thanks wallyx5 but after 2 hours of searching I found the posts on another forum. from a user name whizzkid11
"
Hi Guys,
I am that seller selling the X5 headunit - and heres a response i put to this on X5world.
"
Well, there is a difference - although people on
eBAy are selling these as the same for E39 and X5 - they are different - for the contrast angle of the monitor itself varies - in the X5 the same unit sits higher up with a different viewing angle. You can get different front monitor panels to replace for them also.
Just as indication the parts number for each of them are:
X5 : 65 52 6 934 413
E39 : 65 52 6 913 387
Hope this helps.
Rgds
Was!"
and he also linked it here but looks like mods took it down
http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-items...tml#post110465
then in then in the same hour I found this on the m5 boards
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39...tml#post720004
they show how to take bordmonitor apart and adjust the angle and brightness to make it work in the m5. So if ya got patience and skill you can use either monitor.
Now if only i could use the smaller one that had the cd player in it.. grrrrrrr.