Here at Require IT we know that buying a replacement laptop screen is not always a simple process, and can be stressful.
Especially when a single laptop model can require one of many different types! The best way to check what you need is to remove the old LCD
and check for the part / model number on the label on the back. If you're not confident doing this there are often other ways to find out what you need.
If it's a Dell laptop, all we need is a Service Tag number.
If it's a Lenovo or HP laptop, often all we need is the machine serial number.
While not all laptop models are so easy to identify, in most cases the best source of information is just a Google search away. You wil often be able to find
walk-through videos for the entire process.
We have put together some useful information below to help you with the process of ordering your replacement part.
The 1 and 2 stand for single or double (backlight). Remove the bezel from around the screen to see which you have.
A 2 CCFL backlit screen will generally have two backlight connectors, rather than just the one.
This refers to the number of pins on the display cable connector. If you look closely you can count these.
The part number for the screen is always on a manufacturer's label on the back of the panel. This label consists of the manufacturer's code and the screen size. The initial letters of the part number indicate the manufacturer and the following three numbers indicate the screen size.
If you are calling us to check which screen you need, please have the LCD panel or a picture of the label with you as we may need revision or version numbers.
We are not able to offer support with regards to resolution upgrades. This kind of upgrade is not straightforward and, in some situations, not actually possible at all. Many laptops will not accept a higher resolution LCD panel and either will not display properly, or won't display anything at all. While some laptops can be upgraded, you may need to make several hardware changes, such as new display cables and/or system boards.
CCFL and LED are both backlight techbologies. A CCFL screen will have a separate 2 pin backlight connector coming from the bottom of the LCD which powers the flourescent lamps in the screen. LED screens, on the other hand, will almost always not have this separate connector as most LED screens take power for the backlight through the main ribbon cable.
LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display, which is the flat panel which makes up your screen and displays the image. The LCD panel is made up of a number of colour dots, called pixels, which make up the image on the display. The resolution of an LCD screen indicates the number of pixels the screen is made up of, which is generally shown as the horizontal pixel count and then the vertical pixel count, for example, 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels. Higher resolution screens will have more pixels that will be smaller, which create a clearer, crisper image quality.
Three of the most common laptop screen resolutions today are: