Thinkpad L540 - swap clickpad, screen to anything better?

[Insomniac1971]

Hi, my L540 Synaptics clickpad drives me crazy in Windows 10(Laptop came with it on 500Gb HDD) I'm in the process of moving to my Linux Mint 20.2 Setup(cloning 160Gb SSD drive on ThinkPad x300 to external 240Gb SSD as I write this), but I am sure that the problem will continue in Linux Mint because its the Hardware that is crap, not driver related.

Its so bad that I have to use external mouse, which I really don't like.

So is it possible to swap the Clickpad out for a real touchpad with buttons or without or just a better quality Clickpad?

Also are there any quality screens available for this model, right now it has 1366x768, I would like a bit higher resolution, but take in mind my eyes are old

Let me hear your suggestions and possible part numbers

Thank you in advance

Jan

[axur-delmeria]

L540 spec sheet mentions Full HD screen: https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PD ... 0_Spec.PDF

The problem is that the parts listing shows more than one LCD cable, so we can't be sure if you need to change it in order for a Full HD screen to work.

L540 parts listing for reference: https://download.lenovo.com/parts/Think ... 140807.pdf

[Insomniac1971]

How about the clickpad, is that swapable and if so, to which part number?

[RealBlackStuff]

T440/T540 can swap clunkpad, as seen here: https://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=126860
So L440/L540 clunkpads are probably the same as in T-models.

[Insomniac1971]

L540 spec sheet mentions Full HD screen: https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PD ... 0_Spec.PDF

The problem is that the parts listing shows more than one LCD cable, so we can't be sure if you need to change it in order for a Full HD screen to work.

L540 parts listing for reference: https://download.lenovo.com/parts/Think ... 140807.pdf

What is the best place in the Philippines to buy a new LCD for this Laptop?

[axur-delmeria]

What is the best place in the Philippines to buy a new LCD for this Laptop?

I'm afraid I can't give you an answer: surprisingly, in all my years working with computers and laptops, I've never ever bought a brand new LCD panel-- it was either "harvest a screen from the pile of dead laptops on the shelf", or "buy a second-hand one from an online marketplace (like tipidpc)".

[Insomniac1971]

axur-delmeria

What thermal paste do you use on your laptop, and where do you buy it?

I think my LCD Issue is actually a thermal paste issue/Fan issue, because if I stress the CPU, the problem I have with a Non-persistant flickering white line on the LCD, goes away. Meaning that the thermal paste is crap that only start working when the CPU really heats up, so in lower heat states there is a problem and heat is not removed properly and the GPU suffer and cause the flicker.

New thermal paste will help, if not solve the problem all together.

[axur-delmeria]

What thermal paste do you use on your laptop, and where do you buy it?

I use PTM 7950 phase-change thermal pad on my recent Thinkpads. I don't want to go through the hassle of reapplying thermal paste in a laptop anymore.

Before that, I put liquid metal (Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut) in my X220--not recommended unless you know exactly what you're doing.

[Insomniac1971]

What thermal paste do you use on your laptop, and where do you buy it?

I use PTM 7950 phase-change thermal pad on my recent Thinkpads. I don't want to go through the hassle of reapplying thermal paste in a laptop anymore.

Before that, I put liquid metal (Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut) in my X220--not recommended unless you know exactly what you're doing.

I went with what the local computer store had(Octagon), Silvertec THY880-4, it work just fine and solved my screen problem(other post).

UPDATE : It did not solve the strange not persistent white line that occationally show up, but cpu is less warm now.

[axur-delmeria]

I went with what the local computer store had(Octagon), Silvertec THY880-4, it work just fine and solved my screen problem(other post).

I guess the old paste had dried up completely. The L540 is from 2013, and it's possible that it's never been serviced since then.