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Known Screen Issues

post #1 of 97
1/20/04 at 11:17pm
Thread Starter 
This will address the future and current owners of the 8500, 8600, 9100, XPS D800, M60 series of Dells Laptop lines

LCD:

WXGA - No known issues what so ever probabaly the safest bet regardless the manufacturer this is also the most popular setting for non computer friendly people due to the pleasingly small resolution.
WSXGA - Currently there is a small dispute that different manufacturers offer a huge delta in screen desirability. I agree the Samsung screens offer Higher response rates but the Other Manufactuer Hitachi in my opinion meets dell's standards from seeing one compared to the samsung screen. I will admit that the WXGA and WUXGA counter parts offer brighter displays but these WSXGA screens are still by far better than the ones shipping in most HP/COMPAQ/ALIENWARE 15.4inch based widescreen displays.
WUXGA - Since its unfortunet launch back with the 8500 with mostly defective Samsung screens these screens have assured quality. Rumors of the SHARP based screens being superior to the SAMSUNG based ones are half and half true. Screens based on the Older Samsungs used in the 8500s are dimmer and have slightly noticible ghosting compared to the Sharp ones. These models have been phased out with the new and improved Samsung (I currently use this and recently replaced a defective sharp) I can tell you theres no difference at all. These screens are a safe purchase even if there were a dead pixel due to the sheer size of the pixels in comparison to the entire screen they are quite unnoticible but the WSXGA counter part is oddly brighter by a notch. Toshiba, Epson Seiko are now also suppliers for the WUXGA model which I would assume to ease the stress Sharp and Samsung have gone through both new ones offer nearly great quality as the Sharp and Samsung screens.
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post #2 of 97
1/20/04 at 11:27pm
Thread Starter 
Video

Radeon 9000 - So far the only quirk ive heard was no native stretch support for higher resolution screens besides that this card suffices for most average users but may not satisfy the advanced gamers.
Geforce 5200 - No known issues what so ever probabaly a safe bet
Geforce 4200 - Offers high performance with little temperature problem compared to newer cards a reccomended card. Best known for DX8.1 performance compared to newer generation cards (Warcraft3, Rise of Nations, Unreal Tourney 2K3)
Geforce 5650 - Large groups have complained about future performance regarding DX9 based games but from those who ive talked to (9 in total) not a single one can complain about performance especially with recent titles. Despite this weve all seen the benchmarks and find it hard to believe this for your sake of mind i can reccomend this card its only downside would be the higher temperatures it produces compared to the cards listed above. Its sweet spot lies in OpenGL based Games (Quake3, Neverwinternights, Jediknight3, Doom3)
Radeon 9600 - Known for its Too little too late reputation for dell. The largest problems concern the "Horizontal Rain" problem which ive gone thru i can tell you this problem may not be widespread but offers concern amongst those who get there system with this card The solution is to have the card replaced. This card generates the highest temperature compared to other cards listed. This card also drains the Most power when on max performance is used (Max battery 1.5 hours gaming) Its major benefit would be best performing card for DX9 Based games (Half-Life2, Tomb Raider)
Radeon 9700 - When launched there was this minor issue with these cards locking up entire systems they were equiped on. Since then they have been fixed and all is well in Dell Mobile land. This card offers the Highest level of performance compared to other cards but in comparrison its only marginally faster compared to the Radeon 9600 Dell offers.

I hope i addressed all problems regarding future and current owners and if ive missed something feel free to add
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post #3 of 97
1/21/04 at 12:02am
DELL-Machina, as optimistic as your observations are, I think they're still a bit misleading. If you go over to the Dell Inspiron Video forums, you will see that many users have compared the Samsung and Hitachi LCD's side by side and concluded that the Samsung is MUCH better. I had a Hitachi myself and had to return it for that and numerous other issues; that thing does not have a 35ms response time. BTW, in comparison to my roommate's Compaq x1000, I would say that the x1000's screen is quite a bit better than the Hitachi screen.

You should also mention that WSXGA+ and a Radeon 9600 have a known issue w/ DVD playback, something w/ horizontal lines across the screen. The 9600 in the i8600 also kicks up the fans to *extremely high*, and is clocked lower than comparable P-M + 9600 notebooks.

BTW, if you were intending to add more posts to this, I would mention at least the unusability of trackstick buttons on the i8600 and the build quality issues. I personally will never buy Dell again, but some people (like me earlier) should try fully knowing the risks involved.
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post #4 of 97
1/21/04 at 3:16am
Thread Starter 
im aware of the response time issue but i agree with th emods on the forum at dell when they say it definetly meets the specs on dells site. they have been pretty forth comign with lcd problems even the "water" effect on the older samsung WUXGA screens that shipped with the 8500's. I did mention highest temperatures generated by the M10. I cant complain about the clock speeds of the pro since it meets the ATI specification sheets of the moniker " PRO TURBO " meaning at least a 333Mhz Core and 240 MHZ DDR memory. and that last comment was already mentioned in another post regarding someone whoasked about build quality
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post #5 of 97
1/21/04 at 7:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DELL-Machina
im aware of the response time issue but i agree with th emods on the forum at dell when they say it definetly meets the specs on dells site. they have been pretty forth comign with lcd problems even the "water" effect on the older samsung WUXGA screens that shipped with the 8500's. I did mention highest temperatures generated by the M10. I cant complain about the clock speeds of the pro since it meets the ATI specification sheets of the moniker " PRO TURBO " meaning at least a 333Mhz Core and 240 MHZ DDR memory. and that last comment was already mentioned in another post regarding someone whoasked about build quality
k. Don't mind me - I'm just a little p.o.'ed over my i8600.
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post #6 of 97
1/21/04 at 9:19am
Nice post DELL-Machina.
Well thought out and informative. It is posts like this that make these forums so good. Keep up the good work dude.

One of the things that turned me off buying a Dell was that I could not see a system in person. Stupid thing then was, I ordered an 8890, sight unseen, based only on what I had read on these forums. Go figure.

As to LCD's, I can attest to the new Samsung and Sharp LCD's. I have one of each and wow they make others including Hitachi's, NEC and Philips look downright washed out and slow. I realise that the specific LCD's I have would not be in the current Dell's but it might give people a guide as to what the manufacturers are currently capable of.
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post #7 of 97
1/21/04 at 9:21am
Datheron, what is bugging you about your 8600? From all reports I had read they are a good machine (if you like P4M that is ).
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post #8 of 97
1/21/04 at 3:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by aussie
Datheron, what is bugging you about your 8600? From all reports I had read they are a good machine (if you like P4M that is ).
Well, for one, they're P-M machines. P-M != P4-M.

The problem w/ my machine was the LCD, heat, size, and quality issues.

The screen that I got was, unfortunately, the dreaded Hitachi, and I was about at the end of my 30 day return so I had to take action (apparently, the people on the Dell forums were able to replace their LCD's and get another 30 days a few days after I returned it).

The heat, while pale in comparison to Sagers, is still quite high IMO for a P-M laptop. The fans would sometimes come on all of a sudden, and run at *high* (drowning out its own speakers, even) b/c of excess heat, and this is after installing i8kfungui. While my roommate's Compaq x1000 runs virtually silent and perpetually cool, mine leaves a lot to be desired.

The size issue is very simple - other laptops are able to get their P-M models thinner and lighter. Dell's inability to do so, IMO, is an engineering inferiority.

And the straw that broke the camel's back is the fact that my notebook, after 2 weeks of use, would crash about once every 30 minutes the notebook was on. It would freeze when I was playing a game, freeze when I was browsing the net, and give me BSoD's when I boot the notebook. After a few days, I just didn't want to deal w/ it, and promptly returned the thing.
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post #9 of 97
1/21/04 at 4:10pm
I just ordered the I8600 with the WUXGA screen so how do I know what screen I am getting? Is Dell putting the same screen on every I8600 or is it completely randomized depending on what they have in stock at the time?
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post #10 of 97
1/21/04 at 4:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by natedog81
I just ordered the I8600 with the WUXGA screen so how do I know what screen I am getting? Is Dell putting the same screen on every I8600 or is it completely randomized depending on what they have in stock at the time?
Have no fear, Nate. All of the 8600's WUXGA screens are the high quality Samsung. The Hitachi controversy applies only to the WSXGA+ screens.
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post #11 of 97
1/21/04 at 5:29pm
I had and returned an 8600 which had the Sharp WUXGA screen. Two issues with it that were unacceptable were the screen had an obvious and noticable darker right side than the middle or the left side. The Dell forums have had quite a few people notice this and it seems to be only on the Sharp screens. The screen clarity was great and pin sharp. But turn the brightness down a notch and/or use battery power and the defect was noticable and distracting.
Secondly the trackstick buttons were unusable. This is a known issue all over the forums, you won't have to do much research. I would advise anyone buying an 8600 and planning on using (trackstick buttons) to give them a good testing as you may find them really unsuitable.
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post #12 of 97
1/21/04 at 6:20pm
That P4-M, P-M, ABC, DEF thing I can never remember. Intel really made a mess of that naming convention imho.

Those x1000's were my top choice until I found the Sagers, although after reading www.x1000forums.com I was holding out until they solved that dreaded keyboard problem, but whilst waiting for that to fix the screen blip problem raised its ugly head. I still don't believe they fixed that yet. However from what I read they do run cool .

How did you find the build quailty on the x1000?
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post #13 of 97
1/21/04 at 6:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PDCjonny
I had and returned an 8600 which had the Sharp WUXGA screen. Two issues with it that were unacceptable were the screen had an obvious and noticable darker right side than the middle or the left side. The Dell forums have had quite a few people notice this and it seems to be only on the Sharp screens. The screen clarity was great and pin sharp. But turn the brightness down a notch and/or use battery power and the defect was noticable and distracting.
Secondly the trackstick buttons were unusable. This is a known issue all over the forums, you won't have to do much research. I would advise anyone buying an 8600 and planning on using (trackstick buttons) to give them a good testing as you may find them really unsuitable.
Hmmm... I wasn't aware that Dell used anything but Samsung for the WUXGA screen. I'll hafta do a close inspection of mine when it arrives in a couple of days. If I see that darkness on my screen, it's gonna be RMA time!!
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post #14 of 97
1/21/04 at 7:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by aussie
That P4-M, P-M, ABC, DEF thing I can never remember. Intel really made a mess of that naming convention imho.

Those x1000's were my top choice until I found the Sagers, although after reading www.x1000forums.com I was holding out until they solved that dreaded keyboard problem, but whilst waiting for that to fix the screen blip problem raised its ugly head. I still don't believe they fixed that yet. However from what I read they do run cool .

How did you find the build quailty on the x1000?
For the most part, I think it's pretty good. My roommate hasn't really had any problems w/ it - he seems really satisfied w/ the system a month or so into his purchase.

The only big issue right now w/ the x1000 is the 9200/9000 Radeon. Some people will complain to no end...
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post #15 of 97
1/21/04 at 7:38pm
Which is a really GREAT thing about Dell, that 30 day no questions asked return policy. It gives you plenty of time to wring out the machine. I replaced my 8600 with a Thinkpad R50P but I didn't buy it from IBM, I bought it from an Internet dealer. I had to request a return authorization as the Thinkpad keyboard was not fitted properly and noticably concave in the middle which was really weird. IBM tech support said the keyboard could be replaced at a service center, but for what I paid I wanted new. The Internet dealer busted my chops mercillessly about a return, trying to make me deal direct with IBM, and IBM wanted no part of me as I did not buy it direct from them. Only when I threatened a credit card chargeback did they see the light. I got a replacement but it took days. For what that R50P costed, I was not accepting anything less than perfect.
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post #16 of 97
1/21/04 at 9:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PDCjonny
Which is a really GREAT thing about Dell, that 30 day no questions asked return policy. It gives you plenty of time to wring out the machine. I replaced my 8600 with a Thinkpad R50P but I didn't buy it from IBM, I bought it from an Internet dealer. I had to request a return authorization as the Thinkpad keyboard was not fitted properly and noticably concave in the middle which was really weird. IBM tech support said the keyboard could be replaced at a service center, but for what I paid I wanted new. The Internet dealer busted my chops mercillessly about a return, trying to make me deal direct with IBM, and IBM wanted no part of me as I did not buy it direct from them. Only when I threatened a credit card chargeback did they see the light. I got a replacement but it took days. For what that R50P costed, I was not accepting anything less than perfect.
Well, most decent vendors allow for a 30-day return policy. HP/Compaq, IBM (direct, of course), ABS, Sager/PCTorque, Dell - they all give you 30 days to "try out" your machine. Most of the time it's enough to figure out whether your laptop is defective.

What irks me about Dell's service, though, is the customer service phone lines. Dell's a huge company, and more often than not they make you wait 1/2 hour+. For the returns dept., since they don't give you an actual phone no., it means waiting at least another 15 min. after they transfer you. Then, if you ordered via Home + Home Office (which often has the best deals anyway), you have to deal w/ CSR's that you barely understand and having them haggle you w/ not returning your machine for $100 or however much. Bah, just not for me.
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post #17 of 97
1/25/04 at 6:38pm
Have to say I am quite pleased with my 8600, have owned it since Mid November and have had no problems at all....Zero dead pixels, Zero crashes, Zero errors,all games I have played have performed excellent, have yet to burn a coaster with a DVD or CD, response time is blazzing fast, no heat problems to speak of...now of course I was lucky enough to have received the Samsung screen ...My problem is with Dell customer support which I will not get into now but, as far as the 8600 is concerned no complaints at all...
SPECS 8600 1.7
128Nvidia 5650 FX GO
768MB 333DDR
15.4 WSXGA+{ Samsung}
60 GIG HD ,4X DVD+RW
2100 Wireless
3DMark 2001 9850
3DMark 2003 2750
Aquamark3 18450
Games played: Halo, Call of Duty, Max Payne2,LOTR Return of the King,BlackHawk Down, Allied Assault, Medieval Total War, Star Trek Ellite Force 2.
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post #18 of 97
1/25/04 at 6:57pm
Thread Starter 
glad to hear
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post #19 of 97
1/31/04 at 12:38am
HI. I have one question...

I have the i8600 with the sxga+ screen and its a hitachi aaaaaaaaargh...

So how can I actually get a Samsung screen? Is it possible that I send it backl within the 30 days and they exchange the screen?

Or do I need to make a new order... and if so how can I make sure to get a samsung?

No i dont want the uxga.

Thnx for help
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post #20 of 97
1/31/04 at 12:46am
Thread Starter 
Call customer care explain that you noticed exceptional dimmer screen compared to your "friends 8600" and you both switched lcd panels for a little while and noticed the problem exists on the lcd and that it should be replaced. the process of self install is quick and painless i promise
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