my screen swapped by dell a while since it was all messed up, they had to swap the webcam.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 running Resurrection Remix

 

Thanks for the answer! Isn't there a r4 specific screen + lid with webcam and alienhead on the market?

 

Well my wonderful wife bought me a M17x r4 from the Dell online outlet a few hours ago as a surprise, but she didn't realise it was 1600x900. It was a good deal, so would it be better to buy a new screen on ebay as some of you have done, or is it possible to cancel the order?

Edit: Just had it cancelled. Might as well wait for the right thing, rather than messing around to save a couple of bucks.

 

Hi, I'm just new to this forum and i'm trying to replace my 1600x900 LCD with a 1920X1080 LCD but same as what you said the seller enlisted that there is no webcam on the LCD PANEL is there a way to take out the webcam from the old LCD Panel to the new one i'm buying? Hoping for a reply soon. Thank you.

 

Yes you can use your old webcam by removing one screw holding it.

 

Yes there both the same.

 

Hey, anyone found any newer ebay listings for the 1080p screen?

 

i just took delivery of a 1080p screen from ebay, good service from the USA.

will take of this dog of a 900p tonight, clean up my R4 and jobs a good one.

dell want about £400 for a new screen mind you, i got in touch with them