M4700 Owners Thread

laptopscreen.com lists 5 different versions of the B156HW01 panel. All have a 40-pin socket connector. The differences in the versions are discussed in:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=102850
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1707096
http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...4-b-rgled-1080p-problem-b156hw01-v-7-a-2.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...550475-15-6-fhd-1920x1080-panels-reviews.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-between-different-screen-options-photos.html
https://hackpad.com/D5UvkrtVvJ9#Best-Panels

v0 B156HW01 – 60% gamut glossy
v1 B156HW01 – 60% gamut matte
v4 B156HW01 – 95% gamut matte
v7 B156HW01 – 95% gamut glossy (latest version)
v4 and v7 have 95% gamut, and differ in matte (v4) with a 2H hardness vs. glossy (v7) with a 3H hardness.

My rough guess is that the HW02 has a 60% gamut.... maybe worse. I'm spoiled by the DC2 panel on my 8740w... the OEM M4700 "FHD" panel strikes me as the cheapest system in an otherwise outstanding mobile workstation. When I don't need the 8740w, I do enjoy 4 lb. less to carry around (between the laptop and the AC adapter).

I ordered a v7 and will report after installation.

The AU spec sheet on the V.7 (on Google, search string "au optronics product specification B156HW01".

"B156HW01 V7 is a Color Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Display composed of a TFT LCD
panel, a driver circuit, and LED backlight system. The screen format is intended to support
the 16:9 FHD (1920(H) x 1080(V)) screen and 262k colors (RGB 6-bits data driver) with LED
backlight driving circuit. All input signals are LVDS interface compatible."

I momentarily considered trying to make the 15.6" IPS screen used in the ASUS UX51VZ work (eBay, supplier in China) ... but the LVDS connector is on the right, not left, and there's too much uncertainty about mounting points ... and even who makes the panel.

ADDENDUM
I've now studied the final product specs of the B156HW01 V.7 (01 Sept. 2010) vs. B156HW02 V.1 (25 Mar. 2011) panels. The V7 was the last in the HW01 series, with a typical white luminance of 270 cd/m.sq. when drawing 20 mA of current. The V1 of of the HW02 series has a typical white luminance of 300 cd/m.sq. when drawing 6.5mA of current. V7 contrast ratio of 500:1, and 01-V1 contrast ratio of 600:1 in one table (table 2.1), but are recited as 500:1 for each in table 2.2. Total power draw (including logic and Blu power) of 11.5 W max in the 01-V7 vs. 8.0 W max in the 02-V1.

All other specs, except glass hardness and "glare vs. anti-glare" are the same, EXCEPT
1) the 01-V7 has 5 degrees better upper (vertical) viewing angle
2) the 01-V7 has significantly different R, G, and B chromaticity coordinates (white is the same in both), which produces 95% NTSC color space coverage in the 01-V7 and only 60% (my guess was correct) NTSC color space coverage in the 02-V1.

So .... the HW02 traded a 31% reduction in LCD power consumption for a 35% reduction in color space. A choice of panels would have been a nice option in configuration.... and Dell could still do it, but I predict the only change in panel options will be when an IPS panel reappears. Supposedly, the LG LP...(B6) IPS panel "cures" the defects in the notorious (B2) panel. Given how easy it is to swap panels in the M4700, for USD 100 (incl. shipping, laptopscreens.com) I'll install the V7 now and be happy until an IPS panel arrives on the scene.

Finally, only laptopscreens.com confirmed that they are shipping the HW:1A model of the B156HW01 V.7. All replies from other sellers were "compatible", except one, who had HW:0A models.

 

Yeah, sorry, I should have said that I ordered the v4. What's funny is that it's only ~$10 more than the sucky HW02 panel -- go figure. I guess Dell couldn't secure enough for the M4700... or maybe they just didn't care.

The glossy v7 is apparently used on the XPS laptops, including the L501x, which I also have. It's very nice too.

 

I've tested the B156HW01 v.4 on my M4600 and I prefer the LG-Philips screen it came with (I don't remember the exact model number right now). Color gamut is lower than the AOU's but brightness is much better and sincerely I don't trade brightness for color gamut. Also if I recall well viewing angles were a bit worse and whites had a yellowish hue. People usually rave with the B156HW01 v.4 panel but personally I was unimpressed.

 

I don't know if there's any difference between the M4600 and M4700 in this regard (never had the former), but the HW01 v4 gets exceptionally bright on my M4700.

 

Matte and glossy each have their place. If I'm making color-based decisions, I'll do it on the DC2 screen or on the ZR30w screens in the office.

/HP seems to have lost their "muchness" in the last two years. Chopping the 17" Elitebook from 2560x 1600 to 1080p, overheating 8750w Elitebooks ... sad. Of course, that's the reason I have an M4700 instead of an 8750w. /rant

 

I redid ALL of the thermal paste on mine. Dell is known for poor thermal paste apparently. That got my idle temps down 10C. Speedfan helps a lot with the fan issue, too.

 

I purchased a Dell M4700 with i7-3840QM CPU and 32 Gb memory from Dell (Norway). It seems that the M4700 supports 1300 MHz memory, but the current setting is 800 MHz? Is this due to the memory modules or power management? If the memory modules are restricted to 800 MHz, why have they installed memory which reduces the performance?

 

DDR is often marketed at twice the speed it actually runs at because it can perform two operations each cycle. Tools like hwinfo or CPU-Z show the actual clock rate which will be half of what you may expect. If you're seeing 800 MHz memory in that tool that means you actually have "1600 MHz" DDR memory installed. Additionally, PC3-12800 memory is indeed the 1600 MHz variety.

Not sure why the maximum supported clock is reported so high.

(M4700 only supports "1600" and "1866" DDR.)

 

Thanks! Mystery solved

 

Will M4700 with i7 3740QM support 1866 ddr3? What about 2133?