upgrading clamshell iBook LCD?

[shifuimam]

Has anyone here successfully upgraded the LCD in a clamshell iBook?

I've looked at some pictures of other LCD cables, and it seems like there are a number of other computers that use the same 20-pin connector on the LCD end of the display cable.

If the wiring/pinout is relatively standard across laptop manufacturers, then my theory is that I should be able to put another 12.1" LCD in my iBook with a higher resolution.

I'm 99% sure that the 466MHz board I have should be able to support 1024x768...

 

[GimmeSlack12]

Sounds like a tough sell to me. I'm pretty sure the resolution of the screen is based primarily on the video memory in the computer more than the logic board or anything like that. How much you expect this to cost?

 

[miloblithe]

All of the clamshell iBooks used the same graphics card (ATI Rage Mobility) as the first few icebooks, which were 1024x768. However, only the last round of clamshells (with firewire) had 8MB of VRAM like the early icebooks; earlier clamshells had 4MB.

Physically, the card should handle it, but I imagine this might require some kind of software/firmware hack to get the computer to give you the option of higher resolution than 800x600.

 

[shifuimam]

Well, I'm more interested in how it might be physically possible. I'll deal with the resolution challenge once I actually get a screen working with it!

I'm curious if anyone used a non-Apple clamshell iBook LCD in one of these (e.g. if I find a 12.1" LCD with a 20-pin connector, can I just use the iBook's display cable with it, or will some serious rewiring be involved...).

I was pretty sure the 8MB VRAM would push 1024x768. At this point, I'm assuming that OS X deals with displays similar to Windows/Linux - it determines the maximum resolution from information given by the display through the display data cable, in which case it may even pick up on its own that the display is XGA instead of SVGA.

First challenge is getting it physically connected..