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Are you guys really happy with your Alienware LCD picture quality?

post #1 of 20
12/6/03 at 4:20pm
Thread Starter 
Well everyone I just received my Alienware 51m yesterday from FedEx. I must say as far as the laptop goes, keyboard and build quality wise I am satisfied. I am concerned with the quality of the 16.1 LCD and really am contemplating returning it. Initially I had the washed out problem that many others are experiencing. I updated the drivers and still no change. Wacthing movies are very disappointing because the screen is just not appealing for a $3000 machine. The movies look very grainy. Compared to the Dell's ultra-brights, the Toshibas and the Sony Xbrite screens this laptop is terrible. The reason this is so important to me is because this is what the user interfacts with the most.

Are you guys really satisfied with your Alienware LCD.s or have you accepted this apparent flaw in an otherwise good laptop? Do you think Alienware will be offering a specialized LCD in the future?


Thanks in advance for any replies.

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post #2 of 20
12/6/03 at 5:17pm
Have you downloaded Powerstrip and used its color correction?

I had the same issues as you until I tweaked Alien Adrenaline (which is just Powerstrip with a fancy name)

Here is the link to Powerstrip. It is a free utility that will bring out your screen like you won't believe.

http://download.com.com/redir?pid=10...s%2Fpstrip.exe

Hope that helps!

-Craig
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post #3 of 20
12/6/03 at 6:19pm
Or...

just use drivers from another group, such as omega or exodus which fixes all the issues in one fell swoop.

I have to say that I'm damn impressed with this LCD myself, but I never saw anything graphically intensive with the std. ATI drivers.
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post #4 of 20
12/6/03 at 6:21pm
NVIDIA users have been happy with the LCD quality from the get go eheh
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post #5 of 20
12/6/03 at 6:23pm
also this may be just a ATi related issue. I didn't hear problems with LCD washout untill the ATi cards came out. If I compare this to a CRT, sure the CRT color are different, but it looks the same as my old Dell LCD on my I8200. Any LCD is going to be brighter than compared to a CRT.
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post #6 of 20
12/6/03 at 6:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yoda117
Or...

just use drivers from another group, such as omega or exodus which fixes all the issues in one fell swoop.

I have to say that I'm damn impressed with this LCD myself, but I never saw anything graphically intensive with the std. ATI drivers.
Do you have a link to the Omega drivers? I've been curious to try them.

Thx in advance!

-Craig
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post #7 of 20
12/6/03 at 7:03pm
I havent had any problems I did the driver change and tweaking and everything looks great the rest of the lappy is perfect not one problem plus got a free battery
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post #8 of 20
12/6/03 at 10:04pm

Omega Driver

Here you can get the Omega Driver:
http://www.omegacorner.com
I have my Area51m to it is the best Notebook i ever saw!!!! Its really great!!!


When the Promblem with the Washed out Display is still there after the Installation
you mustdo the Following:

You must go to the Color Tab in the Driver Settings and Change the Sliders to
this Settings:
Gamma: 0.70
Bright: -20
Contrast (I think so): 115

for the Desktop and for 3d-Fullscreen!!!! (You can change it in top of the Tab!!)

Bastian from Germany
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post #9 of 20
12/7/03 at 4:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Element
NVIDIA users have been happy with the LCD quality from the get go eheh
Yeah, but not the performance

I see that the link for the Omega drivers is already up... the latest batch takes care of the issue. Personally I never had any issues in the first place, but I checked with someone who had one an issue with it and the drivers definately fixed his issues.
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post #10 of 20
12/7/03 at 5:32am
I'm happy with my LCD after about three weeks of fussing with it. It does look great with one exception--I have a bad pixel.

I was going to overlook this issue, but I've had to many other issues to let this big one slide by.

I'm sending my Lappie back to get "fixed" by Alienware.

I just dread sending it during the Holidays because I know it'll take 2 months to get back. I hope not...LOL

-Remington
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post #11 of 20
12/8/03 at 2:30am
Thread Starter 
Well guys I took your advice and attempted to use the Omega drivers. Everytime I try to install them I get an "INF Error" and have to used the official ATI drivers instead, even after a complete re-install of Windows XP. Powerstrip does make the LCD look better and I strongly recommend using it. If anyone has the time could you watch a movie with dark scenes in it and tell me if the picture looks grainy in some areas because mine does and that is my main gripe.

I am actually thinking about exchanging the ATI for an Nvidia but I know I will lose performance. I'm curious to know how the new 5700Go will perform. I am also contemplating getting a refund and getting the Inspiron 8600, but don't want to lose the upgradeability of the Alienware.
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post #12 of 20
12/8/03 at 3:48am
Cgpd,

I personally haven't had the washout problem so far, but I'm curious did your laptop come with Alien Adrenaline?
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post #13 of 20
12/8/03 at 6:21am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by BKJOLLY
Cgpd,

I personally haven't had the washout problem so far, but I'm curious did your laptop come with Alien Adrenaline?

No I didn't purchase Alien Adrenaline, I used a link provided by Craig for Powerstrip which is the same program without warranty protection. It improved the desktop's appearance but, movies look grainy still. I don't think many users have watched a movie with this laptop hand haven't had a chance to see what I'm complaining about.

ANYONE, watch a movie on the 16.1 and pay special attention to dark scenes and I'm sure you will see the grainy look that I am referring to. Also if you have the opportunity watch a movie on a Dell UltraSharp or Sony Xbrite and you will see a BIG difference.
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post #14 of 20
12/8/03 at 8:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cgpd7507
Well guys I took your advice and attempted to use the Omega drivers. Everytime I try to install them I get an "INF Error" and have to used the official ATI drivers instead, even after a complete re-install of Windows XP. Powerstrip does make the LCD look better and I strongly recommend using it. If anyone has the time could you watch a movie with dark scenes in it and tell me if the picture looks grainy in some areas because mine does and that is my main gripe.

I am actually thinking about exchanging the ATI for an Nvidia but I know I will lose performance. I'm curious to know how the new 5700Go will perform. I am also contemplating getting a refund and getting the Inspiron 8600, but don't want to lose the upgradeability of the Alienware.

There is a known bug issue with the 3.9 omega's that won't install w/9600mobile. You need to download "rad_w2kxp_omega_2487.exe" from this place this is a link.

Just remember to uninstall ati control panel before installing the omega's. These drivers rock!! feel free to ask any ? about this

Ever
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post #15 of 20
12/8/03 at 9:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ever-crack-head
There is a known bug issue with the 3.9 omega's that won't install w/9600mobile. You need to download "rad_w2kxp_omega_2487.exe" from this place this is a link.

Just remember to uninstall ati control panel before installing the omega's. These drivers rock!! feel free to ask any ? about this

Ever
I suspect I already know the answer, but I'll ask anyway... do these drivers and LCD washout fixes improve the screen's brightness and response time (ms)?
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post #16 of 20
12/21/03 at 6:06am
I feel for you all cause we were all ripped off....Lot of money spent for kmart quality...
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post #17 of 20
12/21/03 at 2:18pm
I quite happy with mine - brilliant picture
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post #18 of 20
12/21/03 at 5:53pm
Thread Starter 
Pictures are not bad it's DVD playback and gaming that's terrible. Who wants an expensive picture frame.
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post #19 of 20
12/21/03 at 6:03pm
Guess I am very glad that I canceled my order, 3,000 dollars for a lap top and it has all these issues.
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post #20 of 20
12/21/03 at 6:04pm

Mine is Fine!

I love my laptop would not trade it for anything picture quality looks fine to me However i ahve not seen many highend laptops to compare it to. It is far better than any i have seen from dell or hp or anyting like that!
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