[SPARCbook] Upgrade 640x480 screen?

[Ken Hansen]

Well, I have not attempted this upgrade, but my thoughts are:

    LCD DIsplays are not "swapable" by design, but various models may be
    compatible - unless you can be certain that the logic/electrical
interface
    between the LCD and the mainboard are identical in both models (640x480
    and 800x600) you may fail right there.

    If they are electrically the same, then the question becomes will the
case
    physically contain the display, since this is 1"+ larger than the
display you
    will be replacing. I suspect this will be an obstacle for you as well,
since
    the "lid" you will be putting this display in was made for one
particular display,
    not a generic mount of numerous LCD panels.

    Finally, the front of the "lid" will have to be modified, to enabl you
to see the
    entire 10.4" glory of your display. I suspect this will render the
case/display,
    umm, ugly.

    And remember, as soon as you take out your dremel motor tool and start
"improving" the display, any resale value has gone out the window. In a
market
"flodded" with SPARCBook 3 GS/GX, your creation will command bottom
dollar (IMHO). This is very similar to the used "kit car" market where you
take
a $2000 "donor" car, strip off the body and replace it with a faux MG body
(or
other) for (say) $6000. When you tire of the car and want to do something
new,
the car has a "real" (meaning you can sell it within a few weeks) value of
slightly
less than the cost of the donor car, *if* it is in tip-top condition.

    A SPARCBook with an "inferior" display (640x480) has more value "whole"
than it would "improved" IMHO. You would probably be better off putting your
SPARCBook up on ebay with a large reserve and then start looking for a
SPARCBook 3GS/GX to use.

    Of course, this is just my opinion, but I wouldn't *think* of buying
such an
improved machine, unless the price were *real low* (since it will most
likely be
trash as soon as it has it's first hardware problem).

Sorry, HTH,

Ken

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Powell" <Chris_Powell at mitel.com>
To: <sparcbook at sunhelp.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2000 8:09 AM
Subject: [SPARCbook] Upgrade 640x480 screen?


>
> Hi,
>
> Has anyone tried upgrading the SPARCbook 9.4" 640x480 screen to a
> larger 10.4" 800x600 by using a screen from a donor PC laptop? Are
> there any motherboard, OpenBoot or magnesium case changes? Can any
> higher resolution screens be used by the SPARCbook 3?