Chosen Solution
I have an old Macbook PRO A1398 2015 Retina Display. It is detached from the laptop base. The laptop base is destroyed but the display is in great condition. Is it possible to connect the Retina display to a desktop computer (my iMac) via HDMI or Thunderbolt or some other type of connection? I assume I’d have to do some creative wiring and supply power to the screen to get this working. Have you ever seen this or come across anything like this?
Blake Perdue since you are only having the display part you would be missing the power part as well as the video/timing board. The only way to possibly getting this accomplished might be with the help of a universal LCD driver board. For that you would need to know the make and model of your panel. This is very important. Without that information, there is no way to proceed. One of the model LCD’s used in a MBP A1398 MC975 and MC976 is a LP154WT1 (SJ) (A1) LCD which is an LG display. That would be the number to use to find a universal controller board at places like ebay.com or alibaba.com. Not an easy task but definitely worthwhile if you can find a controller for it.
You need a custom interface board, which may cost more than a good display. I’ve seen some people selling these custom job boards but I can’t find them now.
I feel this is not good utilization of your resources. This is because this display is in high demand and valuable asset. MacBook Pro 15" Retina (Mid 2015) Display Assembly Yes I can tell you how to turn it into a monitor, I did one last week and I’m in the process of writing a guide on how to do it. But this conversion is not wise due to the value of that display. That a win-win. I get a display which I can’t find, you get a monitor and you don’t have to sink any more money into ti. Here’s why from my question on Meta last week: https://meta.ifixit.com/Answers/View/995…
“Your money’s no good here!” - Blake Perdue Hahaha . Love it. Stand your ground! Truth is I would buy it also. There are very few left.
