Miscellaneous laptop discussions forum: Which LCD?

I recently bought a new laptop and had the choice between a conventional plasma screen and the new type of high-resolution screen. I chose the older technology, because the really nice resolution was totally offset by the anoying glare. I could see myself in the screen and the reflections from the ceiling lights were terrible.

A little less resolution? I don't mind, as my conventional non-glare plasma screen gives me, what I want.

An LCD is only native at one resolution. You can switch to other resolutions but the results will not be optimal and in some cases horrible.

Therefore, unlike a CRT which can adjust well anywhere within its range you have to choose for your needs.

A UXGA display (most extreme and smallest pixels) is good for people that demand the most data on the LCD and also have very sharp eyesight. This would allow you to see more lines of code, more Excel data, etc at once. However, on a notebook LCD size of 15.4" keep in mind that can make internet words unacceptable small to read. That would not be the case with a 19" or better yet a 22" desktop LCD.

Therefore, the XGA resolution is best for most people as it is optimized for most web pages and it is still a sharp resolution.

The SXGA is a more reasonable compromize if you do want smaller pixels but don't want to go to the extreme. But again, your web pages will have smaller fonts than intended as most are set up for XGA.

If you get a software program called powerstrip it does allow you to switch LCD resolutions with better results.

DVD's will look better with the higher resolutions as the more pixels you have the better the movie will look. However, they look pretty good on XGA so again that is a matter of incremental improvement.

For my use mostly surfing the internet I have XGA but I have read power users (Excel or programming) that value the benefit of more screen real estate with the higher resolutions........

A 15.4" XGA resolution is 1200x800 which is the widescreen equivalent of 1024x768 on a square 15" LCD.

Note that you can specify large or small fonts in the windows software just as on any monitor.

The 15.4" or 15" LCD's are a nice size but they are smaller than the 17" Monitor size (likely square) you are referring to. Also, note that if it is a normal webpage it will display the largest square image on the widescreen display (programs like Excel or Word or some webpages will stretch but many standard ones will not).

This means you are displaying a 14" square image or so on a 15.4" widescreen. The tradeoff of course if that Excel spreadsheets and widescreen DVD's take big advantage of the widescreen (and you can see more of each line left to write for writing code and you can see more columns in Excel but less rows).

Note also that a 15.4" widescreen is not as tall as a 15" square LCD so it will fit somewhat better on an airplane tray table (but it will be somewhat wider on the tray -- but the big issue is how far the LCD lid sticks up).

So, again for my use I would not want a higher resolution for reading internet text -- but many people on the dedicated user site I had for my notebook liked SXGA -- so consider that. I would not go with the extreme UXGA unless you absolutely are a power user who values ultimate text display against the negative of extremely small text.

Also, you need to decide if you want the high contrast LCD treatments that make the LCD look sparkling indoors in reasonable light (and especially watching DVD's in low light) but are not desirable if you work at an office with harsh overhead flourescent lights, have a direct light window directly behind you or use the notebook outside in direct light.

The LCD screen treatments (normally only $25 -$50 or so to the cost if it is offered as an option on the custom order websites like hpshopping.com are Briteview (HP/Compaq), Xbrite (Sony), Trubrite (Toshiba) and Crystal View (Fujitsu). note that the LCD's are not made by any of these companies but rather by mostly Chinese companies -- LG, Hitachi, Samsung, etc..........

If you're using a CRT, then I'm afraid I can't answer your question. But if your monitor is a 17'' LCD at the resolution you specified, expect things to look slightly smaller with the base WXGA resolution on the Inspiron (1280x800) and significantly smaller at each higher resolution.

I hope this helps.

-Jason

Hi Mo,

It seems that you're going to purchase this laptop pretty soon, so I'll give you a bit more details about its characteristics.

1) There's going to be a lot of extra software that you probably won't need crammed into the laptop. This will cause a slightly longer startup and will waste some RAM from your system.

Recommendation: Buy the laptop a week or so before school starts so that you'll have time to get used to it and uninstall the unnecessary software (most of it is trialware that expires in 30-60 days). Also learn to use the ''msconfig'' utility to minimize start-up time, and ''services.msc'' to ensure that you aren't wasting any RAM.

2) This laptop will add significant amounts of weight to your backpack if you carry it along with your textbooks and other stuff. Unlike what I recall some previous user saying, it is not optimal for taking with you on campus.

Recommendation: Get a laptop bag so that it's a seperate thing to carry. If I were you, I'd try not to carry it from class to class.

3) Since you're not upgrading to the extended battery, you shouldn't expect 5.5 hours of life (what CNET got in their tests). Even with the 9-cell battery, general usage will probably be more power-consuming than the methods CNET use to test laptop batteries.

Recommendation: Limit the use of your laptop. If you absolutely need to use it to take notes in class, don't multitask, and turn off all unnecessary background programs. Charge the battery as often as possible, and when you can, run it on AC power. Also, to extend battery life, fully drain the battery on its first run and then charge it to 100% for your second use.

I hope this helps.

-Jason

Many, many people complain about the display on battery power and how it dims considorably even on simple tasks. This is quite a big issue. I know I will be using the machine at home a lot, but I do want to be able to take it out as well.

And one review mensioned that the battery can only be charged/discharged 500 times max? I've never heard of anything like that before. I assume that is the estimated lifespan of the battery. Not much even if one re-charges the battery every other day = approx. 3.5 years. But I could recharge more often, not sure yet.

This whole resolution concern is honestly making me weary. What do you guys think? Should I worry? I should I go with another machine such as the similarily priced Inspiron 700m; no reported display problems or many problems altogether actually. But it does not have new sonoma technology, nor does it have dedicated graphics or DDR2 SDRAM (it has SHARED DDR2 SDRAM).

The 6000d does obviously sound like the better buy, but that display is enough to turn me away. So the 700m is the same high price as the 6000d just because of the size?!?!

Input at this time is greatly appreciated. (I know we've debated before but for the money i'm putting down I would like a flawless machine [atleast from the hardware point of view]).

- Mo

Do you think that getting the machine w/ new Sonoma tecnology is worth sacrificing LCD quality (brightness) - Dell 6000 appose to Dothan technology 700m?

(Refer to my post before last if not already).

And what performance difference is there between 400MHz and 533MHz system bus?

Thanks

Obviously, if everything else is equal I would rather have a Sonoma notebook now with the faster bus, faster RAM, new chipset, etc.

However, if you really feel this LCD monitor is an issue the LCD is the most expensive part of the notebook and also it is the item you will be looking at all the time.

I am just stating that if you do end up looking at a non-Sonoma notebook for this reason you will not have a huge speed difference if you get a dedicated video card.

The new Sonoma integrated video, however, does have an increased bandwidth so that is definitely and improvement versus Dothan networks with only integrated video.

One of the big advantages of the Dell 6000, however, is it is one of the most inexpensive mainstream Sonoma Pentium M Centrino notebooks with the ATI 128mb dedicated video card available (HPDV4000 15.4" has a nice Briteview display and even has DVD/CD instant on with remote but only has integrated video available).

If you do not think you want to get dedicated video, however, compare the LCD to the HPDV4000 (see hpshopping.com as well)

I would just go ahead and make the decision to purchase the Inspiron 6000. It seems that you are worrying quite a bit about this, and you shouldn't. Dell excels in making PCs, and if not enough people liked the Inspiron 6000, they wouldn't sell it.

Dedicated video, for you, isn't too important. Depending on how much you multitask, 512MB of RAM + shared video may be okay. But if you want to watch movies from time to time, you might want to invest on a dedicated video card.

I have read somewhere that there is a way to manually turn down/up brightness for the screen. I'm not sure of it, though.

-Jason

It is a good ideal while indoors to dim the LCD a bit anyway as you can save quite a bit of battery life that way (1/2 hour or more). At any rate, if the LCD dims that way it is feature of the power saving mechanism not a flaw with the LCD itself. But read the Dell boards as to whether there really are LCD problems themselves.

As I said, the HPDV4000 has the instant on DVD/CD functions (instant boot to use those without booting operating system saving time and power) and the built in remote control in the PC card slot. That, in addition to the Briteview screen treatment are extra goodies if you are willing to live with integrated video.

Again, the LCD's are made by various companies in China mostly (Hitachi, LG, Samsung) not by Dell or HP/Compaq of Toshiba themselves.

Note that HP/Compaq and Dell notebooks are also manufactured and assembled overseas as well (as are most but Fujitsus --not Fujitsu Siemanns -- are still reportedly assembled in Japan).

Dell desktops are assembed in the US and that is why they have gotten such a stellar reputation --the desktop side not the notebook side. In fact, when Dell first sold notebooks the initial ones were so bad they withdrew them and started over again.

But nearly all notebooks at this point are assembed overseas with similar LCD's, hard drives, etc and it is the reliability ratings and service ratings that make the difference between brands.

I would rather have the 128mb dedicated video and the lower processor and you can always add RAM later yourself if the Dell RAM is in 1 slot. 64mb dedicated will play many games but perhaps on reduced settings wheras you are pretty set with 128mb dedicated on a notebook.

However, 64mb dedicated is better than integrated

I can buy anytime really granted that the machine reaches me in and around the first week of September.
In order to recieve by then, I would have to place the purchase very soon.

I know, I would prefer the greater graphics over processor speed as well. As well, i'm sure 512MB DDR SDRAM would have been sufficient, but this is the way Dell works. It's a gamble when one waits for one sale after another. I missed out last week, hopefully by the 19th a better deal will be available.

Check it out: http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/notebooks?c=ca&cs=CADHS1&l=en&s=dhs#

I have the same problem with my inspiron 6000 (D).

the drightness bar works but there is no change in the brightness...

any comments?

You can adjust the brightness. Period.