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Thread: All-in-one pc?

  1. #51
    Anodized. Again. Konrad's Avatar
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    Default Re: All-in-one pc?

    If that's the path you want to try then you'll need a lot of parts, some being;
    - power supply module or board
    - main logic board
    - auxilliary electronics and logic boards
    - audio system (if any)
    - chassis and EM cages/shielding parts
    - exterior plastics
    - misc hardware: fasteners, bus blocks, wires, internal and external connectors, etc
    - service manual and schematics (sometimes unavailable or very expensive)

    It would be an involved project and likely require some soldering and some metalwork and lots of connector-making. You also wouldn't have the same diagnostic and calibration tools used at the factory. You might suffer from problems caused by firmware incompatibilities. Without having another identical unit working nearby you wouldn't be able to know what many parameters or test values should be.

    Shopping for a monitor with a broken panel and a compatible replacement panel is a much more viable option. Sometimes the cost of both purchases is lower than a new monitor; the owner of the dead monitor just can't/won't do the repair himself. You'd have to consider all shipping costs, taxes, duties, etc in the final prices.

    The particular panel you've found (like many others) might be compatible with all the monitors/televisions within a family, or even with several different families carried across multiple brands. You'd have to research, sometimes the panel vendors have already done so and advertise which units each panel can be used in.

    Final notes ... LCD panels are big business; most panel makers and vendors comply with a voluntary quality-grading system (rated from A+ to F, look it up for specifics). Panel manufacturing is sort of like processor manufacturing, low yields on perfect parts, always some number of parts with flaws of varying degree. Chances are you can find any number of panel suppliers or even buy particular pieces from Asian trading companies. I've done it myself many times with small (PDA/phone) panels; these guys spam their contact info all over related forums and eBay so you'll probably find them listed at monitor forums. You'll often need to pay a small premium to ensure a panel is a higher grade (fewer imperfections or defects); be sure to clarify your quality grade (if none is specified you'll get shipped the lowest grade working part in stock, typically C+/C/C-); the price difference for a new A+ part (brightest backlight, best colour and clarity, no swim/blur/haze/noise, fewest bad pixels, etc) should be about around +10-15% in single-piece volume; buying C-graded parts isn't worth saving a few bucks (you'll stare at your display a lot and hate it), and D-graded parts don't work (by definition) regardless of cost savings (they're only commodities to LCD repair/refurb companies). Incidentally, refurb units comply with the same grading system, they're perfectly fine (sometimes even better than new) and tend to cost less.

    A point of interest is that most OEMs use C-grade (or sometimes B-grade) displays in their laptops/etc because the premium for A-grades becomes a real price hit when ordering high volumes (that's why all OEMs implement crappy dead-pixel policies; they are able to offer better panel grades at the same price only once the process for making the particular panel type matures and greater yields are consistently available). Sort of like an OEM who would order a 10K volume of i7 parts which all have to perform at 5GHz ... it can be done but only at staggering cost so most OEMs will accept any i7 they can get (and, in this example, traders would select and grade the i7 parts so they could charge a premium for the best ones ... maybe RAM or GPU parts would serve as better examples). So replacing your own panel will usually be the only way to get the best display unless you order an extremely expensive machine from a company like XoticPC (which claims to use only A+ panels).

    Finally, beware that some LCDs are just the bare panel, some are the panel+electrical grid (with or without backlight), some are complete modules or subassemblies with touchscreens or whatever ... you need to be certain you buy the correct part for your monitor project.
    My mind says Technic, but my body says Duplo.

  2. #52
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    Default Re: All-in-one pc?

    Dude if I could rep you I would!
    cheers for that information. It's helped me a great deal.

  3. #53
    Will YOU be ready when the zombies rise? x88x's Avatar
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    Default Re: All-in-one pc?

    Agreed with Konrad...while it is possible to build a panel from pieces, it will almost always cost significantly more than buying a whole monitor. If you have a limited budget, I would recommend looking for used monitors.
    That we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.
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  4. #54
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    Default Re: All-in-one pc?

    Ok fair enough. I'm convinced. In that case I have found a damaged Dell 3008 but I can't seem to find replacement parts for it. DIs there a Dell parts reseller that anyone knows of?

  5. #55
    Anodized. Again. Konrad's Avatar
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    Default Re: All-in-one pc?

    This is a good starting point. Or try eBay shops or your local computer shops (wherever you live).
    My mind says Technic, but my body says Duplo.

  6. #56
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    Default Re: All-in-one pc?

    Can't believe I fell for that...lol

  7. #57
    Anodized. Again. Konrad's Avatar
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    Default Re: All-in-one pc?

    Mwoohahaa, victory is mine!

    Sorry, I couldn't resist. No insult intended, lol
    My mind says Technic, but my body says Duplo.

  8. #58
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    Default Re: All-in-one pc?

    Nah its ok I deserved it! lol

    I had looked on google, but there dont appear to be many options out there for that screen. Here in the UK we have a tech pawn shop called cex (i think its consumer electronics exchange) hey have some options like the Acer X243W. Seems a good spec'ed lcd but hasn't go the best user reviews. Seems to fail alot. That would be bad considering I'll be seriously voiding the warranty. Oh and its only VGA which in reality isn't that much of an issue. Also the one the have is B grade. They have an A grade lcd there too but it needs to be picked up rather than shipped to me.

  9. #59
    Anodized. Again. Konrad's Avatar
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    Default Re: All-in-one pc?

    You've also got Maplin, an uber electronics store which often makes me drool (impotently, since they won't ship to Canada).

    And you've got iPAQ Repair & Parts, whom I've happily dealt with many times in the past. Don't let the company name fool you because they'll service pretty much any kind of mobile device or computer you can name. Um, including Dell 3008 I imagine.

    Most of the LCD action is of course in China (mostly in Shenzhen Guangdong, where almost half the display panels in the world are made), Taiwan (where the other half are made), and Hong Kong (where they're all purchased, sold, and traded by greedy unregulated tech-savvy merchants). If you're picky about your part then foreign shipping is usually unavoidable. I've had perfect success with several vendors and was only displeased with one (they sent a panel that was clearly inferior to the agreed grade, returned/replaced but I lost out on two-way shipping charges); I recommend you try LCD123 (now called Zetrax, apparently). If you're not in a hurry you can sit on auctions or casually snipe out awesome deals as you see them. You'll have to get used to email exchanges with eager traders who're willing to do any wheeling & dealing they can with their competitors to get your single-piece-single-order business. Their bad English (and, I assume, your bad Chinese) aren't really an issue since the important details are the part numbers and prices which everybody can read. Don't go off what's advertised on their websites because they will obtain any specific panel part you can ask for by name. I assume that the dirt-cheap prices they give customers in North America & Europe are still megaprofit opportunities in their world, their service and pricing put western OEMs to shame.
    My mind says Technic, but my body says Duplo.

  10. #60
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    Default Re: All-in-one pc?

    The 3008 is a nice monitor, but unfortunately fairly rare, so you might have a harder time finding the needed parts. Do you know what specific parts are bad? If you open it up and look for the specific part numbers instead of, say, 'lcd panel for Dell 3008', you' have a lot better luck.
    That we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.
    --Benjamin Franklin
    TBCS 5TB Club :: coilgun :: bench PSU :: mightyMite :: Zeus :: E15 Magna EV

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