T60 WS screen

You are very lucky. I just got my T60 order (8744-5BU) from Buy.com today. Unfortunately, I got a samsung...what a pleasant surprise...not.

I haven't opened the box yet - the serial no. was on the outside of the box so I was still able to do the parts lookup. I'm most likely I'm going to send it back.

 

Well hotboy I've not returned anything, but you won't be able to get a replacement from Buy.com if that was your angle I don't think as they aren't selling them anymore.

I am fine with the keys so far as I said although like I also I think mentioned I do not much like that the ctrl and FN are flip nor where the del is, but in the end you get use to these things. I think perhaps somewhere I read that the touch of the thinkpad keyboards was a bit heavier, this one is a bit loud but it is light enough to be pretty fast I think so I think I will be ok with it unless the people who always complain about getting the wrong kind of keyboard are really complaining about durablity. In any case, worst absolute case, I change the keyboard, that's never hard to do on a laptop

 

So I take it on the serial number parts lookup think on Lenovo's site it said on the first line: 42T0329. Its hard to sort through all the data.

I don't completely trust parts manifests I guess, things can be misscanned and so on. I'm happy with this screen so unless someone points me in the direction of a hardware analysis tool, I will just assume the manifest is right, but I would like to provide people with correct info.

 

when I was getting the RMA number, the website didn't allow me to return it unless for replacement, so that's what I did.
Perhaps, they keep some laptops, for replacement, what do you think?

 

All I know is they weren't selling them anymore, I doubt it would be a good business plan to do what you are suggesting though... If they can't replace it they probably give you your money back.

 

Yep, I got the 42T0329. I knew I had a 50/50 chance but it didn't go my way . Oh well, my search continues...

Hotboy, you may be liable for a 15% restocking fee if you end up just returning it since you opened the factory box. At least that's what their return policy states. You maybe able to sweet talk them to giving you a full refund. If not, it might be best if you just keep it. You seemed to be reasonable satisfied before.

 

Is it considered defective if there are dark areas on right and left sides of the screen? What do you guys think?
What if I say it is defective? Will they give me full refund?

 

Is there a way to purchase the LG display and install it on your T60 if you have the Samsung display currently?

 

perhaps but it would be very costly (typically replacement screens are like 400 dollars cause the supply is very limited and they have you over a barrel)...

 

I can't imagine it would be worth the cost. The LG display isn't that fabulous either, and by the time you were done with the exercise you'd have spent a fortune for a laptop with a very average screen.

The bottom line (and I learned this firsthand) is that it doesn't make sense to buy a hardcore business laptop if what you really want is multimedia performance. What I wanted and bought when I bought my T60 WS was its build quality, but the compromises in terms of media (including the very quiet audio and marginal screen) and useability made me return it in favor of, of all things, a MacBook. In hindsight most of my beefs with the Lenovo were not really flaws, just design choices that were inconsistent with my intended use.

 

Is there anything that Hotboy could do as far as sending the laptop back to Lenovo? His screen could definetly be considered defective with the uneven lighting. These come with some type of warranty right?

 

The LG screen is the nicest Matte screen I have seen, and I have seen plenty as a UC Berkeley student (dorms, fraternity, etc). I have owned a Dell I6000, Acer 8204, and now a T60W w/ the LG personally, the LG being the best.

It is very sharpe, clear and the colors are vibrant. I cant ask for much more from a screen.

If you can accept the sparkly/graininess of the Macbook, good for you. I see you have reached a sound conclusion regarding your Lenovo experience, why linger in the past?

 

I agree, for watching DVDs and other multimedia tasks there are probably better screens out there. Personally I hate glossy screens and for work matte are perfect. Glossy probably provide a better multimedia experience but that's not why I purchased the T60.

I am quite happy with the LG screen I got (got the Alps keyboard as well), it is even ok for watching an occasional movie. It is quite perfect for working and browsing, no glare, easy on the eyes. Initially I found the resolution a little high but after changing the DPI and enabling Clear Type in XP everything looks just great.

My only momentary complaint is that the Atheros wireless chipset is not yet supported under Linux (at least that's what I believe after searching the net). But hopefully this will be rectified in the near future.

 

From what I heard, glossy screens get scratched very easily and dust can be seen very easily, which in turns becomes a huge maintenance issue. You have to clean the screen every few weeks...

 

I suppose your question is a reasonable one - I guess I just had quite a dramatic up-and-down experience with Lenovo - I bought my T60 with very high hopes and it was a crushing disappointment, one of the worst disappointments I've ever suffered on a major purchase. I don't think I'm finicky - I have never returned a major purchase before - but my Thinkpad just really really sucked. As it happens the screen was a relatively small part of my dissatisfaction with the whole experience - I also found the audio too quiet, the touchpad laughably teeny and hard to use, the latching mechanism disappointingly flimsy, and the pre- and post-sale support just horrible. As it happens my machine was defective, another source of frustration.

I will say that you must have an unusually strong LG screen if it's the best matte screen you've seen. My benchmark was the Dell 600m I bought in 2004 for $800, which was noticeably brighter (and had more uniform brightness) than my nearly $2K T60. I gave that computer to a co-worker's teenage daughter. I don't really notice the sparkly/grainy quality you refer to on my MacBook, but in any case it is worlds brighter and clearer than my Dell or my Lenovo. All along I would have thought I would prefer a matte screen to glossy, but it turns out I was wrong.

I guess I don't mean to lay into Lenovo for using marginal screens - as I said, that is their prerogative in making business-oriented machines - but for many end users (myself included) it creates a problem.

 

You are guys saying that poor screen is ok for business users, but
business users are men too, and they are not satisfied with the display of T60 either,

 

I am thinking of the same things.
Kinda doubting wether they will accept mine back as defective.
What do you guys think, can I tell them it is defective?

 

Your comment about men is quite amusing. It is as if you believe that by referencing "business users" we are denigrating men in general, nevermind the prospect of female business users. That is remarkable comment, which I almost take affront to.

 

I meant men as people in general(including women).

 

I don't think it's "defective," exactly, just unsatisfactory for your use. I don't know how Buy.com are to deal with - I'm sure they'll take it as a return but you might have to pay a restocking fee. It doesn't really seem worth trying to exchange it in the hopes you get an LG screen - the LG screen isn't great either, and you have no way of ensuring you get one anyway.

 

Maybe English isn't Hotboy's first language? (Sorry about your roll of the dice, btw, Hotboy)
Don_Vito: Did you go with a matte or glossy for your MBP? I noticed the grain on the MBP matte too, but the better backlighting makes it less of a problem...

 

Yes my first language is not English, sorry if I can't express my thoughts correctly.

 

I'm wondering if LENOVO can do anything about the defective screen, not buy.com. Isn't there some kind of warranty you get with Lenovo?

 

I have a MB, not a MBP, so I have a glossy screen. I wouldn't have thought I would like a glossy screen, but in practice I find I really prefer it to matte. The MB is a whale of a machine for the money IMO, in terms of its design, features, and build quality. I had originally planned to dual-boot it with XP Pro, but I find I am really enjoying OS X and so I don't see the point.

 

I just got my T60 WS today! I'm having trouble figuring out what screen it has though. From what I hear the Samsung screen is 42T0329 and the LG is 13N7020. I don't see either of these numbers anywhere on my machine. FWIW, the screen looks great to me, very minimal light leakage, no dead pixels, and the screen seems plenty bright for me. I'd still like to know which screen I have though.

 

If you look on the order status page it gives you a serial # and a model #. Use those two numbers on the parts info lookup page. If it says:

13N7019 13N7020 15.4 INCH LCD DISPLAY FRU YES

That means you have an LG screen. This is from what I"ve learned about my T60WS which is on its way from HK to me in the US. I am guessing that if it said

13N7019 13N7019 15.4 INCH LCD DISPLAY FRU YES

Then maybe that means you get the Samsung instead? o.0 ?

 

I didn't order my Notebook from Lenovo so I don't think I have the same order page as you are talking about. What is another way I can tell the make of my screen?

 

You should be able to still access the parts information/lookup page on Lenovo.com, your laptop should still have a model # and a serial # on the bottom.

In any event this is the one for the one I ordered
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-66977#wsxga

Shows I got the LG Screen XD

 

I guess I need a step by step guide to finding which screen I have. I've visited the links that you've given me but still can't figure out how to find my screen. I can't find any correlation between the part numbers on the link you gave me and the serial number of my laptop. The SN on my laptop doesn't match any of the numbers on that link you gave me.

 

I have not received my laptop yet, so I do not know exactly where the model # / serial # should be, but it probably will be on a sticker on the underside of your laptop. It should say like a 4 digit #, in my case its 8743CT. The serial number for me is 7 characters long consisting of letters and numbers. I will be getting mine soon I think, since UPS shows it arriving in Anchorage, Alaska today. I will update you when I get mine.

 

Go here:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/s...=/partslookup/partsLookup.vm&sitestyle=lenovo
type in the model and serial off the box or the bottom of your laptop. It will give you the parts list. Look at the FRU line for the LCD and see which of the two it matches in the posts above. 13something is the LG. On my parts look up the LCD was the first line.

 

I disagree with Don on the LG screen. I think its wildly better than my 12.1" on my Dell 300m and better than most Laptop LCDs. However it isn't a very saturated display and its not blazing bright. These things most people like, on subjective looking at things (see national geo photography for the saturation).

Objectively its not bad at all. (The LG I have not seen a samsung).

 

Thanks drwho! I just checked and I have the LG screen. Whew what a relief. To me, this is an excellent screen and I have no complaints. It is as bright as I would want it to be, any brighter and I would probably turn down the brightness setting. No dead pixels and only a little light leakage at the bottom of the screen that you can only notice on a black screen in the dark.

 

Just to be clear, I don't mean to be too much of a drama queen about the LG screen. I felt it was just OK, and combined with the very high res it was a lot for my eyes to deal with, but it wasn't bad enough to motivate me to return the machine. It was definitely a step down from my 600m or my MacBook, but certainly not the worst screen I've ever seen.

 

I haven't spent a long time using the Macbooks, but a few of my colleagues have them, the screen is ok, but glossy really isn't for me. I'm totally blind for far away but up close I love the resolution. Of course each notebook has its own audience. If I can get the wireless problems all fixed forever (I might have) then I think this is exactly what I wanted more or less.

 

IMPORTANT! When looking up whether you have an LG or Samsung screen, note that the 13...... and 42.... are reversed for WXGA and WSXGA screen types.

So if you have a WXGA screen, the FRU for an LG screen starts with 42....and if you have a WSXGA screen the FRU for an LG sreen starts with 13.....I have the LG and normal 1200x800 resolution (WXGA) and am well satisfied. New T60, upgraded to Vista Ultimate.

 

Just got my T60 WS with the LG screen a while ago... it's so purdy

 

Unbelievable , but they replaced mine for a new one with a LG screen.

 

Wow - it must be your lucky day. Congratulations and welcome to the club.

 

thank you, man

 

Congrats on the swap, hotboy. How do you like the LG Screen?

 

Is there any idea when we'll see the T60 with a 14" widescreen? I'd just get the Z, but I need better graphics capability.

 

It's cool. It's way better than Samsung, at least it's evenly backlit. There's a bit of light leackage at the bottom, but it's very little compared to that of Samsung.

 

May I'd guess.

 

Awesome - glad to know we're not all crazy, despite the stick my reseller tried to give me! I do think you were really lucky to get the swap though (they refused to send mine in), so I'm going to try to hold out for the T61...

 

I have to chuckle when I read comments about sacrificing screen quality for 'build quality'. Lenovo really has no excuse. Great LCD screens should be inclusive with build quality. The reason I would consider ordering a $1600+ notebook from Lenovo over a $799 one from BestBuy is for the better materials. But if the $799 notebook has a better screen, then there is a problem. And it's not as if glossy screens make the difference. My desktop LCD monitor is not glossy and yet has superior viewing angles, no visible backlight bleeding, well balanced saturated colors, and no 'graininess'.

I suppose the most important question is, what options does Lenovo have? Perhaps LG and Samsung are the only manfacturers producing these screen sizes with matte coatings? If there are other alternatives, then I would hope Lenovo would pursue them considering the premium prices they charge for their products.

 

Well, I understand using two mfgs to meet availability, but if there is any discernable difference in the screens btwn mfgs, then Lenovo should by policy exchange any screens for the alternate mfg at a customer's request. We are a small minority who are aware of the discrepancy, it's not like 70% of Lenovo's customers are trying to tie up their service centers, so it's pretty bad customer service to say "Tough luck, there's no difference at all, and if there were you just drew the bad one...".

 

I am really missing the port's mark in the left and right side as in Z. T WS have bland side, without any marking.

 

Just to clarify guys, we just purchased 5 T60Ws for our office and Im now confused as to which screen is the LG. I just checked the IBM support site and four of them have 42T0328/42T0329 screens and one has the 13N7019/13N7020 screen. The resolutions are all 1680X1050. Is that the WXGA or WSXGA? Which of mine are the LG?

 

That is WSXGA and the sole 13N is the LG. BTW you are in a great, position to tell us all about the variability of the samsung panels vs the LG. Pretty much everyone like the LG are far as I can tell but you will have a side by side which is nice. Please post your thoughts.