X200, X200s, 13" Macbook Aluminum

Anyone been able to compare the screens of these three machines? I have a the 13"Macbook which I am thinking about sending back. Without getting into the Mac vs PC debate can anyone can give me an objective comparison using the Mac as reference point. I have heard lots of negative things about the contrast on the x200 and x200s, since I can't compare without buying. If I want to play videos will the x200 be as least as good as the MacBook.

 

I think the macbooks (though glossy) would serve your purpose better. While I have not personally used macs for extended periods of time, I have troubleshooted internet related issues with them regularly at work. I don't really like them, but I think the x200 screw might not be as enjoyable for your use.

 

I played extensively with both before I bought my X200 .. I love the look of the mac, but I use the internal AT&T card a lot, and you can't get it (other than as a card) on the Mac. I also thought the 13.3 screen on the macbook was nice, but a waste since the resolution was too low, and the gloss screen was a turn-off for me.

Overall if the X200 had the LED screen from the X200s (e.g. LED and higher resolution) it'd be a perfect machine.

As an fyi I went to the X200 from a fully (and I mean fully) loaded Thinkpad T400 and so far I love the size and speed of the X.

 

X200 with the x200t screen options ...*drool*

 

The screen is swapable just so you know
Using the inverter of the X200, you supposedly can use the X200T screen in it (provided to take off the digitizer circuit on the back of the LCD of course)

 

As a current owner of an x200 Tablet (and a former owner of an x200), I agree that an x200 with the 285nit LED from the x200 Tablet is ideal for people that want screen quality, but don't care for the tablet interface. However, buying a x200 tablet screen aftermarket currently seems to be very difficult, so this would be an expensive proposition at least at the moment.

My experience with the x200 normal screen would best be described as fair. The brightness and contrast levels were both fine (as was the DPI/screen real estate). However, the viewing angles (especially if you get above the screen) were atrocious (colors would invert and it would become unusable).

Macs (and most consumer laptops) tend to look better for videos than Thinkpads (and other business laptops). This tends to be due to the matte vs. glossy screens. Almost all notebooks (Thinkpad tablets and the T60P excepted) use low quality TN panels that leave a lot to be desired. The glossy finish on Macs can make up for some of these weaknesses (perceived contrast especially), but it has the downside of being a mirror and thus highly undesirable in an environment where you can't control the lighting.

The x200 is a fantastic laptop, but I would not buy it for the screen. If you get the x200 it should be for the keyboard, battery life, and tremendous power/options in a lightweight package. If your top concern is screen quality you should be prepared to unload your wallet and get an x200 Tablet, or try some Mad Modding to put a AFFS+ tablet display into a regular x200 or x61.

 

The X200 with a 285 nit WXGA+ LED IPS screen and a P9500 CPU is a compelling product. It always surprises me that no one has stepped up to serve this market. IPS is clearly a superior product to TN panels. Even if it costs more I would think there'd be buyers for it. If they may made a 14" SXGA+ IPS panel, I'd never buy anything else.

 

Is the x200s screen superior to the x200? In terms of viewing angles?

 

Well, I hope not for the X200 owners... More seriously, the viewing angles and colors are pretty bad on the X200s, but the screen is bright, contrasted and has a very high resolution. It's certainly not the best screen ever to view videos, but it's sufficient to watch DVD-quality movies (for one person).

 

NO, although it is brighter (250 nits vs. 200 nits of the x200 screen) and higher contrast (300:1 vs. 250:1 of the x200 scren)

Supposedly the T2010 uses the same LED backlit IPS LCD as the X200t, manufactured by BOE-Hydis. Here is an ebay link for the LCD:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-FUJITSU-LIF...ptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

I asked the seller, and the digitizer is not present on the LCD, so you don't even have to take the digitizer off yourself

 

Nice. Someone try and report back.

 

That is a great deal if it's compatible. The screen on the x200 Tablet is fantastic and putting it on the x200 normal would create a nearly perfect combination of size/weight, power/features, and screen quality. The price for the combo is even reasonable, as you could buy an x200 and that replacement screen and still be below the price of the x200s.

This should also fix the one minor failing of the x200 Tablet screen. It has a minor amount of grain due to the digitizer layer for the pen input. Because you wouldn't have this on an x200(s) mod, you would have a fantastic screen with no grain.

I would check to be absolutely sure if the Fujitsu Lifebook T2010 uses the same LED backlit AFFS+ panel from the x200 Tablet (and also that it is compatible with the pins/BIOS of the x200), before you order it.

I am also curious as to how this would affect the warranty. Naturally the new screen would not be covered, but is the rest of the computer still under warranty. You shouldn't need to modify the board for this to work, so I would think everything else is still covered.

 

How would I check to see if this works? I happen to have a T2010 and just ordered an X200s, and could do this at little cost.. One thing holding me back though is the T2010 doesn't have the better resolution (and screen real estate) of the X200s.

 

Unfortunately the LCD inverter in the X200s isn't made for the WXGA resolution. You would need the X200 in order to do the retrofit. One other possible scenario is that you buy the X200 LCD inverter off ebay, connect it with the T2010 LCD and put the assembly into the frame of the X200s. If you don't see a picture upon booting up the X200s, you know it's not possible to switch the LCD panel. If a picture appears, you know you got it. At worst, you'll lose money for the X200 LCD inverter (provided that you don't destroy anything in the process of opening up the laptops, of course )

 

actually, the inverter doesn't determine resolution support whatsoever.   that's determined by the BIOS.   all an inverter does is step up +0.9~1.5V to +3.3V to power the display's backlight and drive the various LED status lights.   case in point, the X61/X61s "XGA" inverter drives the higher-res SXGA+ panel perfectly fine ( example).   the differences lie only in the pinouts of the LCD cables and the power requirements of the displays themselves.   ie; an LED inverter won't work on a CCFL display and vice versa.

to make an X200s display work on an X200, you would simply need to swap the entire upper LCD assemblies -- LCD, cable, inverter, and all.   it would bolt up like legos with no modification needed.   the BIOS already supports WXGA+ since the X200, X200s, and X200T share BIOSes, unlike previous X notebooks and tablets.

 

I guess you learn something new every day thanks erik
But base on what you said, does it mean that in order to get the SXGA+ screen working in X61s, you just need the X61T BIOS and the upper assembly of the X61T (which include the LCD cable, inverter and screen, is there something else?)

 

Lenovo will make a lot more users happy if they offer the WXGA+ screen as an option for the regular X200. It is now only available on X200s which is $600 more. That is way too expensive for people who just want the WXGA+ screen.

Lenovo can do an even better job by offering IPS/Flexview/S-PVA screens as options. Some of my friends won't get a Thinkpad just because the screen stinks so much.

 

well, i'd recommend reading the blog since it contains a lot of good info, even if only for academic purposes and not to build.   ideally you have to fabricate a jumper harness to adapt the X61 cable to the SXGA+ display, then modify the X61 BIOS to contain the SXGA+ microcode needed to push the resolution.

you could, in theory, modify an X61T cable and use an X61T BIOS but you'd give up the thinklight (there's no light on the tablets), bluetooth, and docking ability.   conversely, a jumper harness allows a thinklight and BT card and a modded BIOS allows BT and docking to work.   a modded BIOS also works with the standard X61 where an X61T BIOS would have thermal issues on NV santa rosa processors and brick a penryn planar.

the devil is in the details.

building an X200 WXGA+ setup would be worlds easier, although probably quite expensive since currently the cheapest way to go would be to trade parts from a working X200 and X200s.   given that, i can't imagine someone needing the negligible power increase this combo would create.   at that rate a T400/T500/W500 or even an X200s with an SSD would be a much better investment and wouldn't void any warranties in the process.

 

That was extremely informative, thanks
I can find a X61T SXGA+ LCD on ebay for around $200, and an X61s for around $700. I guess I can try it as a summer project. I guess I'll also need the LCD cable and inverter from the X61t. I never use bluetooth, and thinklight isn't an important issue.
If there's something I'm missing or if you have any "heads-up" for me, I would appreciate it if you can tell me, erik

Also, rep+

 

your comment just reminded me of something... the X61T inverter won't fit in the X61's LCD cover and the X61T cable won't work with the X61 inverter.   so, that method isn't even an option.   sorry.

 

That's bad news
So my only choice is to make the LCD cable on my own to fit the X61s inverter?

 

unfortunately, yes.   you don't need an entire LVDS cable -- just a jumper harness to change the cable pinout and fit in the LCD cover.

here's a photo of the harness i made before it got covered with EMI-shielding tape:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38381753@N00/2949227297/

just make sure you're comfortable soldering small wires.

 

I'm not sure that I'm capable of doing that
I mean, I only some small experience with soldering, and have virtually no knowledge of the LCD's pin configuration.
A side point, I saw in your pictures that you have the little modem cover that's in the X2xx series without modem. May I ask where you get that? I removed the modem daughter card from my X61t and don't like the hole to collect dust after a while.

 

it's found in one of the parts kits from the X200.   you have to cut the cover in three places to fit, then back it up with something to hold it in place.   i used a small piece of UHMW adhesive-backed foam cut to fit the space.   without backing, that cover would just fall back inside.

 

Can you give me the part kit FRU? I've been looking for it in a long time with no success

 

I would buy this in a heartbeat!!!! P9500 and IPS, what a combo on the X200!!!

 

I was just at a Lenovo shop in Hong-kong and saw the X200 they had on display. The screen quality looked quite bad and forget about looking at it in any other angle unless you are sitting directly in front of it. The Macbook's screen is better than the one on the X200. I haven't seen a X200s yet in asia so I can comment on that one.

 

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-70525.html

 

The X200t screen is much better than the screens on the MacBook (non-Pro), X200, and X200s just because it's IPS/FFS rather than TN.

On my tablet, the colors remain faithful regardless of viewing angle (essentially 180-degree viewing angles ), and only the brightness dims somewhat.

On one of my previous thinkpads, vertical color inversion was terribly present, even straight on.

 

Agreed. It is the IPS/FFS on the x200t that make the difference.

However, I don't think Macbook Pros are as good either. They still use TN panels (even if they are above average for the type) and look inferior to my eye than the x200 Tablet. I know Apple uses IPS displays on their iMacs and Cinema displays, however to the best of my knowledge they have never offered a notebook with IPS.

 

I am very happy with the readability, contrast and color on the x200s. I find it reasonably close to my 17" Clevo (equiv to Sager), but much easier to carry. Viewing angle is limited (starts to get bad past 15 degrees from looking at it straight on), but I personally don't find it to be an issue (just angle the screen as I need to). Mostly use it traveling and in the clinic between patient visits. In the office I hook it up to a larger monitor.