[Merkava_4]

It's a model A1226 MBP and from what I gather, I think it's called the Santa Rosa MBP with a scratched matte screen. I'm gonna do the work myself while looking at the iFixit instructions.

Which one of these should I get?

1.
Apple Macbook Pro A1226 Series Laptop LCDs (15.4-wxga+-LED) BRAND-NEW starting at $115.00

2.
APPLE MACBOOK PRO A1226 LAPTOP LCD SCREEN 15.4" WXGA+ LED $250

3.
Apple Laptop A1226 | Apple Centre

I ran the serial number at PowerbookMedic and got the specs:

[Waragainstsleep]

Without enquiring as to what make the panels are, its impossible to say. Honestly I'm not sure there is much difference between the panels anyway. Any of them will work and should be fine. As long as they are 15.4" LED backlit, most of those will work. Apple used AU Optronics, Chi Mei, Samsung and LG panels if you care.

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

Apple used AU Optronics, Chi Mei, Samsung and LG panels if you care.

I went to an authorized Apple service center today to get an estimate out of curiosity. I asked the technician what brand of LCD panels they use and he said he's only allowed to use genuine Apple parts. So I'm assuming a "genuine Apple part" is any of the brands you mentioned above. By the way, they're not allowed by Apple as being an authorized service center to replace the LCD panel by itself; it has to be the whole display at a cost of $450 + 2 hours labor; bringing the total to $600.

[AKcrab]

Two hours of labor? That's ridiculous.

That said, I bet you spend well over two hours trying to replace just the lcd. It's easy to replace the whole assembly.

[Merkava_4]

It's gonna take me a lot longer than two hours. I'm scarred to death of prying on plastic parts that are very expensive to replace; so therefore I plan on taking a whole week if need be. I'm gonna get the special little pry bar called a "black stick" and some of that special "Kapton" tape too. I'm gonna try to be as professional as I can.