I9200 wuxga ???? - Page 5

am not too crazy about WXGA...

Again it's all about opinion and what you feel is comfortable viewing.
Someone else posted on Dell Community forums stating they didn't have a problem with the WUXGA screen on the 9200. It bothers some people, it doesn't bother others. Same with the 2001FP LCD monitor from Dell. Many people reported being extremely happy while others couldn't stand the graininess and returned it:

My suggestion is to find a Dell Outlet if you can near your home, go there and see if they have any Inspiron 9200s on display with WUXGA.

It's a shame, because everyone seems pleased with the rest of the laptop.

D

You have a link to who said they didn't have a problem with it? The posts I saw were people getting their 15.4" WUXGA screens confused with the 17" WUXGA.

Thanks Flashram, that is useful info. Mind if I ask why your bro' gave up his M60 - I was thinking of getting one of those.

A couple questions:

1. How does this 9200 problem differ from the "screendoor" problem I have heard about?

2. Is the 9200 problem a function of brightness? Is it a particularly bright WUXGA screen? Although at 185 nits, it's not really all that bright.

Yes, it's from the inspiron/general hardware section and the link is:
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportfor...sage.id=172408

ps. don't forget that in the quote, the dude or girl says the white trims on the i9200 make it ugly So it's indeed the 17'


I just wanted to point out that a lot of people have expressed concern over a screen that has 185 nits of brightness over the 200nits of brightness. I'm not trying to push the WUXGA or anything, but as for people's concerns for brightness, they have failed to put it into context. 200nits is the brightest display in the Inspiron line, while all other displays are 185 nits. So by going 185, you're not settling for less, you're settling for what all the other Inspiron wide-displays are offering, with the non wide offering 180 or 150nits.

In addition, aside from the 15 inch UXGA which offers 400:1, both the 17' WXGA and WUXGA offer 300:1 contrast ratio, in line with all the other ultrasharp displays.

Hope this helps to put things in perspective!

D

If he's ok with it, more power to him. It's definitely not normal though. Like you said, it's personal preference whether or not you want to deal with it. I just requested an RMA for mine.

In another thread on Dell's forum, the guy who likes his 9200 WUXGA says he's returning his too. He thinks it's too ugly to keep!

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportfor...sage.id=172212

Weird. I always though the 9200 and the 700m were the nicest looking of the Inspiron line. He sure has some weird reasons to send it back, and dunno why he bought it in the first place. His complaints are all things you can see in pictures beforehand.

D

I agree with Demo514, the 9200 & 700M are the nicest looking, maybe he or she is just using these claim as excuses to send it back as he either wants a different laptop or generally want his money back.

They should release a wsxga option, since the wuxga has so many problems.

Here's a question. Is dell using different screens in different 9200's? Is there more than one vendor supplying them? Has anybody gotten a 9200 WXUGA that ISN"T foggy?

Yes, my screen is the 1900x1200 15.4". I believe it is the same problem. It is very grainy almost like gray dots scattered throughout the screen. I have changed the DPI to Normal 96 to try and fix it, but I believe it is the screen and not the video card (at least in my case). Is this the same as others are reporting?

I've seen older M60's and never noticed this issue. I even called my wife in to take a look at it. Her response was 'return that one'.

I received my 9200 WUXGA yesterday.

Other than the screen, everything else about it is great: nice and clean design, solidly built, pretty quiet, relatively light: some how it doesn't feel heavier than the 4100 even though it should about 1 lbs more.

But what about the screen, you ask. I have mixed feeling about it. On one hand the resolution is perfect for me. I use normal font and have no problem reading text. I use it mostly for programming, so this is the most important criteria.

On the other hand, the screen has a strange coating on it, almost reminds me of the surface of a matte photo. My thought was that this surface would help reduce reflection. Sure I can live with that if that means better comfort for work even at the expense of a bit of wow factor. Still I have spent quite a bit of time last night inspecting it closely. I have compare it extensively against my Apple 20" Cinema, and against a Sony 17" WUXGA laptop in a store. Here are the findings:

1) Great resolution - it is going to be difficult to go give up 1920x1200. I was a bit concern about legibility at 96dpi but it turned out to be fine.
2) Brightness and Contrast - The display could be a little brighter with a little more contrast. It's not bad, but it could have been better. As it is, I have brightness set one notch from the highest setting. As for contrast, the black is not as black as Sony's and neither is the white. But overall it's pretty good.
3) Uneven brightness and contrast - this may be an unfair comparison because I am used to the Apple 20" Cinema which is probably the best display on the market with very wide view angle and fantastic uniform display quality throughout the whole screen. I imagine there may be a bit of tradeoff (weight, power...) when it come to designing a laptop display. Also the large area of a 17" demands a wider view angle than a say 14" laptop. Nevertheless, the variance in brightness and contrast betwen the middle and the side of the screen bothered me.
4) Compared to Sony 17" - I had the 9200 side by side with the Sony. I think I prefer the Sony screen by a small margin.

Am I going to return it? I really like the computer, especially the keyboard. I am contemplating exchanging it for one with a WXGA+ screen to see if it is better, but at the momment unble to convince myself that I will be happy with 1440x900. Even my 14" 4100 has 1400x1050. I think I am going play with it for a week before deciding. I may consider the 8600 with WSXGA+ but the 9200 is such a nice design that doing so would be a step down for me.

An easy way to tell if it's the screen or the vid card is to hook up an external monitor...if you see the same effect on the monitor...you know it's the vid card.

But chances are...since we haven't heard any reports of the WXGA+'s have this problem...that this problem is the screen.

edit: while I'm concerned about the issue...I'm still planning on ordering the WUXGA. Some people say they don't mind it...so I'm willing to give it a try.

Excellent initial report unclejung, very informative. Thanks.

D

This whole situation sucks. I love the machine except for the damn sparkly screen. I just visited Circuit CIty and looked at the Sony A-290 with 17" WUXGA XBrite screen and thought it was plasticky and not very appealing. The XBrite screen had way too mcuh glare (will be used under flourescent lighting). Overall I wasn't impressed by the Sony though the screen was very sharp and bright but had too much glare. I love that the Dell has a matte finish and WUXGA option.

The 9200, though made of plastic, is built SOLID and has a high quality feel. It is lightweight, powerful, and otherwise perfect. I don't mind the screen that much but for what I paid I don't want to settle. I do not have a clue what to do. I may wait for Dell to update the 15.4" line or go with another 15.4" manufacturer....or may just keep the damn thing lol.

Here's a way to describe the sparkle effect on the screen btw: it is like looking closely at the metallic paint (silver) located around the keyboard and touchpad.

That's the anti-glare coating on the LCD for sure. Even my WSXGA+ 9100 has sort of a grainy look to it, but the diffraction effect gets worse as the pixels get smaller.

Try some experiments with solid color backgrounds. I ran Paint, enlarged the canvas to full screen, and then did flood fills with red, green, and blue. A pure green background created the strongest diffraction effect for me -- almost like a hologram floating above the display. And I'm telling you, the effect was much stronger on the 9100 WUXGA. I don't know how people can stand it. I wonder if earlier LCDs or different manufactures had a different coating.

So it's possible the WXGA has the same anti-glare coating, but because the pixels are bigger, it's hardly noticeable. I imagine if you feel comfortable with your 9100 WSXGA versus the WUXGA, there is a noticeable difference. Using the same logic, going from WUXGA to WXGA will probably produce a bigger effect.

That sucks for us Dell WUXGA users.

D

ok im reportignin again... ive been using this thign around 8 hours traight today and the laptop is great.. i dont notice the grainyness and especillly notice it even less the farther i go.. as long as my head is past the media keys (ie: not hovering over the laptop) i dant really notice it.. its kinda mesmorizing but dosent bother me one bit it actully looks pretty cool, but i did not think this when i first got it after usage its kinda a given that its there and i dotn notice it.