Thread: Laptop LCD Displays

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FINALLY an answer to laptop LCDs in the FAQ section.
See this:
Frequently Asked Questions

did this question not get asked only a couple of hours ago?

Originally Posted by JohnnyIROC-Z

Here is why I keep wondering about this. This picture



If you look where it says "TO LCD CONTROLLER" I have the whole laptop. DOesn't it have an LCD Controller? Since I Have that exact cable going to a board that in turn plugs into the motherboard. am I just way off base here? Is this not the controller card?

that board is the laptops version of its video card, or sometimes a part of the video card, with the rest actually part of the mb. you can use it only if you run it off of that laptop motherboard. if that is what you are after, then it could work fine, you'd basically be remote mounting the screen. most limitation that way is with the distance you can seperate them, as most laptops use a propritary ribbon cable that isn't practical to extend, you can unravel the cable through the hinge, but most of the time it's not long enough to mount them seperated enough.

there are a few earlier panasonic toughbooks (up to the pIII's I think)out there that are perfect for this type of install, because they use a more conventional harness of maybe 17 or 18 24-26 ga. wires that are relatively easy to extend between the motherboard & the upper screen mount, where it then connects to a ribbon cable. They are actually awsome for this type of install because they use touchscreens with glareguard coatings & hi-brite dual bulb lcd's that work well in a car install, problem here is that a faster machine like this will be pretty pricey.

another point about laptop screens is that alot of laptop screens are only 150-200 nit's, meaning dim & washed out daytime bad enough to be unuseable. it would suck to buy an expensive controller because you already have the screen, & then find out that it isn't bright enough to use during the day. if the laptop works, I would suggest you take it in the car & see how it works daytime with the sun up strong before you make a final decission on whether it's worth doing or not.

in the past if you wanted a lcd in your car the laptop screen with controller was your only option, but today for a little more than the cost of only the controller you could get a complete monitor for your car, that fact alone has probably increased the amount of people installing pc's in there car more than any other factor....sure stuff like the opus & this bulletin board also help by making it easier, but the complete screens that are available today for resonable prices are to me the thing that will finally bring the carputer to the masses...