Game Boy Advance V5 IPS LCD Backlight Kit with Laminated Lens and OSD - Hispeedido

What can I say that hasn't been said already? I love how easy the install is, my soldering skills are limited but I was able to get it done no problem. I did snip the touch pads off I did not desolder them. The screen itself looks fantastic, of course(love the pixel effect).. Battery life is good enough, with a clean juice rechargeable I feel the battery life is double that of my 101sp. I don't have any real complaints about the screen itself, only the price. I will 100% be buying this kit for my next GBA, no doubt!

It was as easy to install as I've seen in the videos Jake Simmons makes.

Unless there is a specific lens youre looking for, I don’t know why you’d go with anything else. Installs easily and the space around the edges is far less visible compared to other kits. With the black lens you won’t really be able to tell if there is space, but ultimately it doesn’t matter.

Top notch screen! drop in replacement, if you choose to just use the two touch panels , there isn't even any soldering required! everything is included, it comes with a 32 and 40 pin fpc adapter to work with all different GBA mainboards. like the GBAhSP display from Hispeedido, this has pixel effects as well, giving it an authentic look.

Such a good upgrade to the screen

I have bought and installed 3 of these screen mods and have come to find they are of excellent quality, and so close to perfection it is tantalizing. These have become my favorite to use due to their reliability and ease of install. Very fast shipping on these as well!

What I like:

These screens are incredibly easy to install and since they are laminated there is no guesswork or risk of miss-aligning a lens on top of an IPS display like on the V2. Mine have all come out perfect and look amazing in my shells. The included touch pads mean that soldering is completely optional to use all of the features on the display only adding to the user friendly nature of this mod. If you do choose to solder (I recommend it) there are only 3 wires needed to be soldered from the screen to the board. The processes is very straight forward and there are plenty of videos online detailing the process. The picture and brightness on this display is also amazing. While slightly darker than the V2 at max brightness it is a substantial upgrade to the non-backlit OEM screens. The deepness and quality of colors on this display are the best I have seen on the market. The display also comes with a wide selection of features including scan line options and color modes, all of which are accessible through the touch pads. One last thing to note would be the overall reliability of this screen. I have not had any defects or picture errors with any of my displays over the time I have had them (about 3 months now) and all are working and looking great.

What I didn't like:

This V5 kit is so close to being the perfect IPS mod, but there are a few minor downsides to this kit that need to be mentioned. The first being that this kit needs a wider opening in the front of the shell than the standard "IPS Ready" options seem to offer. I have found that outside of RetroSix shells there are few options on the market that will work without additional trimming/sanding to the opening of the front shell. One other thing of note is that these screens seem to be sensitive to pressure. If the fit between the display and the edges of the shell opening is too tight you will see brighter spots on the edges of your screen when black is supposed to be showing. This has happened to me on my first two attempts. These spots disappear once the screen filled with color and don't obstruct actual gameplay, but I would still recommend light sanding to the right side of your shell opening if the fit is feeling very tight during install. Hopefully we will see more shell options specifically made for this V5 display in the future.

One other thing I would want to mention is that the touch pads seem to be a bit finicky. On mine they seem to be very sensitive even when placed behind the shell resulting in many unintended screen brightness and color changes from simply handling the system. This issue actually affected one of my systems so badly that it would constantly change color modes even with no touch input. This was fixed by re-attaching the contact further away from the motherboard. While I like the accessibility that the touch pads offer they seem a little unreliable. I would like to see an option that either does not have them or makes it easier to de-solder them from the board as the solder points are under the metal casing on the back of the screen.

Final thoughts / TLDR:
The V5 IPS display is an amazing and very beginner friendly mod for the GBA. If you are new to moding the system this where you want to start. Just be wary of the shell selection which will hopefully improve as time goes on. (RetroSix shells are the best fit I have found currently 6/21/2024)