Swap X220 TN panel with IPS?

Hi,

I'm planning to buy a Thinkpad X220 soon. I can get a massive rebate when buying this laptop through my school, and by massive I mean MASSIVE! Obviously there is one issue: these laptops are preconfigured and come with the standard TN panel and it is not possible to update for the IPS panel with the order. So I'm considering getting one of these machines and find a "replacement" IPS panel and install it either myself or have it installed by a tech.

Do you know if it's possible to buy an IPS panel from Lenovo, like a replacement that would be installed when yours is shot? Would you know how much that'll cost approx.?

Is it difficult to replace the panel on a laptop? Is this a DIY job or really something that requires specific tools?

Thanks for any input!

 

replacement parts come from IBM, and they will cost quite a bit. I would imagine somewhere between 300 to 500 USD (if you are from USA). If you choose to do the upgrade then you would void your warranty.

The replacement is not hard, just very tedious.

Here are some information that you can follow on how to change the LCD.

Lenovo Support - Hardware Maintenance Manual - ThinkPad X220 Tablet and X220i Tablet

Service Videos

 

Does your school offer the discount for the tablet version. You might want to take a look at it, all the tablet version have IPS screen. I would not recommend upgrading the screen even if you can get the part from Lenovo.

 

thanks for your replies. Yes my school also has the tablet version. However I do not need a tablet and it's not a good choice in my opinion because:
- for the same price, the tablet does not have the SSD 160Gb
- it gets 2x2Gb RAM instead of 1x4Gb as proposed
- no USB 3 on the tablet
- heavier and larger
- battery life is a lot less than the laptop version
- I have read that the tablet screen although IPS is not as good as the laptop version because of the multitouch stuff.

Well I'm unsure I'd take a tablet just to get IPS...

On the other hand, a panel upgrade even if it costs up to 500$ is reasonable providing the price of the laptop from my school is really low.

I mean if IBM/Lenovo does the swap the warranty should still work. Do you think they would charge that much if they can recover a new unused TN panel that can be used as a replacement unit in another laptop?

Why wouldn't you recommend changing the screen?

 

I don't think Lenovo would do the swap for you, you can call them up to make sure. I am pretty sure they will only sell you the replacement part. As for the tablet screen not being as good as the normal IPS screen, that is just speculation. Guess you will have to wait until user review came in.

 

Lenovo won't do upgrade only warranty repair.

 

OK guys. thanks anyway. I'll probably follow your advices and forget the swap option. It's just too bad to get a TN panel when the IPS is available but I'll have to live with it....or wait for another model.

 

so people are buying these notebooks for about $800 with an IPS screen and upgraded CPU.

what is your MASSIVE discount through your school?

I dont see how they could do it MASSIVELY cheaper.

 

I agree, unless you are getting this "massive" rebate via other sources as in bundled with tuition/books/board so it isn't a true savings. (As in, its part of the tuition budget, so you already paid for the "discount")


Try talking to someone in the ordering/procurement/IT/whatever department directly. If at first you don't succeed, try harder...or smarter

I would be surprised if you can't convince someone nicely to modify your purchase, especially since your request is an order option that does not require them to update any deployed images or do anything extra.

They are likely choosing from a list of options lenovo provided a lot like the preconfigured systems and providing their own standard image/licenses etc.

 

i bought my fully upgraded (minus ssd and ram) for about 960 excluding tax.
the same configuration with an ibm/lenovo discount is about 860 excluding tax.

unless you can get this laptop for 600 or less, all else equal, i would just custom order with lenovo to get your IPS panel rather than upgrading it yourself.

you can also buy the exact IPS panel on ebay for much less in a couple years too. i believe t61 sxga+ panels can be had for pretty cheap just to give you an idea.

 

If you have a Visa, the saving on the Visa holder site is 10%. There is a video on youtube showing the viewing angle on the non-IPS screen, if viewing angle is your main concern.

 

your school is mostly ordering a preconfigured x220.
check the tabook and see if you can order one that comes with the IPS panel preinstalled.

http://www.lenovo.com/psref/pdf/tabook.pdf

 

Thanks for all your messages!

Yes my school orders preconfigured laptops but they do not have the full range of preconfigured X220. They can possibly get an i5 with IPS but then no SSD, no USB 3.0 and no 3G module. I'll have to check that.

I talked about a massive rebate through my school because in the shop, the i7 with the school config costs over 2000$ here in Switzerland whereas through my school I can get it for 1500$. OK you guys in US would pay about that price through custom order on lenovo website but it's too complex for me to get a US laptop (shiping costs, warranty, I need a Swiss-french keyboard etc...).

I'll keep on asking possibilities with my school. Thanks for your help!!

 

Easier to to do your own SSD upgrade than an IPS screen upgrade. 3G module might be a bit difficult to procure, but also an easy upgrade from an engineering perspective.

USB 3.0 is nice. I don't think it will be a big deal until a couple of years down the road though; I didn't consider not buying my T420 because it didn't have USB3.

 

Indeed an SSD swap is probably easier than a display panel swap. However I'll have to look at the price I can have the i5 with IPS display because it's not the basic option for my school.

The other option is to go with the beast i7, SSD and USB3.0....but live with a TN panel...... Would that be an option for you? I mean are these Lenovo TN really crappy? I'm curently on an MSI S260 12.1"..... I don't necessarily care about viewing angles. Contrast ratio and overall picture quality is more a concern for me.

 

The Lenovo TN panel isn't any worse than your MSI I'm sure, and might be better.

That said, if the T420 had an IPS panel option for order, I'd have jumped at it; in fact, it would have been one of my highest priorities, and there are some features that I would do without in order to have one. It's not about how bad one is as much as how much better the other one is.

I'd easily sacrifice a Core i7 for a Core i5 processor in my case. I'm not doing complex mathematical equations, or special software that would benefit from faster than a Core i5. I'd also drop USB 3.0 for an IPS display as well. Finally, SSD is a personal choice, but I could retrofit that (like I have now), and my T420 is the first system I even have an SSD in, so I'm used to running off mechanical hard drives.

I'd choose pleasing my eyes over the performance; that's what's important to me. Someone else, if they had to choose, might choose the performance if it's relevant to their daily job. Of course, my T420 with a Core i5 has no issue running two virtual machines simultaneously on top of Windows 7, so I don't think performance is an issue.

 

Yeah I think you convince me to focus on getting the IPS panel even if that mean some tradeoff here and there. The only benefit of i7 would be USB 3.0 in my case. I actually run some mathematical programs (statistics such as R) but I don't know whether that would benefit from hyperthreading of the i7. If R supports that, it might be good for me to get an i7 but as you said, the display is the thing you look at all the time so it has to be good!

 

The Core i5 has hyperthreading as well. Clock-speed and cache size are the two differences between a dual-core i5 (well, the i5-25xx line, the 2410M drops a couple of features) and a dual-core i7.

 

OK then everything speaks in favor of the i5 with IPS display. Now on the SSD, since I would get a 320Go 7200 rpm HDD with the i5, would you recommend swapping that drive for a 160Gb SSD or get a 80Gb mSata SSD (placed in the WAN port that would have had the 3G module) and keep the 320 Gb HDD for storage? mSata drive seems like a good option performancewise no? I mean all X220 come with a WAN port as standard (some just lack the 3G card) right?

Would I get the same boost with an mSata drive + HDD compared to a "full SSD"? Where would you place things such as "My documents" etc? HDD or mSata?

 

Hi Kilou. Reading this thread, I suppose that you're like me inquiring into the x220 options available through the poseidon project. Is it actually the case?

If it is, can you confirm (now or after having checked) that there is a config that includes an IPS screen (maybe PMing me the precise reference and shop)?

In any case, looking through the options, I came to the same conclusion as you. did Better manually upgrade the SSD and maybe add a WWAN module than being stuck with a non-IPS screen where one was available. (The thread having demonstrated than replacing the panel would be a major bore.)

 

Hi Gambiit,

I didn't find how to PM you so I answer here briefly. Yes it is project Poseidon and I got the confirmation that both X220 they propose (one i5 and one i7) both come with the standard display. No possibility to get IPS from them. I'm currently waiting for a reply from a shop to see if they can get a similar config with IPS (but with i5) at a fair price but I should get an answer at some point next week. I'll let you know if I get an answer.

 

Hey,
Thanks. Well, you confirmed my fear about the screens in these configs. A pity because the rebate does sound massive. Do tell me what kind of you find in regular shops.
Best.