I got the FW AMD 13 and I love everything about the laptop except the screen. The AMD iGPU is actually really strong and can play games and outperform the Steam Deck, even on Linux.
The screen, however, isn’t so great (for me) with its refresh rate and ghosting. I saw that people previously were looking at upgrades for an OLED or a high refresh rate monitor, but found that the FW’s uncommon 3:2 screen size made it difficult to find a replacement.
I’m taking a look at more common 16:9/16:10 screens and am okay with the lost vertical space, and am wondering if anyone has experience and/or pointers for this. I saw these two TFT LCD panels, and am interested in biting the bullet and trying it out, but am wondering if there’s any gotchas with the connector or mounting it in the laptop:
120Hz 13.4" Sharp TFT LCD: user login
165Hz 13.4" Tianma TFT LCD: user login (not sure if this fits, since the dimensions aren’t listed)
They both list eDP as their connector, but I’ve heard that this may not be enough to guarantee that the connectors fit
Yeah, unfortunately it’s not. There are multiple different connectors and pinouts used on displays. “eDP” just specifies the basic protocol, not the specific connector used, the pitch (spacing between pins), or pinout. And there are also different versions and types of eDP.
Two lane wouldn’t be compatible. The Framework-13 uses a four lane eDP, 40-pin, 0.5mm pitch connector. So to get a possibly compatible display you need to at least match that. It would be best to also verify the pinout, but I believe there is a good chance that will match if the previous specs match. Iirc a different pitch is found on some OLED displays.
Found the Tianma for around $80 on eBay; ordered that one to try my luck. If it doesn’t work out, this one looks alright as well (but having trouble finding its connector pitch): IVO M133NWF3 R1 Overview - Panelook.com
Be aware that internal connectors are not at all like external connectors in regard to it being safe to just try anything that uses the same connector. Plugging in a part with the wrong pinout can easily destroy things. You risk killing your mainboard and / or the part.
With that particular screen, I think you might luck out, its resolution is high enough that it should need to be 4 lane eDP. Still some risk, though.
In case anyone else reads this thread and want to try similar, it’s best to get a datasheet or otherwise verify the pinout first.
Good points! I’m in contact with the seller to see if they can give me any reassurance.
Something I did notice is that the OEM screen (BOE NE135FBM-N41 Overview - Panelook.com) is listed as eDP 2-lane, but the hackaday article doesn’t actually have a 40-pin eDP 2-lane (non-touchscreen) pinout. The pinout from framework matches the 4-lane output.
Am wondering if I should still go for 4-lane or a 2-lane non-touch
I wouldn’t trust a site saying 2-lane non-touch 40pin without seeing the pinout from the manufacturer’s datasheet. If the site’s not simply wrong, then who knows what the pinout is. For example, look at what you would get using a pinout similar to 2-lane 40pin touch panel, maybe a non-touch panel made to be a drop-in replacement for a touch panel… Ground pins where VCC (voltage positive) should be, likely to destroy things.
I’m finding it difficult to actually get the screens I want; I hit some dead-ends (i.e. vendors not willing to sell, vendors not shipping, etc), and am still trying to get a screen to try out.
Currently, I have the Tianma TL134ADXP01-00 on order, hopefully actually gets here this time.
I think another one I wanted to try would be:
TL134GDXP02-0
I’ll also look at that MND307DA1-9 in case both of these don’t work out
Yes, finding reliable vendors who can provide correct information and correct models seems to be the hardest part.
I’m now using an AUO model, while my Innolux order was botched up. My specific need is a brighter screen and the GDX model of the Tianma screen seems to have better brightness than advertised (at least according to the mate 13s review)
I think there may be hope in manufacturing small batch cables if the cables don’t match. Please do keep me posted on how your orders go, and maybe we can explore digging into this further together
Sounds good! I’ll let you know when I get the screen in and can tinker. I have the eDP cable from Framework themselves. My biggest hope is just a screen with much less ghosting, and the higher the refresh rate, the better.
@Brandon_Wang did you end up getting the screen? I just ordered one of each on ebay and am currently awaiting shipment. The seller warned me that it needs a special cable to light it but from what see from the basic images, its not anything different than usual 40 pin edp
