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    Is it possible to upgrade the LCD on the Thinkpad X130e?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Frog_Botherer, Feb 16, 2014.

  1. Frog_Botherer

    Frog_Botherer Newbie

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    Hi, new to the forum here, thanks for reading my question. I'm a biology grad student, and I recently bought a used-but-in-excellent-condition Thinkpad X130e (Model 2339-A68) as my "field notebook" for when I'm travelling around in Africa doing ecological research. I needed something small, light, and durable and it fits the bill. It's actually a surprisingly nice notebook all around – just as nice to work on (all else being equal) as my T530, and very rugged. It's not a performance monster, but it does the job I want it to do very well. It's not the lightest laptop for its size, but I knew that ahead of time and it makes up for it in durability; this thing is built like a tank.

    There's only one problem: the screen is lousy. (The closest I could find to a part number is Lenovo FRU 04W1594 or 04W1596, I think the only difference is glossy/matte finish.) It's a low-res 1366x768, not very bright, and the colors are noticeably washed out. My question is whether there are any compatible LCD panels that are better. I realize that the laptop was only offered with this one screen, but I'm hoping that somebody out there might know of a better, compatible part that I can install myself. My GPU is an Intel Graphics 3000 chipset, which I realize is not exactly a powerful chip but it does support higher resolutions.

    I'm not looking for better 3D performance or anything – this machine doesn't get used for that at all and I know I'm stuck with the HD 3000 chip – but if there's a way to drop in a panel with more resolution or even just better brightness and color rendering, I'd be very interested. I've done a similar upgrade on my T530, but in that case I was just upgrading from a low-end to a high-end panel, both of which were offered from the factory. I realize that swapping an LCD panel is a delicate operation so no need to warn me there; if I damage something it's my own fault. I'm also not worried about voiding a warranty, since this is a used laptop with no warranty to begin with.

    Has anybody heard of such a thing? If you can think of any way to upgrade the panel on this thing (maybe even something involving attaching the mounting bracket from the original panel to the new one?) then I would absolutely love to hear about it. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I appreciate any advice that you can give.