Screen Upgrade for Dell 1520

I just recently purchased a Dell 1520 off of ebay new.

It came with a very nice configuration execpt that it has the standard 1280 x800 Screen resolution.

At work I currently live on the 1280 x 1024 resolution and at home I run with the 1400 x 900 widescreen on my 19" widescreen westinghouse monitor.

I don't think that I am going to like the largeness of the screen on my new laptop.

Is it possible for me to buy an aftermarket LCD screen (1680x1050) and straight up swap it out with my old panel? Are the connections different or anything? My notebook has a GeForce 8600M GT inside which I'm sure will be able to handle the higher resolution.

Thanks

 

Probably better off selling it and getting the one you want. Laptop LCDs aren't cheap. Plus if you swap the screen you will likely no longer have a warranty.

 

I could swap the old one back in if I needed to ship it out under warranty. I'm very tech savvy -- that isn't the problem. The problem is I can not find a straight answer for this online.

 

Technically yes, you can replace your screen. Dell makes higher res screens for the 1520, so you can just call them up and buy a wsxga+ screen from them and have it plug in perfectly.

Now whether or not this is easy to do and feasible is debatable. Personally, that would be a pain in the butt to do that everytime you send your machine in, not to mention the possible damage you can cause if you mess something up. This isn't an easy operation, even for a tech savvy guy.

But if you choose to do it, just call Dell and buy a better screen from them.

 

I think you will lose less money if you sell yours and get the one you want.

 

I've replaced the LCD on an older dell laptop due to it cracking. It's actually pretty easy in my eyes. The only thing I can't figure out is if I can take out my WXGA and throw in a WUXGA+ glossy.

I automatically thought I could just by past experiences.. But a Chinamen with a LCD ebay store told me that they could not be mixed and matched. I took the laptop apart and looked at the connections. Basically it's a wire for the backlight, and a wire to my Nvidia 8600M. Some other wires for wireless antenna etc. But none of that helps me until I can confirm that It'll fit.

Hopefully I will figure it out though. I sent an email to screentek.com asking about it. They will most likely know for sure.

 

I flipped my buddies/girlfriends screens the other night to see if they worked. They did. They both have year old dells. I forget the model, but they also have different wires than what my Dell is packing.

I'm about to buy a new LCD off Ebay(within the day.) One with a higher resolution, since my experiments have worked.

However, If you have tried to upgrade your screen resolution on your laptop and it was not compatible with your older screen size please let me know or I am paying a 20% restocking fee.