Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
PowerBook G4 17" High Res Upgrade
- Thread starter benwild_33
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Somewhat related, and is definitely up your lane of interest:
I was crestfallen to learn that the only (that I’m aware of) LG 17-inch 16:10 display available for sale in excess of 1920x1200, the LP170WQ1-(SP)(C1), uses a 40-pin connector — meaning, even accounting for making sure the LED backlight is managed, it’s neither feasible to use in a dual-link DVI 17-inch PowerBook (like the A1139) nor in the 17-inch aluminium MacBook Pros, as these all use the 30-pin LVDS interface.
It would have been amazing to run 2560x1600, and for MacBook Pros, feasible to run in HiDPI mode from Mavericks onward.
That’s presumably the display used in the LG Gram 17.
Last edited:
HiDPI modes were introduced in Lion.
Pixel-perfect 1280×800 HiDPI should work just fine.Higher-than-native HiDPI modes probably don't work at all on pre-2011 MBPs, and may be quite limited even on 2011 MBPs depending on the version of macOS and the GPU you’re using. 1440×900 HiDPI should work in Mountain Lion on the HD 3000 but not in later versions; 1680×1050 HiDPI or 1920×1200 HiDPI probably don’t work at all according to my results of testing this with the HD 3000.
EDIT/UPDATE: Some more testing revealed these assumptions to be false.
Last edited:
HiDPI modes were introduced in Lion.
Ah. Today I learnt!
This is handy to know. I’m glad you’ve already done the testing to verify what is and isn’t possible. Display/GPU-related stuff is one area where I’m a young, naïve padawan.
I've also learnt something today! Did you guys know that 15" inverter boards work in 17" PowerBooks? The thing is my 1.5 GHz has already a new low res display installed and I thought before I go through the hassle of trying the 1920x1200 display with it, I'd rather check if that particular LCD works with a spare board I have (otherwise I would have to disconnect all the cables, unscrew the display assembly, take the old LCD out and put the new LCD in which takes time ...). Long story short: I'm too lazy to disassemble the 1.5 GHz and rather use my 1.33 GHz spare board to test it. The thing is I don't have any working 17" PowerBook G4 inverters left so I went through my two boxes of spare PowerBook G4 parts and found a 15" DLSD inverter board. The part numbers obviously don't match and also the PCB layout seems different to the 17" one but low and behold it actually works! The only weird thing is I have to use the inverter cable from the 15" PowerBook and not the one of the 17" PowerBook which makes me believe the inverter and cable may be paired? I don't know it only works in this configuration though. Good enough for a quick and dirty test.
The inverter in question:
I've already set up my test bench for the LP171WU1(TL)(B2). The picture below is showing a test with the inverter, LVDS cable and backlight cable of the 15" DLSD (spare stuff I had lying around). The LCD is a spare low res 17" LCD with some marks, nothing special ...
Yes, I know my 1.33 GHz is pretty stripped out, it doesn't even have fans ... BUT it will be good enough for a quick and dirty test and hopefully won't burn out because of maybe 3 minutes of testing.
So there is news. Guess what, it is actually possible to upgrade a 17" PowerBook G4 to a 1920x1200 screen which makes the display considerably better to that of a 17" DLSD PowerBook G4. I did the test with a 2003 17" PowerBook G4 and to think that the screen could be so much better than the one of a late 2005 17" PowerBook G4 is kind of ridiculous.
Here is proof:
I was really looking forward to put this particular LP171WU1(TL)(B2) into my 1.5 GHz 17" PowerBook G4 but unfortunately it isn't pristine at all (even though the seller stated). I messaged the seller and he was very understanding and told me that he cleaned the LCD with alcohol before storing it which might have caused the signs of wear and tear below:
Those awful marks are pretty much everywhere on the screen which makes kind of sad since this would be such a good LCD and a pretty great upgrade. Does anyone know if such stains can be fixed? (Maybe by transplanting the actual LCD sheet that produces the image to a new diffuser layer?) I honestly do not know too much about how LCDs are put together but I opened one before to clean behind the screen which worked (bug stains ? – how do those naggers even end up there). If not I'll probably trash the LCD. At least I got 15€ of my 25€ I paid back which isn't too bad for an experiment in the name of science Now we know that we could upgrade our old 17" PowerBook G4s to way better panels than factory. The only hard thing is to find a spotless screen since those are also at least a decade old (CCFL powered and 30pin LVDS).
Here is proof:
I was really looking forward to put this particular LP171WU1(TL)(B2) into my 1.5 GHz 17" PowerBook G4 but unfortunately it isn't pristine at all (even though the seller stated). I messaged the seller and he was very understanding and told me that he cleaned the LCD with alcohol before storing it which might have caused the signs of wear and tear below:
Those awful marks are pretty much everywhere on the screen which makes kind of sad since this would be such a good LCD and a pretty great upgrade. Does anyone know if such stains can be fixed? (Maybe by transplanting the actual LCD sheet that produces the image to a new diffuser layer?) I honestly do not know too much about how LCDs are put together but I opened one before to clean behind the screen which worked (bug stains ? – how do those naggers even end up there). If not I'll probably trash the LCD. At least I got 15€ of my 25€ I paid back which isn't too bad for an experiment in the name of science
Now we know that we could upgrade our old 17" PowerBook G4s to way better panels than factory. The only hard thing is to find a spotless screen since those are also at least a decade old (CCFL powered and 30pin LVDS).
It’s definitely possible (albeit fiddly) to disassemble the display housing and swap the panel onto a different set of backlight diffusers. Typically the aluminum frame snaps together, allowing you to remove the front part and then lift the LCD panel itself out.So there is news. Guess what, it is actually possible to upgrade a 17" PowerBook G4 to a 1920x1200 screen which makes the display considerably better to that of a 17" DLSD PowerBook G4. I did the test with a 2003 17" PowerBook G4 and to think that the screen could be so much better than the one of a late 2005 17" PowerBook G4 is kind of ridiculous.
Here is proof:
View attachment 1929155
View attachment 1929156
I was really looking forward to put this particular LP171WU1(TL)(B2) into my 1.5 GHz 17" PowerBook G4 but unfortunately it isn't pristine at all (even though the seller stated). I messaged the seller and he was very understanding and told me that he cleaned the LCD with alcohol before storing it which might have caused the signs of wear and tear below:
View attachment 1929157
Those awful marks are pretty much everywhere on the screen which makes kind of sad since this would be such a good LCD and a pretty great upgrade. Does anyone know if such stains can be fixed? (Maybe by transplanting the actual LCD sheet that produces the image to a new diffuser layer?) I honestly do not know too much about how LCDs are put together but I opened one before to clean behind the screen which worked (bug stains ? – how do those naggers even end up there). If not I'll probably trash the LCD. At least I got 15€ of my 25€ I paid back which isn't too bad for an experiment in the name of science
Since it sounds like you have several other panels lying around, the simplest course of action might be to Frankenstein this LCD onto a lower-resolution panel’s backlight and frame.
It’s nice that the PowerBook G4’s are better-behaved about LCD upgrades than the early-Intel MacBook Pros that sometimes needed a bit of help (hot-plugging the display during sleep, installing patched graphics drivers, setting up EDID overrides, etc.).
Anyone interested in a Hi-def (1920 x 1200) mod for PB/MBP?
Just wondering if anyone is interested in modifying their PB 15 of MBP to fit a Hi Def display in there. I've had a bit of a look around and I am pretty sure this hasn't been done before (until now) - but I could be mistaken If there is interest I'll post some pictures and information about...
forums.macrumors.com
A summary to avoid reading a 53-page thread (the original link is dead, but the Internet Archive has a copy):
I had something like that in mind and yes I have the perfect candidate for the surgery, a defective screen out of an A1107 with vertical lines but spotless besides that. I'm gonna try to transfer the LCD part of the 1920x1200 to the low-res A1107 screen and hopefully get something usable out of it.
This video demonstrates the procedures pretty well:
I'm really amazed that such a high-res display works in a notebook that old. It is almost unrealistic to see OS X Leopard in such high resolution on a laptop. I wasn't aware that this isn't as easy going with early MacBook Pros but I don't own any because of all the GPU issues – they are kind of doomed unfortunately. What I've learnt so far from my testing with PowerBooks is that pretty much any LCD will work with 17" PowerBook G4s as long as it is the right size, CCFL and 30pin. Kind of ridiculous but do you know what else a 17" PowerBook G4 (donor) is good for?
for testing 15" screens
Sounds like a plan; keep us updated!
I have a 17" panel I was using with a 2006 iMac and a UniMac V4 adapter (strictly speaking, it's just an EDID interposer), but its CCFL backlight died on me. Someday I will get around to taking it apart and installing an LED backlight conversion kit...
That's quite convenient and also lines up with the 12" PowerBook G4's upgradeability to 1400x1050 panels (if you had a 12" PowerBook display, that would be an even more ludicrous juxtaposition).
I wonder why Apple changed it up - the EDID format definitely didn't change...
I definitely will! I just had some time on my hands and disassembled the LCD to have a quick look behind the actual LCD screen and yes the stains appear to be all on the sheet(s) behind it which makes me believe that this is actually somewhat salvageable. A quick and dirty Frankenstein surgery as explained earlier should in theory remedy the LCD and make it like grade B (now I'd rate it grade D to F). I just have to do the surgery quickly as I do not have a clean room available (yes, dust is not permanent but it is fiddly to get it out once it has been trapped inside). I'll be performing the LCD swap next week as the other defective panel (with the vertical lines) is at my other place currently. I'll vacuum the room before and be careful of the CCFL lamps. Is there anything else I should look out for or keep in mind? If this one turns out to be a success, I'll probably have a look at my other (about 10) panels that are imperfect for various reasons and document the process. It could be fun if one is actually capable of "refurbishing" imperfect panels by merging the best parts of each one. Until now I've considered the LCD with vertical stripes trash and I even planned on throwing it out already. I'm really glad I kept it as it could turn out to be a useful donor. Enough rambling, the next post will be about whether or not I was successful but I think the odds are in my favor.
And about the 12" PowerBook G4. Guess who is just having a look at Panellook for some suitable panels
Last edited:
I have heard that a bathroom is a reasonable place to do this kind of work since it has an exhaust fan. I personally have done my backlight mucking at the kitchen table and not had major issues with dust.
One other thing to double-check is that the other frame will close properly around your WUXGA panel - it’d be a shame to crack it due to something not being quite the right size. I don’t expect it to be a problem, but it doesn’t hurt to verify first.
And about the 12" PowerBook G4. Guess who is just having a look at Panellook for some suitable panels
I think the HV121P01-100 is the favored panel if you can find one that avoided an isopropyl bath (many sellers dunk the whole thing in isopropyl to dissolve the pine-based adhesive holding a digitizer on, and we know how that turns out...).
Upgrading PowerBook G4 12" LCD/Resolution?
For a while now, I've had a PowerBook G4 12". I love the form factor of the machine, and would love to start using it as a main computer in school. But I would like to perform a few upgrades to it, and one of those upgrades would be the replacing the LCD with a higher resolution one. I found...
forums.macrumors.com
I'm happy to report my hypothesis with regards to 1680×1050 HiDPI not working on the HD 3000 is falsified.
Brief report on my panel repair attempt. Things didn't go as planned. I initially wanted to do a quick swap of the LCD module but there were issues with fitting the WUXGA module in the low res donor. The PCB layout (form and shape) of a low res LG 17" panel is somewhat different to that of a WUXGA panel which prevented me from doing a simple module swap. I could have of course cut parts of the plastic frame on the backside in order to fit the PCB but I think it would have weakened the structure and I didn't want to risk a loosely held together panel as dust can easily get inside for example. What I eventually did was to remove the 2 layers that are just behind the module (i.e. taking them out of the WUXGA assembly and replacing them with good ones from the low res assembly). I do get it, it really is a fiddly process and dust is the enemy but after a 2 or 3 attempt I had it like I wanted it or so I thought ... The awful alcohol residue is now gone of course but I noticed 5 white spots which vary in size (generally speaking about 1 centimeter diameter) which really bug me (they are in the center area too which does not make it better). I don't know why they are there but I think the alcohol cleaning of the previous owner damaged even more layers or a delamination process has set in. Anyways I don't feel like taking the assembly apart further. I'll keep the panel for now but it isn't one I would want to have permanently installed in one of my PowerBooks (because I hate defective screens). I can bear a dead pixel or 2 and maybe a small dust particle behind the screen but those bright white spots are just too annoying. I honestly don't blame myself and I'm satisfied for the most part with how the "surgery" turned out. The panel has definitely gotten up 2 grades but it is not perfect by any means.
Below are 2 pictures of the (mainly) affected layers:
I marked 2 of those spots so that you can see what I mean. It isn't actually easy to capture them and they look way worse in real life. I'll still keep an eye out for another LP171WU1 panel and I'm sure one will eventually pop up that fits my needs.
Below are 2 pictures of the (mainly) affected layers:
NEVER CLEAN YOUR PANELS WITH ALCOHOL !!!
This is how the panel looks after my repair:
I marked 2 of those spots so that you can see what I mean. It isn't actually easy to capture them and they look way worse in real life. I'll still keep an eye out for another LP171WU1 panel and I'm sure one will eventually pop up that fits my needs.
I learnt this valuable lesson the hard way with one of the several now-donor LCDs I procured for my XGA iBook G3. :|
Funnily, It's never occurred to me to do that. I can’t say why though.
Last edited:
One of the donor LCDs I had (sourced from a beat-up 12-inch iBook G4) was marred with some kind of gunk or tarnish that had gotten stuck in between the panel and diffuser, and I thought, since I was already un-sandwiching it for an LED retrofit, that I should try to clean it.
Now that donor LCD is boxed away in a pile of dead donated parts which need to be taken to a local electronics recycler. :|
I just bought another (low resolution) panel on eBay for 1€ where the LCD layer itself is defective (weird lines everywhere) but the other layers behind it – and also the backlight – appear to be fine. I thought for 1€ I can take a gamble and try to make a perfect high resolution panel with my spotless LP171WU1(TL)(B2) LCD layer. I checked and this time the frame and PCB should line up perfectly which was the main problem with my last attempt. I'll let you guys know if I can achieve a good result but for a couple of bucks (6€ if you count shipping) and maybe an hour of work I think it is worth the try even though this now is a bit off topic since my post falls under the category "Can a layman repair an LCD panel". ? I guess I want a 17" PowerBook with a 1080p display really bad
Last edited:
Short update on my 2nd WUXGA panel repair attempt. Well I thought I had a suitable donor in order to get rid of the imperfections that remained after the first repair attempt but as it turned out the donor was not a perfect fit. I transplanted the TFT layer of my WUXGA assembly to the layers of the standard res donor panel and tried to snap on the metal frame but it wouldn't quite fit and I think I slightly damaged one (or maybe more) of the ribbons that attach the panel to the circuit board. I'd have a perfect panel now (no imperfections like bright stains anymore) if it weren't for the horizontal lines (more like a 0.5 mm bar) that developed after the transplant.
Long story short, the 1080p 17" PowerBook G4 is not happening in my case. I'm sick of tinkering with LCD panels so guess what I took them to the recycling center and just be done with it ? It just isn't worth the time and effort trying to repair a defective panel, you'll most likely never get it perfect and have a subpar assembly afterwards unless you have a clean room like the factories do.
Unless I find a perfect 1080p panel, I won't try to build a WUXGA 17" PowerBook G4 but at least we know from my experiment that it is very much possible but one has to find a good panel (at least I wouldn't see the need for a 1080p panel when it clearly has blemishes – I'd rather keep the 1680x1050 in that case).
Long story short, the 1080p 17" PowerBook G4 is not happening in my case. I'm sick of tinkering with LCD panels so guess what I took them to the recycling center and just be done with it ? It just isn't worth the time and effort trying to repair a defective panel, you'll most likely never get it perfect and have a subpar assembly afterwards unless you have a clean room like the factories do.
Unless I find a perfect 1080p panel, I won't try to build a WUXGA 17" PowerBook G4 but at least we know from my experiment that it is very much possible but one has to find a good panel (at least I wouldn't see the need for a 1080p panel when it clearly has blemishes – I'd rather keep the 1680x1050 in that case).
About 3 weeks later and it did happen
Eventually I did find a panel that wasn't messed up and now I can say I'm the proud owner of a full HD 17" PowerBook G4