Regret getting the TM 8204?

Hello everyone i am currently looking for a new laptop. I have been loolking at this specific model for a while now, but from what people are telling me... the 8204 does not sound like a good idea. I posted in the "what notebook should i buy?" and another member told me that there are too many problems with this specific model, and for the price.. it is not worth it.

I would like to hear from you 8204 guys who have had more experience with this machine. How do you like it, how is the build quality, is it worth the price, do all 8204's come with the bad screen or some other kind of problem, do you regret getting it?

 

I can give an unqualified no (in response to do I regret getting it).

For the price (around 2100 now) it seems a very good laptop, that said, some people have had issues, the biggest problem has to be determining how many people have had those issues.

Mine works great, the screen hasn't ever been an issue.

Having said that, the major complaint that isn't ever going to be "fixed" is that the heat vent is on the right side of the laptop, if you usee a mouse in the right hand, and are in a hot environment (and use the laptop at 50% power or more most of the time) you may have issues with this.

Do you have any specific questions? I guess I would say check out all your alternatives, decide what you really want, I know the Dell 1705 seems to also be popular as an alternative, not good for me since it is a 17" screen (not what I wanted).

 

i am in love with the 8204's design, it looks really nice. I also need a 15.4, for photoshop, illustrator, and 3d rendering work, 17" will be a bit too big to carry around daily.

I owned a 5672, but wanted a more powerful graphic card.. so the heat vent will not be a problem... since i am on a lapcool 95% of the time. Thanks for the input anyways.. i really appriciate it.. anyone else?

 

Ok. So I bought this laptop for similar purposes. I've switched from 15" SXGA+ screen and actually now I think that 17"WSXGA+ or even WUXGA would be better solution. Vertical dimension of "wide" 17" is closer to "regular" 15", so you can say that 17" 16:9 is actually extended (horizontaly) 15" 4:3... It is important when you're working with any vertical or portrait oriented projects or photos. The difference in size is not as significant as I previously thought.
Another problem with 8204 and photography is "background noise issue" - I couldn't figure out what causes it - but at least some TM8204s have this problem. It could be ignored in regular use but it's crucial for photo editing - how could you eg. set the level of noise reduction if you cannot be sure if the noise is on a picture or on the display? Some people say they can see the noise, some say they can't, but I'm not sure if they have the problem but can't see it or don't have it actually. One thing is for sure: if you have anything to do with photography and you'll get a notebook with this issue - you'll know it.

 

I have been hearing about the bad screen quality which comes with the 8200. I have seen pictures of light leakage, and have heard about the noisy background stories. Does this apply to all of the 8200's that they ship out... or only on some of the unfortunate ones? I really like this model, but the lcd is holding me back, i edit photos, and do renderings all the time... so background noise will kill me.

 

I don't know...
I've started the thread about it, but it didn't answer any question actually... Some people just couldn't answer if they have this issue or not. You know, some people are not to sensitive to this type of problem, proper color reproduction etc.
TM8204 is usually shipped with Samsung's LTN screen, some was reported to have QD screens. LTN screens have grey lines and could have dark lower corners - as some say they are a little dimmer than QD also... Both screen models are reported to have light leakage, but it looks like there is a chance to get one without light leakage at all... I've read that QD screens could have "splotches" but I cannot imagine how does it look like. Background noise problem is independent issue - it was reported with LTN and QD as well.
My TM8204 has LTN screen. I have grey lines, dark lower corners (it doesn't bother me that much), light leakage (extremaly annoying to me) and of course background noise problem. My screen could be brighter, but it's not so bad - poor vertical viewing angles bother me more - I think that it could be related to light leakage somehow... But once again, I suggest you to check the newest batches yourself, 'cause based on what people say, newer screens are much better...

 

i don't know which screen i have, but i can tell you that i do have the background noise problem. however, it really does not bother me at all. but if you're a photographer and need photoshop etc, its probably not a great idea.

as with any laptop, it all depends on your needs. for me, the 8204 is totally awesome despite the background noise because it doesnt really affect anything i do. for you, not so much.

good luck.

 

Well, if u could wait, then wait for the Ferrari 5000. Normally the Ferrari series are well built.

 

Hi, I have a TM8204. It's excellent except for the screen - funny story there. I heave some light leakage but dont care too much.

However, I do care about:
- Screen dim
- White horizontal lines

I have a Powerbook G4 with a high res screen, and it had exactly the same white lines that I just found on my TM8402 as well. When viewed casually you can "sense" them in that the image looks washed out or dirty. But because the display is so high-res, you will only see them when you go really close.

I managed to get a replacement screen for the Powerbook. It took me ages to convince both the dealer and Apple of the issue, but eventually I got an image that shows the issue _very_ clearly from somebody with the same problem (the Apple forums were going mad at this).

This is an issue with high resolution LCD displays. The only fix is to replace the panel with one that doesn't have the issue.

Look at the attached image on your TM8402. The image has alternating white and grey horizontal lines. The left side of the image is offset by one pixel from the right side. On a display WITH the issue, the effect is that the left side is brighter than the right side. On a display without the issue (such as my new Powerbook display) the image as the same grey value on both sides.

Explanation: There are fine white lines alternating going across the screen. In the half of the image where these LCD lines overlap white, the grey value is not altered. In the other half the LCD lines overlap the grey and dim the grey into a whiter shade, thereby increasing the overall brightness of the image.

Keep in mind that you must look at the image in 100% zoom mode or you will just get some weird and inconclusive scaling artifacts. But in 100% zoom, it's clear to see.

What convinced my Apple dealer was that
- The image has the same grey value on any normal CRT or on any LCD screen which works
- When I opened it in photoshop and zoomed to 100%, I was able to change the grey values by dragging the window up or down a pixel. Definitely not something that can happen on a true display.
http://homepage.mac.com/nikster/FileSharing14.html

 

The only problem is the display - built quality is excellent, battery life is good when you download the latest drivers (3h and more real life). It's fast as hell, too.

The only problem is the screen which is dim and mine has horizontal white lines, very subtle. I just had the very same problem fixed on my Powerbook G4, and the fix (under warranty) was to replace the entire LCD panel.

It took me some time and effort to convince Apple that this was really a problem - you don't notice it looking at the display casually, except maybe that everything looks a bit dirty.
I can see it clearly on photos and when looking at the screen closely. From a distance, it just looks like there are some Jpeg artifacts on the screen but when you look closer you can see fine white lines. The other tricky part is that these lines show up mostly on intermediary colors, never on solid black, solid green, solid anything, so on photos it's most visible. Definitely disqualifies the display from any kind of design work.

I am going to try and get Acer to replace the screen, using the same tactic I used with Apple. A guy named Keith made a very simple image which shows the problem clearly: The image has alternating white and grey stripes, so it appears solid grey. The right side of the image has these alternating stripes offset by one pixel. On a normal display, the one pixel offset does not change the grey value, so everything looks to be the same grey. On a screen with the white lines issue, such as my Powerbook G4 and my TravelMate8204, one half of the image will look significantly brighter than the other. It's very clear to see. The reason is that on one half of the display, the LCD's white lines are on top of the white lines of the image and so don't change the grey value, whereas on the other side they are on top of the grey lines, making them lighter and so making the whole image brighter.

Image is here: http://homepage.mac.com/nikster/FileSharing14.html

I set that as my desktop background when returing the Powerbook to make it very obvious.

Note that it only works if the image is zoomed at 100%, otherwise you will just see weird compression artifacts.

Another trick you can demo with this image is opening it in Photoshop and dragging the window around. As the LCDs white lines interfere with either the left or the right side of the image while you drag it, the grey values "flicker". Again, this only happens on a broken display. My new Powebook LCD panel has none of these issues.

 

Grey lines are different thing than background noise. Grey lines are well known problem with LTN screens, but background noise looks like something specific to 8204. Wrong "color translation" between GPU and LCD?

 

Hi jaad57, please explain to me how the grey lines are "a well known problem with LTN screens"? This sounds like it will be unlikely that Acer is going to replace it. I guess Apple had to fix it because half of their users are designers and really, really get pissed off with the grey lines- to the point where the machine is unusable for them.

I have noise, but I am not sure how to describe it. The screen seems speckled from a distance, which is visible on some colors like the light grey of this forum.
When I go very close to the screen, and move a window around, I see this effect that the window seems to move underneath a layer of dust. It is very clear to see that the window moves but the speckles stay in place.

All in all, this is not a good screen. I love the high resolution, but I would say it's completely useless for working with photos or for graphics design. I use the Acer mainly for programming, so I don't mind too much there, but for the price I think they could very well provide a high quality screen. But maybe you are right and this is just a problem with all high res screens.

PS: Yes, I keep my screen clean

 

Jaad, do you use any monitor calibration devices such as Pantone's Huey?

 

No regrets so far. It isnt perfect but offers a lot in comparison with current models in the market. I guess hardware reliability satisfaction is excluded on this comment as I just got mine a week ago.

 

None at all for the moment but my 8204 is new (1 wk old or so). Been very happy with.