reviews Tes Ted. Reviewed. veRdic Tized
70 MAXIMUMPC june 2007 XXXXXXX 2006 MAXIMUMPC 00
I
f you shattered your laptop’s screen,
would you repair it or buy a new com-
puter? That’s the terrible dilemma most
of us face in this disposable PC world when
a screen takes a bad blow to the head.
But ScreenTek is hoping that rather
than junk the notebook, you take a swing at
repairing it—yourself. Offering replacement
screens for thousands of notebook models,
the company is relying on reasonable pric-
es to sway people to fix those computers
instead of sending them to the landfill.
We replaced the screen on an old
Compaq Presario V2000 that ScreenTek
supplied. This old single-core Centrino
featured a glossy 14-inch 1280x768 panel,
which was destroyed after taking a blow to
its upper-right-hand corner.
Following the instructions provided by
ScreenTek, replacing the screen took just
a few minutes. We popped the rubber feet
off the bezel, removed four screws, and
pried the bezel off with our fingers. The
company said it developed this screen-
removal method on its own; most service
manuals recommend replacing the entire lid
by removing it at the hinge. That’s far more
expensive and far more time consuming, as
it requires removing more parts.
Once we had the bezel off, we were
able to unscrew the panel from the metal
frame, unplug the ribbon and inverter cable,
and yank off the broken panel. ScreenTek
recommends checking the back of the
panel for the part number at this point and
then contacting the company for the cor-
rect replacement screen.
We thought we installed the new
panel correctly on our first try, but the rib-
bon cable popped loose. We cracked the
screen open, put the cable back in, and
had the machine booted and the new
screen working perfectly.
So is it possible to replace the panel
yourself? Most definitely. ScreenTek will
do the work for you for free—provided youpay for shipping—but
replacing it yourself is
quite easy. While con-
sumers have been able
to buy used parts on
eBay for some time,
ScreenTek says it stocks
only new parts that are
the same as those sold
to OEMs and will work
with customers to make
sure they buy the cor-
rect components.
But does it make fis-
cal sense? That depends.
The company says it’s
really a solution only for
high-end notebooks. And
we would agree with that assertion.
The Presario V2000 we repaired sells
on eBay for $550, and the replacement
screen costs about $300. With its power
and capability, it’s debatable whether it’s
worth it to keep the Presario or spend an
extra few hundred bucks and buy a new
notebook with an updated OS. Certainly if
you’re concerned about creating landfill,
buying a replacement screen is a good
choice, but a $600 notebook today is
faster than a $1,000 notebook from three
years ago.
Purchasing a replacement screen
makes more sense when you start talking
about a $2,500 notebook with a 17-inch
screen. In that case, a high-res 1920x1200
panel from ScreenTek sets you back about
$500. You sure as hell aren’t going to getan equivalent notebook for $500.
ScreenTek’s prices are a great deal
when compared to the OEM’s. Apple charg-
es about $1,000 to replace the 13.3-inch
screen on an Apple MacBook. If you do it
yourself using a panel from ScreenTek, the
cost drops to a palatable $375.ScreenTek
Laptop Screen
Replacement
Does it make sense to replace
your screen? MaybeStep 1: Unscrew the bezel.$300–$500, http://www.screentekinc.comscreen replacementShatter
More cost effective than
buying parts from OEMs.Unbreakable^8
Directions show you how to
take it apart but not how to put it
back together.this screen is beyond repair, right? not if you have the right hardware.