XPS 9570 FHD Replacement (UHD? 7590? 9560?

So my screen retired this morning. Looks like a backlight based on the blinding white light followed by perpetual darkness. Works fine over docking station so crisis averted (why does this suit always happen in Mondays with a deadline?). Best part is the warranty ended on Thursday...

Now, on to replacement. I'd like to go to a UHD but it is unclear from the web info whether this is is just a swap and screw. There is very little concrete on the subject. Called Dell to be thorough, $679 for a Dell FHD LCD assembly, in case you're wondering. They say it won't work. I'm not ready to pack it yet. Aftermarket, we go.

So here's what I know so far:

1. The 9750 UHD requires a different video connector than the FHD because of the touch digitizer. Panel itself won't do it. I assume the webcam is running over the eDP.

2. Both the FHD and the UHD are eDP 40 pin. This may or may not hold true for the 9550 / 9560 generation.

3. The FHD and UHD panels used in the 9560, 9570 and 7590 are all different. Different nit ratings each generation. This should make no difference.

4. The 9570 motherboards appear to have a connector for the digitizer lead regardless whether it is used or not. I don't have my screwdrivers with me right now but based on the schematics it appears to be standard issue.

Alright. Possible solutions, in order of preference:

1. Swap in a 7590 4K IPS. Proper webcam placement and more power efficient. OLED probably requires a different BIOS and I'm not sold on the technology for my use.

2. Swap in a 9570K 4K IPS.

3. Swap in a 9560 4K IPS. Less power efficient but apparently bright and beautiful. This would be my contribution to science until the organ donors get me.

4. Put another 9570 FHD back in. Ho hum.

Anybody who can offer honest to goodness experience on the subject would be much appreciated. There's lots of 'I used to know this guy who heard from his cousin that somebody in Bolivia might have done it' is not helpful.'

So far I have read one account that says #4 is possible. Guy had two 9570s and got out the screwdrivers. He also said the connectors 'look right' in the 9550.

I've got a few days before I have to pull the pin (this is why I always keep a spare rig as backup').

Appreciate your input.

 

You might take off case bottom, remove the screen cable from the mother board, blow some compressed air at contacts, carefully reseat.

You need to be super careful with the connector as the pins are very delicate. Don't touch any of the pins and reset with great care.

Also, on my XPS 9560 and 9550, there was an metallic rectangular cover over that connection. That screw (and the similar one for the nvme drive) is JIS and requires a special screwdriver. If you use a regular philips there is a good probability of stripping the screw head, making it very difficult to remove. The 9570 has a diffferent metallic cover but MIGHT have the same JIS screws, which should be indicated with a dot on the top of the screwhead, but not all JIS screws have that dot.

https://www.dell.com/support/manual...ede1bd-c493-4867-8008-297f94bfe6f9&lang=en-us

EDIT - My 9550 screen died and cable reseat fixed it. No problems for years. Your problem might be different.

Opening the computer and looking for fried bits or corrosion might indicate a different cause. Use a loop as the components are hopelessly small. I would not buy a screen before looking at the motherboard and cable connections carefully for any damage. Louis Rossman videos on youtube show how that is done (albeit on Apples).

 

Thanks, I was aware of JIS screws being disguised as Philip's but had no idea that Dell used them.... Just went on a Wikipedia rabbit hole surf about security screws. I'd forgotten about the cursed Apple Tri-Wing.

Canned air and a bang in the ear probably isn't going to help this one. Turned it on and it was like staring at the sun. Then it just slowly faded to black for the next 5 minutes. Now the screen twitches grey briefly on boot and then nothing. Backlight gone to the great beyond, I think.

The last piece of computer gear I destroyed through misadventure was an 40 MB drive I arced off a screwdriver (POP!) and a 12V pin because I was trying to switch a jumper on my modem without rebooting. I've been far more respectful of electricity ever since.

 

Screen failures on the XPS 9550/9560/9570 are rarely reported here so there are no obvious troubleshooting (lots of other issues lol).

I would want to track down cause before buying a new screen. So your new screen does not meet the same fate. I would tear the laptop down and look for obvious failures on the board. Maybe water ingress / short in the power regulation. With that meltdown, you may well see burnt - corroded - green components with a magnifying glass.

Unfortunately, I have not seen a schematic of the XPS15 as that would make testing easy. But maybe they are floating around. There was a schematic of the 9350 which might get you started but that is a different beast...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/xps-9560-with-two-displayport-monitors.806841/page-2

There are a few people who swapped screens here so search the forums. I don't remember too well

- Dell used the same screen part numbers for a few years across the 9550-9560-9570 generations. I just can't remember which screens for which generations. You can't rely on the marketing data. You need to search the part numbers as Dell's marketing materials quoted different brightness specs for same panel part number in newer XPS model on a few occasions (possible Dell revised the BIOS and/or power components to boost nits).

- I think the older XPS models with touch just had an additional connector on the other side of the panel.

 

These guys in Texas sell "refurb" 9570 screens for $219 FHD and $279 4k, shipped. I use them for parts tracking over the past few years but never ordered from them. You can cross reference their screen numbers (although the Sharp full part numbers will be longer IIRC). You call or screen chat with questions.

https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=category&id=143&subid=1201&refine=lcd+screen

Finally, I have the FHD and have used the 4k "a lot". I like the 4k for beautiful bezel & touchscreen; gloss looks beautiful but reflection bothers me. 4k is ever so slightly clearer on a 15" screen but that is difficult to discern. If you are doing photo editing, maybe the 4k resolution-colors would be an advantage.

FHD has good matt finish. I think battery life will be better but can't remember; that is documented in the forums here.

 

I had an XPS 9550 with the FHD screen, and I now am using an XPS 9560 with the 4k screen. While the 4k screen on the XPS 9560 is a beautiful screen and has vibrant color, frankly, on a 15" screen, any advantage for the 4k screen with regard to showing greater detail is beyond what my eyes are capable of seeing. Further, for some of my older software, the 4k screen comes with some scaling issues that can make text with those older apps difficult to read. Even with my serious uses of working with photo files, I see no advantage to the 4k screen, and, if I had the opportunity to do it over again, I think I would have saved a bit of money and just gotten the FHD screen on the XPS 9560.