My friend has andell inspiron 8500 laptop with a 15 inch widescreen LCD, his motherbaord was blown and so he gave it to me since i'm a pc guy. my question is would the lcd from this laptop be a good for making a projector, and whats the easiest way to mod the lcd to do it, or would it just be easier to buy a cheap 15 or 17 inch monitor.

Thanks
Dan

You would need a controller to run the Lcd. It would cost around $400-600 to get one made.

Just buy a 15" or 17".

Oh and this is a commonly asked question , next time maybe a quick search for "laptop lcd"

Watch out for typos... could get you in trouble...

Your friend gave you a Dell Inspiron (not andell inspiron) 8500. That's the same laptop I started with, the one I have had a Sharp XXXXXXXW02 "WUXGA" LCD in it: arguably the best screen to use in DIY projectors. The only problem is that you'll still need to buy a controller for it. If your screen is indeed a Sharp "WUXGA" you will be able to use the Winmate "G2A" controller.

Check out the WUXGA Kit thread pinned in the Beginners' Forum for more info.

Why bother spending 3-400 $ just for a controller to run your lcd. rather buy a new lcd monitor for half the money and will serve u same even more. 1 thing for sure money counts . not in head but in bank.

There's one big reason to spend more to get a controller and a "WUXGA" LCD: resolution.

1024x768 (typical 15" LCD) = 786432 pixels (almost 0.8 megapixels)
Supports 1:1 pixel ratio for DVD movies and possibly some HDTV.

1280x1024 (typical 17" or 19" LCD) = 1310720 pixels (about 1.3 megapixels)
Supports 1:1 pixel ratio for 720p high definition.

1920x1200 (WUXGA LCD) = 2304000 pixels (about 2.3 megapixels)
Supports 1:1 pixel ratio for 1080p high definition.

Your right ..but to buy a WUXGA laptop or panel and then the controller...how much ?
Would it be cheaper to buy a HD Comm proj ?

The G2A is $345 and you can get a WUXGA LCD for about $220 for a total of $565. A comercial projector capible of 1080p will run you $4000.

But, if you don't need/want 1080p, you can probably buy a 720p projector for only a little more than building a WUXGA projector. But you still got the $300+ bulbs in the comercial to consider.

I was at work when i typed that thread and a client walked in so i didn't check it before i posted it hence the spelling issues BUT no it has a samsung WUXGA, its at home now so i dont have the model number with me. It has all the same specs as the sharp screen after doing research yesturday, but i'll keep looking into it. I'm not about to make a 345 dollar mistake if its not compatible. i do believe the connector is different though sicne dell overhauled the latter versions of the 8500 series to make them more cost effective. but thanks for all the info. In anycase i have yet to find a place to buy the G2A controller board since their website is kinda DOA as of now.

I bet the connector on the actual LCD is the same. Not that this is a huge piece of evidence or anything, but there are lots of people selling screens that they guarantee will work with lots of Dell models (not sure if the 8500 is one of them though).

The screen is very likely to work with the G2A, but if it doesn't you wont be left with something worthless, reselling the G2A on this website would probably take 2 weeks or less, and you could probably get $325 + shipping for it (so you'd be taking a $20 loss).

Just so you know, the Sharp screens have a contrast ratio of 400:1, all other brands have 350:1.

This is the contact for the controller :

Dobie Huang
Business Development Manager
AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS, INC.
1768 McGaw Ave.
Irvine, CA 92614
Tel: 888-485-6688 x460
Direct: 949-681-7460
Cell: 626-203-7977
Fax: 949-251-8697
Email: dhuang@aispro.com