I have a late 2008 17" MBP that didn't like a can of antistatic spray hitting the screen. Faced with a replacement, I've decided to upgrade the panel resolution.
The original panel was matte 1680x1050 17" CCFL backlit LG model LP171WE2.
The replacement is matte 1920x1200 17" CCFL backlit LG model LP171WU1. Came from eBay seller planina505 -- I'm just a satisfied customer, so wished to share good news.
It worked perfectly on the first boot up after replacement, and OS X correctly picked up the full new resolution as the default. The EFI startup and boot were longer than usual on the first boot, so stay calm.
I'm running Snow Leopard and the system firmware is fully up to date. There are some threads online that indicate that it's not so trivial in Panther or maybe Leopard as well. For full disclosure, the motherboard was replaced under warranty for GPU issues. The system has 6GB of OWC RAM and a 750GB black WD hard drive. Otherwise, it's stock
As long as you're comfortable tearing down your machine, you should be OK.
The only painful bit is that the screen is attached to the front bezel (the one you see when you face the screen) with adhesive strips. Softening the adhesive by heating up the bezel with a hair dryer helps. WARNING: there are electronics in the bezel, so don't get it past 150F or so. Do not use a heat gun!
You'll need a spudger, small Philips screwdriver set and small Torx screwdriver set. A one-sided razor or a thin sheet of stainless steel will stand in for the spudger, but don't blame me if you cut yourself Apple seems to use a Torx driver size that's missing from some sets, so don't throw your receipt away if you get the tools at the hardware store.
There are datasheets available online for LG displays used in Apple comptuers (use your google-fu). In absence of other documentation from the seller, you may want to consult the datasheet to make sure you're replacing with screen having same backlight type as your original one.
You CANNOT trivially replace a CCFL screen with a LED one, or vice versa. The power supply for the backlight then has to be replaced as well. The supply is a separate part from the LCD panel, also located in the screen frame. It probably could be done, but I didn't bother replacing so many things all at once while not being 100% sure if there won't be issues just due to different screen resolution. Luckily, it worked without a hitch.
Last hint: if you have 6GB of RAM, the system won't even emit the power-up chime if you swap the location of the 4GB and 2GB sticks. There's only one way to put them in that gives you a working system, the other way doesn't work.
The original panel was matte 1680x1050 17" CCFL backlit LG model LP171WE2.
The replacement is matte 1920x1200 17" CCFL backlit LG model LP171WU1. Came from eBay seller planina505 -- I'm just a satisfied customer, so wished to share good news.
It worked perfectly on the first boot up after replacement, and OS X correctly picked up the full new resolution as the default. The EFI startup and boot were longer than usual on the first boot, so stay calm.
I'm running Snow Leopard and the system firmware is fully up to date. There are some threads online that indicate that it's not so trivial in Panther or maybe Leopard as well. For full disclosure, the motherboard was replaced under warranty for GPU issues. The system has 6GB of OWC RAM and a 750GB black WD hard drive. Otherwise, it's stock
As long as you're comfortable tearing down your machine, you should be OK.
The only painful bit is that the screen is attached to the front bezel (the one you see when you face the screen) with adhesive strips. Softening the adhesive by heating up the bezel with a hair dryer helps. WARNING: there are electronics in the bezel, so don't get it past 150F or so. Do not use a heat gun!
You'll need a spudger, small Philips screwdriver set and small Torx screwdriver set. A one-sided razor or a thin sheet of stainless steel will stand in for the spudger, but don't blame me if you cut yourself
Apple seems to use a Torx driver size that's missing from some sets, so don't throw your receipt away if you get the tools at the hardware store.There are datasheets available online for LG displays used in Apple comptuers (use your google-fu). In absence of other documentation from the seller, you may want to consult the datasheet to make sure you're replacing with screen having same backlight type as your original one.
You CANNOT trivially replace a CCFL screen with a LED one, or vice versa. The power supply for the backlight then has to be replaced as well. The supply is a separate part from the LCD panel, also located in the screen frame. It probably could be done, but I didn't bother replacing so many things all at once while not being 100% sure if there won't be issues just due to different screen resolution. Luckily, it worked without a hitch.
Last hint: if you have 6GB of RAM, the system won't even emit the power-up chime if you swap the location of the 4GB and 2GB sticks. There's only one way to put them in that gives you a working system, the other way doesn't work.