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DLSD screen working on a PowerBook5,4 (2004 model)

alectrona2988

Well-known member
With the use of the DLSD LCD cable and the panel... I have managed to get this working. A 1440x960 15" panel on a 2004 15" PowerBook G4.
I suspect this is possible because Apple used a similar cable in the 17" PowerBooks, albeit with dual channel LVDS rather than single channel LVDS in the 15" and 12" PowerBooks. Apple used Dual Channel LVDS cables for both DLSD PowerBooks, as single channel LVDS wasn't going to cut it for panels with resolutions higher than 1280x854.

Cable P/N: 593-0136 REV.A
LCD P/N: LTN152W6-L01

Replace as you would normally with any other PowerBook G4 LCD panel and cable.
Enjoy.

Note that this 2004 PowerBook had its CPU overclocked to 1.67GHz. This may not be possible on most 2004 models as they usually have the 7447A chip and not the 7447B.
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3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
Cool upgrade. You’ve pretty much gotten a DLSD at that point, except for the faster RAM and the Dual-Layer SuperDrive itself.

It’s also possible to put a 1900x1200 screen in a 17” G4, even non DLSD models. I’ve gotta do that to mine!
 

alectrona2988

Well-known member
Issue is... you'd have to find a 3:2 panel. A 16:10 panel is not easy to fit in, probably not going to look good either. I'd imagine you could get away with hacking an old MBP screen assembly.
Also I'm fairly certain the faster RAM doesn't do much with the G4, rather than power efficiency with DDR2 compared to DDR1. I also do have a dual layer superdrive in here, so technically it's a DLSD just with DDR memory. I originally thought of this because this PowerBook had an ugly yellow tint on the LCD, and I had a broken DLSD around (I also have one that works...)

I think the 3:2 resolution for 1920 would be 1920x1280. I've seen it on a couple of Dell tablets.
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
 

Romko23

Well-known member
This is so kewl.. I wonder if Titanium PowerBook 1ghz can support a higher res screen then what shipped.
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
I would doubt it. Getting into a TiBook's display assembly without damaging it is extremely tough to begin with, and being how thin it is, it wouldn't surprise me if Apple used a proprietary custom designed LCD. The only reason the Aluminum upgrade is possible is because they used a then-standard display cable.
 

alectrona2988

Well-known member
Yep... and speaking of cables, you'll need a dual-link LVDS cable. Not sure if any titanium powerbook had one, let alone if there is any screen in existence of 1440x960 that uses the older LVDS connector...
Plus, I wouldn't do *too* much to a TiBook. They tend to break often.
 

Romko23

Well-known member
I would doubt it. Getting into a TiBook's display assembly without damaging it is extremely tough to begin with, and being how thin it is, it wouldn't surprise me if Apple used a proprietary custom designed LCD. The only reason the Aluminum upgrade is possible is because they used a then-standard display cable.
I agree with you there. I had no trouble taking apart my DLSD to apply new paste, but the TI PowerBook G4 is a pain in the a** to take apart. I am currently using it now to type this, though I have a couple of issues with it - I think my gpu is going up, as if I do any heavy stuff which makes use of the gpu I start to get a lot of artifacts. If I use it for light stuff, like what I am doing now, it will be fine.. certainly want to address it though. I am too scared to take this thing apart given its over 15 years old.
 
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