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Is making a monitor from old laptop screen worth it? expectation vs reality.

Making a DIY Desktop Monitor from old laptop seems doable for any avarage DIY enthusiast. But is it worth the money & time? Here is my experiecne.

Is making a monitor from old laptop screen worth it? expectation vs reality.

One day I was watching a very skilled YouTuber making an awesome display from an old laptop screen.

He made a battery powered display. And the end product looked amazing.

And I was like “wow, that’s so cool”, I also have a broken laptop at home, I think I can make my own monitor.

That is how I started this whole journey.

I spent time, money and a lot of energy to make my own display.

It ended up being a half success. And looked nothing like the one he made though.

Anyway I ended up using that as a secondary display for my laptop at home for few months.

So that begs the question, is it worth it?

In this post I am going to answer that question.

Step 1 - Finding a proper driver for your old laptop display.

Finding compatible driver board for old laptop display:

Finding a compatible driver for the old display is a very first and most important step. You can find compatible driver for your old display by searching for the exact model number of your display.

Model/serial number can be found on the back side of the display. Now it is time to log into your favorite eCommerce site and search for the exact model number of your display.

Availability of driver board for old laptop display:

Only option here is looking online.

I ended up buying from Chinese website, because the product was not available in local online stores including amazon.in.

If you are lucky you will find the product in local online stores.

I contacted the seller via direct message and asked whether the driver board is compatible with my display. They said yes.

And at this point it is just “trust me bro” moment because there I will be lucky to get even a partial refund if it is not comparable. That too after one month of waiting for the driver board to reach me.

DIY - desktop monitor tools and requirements.

Availability of other parts: Many parts other than driver board are easily available in local stores, online stores and even some bits and pieces can be found in your home.

Skills required: You not only need some DIY skills, but it will be useful to have some knowledge of electronics & some tools to make it.

Main parts required are an aluminum sheet/any kind of sheet with proper strength and thickness, glue, screws and a screwdriver, soldering tools and a soldering iron.

Making it look like a new/cool display: this is where I ended up making many mistakes and failed to make it look good.

Things I found difficult to make it look good are: Making the housing for driver board was a challenge. Also making a back stand for the whole display is also a challenge.

After using this as a secondary display for my laptop for few months, I found that it was not looking good. So it is now retired. And is stored in my large box of old electronics.

Conclusion: It is possible to make a DIY desktop monitor from old laptop screen, but it is not worth the money & time. Do it only if you have experience in DIY and you are willing to spend some time and money.

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Written on May 21, 2022
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DIY Monitor a good idea Should i repurpose my laptop screen? Old laptop screen throw way or not?

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