Replacement 14" 900p screen for T420/T420s

Did anyone have any luck swapping their screen on T420/T420s with another better quality 1600 x 900 screen? I love my T420s, but the horrible contrast (~120:1), bad vertical angle and the screen door effect of the stock 900p screen make it downright despicable. I know there are some good 900p 14" screens out there (samsung series 7 and some Dell XPS 14 replacement 900p screens), but has anyone tried swapping one on their t420s and are they even compatible with the T420/420s?

I had a T43 and wow! what a beautiful IPS quality screen it had for an old laptop. Is it just me or does everybody think that laptop screens nowadays have just gone down the drain quality wise? Are all thin screens (T420/T420s, Sony SA, etc) bad because they are so damn thin? But then there are Macbooks with thin but gorgeous screens.

Let's make a list of all possible screen replacements, people, if there is not one already. I at least could not find a forum thread here or anywhere where someone went ahead and replaced their screen with a better quality screen.

 

I had read somewhere that Lenovo BIOSes whitelist the screens, but maybe I'm wrong.

Anyway, you have a choice of 3 compatible panels for the T420s: LG, Samsung and AUO, because that is what Lenovo uses in the T420s. Which of the panels do you have? I have the LG and, after some tweaking, it's quite acceptable.

John

 

I hate that there's a panel lottery, but that's with all the computer makers unfortunately.

 

The FlexView screens offered on the T43 and other ThinkPads were exceptional, but not the rule. Historically, most laptop screens aren't that great. Limited viewing and limited contrast are the norms. Go to a store and look at some notebooks. They're all about the same. If you had a 14" T43, they were just as bad if not worse as screens back then were significantly dimmer.

Lenovo does like to whitelist WiFi cards in the BIOS, but I don't think they whitelist LCDs in the BIOS. Being so specialized, it's pretty rare for an LCD from notebook to work in another. If you want a good screen, I'd suggest looking at the X220, but you'd have to give up the WXGA+. I'm hoping as Lenovo figures out how to offer this on the X220 and make a buck, they'll offer it on other ThinkPads like the T series. I'd be very interested in a 14" WXGA+ T series with an IPS screen, but unfortunately, we're not there yet.

 

Yeah I think you are right. Just a quick google search revealed that Lenovo whitelited screens at least on T60 and some other thinkpads. There is a way to remove white whitelists from the BIOS by flashing a modified BIOS, but I will keep it as a last resort. Do you know if the LG or Samsung panel with the compatible FRU has better contrast ratio and better vertical angle stability than the AUO panel? Thanks.

I bought an X220 first but I realized that I absolutely hate the clickpads. In addition the lower resolution on the IPS screen was also a factor why I returned it to get the T420s. Thanks for your reply.

 

It seems the Samsung panel (FRU: 93P5685) is amongst the best out of the three contrast wise, followed by LG then AUO, though it is also the rarest to get. There is a possibility that you may need to change the LCD cable as well since the HD and HD+ cables are different from each other. I think I recall someone trying to upgrade the panel from HD to HD+ but it didn't work with the existing cable so you may need to acquire that to get it working.

 

I think, if you wade through the T420s owners' thread then you will discover that the AUO is the worst of the trio. Notebookcheck has detailed tests of a T420 display which is also representative of the T420s display.

John

 

Then you're probably going to have to choose between a good panel and a better clickpad. I haven't seen any of the T420 screens, but my guess would be based on past experience would be that even if the Samsung is better than the LG or AUO, it's probably not hugely so. I say learn the stick and be done with it.

 

Just a FYI. Just got word from Lenovo:

1 93P5685, Samsung, end of life, replaced by 93P5693
2 93P5689, LG, end of life, replaced by 93P5693
3 93P5693, AUO, in stock

Ironic ... the two better options end of life and replaced ny the worst of the 3.

 

It's not as if the 14" 1600 x 900 displays are disappearing. Samsung is using one in its 14" Series 7 notebook. Perhaps there is a temporary shortage of supply.

John

 

It might be because the contract with Samsung and LG are up, but they are negotiating for a new price, of course AUO are more than willing to supply their panel at a cheaper price. With the increase in RMB exchange rate and worker demanding for a higher wage, I guess that what Lenovo are doing.

 

They're not disappearing, Lenovo is just standardizing on AUO and not ordering the rest anymore.

 

I'm a little hesitant to believe that.

They've still got a contract with LG for the X220 panels, and it's Lenovo's strategy not to have just a single supplier for interchangeable parts if they can avoid it. I doubt they'd voluntarily drop all but one screen supplier for one of their more popular models.

 

If you don't mind a glossy screen, you might give this one a try. IBM-Lenovo THINKPAD T420S replacement Laptop LCD Screen $87.99 Brand-new screens (never used).

I've ordered a few screens from them in the past year and I've been happy with them.

 

How can I tell which screen I have. I'm satisfied with my T420 screen. Having come from a T60 and T42 (both of which were not IPS as far as I know). And I know what IPS screens are like as I have one on my desk top at home and work.

 

Try using SIW / PC Wizard and it might show the Tech Info

 

Has anybody had any luck getting Lenovo to replace a AUO with a LG or Samsung? I got the AUO crap and I just placed a service request to get it replaced. I also purchased the best warranty with accidental damage coverage so I'm hoping that might help me a bit. Anyway, just curious if anybody has successfully gotten a better screen by complaining about the AUO? Thanks!

 

Tech just left, it's another AUO screen. Well, I'm pretty disappointed. This could've been the perfect laptop for me. Instead it's going to get pawned off on someone else.

 

I just got my T420s a little over a month ago. Can I assume it's the AUO screen?
I'm also getting that "door effect" everyone keeps talking about.
Does that not happen with the other screens?
coming from a W500 WUXGA, aside from the screen brightness which is a (fairly big) improvement, My W500 screen is easier to work with.
The blacks on my T420s screen are really bad.

 

It's most likely the AOU. You can check using a program such as HWiNFO32 or Moninfo. AUO is B140RW02.

Or you can use the Lenovo parts lookup.

John

 

This is what the lenovo parts lookup brings up

MFG P/N 93P5684 FRU P/N 93P5685

I take it it's not the AOU? hard to think that the contrast actually gets worse than this...

I also used the SIW proggy earlier and the most relevant bit of information I got out of it was pnp09ff.
The laptop is not next to me so I can't use the program you recommended yet.

 

From the looks of things, it seems that actually you have the Samsung LTN140TK panel (FRU: 93P5685) which is one of the rarest and better panels to get for the T420s. If you're not happy with this then i'm afraid it's not going to be any better with the other two panels either...

 

Looks like you're right.

I guess I've just been spoiled by displays generally better than this, and I should just be happy I ended up with the Samsung.
I'm very pleased with the brightness.
I can live with the contrast and washed out blacks.
The thing that bothers me the most is that "door efffect".
I'll live...

 

There was a great icc profile uploaded by a member that corrects the blue tint/washed out blacks. Try the search engine here.

 

Thanks for the tip. I don't remember mine having a blue tint, but it definitely has washed out blacks.
I'll give it a shot when I get back home.

 

I found that dropping the Gamma to 0.8 on my LG panel reduced the screen door effect without adversely affecting the display quality.

John

 

Welcome to my world! I replaced my X220 with a T420, but I managed to tweak the ICC color profile. I actually used one from these forums: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/571870-eureka-t420-screen-problem-partially-solved.html

I used the ICC profile posted by mac1133, and the screen is SIGNIFICANTLY better. Try the instructions in the thread, disable the Intel stuff, and load that color profile.

 

I've pretty much given up on laptops smaller than 15". They either have too low of resolution or too weak of graphics. Sure, I wish the W520 was lighter, but talk about no compromises, that machine has everything.

 

Today I have phoned Lenovo here in Brazil to have my laptop serviced. I asked for a new screen because of the problem that I show in this video I made:

White spots on my ThinkPad T420S LCD screen - YouTube

I don't have the on-site warranty, but they told me that my machine would still be service at my place. Their service provider will call me in 48 hours, to schedule a visit.

I have a LG panel. Hoping to get the same or a Samsung... we'll see...

 

Wait, you're saying that the LTN140KT panels have the screen door effect? I thought they were one of the better displays (also used in DELLs) which did not have screen-door issue.

 

You can swap the T430 Display for the LG Display from the Alienware M14x. It's good screen, you can check the details here: Test Alienware M14x R2 Notebook - Notebookcheck.com Tests

No modifications are necessary. It fits perfectly.

It may be glossy but it's 270 NITS and no screen door effect. You also get good black levels, contrast etc., just like the T530 panel.

 

I got my T420 on aug 2011 and according to parts look up I got the LG display FRU 93P5689
still looks pretty bad tho compare to my ASUS PA238Q lol