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Hi all,

I have an Asus U36sg, which is fine in every respect except the display is a crappy 1366 x 768 13.3". By browsing replacement screen sellers, I've found that the current screen is 40-pin and LED backlit (in addition to being 16:9). I would like to put an AU Optronics B133HAN03 or similar 1600 x 900 screen in it. They run about $160 (+delivery) which is a lot, but less than buying a new Macbook Air or Aspire S7 when the season comes around. I guess it might be safer to get a Zenbook screen (also cheaper - $90 (+delivery)), but is that a reasonable assumption?

The screen resellers also stress that you must match your existing screen's every detail - including resolution. Is that a hard requirement, or is it just that they hate helping naive optimists like me who get themselves in trouble?

The B133HAN03:
http://www.blisscomputers.net/auoptroni ... teled.aspx

The Zenbook screen (I can see the connector, but don't know if this picture is of 40-pin or not):
http://www.screencountry.com/index.php? ... es=ZENBOOK

The Asus U36 has a geforce 610 & i5 integrated graphics, and will happily drive a 1920x1080 monitor on top of its existing one, so I don't think there will be a big price to pay in terms of responsiveness. Battery life will probably go down, but it was starting from an acceptably high base.

As long as its electronically compatible, the space and mounting issues (maybe heat as well?) would probably be solvable (CA glue etc). (I guess while i have the bezel off I could think about replacing the 0.3MP camera too...)

Does anyone have any experience of doing this?

atcrank wrote:

Does anyone have any experience of doing this?

I've replaced a lot of laptop screens, including with not-exactly-the-same screen, and it's always "just worked". I don't think it should be a problem, but I wouldn't have the first clue what to do if it didn't work.

I've replaced a few laptop/monitor LCDs, but I've never done it with a different resolution screen.

It might be difficult if the LCD panel is thicker than the one you're replacing. I know for instance that the 2560x1400 panel in my computer monitor is thicker than the 1366x768 panel in a previously owned laptop.

The only other thing I can think of is that maybe the scaler (if laptops even have those) wouldn't work with a larger screen size. This might render external video plugs (VGA/HDMI) unusable.

I have replaced and upgraded screens no more than a dozen times, but I always do my research to pick a screen that the manufacturer offered as an option - guaranteeing it will fit.

Making sure the connector and backlight are the same type used to be vital, for size reasons and also the inverter board that powered the CCFL backlight in older screens. These days it's almost always a 40-pin ribbon connector that handles both power and signal

Matching resolution is definitely not necessary.
In some cases I have found that the metal frame securing the panel to the laptop isn't quite compatible (screw holes don't line up). I just used a small amout of pvc 'school' glue because it's fairly inert and thermosetting so that it won't melt under heat.

Thanks for these accounts - very helpful to know that it can be done . I had the slightly discouraging experience of clicking on links in my original post expecting to go to a 1600 x 900 40pin screen and instead ending up at a 1920x1080 30 pin one . Lucky I didn't end up posting "I've bought this screen that's all wrong, what should I try now?"

Looks like its a feasible project if you are careful enough selecting your screen, and/or can afford to make a mistake. I probably don't qualify on either count, but if I pull the trigger I'll report back.

Hey guys, I'm also looking to replace/upgrade a screen for my Asus F3JA laptop. I'm trying to find out whether I can replace the stock 1280x800 screen (cracked) with a 1680x1050 screen that is available as a replacement screen for the Asus F3JA as well. I haven't been able to find out what model the screen is exactly as I haven't opened it up yet (I think it's B154EW02), but when I do, how can I find out whether I can replace it with a different model screen? I found a PDF with the specs and pin-outs of what I think is the original screen (http://www.yslcd.com.tw/docs/product/B154EW02%20V.2.pdf), so if I find the specs of the replacement screen and connectors/pin-outs and voltages match, would that mean that the screen would probably work?

edit: As far as I can tell, both screens have 1 CCFL bulb

edit: I just took the screen out, it's an AUO B154EW01