Tired of the awful OEM screen on your T420? Want FHD (1920×1080) resolution with the full colors and deep blacks of IPS screens? Having a hard time deciding which to order? Then this page might help you.
There are several screens available for the non-S T420 laptop which have performance characteristics on par with true IPS screens. This page has a good explanation of how the various panel types differ.
This thread by RMSMajestic seems to be the origin of the screen upgrade for the non-S Thinkpad T420 and T430. The first post explains why flickering is a common problem.
There are several eBay sellers carrying FHD IPS controllers. The one sold by moe-tech, for example, supports the following screens:
1920×1080 (FHD) Screens
| Brand | Model | Type | Finish | Colors | Brightness | Contrast | Viewing Angle | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUO | B140HAN01.0 | AHVA | Glossy | 16.2m | 300 cd/m^2 | 800:1 | 89/89/89/89 | |
| B140HAN01.1 | AHVA | Matte, hard | 16.2m | 300 cd/m^2 | 700:1 | 89/89/89/89 | ||
| B140HAN01.2 | AHVA | Matte, hard | 16.2m | 300 cd/m^2 | 700:1 | 89/89/89/89 | ||
| B140HAN01.3 | AHVA | Matte, hard | 16.2m | 300 cd/m^2 | 700:1 | 89/89/89/89 | ||
| LG | LP140WF1-SPB1 | AH-IPS | Matte | 262k | 300 cd/m^2 | 700:1 | 85/85/85/85 | |
| LP140WF1-SPV1 | ||||||||
| LP140WF1-SPK1 | AH-IPS | Matte, hard | 262k | 300 cd/m^2 | 700:1 | 80/80/80/80 | ||
| Samsung | LTN140HL02-B01 | PLS | Matte, hard | 262k | ??? | ??? | 85/85/85/85 | |
| BOE | NV140FHM-N62 | ADS | Matte | 16.7m | 300 cd/m^2 | 800:1 | 85/85/85/85 | |
| NV140fhm-n41 | ADS | Matte, hard | 262k | 250 cd/m^2 | 800:1 | 85/85/85/85 | ||
| Innolux | N140HCA-EAC | AAS | Matte | 262k | 250 cd/m^2 | 800:1 | 89/89/89/89 |
There are also 40-pin controllers that support 2560×1440, such as this one by e-qstore. It lists the following screens:
2560×1400 (WQHD) Screens
| Brand | Model | Type | Finish | Colors | Brightness | Contrast | Viewing Angle | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUO | B140QAN01.1 | AHVA | Matte, hard | 16.7m | 340 cd/m^2 | 700:1 | 85/85/85/85 | |
| B140QAN01.5 | AHVA | Matte | 16.7m | 300cd/m^2 | 700:1 | 85/85/85/85 | ||
| LG | LP140QH1-SPB1 | IPS | Matte | 16.7m | 300cd/m^2 | 700:1 | 85/85/85/85 | |
| LP140QH1-SPB3 | ||||||||
| LP140QH1-SPA2 | IPS | Glossy | 16.7m | 300cd/m^2 | 700:1 | 85/85/85/85 | ||
| LP140QH2-SPB1 | IPS | Matte | 16.7m | ??? | 800:1 | 85/85/85/85 |
I chose the AUO B140HAN01.3 from eBay seller neidersch, and the LCD controller from moe-tech. Why that particular screen? Because I wanted a matte finish, and it appears to be identical to the B140HAN01.1, aside from being 0.2mm shallower. Both have been working great for around nine months.
