MSI GE40 Display MOD

Just wondering.... anyone considered changing the screen? Did some research, it seems the stock screen is AUO B140RTN03.0 14" HD+ 1600x900 Matte eDP 30 Pin, which to me (not expert) seems to be compatible with AU OPTRONICS B140HAN01.1 14.0" Full-HD eDP 30 pin. Checking width and size seems about right.
Anyone found some dissasembly pictures or something?

 

I don't think so. Yours is 1 lane eDP, where the other one is 2 lanes. If your cable has all the wires, then fine, but if not...

 

Can you explain a little? You mean is the same connector but with different fonctions in each pin? Where did you get the datasheets?
Weird thing is, some just posted he ordered one at HIDevolution and it came with this panel.

 

The physical connector might be the same, but there could be missing wires in between (cost cutting). Check panelook.com After this guy's upgrade, the chances seems to be on your side. Tell him to install HWiNFO, then under "Monitor", to select his and see what "Monitor Name (Manuf)" says about it.

 

No pictures, but there is a cheaper vendor here: AU OPTRONICS B140HAN01.1 LAPTOP LCD SCREEN 14.0" MATTE Full-HD

Let me know if you try it - if it all works out then I will do the same mod with mine

 

Well, I don't have the laptop yet, but HIDevolution confirmed the panel is compatible, at least the one ending in 1.1: AUO B140HAN01.1.
I asked if they changed the whole cover or just the panel and they said:

So it sounds like it should be easy. I've seen a video of another MSI laptop being dissasembled, should be similar right?
BTW, do you have temp issues?

 

It does get a little warm, but nothing unbearable. I got the vendor (Gentechpc) to upgrade the thermal paste when I purchased it. I have since bought some copper shims (about $10 on ebay) to stick on the heat pipe, but haven't installed them yet.

If I get time this weekend I will use Furmark to heat it up, take photos of the install and then see if the extra copper makes any improvement.

 

Ok, as promised, I did some testing in Furmark. I did a burn in test at 1600x900 (the native resolution of my current screen). The test was done on my Cooler Master NotePal U2 Laptop Cooling Pad (available for about $20 online).

With the GE40 on the cooling pad, but with the pad turned off (i.e. fans not running), the GPU temperature peaked at 83C. With the pad turned on, fans running, the GPU temperature peaked at 78C - a massive 5C cooler.

I have not put the copper heat sinks in yet, as I ran out of time. Will try to get to it this weekend and report back the results.

 

Well, my new screen arrives in the post today (I live in Australia and it took a while to ship...). I will take some photos of the process of (hopefully successfully) replacing my stock screen with the B140HAN01.1.

Wish me luck.

 

Contrats, I hope it went well. I'm looking forward to the results.

 

I ended up replacing the screen yesterday. I had started about a month ago, but there was an adhesive between the stock screen and the bezel. I was about to travel and worried that if I broke it through carelessness I would have a week interstate with no laptop

I used my fingernails to unclip the bezel, and then a small flat-headed screwdriver to work between the screen and the bezel to separate the adhesive from the two. I was not able to fully remove the bezel, however, as it was stuck where the bezel meets the screen hinges.

That said, I was able to continue with the replacement, as the thin plastic used in the bezel was flexible enough for me to work around it and unscrew the stock screen. Once unscrewed and unplugged, I was able to plug in the new screen, re-do the screen screws (there are two at the base of the screen) and then reclip the bezel back into place.

The new screen was partly detected on first boot (showed 1600 x 900 correctly, then artifacts for the rest). A reboot solved this and now the screen shows in all of its glory.

The hardest part of the replacement was separating the bezel from the screen - it would have been easier if I had used a scalpel/craft knife, but these weren't available. Once this was done, it was a matter of removing two screws, unplugging a connector and then working backwards from there.

As for the results, the screen has hugely better viewing angles and colour - it is simply glorious.

The whole operation took probably 20 minutes and vastly improves the look of the laptop. I have not done any battery trials yet, but I am sure it will reduce life by some amount.

Cheers

 

Yeah there will be a hit but IMO worth it.

 

I agree - the angles are fantastic, and the colours are finally brilliant. It is just a pity that the GE40 didn't come this way to begin with. In terms of battery life, I can always just buy an external battery pack to keep the juice flowing if it becomes an issue...

 

I have switched out mine too, now. It was easier than I thought. I bought the matte variant from Aliexpress, and it's really excellent.

I expected about the same adventure as when I switched out my broken cell phone screen. This I could use my fingers to pop open the bevel, two screws to remove the screen and pop everything back in place.

 

I'd like to thank everyone in this thread for the info on screen upgrade, especially the OP. This thread inspired me to picked up a refurbished 2OC-008 for 950 bucks and swap out the screen and I'm very pleased with my purchases. I already had a good SSD (830 EVO) from my old laptop, so all I needed was this HDD caddy for the optical drive slot for 10 bucks and another stick of RAM. The grand total for the project was about ~1100 USD which is an absolute steal compared to the Razer Blade or Alienware 14.

 

With a much better display to boot.

 

Hi,

Did you guy all replace a 900p stock screen toward a 1080p screen?

I am slightly worried by the web site https://www.laptopscreen.com/English/model/MSI/GE40~DRAGON~EYES/
It says that 900p screens actually connects with 40pins while 1080p uses 30pins?

Do you reckon this?

I just purchased a 900p version wishing to perform the full upgrade:
- 2nd Sata HDD SSD Hard Drive BAY Caddy FOR Laptops 9 5mm | eBay
- Sata TO USB External Case FOR CD DVD ROM Laptop Optical Drive | eBay
- and B140HAN01.1 Free shipping Brand new A+ B140HAN01.1 B140HAN01.2 LCD Screen 1920*1080 EDP Slim LCD-in Laptop LCD Screen from Electronics on Aliexpress.com

Do you believe the connector will be compatible?

Thanks for your help,

 

Hi,

I guess laptopscreen did a mistake or try to differenciate 900p 1080p so people are not tempted to rush only for the 1080p option.

Here are some interesting datasheets regarding the screen:
- B140HAN01-1 ftp://helpedia.com/pub/temp/datasheets/monitors/Panels/Panel_AUO_B140HAN01-1_0_[DS].pdf
- B140RTN03-0: ftp://helpedia.com/pub/temp/datasheets/monitors/Panels/Panel_AUO_B140RTN03-0_1_[DS].pdf / ftp://helpedia.com/pub/temp/datasheets/monitors/Panels/Panel_AUO_B140RTN03-0_0_[DS].pdf

The 1080p update screen is consuming 4Watts while the original 900p seems to be consuming from 2.65 to 2.9W. The laptop battery time should theoritically be reduced by 25%, it would be nice if someone could confim this.

Hope this helps,

=====================
Checked with Monitor Asset Manager on GE40-20C-001FR the 900p is an AUO B140RTN03.0 no doubt it's an EDP30 pins.

 

Hi again,

Does anyone know between AUO B140HAN01.2 and B140HAN01.1, I cannot find the specs sheet for B140HAN01.2.

Thanks for you help,

 

Found this tutorial video specific to GE40: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs-qCjkVjHU

 

1.1 is matte
1.2 is glossy

 

Here you can find the datasheets. Thanks to Michaeldjcox.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=BB4AF4F2D35DBF7E!214

 

Seeing the end:

B140HAN01.2 is 0.2mm thicker than AUO B140HAN01.1 and has the exact same thickness (body and glass) than original B140RTN03.0.
Both B140HAN have the same power consumption and have anti-glare treatment (none is supposed to be glossy), B140HAN01.1 glass is 0.1mm thicker than the other two.
Viewing angles for B140HAN are identical and much better than B140RTN03.0
Connector is the same for all.

I still do not know what is the stock 1080p for the MSI GE40.

The conclusion is both B140HAN are compatible but B140HAN01.2 seems to fil better the dimensions of the stop 900p screen.

 

I damaged the cable connecting to the screen, and I just can't seem to find the proper replacement. Can anyone please help?

 

Maybe a picture would help?

 

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8JaJ14h4kH4aGxBYmVtUXkzaE0&usp=sharing

I just cannot seem to find this same cable anywhere. The two white connectors, shown together, the one on top is what I ended up ordering HOPING it would work. Nope. Wrong size for the motherboard, too larger for the monitor. I now know I need a 30 pin eDP.

 

Contact your reseller.

 

I purchased it on Buydig August last year. There were no customization options, just came the way it came.