Upgrading E6400 WXGA (1280x800) LED to WXGA+ (1440x900) LED from another E6400....

After 4.5 years of bulletproof service, I finally had to retire my Latitude E6400 a few months ago. In the last year, I upgraded the HDD to an SSD (Samsung 830-series), replaced the WXGA+ (1440x900) LED Anti-Glare Display and replaced the 9-cell Battery.

I replaced it with a Latitude 6430u (world's most durable Ultrabook according to Dell) and I'm actually a lot happier with it than I expected to be. The transition to a 16:9 (1600x900) aspect ratio display from a 16:10 (1440x900) was (and still is at times) the most annoying difference, but overall I'm loving it.

My mom has needed a new laptop for a long time. She is still using a HP Compaq nx6325 that my step-dad brought home from work several years ago. It dates back to mid-2006, Windows XP, 1.8GHZ AMD Sempron 3400+, 15.0" XGA (1024x768) display and 1GB of RAM....it kinda sucked when she started using it three or four years ago, but it REALLY sucks now! The CCFL display was dim when it was new and after seven years, it's barely usable. It's also time to get rid of XP once and for all....

I recently ran across a pretty awesome deal on an Off-Lease E6400 for $219 including a 1-year Warranty. It has Windows 7 Home Premium, Intel C2D P8700 (2.53GHz), 14.1" WXGA (1280x800) LED Anti-Glare Display, 2GB RAM (now 4GB), 80GB HDD (now 128GB Samsung SSD), DVD-RW, Intel graphics, Intel 5100AGN wireless card, Bluetooth, Backlit Keyboard, and 6-cell Battery (now with a 9-cell and a 6-cell spare). So I've used a lot of parts from my old E6400 to make this new (to her) E6400 as nice as possible. It's actually surprising how good it looks for an Off-Lease System (assuming it was probably on lease for 3-years or so). Not a scratch or ding on anywhere on it....

The only hardware upgrade that I haven't attempted yet is moving the higher-resolution (1440x900) display from my old system to the new(er) one. Both are LED-backlit, but mom's is the standard WXGA (1280x800). As I mentioned earlier, the display in my old E6400 is a replacement unit because the original WXGA+ LED died after 3.5 years. I installed it myself, so physically removing it from my old system and installing it mom's E6400 won't be a problem. BUT will I need to do anything else since it is a higher-res display???

Any useful info will be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks!

 

If you replace an entire display assembly, it should be a direct swap.

If you are replacing a panel, you may still need to replace the entire display assembly going from the LED WXGA to the LED WXGA+... at the very least, I think you'll need to get a new display cable.