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waffffffle

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 31, 2010
17
3
I have 2 LG 5K 27-inch displays that I've acquired over time (both used when I got them). One is the original Thunderbolt-only model (27MD5KA) while the other also supports DisplayPort in addition to Thunderbolt (27MD5KL). The panel on the older Thunderbolt-only model exhibits significant image retention while the image is fine on the newer model.

Due to the specs of the specific devices that I need to attach to the displays, I'd strongly prefer for my DisplayPort-compatible model to be the lesser quality screen, and for the Thunderbolt-only model to be the higher quality screen. So I'd like to transplant the panels between the 2 displays.

Has anyone done anything like this? Are the panels even compatible between the two models?

Thanks for any insights.
 
Explain why the newer, more capable DisplayPort compatible monitor should have the lesser quality screen.

Do you have a device that is not compatible with the newer Titan Ridge Thunderbolt controller but is compatible with the older Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt controller? I can't think of any device that would have this problem.

Actually, the 5K displays don't have a downstream Thunderbolt port, so you must be talking about USB devices. As far as I know, both use FL1100 USB controllers, bypassing the USB controller of the Thunderbolt controller.
 
I have non-Mac devices that don't support Thunderbolt. I want to use the better screen with a Mac and the worse screen with a non-Mac device. Currently I have to do the opposite.
 
I have non-Mac devices that don't support Thunderbolt. I want to use the better screen with a Mac and the worse screen with a non-Mac device. Currently I have to do the opposite.
That makes sense. I thought when you said devices, you meant peripheral devices, not host devices.

To get a Thunderbolt display to work with a computer that doesn't have Thunderbolt would require using a Thunderbolt add-in card which might not always work for computers that don't have built-in support for a Thunderbolt add-in card.

It's usually not necessary for the Thunderbolt add-in card to have a PCIe connection to the host in order to be able to convert DisplayPort to Thunderbolt but in that case none of the USB features of the display can work.
 
The non-Mac devices do not support cards. I want to swap the panels between the displays. That is why I am asking if anyone knows if the panels are the same and they could just be swapped.
 
This website listing display specifications shows both have the same LM270QQ2-SPA1 panel. FWIW...
 
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