Alienware 17 Screen Upgrade

Heya folks,

I purchased the 17 with the 1600x900 screen to save on initial cost, and am now considering purchasing a 1920x1200 panel. I feel like the panel I have now is a bit dim and doesn't seem to 'pop' like my desktop monitor does. Anyone have opinions on this? Is it worth upgrading the display? I have gone to Best Buy to look at laptops with 1920x1200 display to try and get a feel for it, but its a small store and they don't have any, so I thought I would turn to this crowd and see if anyone has an opinion they would like to share.

 

The search feature is your friend....my friend

Now that being said, I think you will find that most of the people in this forum will tell you the same thing. The 1600x900 screen isn't really all that good as it is generally considered lower quality then the higher 1920x1080 screens and lower again then the 3D 120hz screens. The colours usually are not as nice and they just don't seem to be as bright. I had to unfortunate experience to use a 1600x900 screen in my R4 before Alienware swapped it out for the 1080 display during an exchange and the difference was night and day. The upgrade procedure is not all that hard to do , especially if you just need the screen and not the video cable or anything else. If you wanted to upgrade to the 3D display ( would depend on your GPU) then you would need a new video cable, the IR emitter and a pair of 3D glasses and the while the emitter and the panel are easy to get ahold of, the video cable can be a pain to find.

The panel should be easily found on Ebay and a few other 3rd party sites.

 

I'm looking into doing the upgrade myself. I just can't find a trust worth seller that's based in the U.K.

 

I will add to mogrules that every person I have seen who has 1080 upgrade from 900 are amazed at just how much better it is

Main thing with a seller is that they are a dealer and state your model as suitable. Getting the part number can be tricky to track down but as said the search function is your friend; it is a popular upgrade

You can still get a quote from dell even if out of warranty, you will be charged around £100 for the engineer visit but that may be worth the loss of stress right now, depends on your budget

They are not cheap usually on parts but sometimes very reasonable. I got a heatsink off them for £24.00! Well worth the peace of mind since it comes with all the correct pads and paste (IMO)

IMO the perfect upgrade would be the AW17 120hz display. The anti-glare coating is getting a bit of a panning on their other displays but he 120 3D display is different. It uses a proprietary technology called : Dell TrueLife™ LCD Screens - What is it?. This is a glossy screen so the loss of clarity that anti-glare surfaces cause is not there. Best of both worlds if it lives up to it's claim! Big BUT though, as mogrules says you will have to track down the ribbon cable. You can skip the emitter and glasses and maybe try 3D later? You still get the high refresh rate and clarity (If the feedback I am seeing is correct ). No idea if it will fit so I'd be relying on the seller and a return policy - even though you have all the SOGA for remote selling behind you :thumbsup:

Good luck in your search

 

Yeah once you go 1080p you can't go back. I have a Macbook Pro (1280X800) and the amount of "stuff" I can get on that screen compared to a 1080 screen is pretty substantial, even though you wouldn't think it was. If you look at multiple documents or like to have two instances of a web browser on the same screen, full HD 1080p is the only choice. Anything lower will just frustrate you. Also, media like Netflix on the Macbook Pro is hard to watch after viewing it on a full HD panel. I say UPGRADE!!!

 

I'll be upgrading if I can find a trust worthy seller that ships in the U.K.

 

That's the upgrade that I always recommend besides the video card. Always go for the highest resolution possible

 

Same situation here. I've found my Aw17 monitor very bad (1600x900). I'll go to upgrade very shortly. Meanwhile i've contacted Dell support. Can you think the screen upgrade can be done by official Dell technician? I'll obviously pay the difference.

@beardzerker: have you upgraded your screen? Can you post your procedure?

 

You should be able to get Dell to upgrade you. They will have a fixed price and you will pay for an engineer (unless they want depot service in your locale) to do the work. Good news is that you retain your full warranty on the new panel and machine, down side, probably very expensive.

When the 680m was released I asked Dell. £900.00 for the card and £100.00 for the engineer!!

Worth asking though...

 

You right Micky I've contacted Dell support, they said can be done but it's very expensive. Now i have to choise between

1. Keep this screen. After warranty expire, i'll replace by myself.
2. Use the refunde option, then buy a new AW17 with fullHD.

 

I've never seen the 900 display but do know a lot of users have been disappointed with it. The 120hz 1080 is awesome (I would not consider gaming at 60hz again!) and again lots of good reports so it's not just me . But that comes with it's own baggage...

Because of the warranty issue I would go for the refund and rebuy - maybe better discounts available right now?

 

I ordered my screen replacement from laptopscreens.com, shipping was quick, good price, and very happy with the panel. Replacing it was fairy easy, but I have a lot of experience with computers and small electronics. If you do it yourself, just take your time.

Going to the full HD screen was a massive improvement, I got the glossy HD screen and I am loving it. Totally worth the money. There is a video on Youtube of a guy replacing a screen on the 14, I watched that and was able to do it easily.