a little disappointed with the m18x

Wish that were true. There are no 18.4" RGB LED panels.

 

It's not entirely cost effective in small batches, but it is possible to order a custom backlight for an existing panel. Not done very often because of the cost, but likely that is what made the RGB LED 17" model on the M6500 and M17x possible.

However generally speaking Aiki is right, the only panels you are going to see on notebooks come from the wholesale listing of some panel maker.

 

I agree too with that remark but the question still remains: where is going the "difference" and "distance" that Dellienware and Precision were suppossed to mark and offer? and
At this point we all know ( I think ) the dangers of [not just wholesale listing] 'standardization'... and

 

It's a disappointment that they didn't manage it. We know that. Let's wait and see what the wled model they used looks like and go from there. I think it's comforting to know that today's panels are quite often significantly better than just a few years ago.

 

\

BUT, the relations of dimensions/ area (of a pixel) remains the same... in a17 inch scree they are ( not as in a 15... but anyway...) still litle and close each one to the other with 'gaps' hardly noticeable. In the 18, with those standardized screens, less amount of pixels need to cover more area and so they are bigger and so the 'gaps'... +

 

Unless I am totally out of my shoes, I thought I remember the M17X-R1 was offered with either:

Single Neon display

Dual Neon display

RGB LED display...

Maybe I dreamed though...

 

My still rocking and kicking old Inspiron 8600 15" from '94 has a 1920x1280 display... Not LED but... still awesome! and I'm not dreaming at all!
Now, dear Dellienware 'genius': don't tell me that puting just a 1080p in a 18" it's not a BIG step back...

 

The R1 never had a RGB LED option (though it was possible to install one after market). The option appeared with the R2 release when the RGB LED popularity and awareness was up due to the M6500 which had the same screen.

This time around, the M6600 remains in the 17 inch category and there's really no chance of a RGB LED TN/IPS 18.4" screen. The M17XR3 owners on the other hand have a slim chance of upgrading to the IPS (M6600).

 

This is why I'm changing my prefences and pockets toward the M6600... Regarding the "really no chance of a RGB LED TN/IPS 18.4" screen" in the tech world you certainly can't say the "never say never"...

 

That's a fair choice really. I've thought about it as well. Since you can get the Quadro equiv of a 485M you are really debating the benefit of a better screen vs a second card (and saving some weight with the 6600 as well).

It's a choice, and I'm "leaning" to the M18x, but not entirely sure yet as I think about it.

 

Heh, I'm also thinking about the M6600. BTW, the Quadro 5010M may actually be a bit stronger than the GTX485M. Also, it comes with 4GB of vRam but the price is 2-3x higher than that of the 485M
Decisions....

 

It's quite interesting (at least for me): Do you just game or intend to do also work with the M18x? And, if I may ask, what kind of work do you do?
I have been comparing for a while the overall look and ‘feeling’ of graphics (and even motion pictures) in a 1920x1280 17" and in a 1920x1080 17" ( the two of them with the same brand of displays and graphic cards - I would not give names here to avoid being deleted ), the differences are indeed significant, maybe immerse in a game not always you can feel it but for the other purpose (to work) with graphics and media editing, the differences are quite annoying. If you 'zoom in' the differences into a 18 display... the results will be worse...

Just a thought: Maybe Dell doesn’t want M18x to compete with the M6600?

 

The problem of going with the M6600 is the ridiculous price increase for a 485m equivalent gpu. I personally use a lot of Autodesk Inventor and other CAD software. But there is no justification for the amount of money that I would personally spend just for special drivers that accelerate CAD. Certainly if a company gave laptops with Quadros in them, no one would turn them down but when you are spending $3,000+ for a laptop that gets destroyed in gaming by a x7200/M18x with two gpus you wonder if you spent your money efficiently.

 

5010M makes me weigh divorce vs. fully loaded M6600

 

"a little disappointed with a computer that hasn't even come out yet"

Really? lol.

 

You're right! This is part of the trade off when you choose a one machine for work and gaming... the ideal woul be 2 GPU in the M6600 and/or a better display (2560x1600 ?) in a 18x form factor...
Personally I have found that the quality of display resolution is crucial 4me. Maybe others are not depending as me from a VFHD.

(I will add that the world wide warranty NBD service is a must 4 me that no other manufaturer is offering besides Dell)

 

While the idea of a 18.4" mothership was great, the absence of high quality screens is a total let down. It destroys the whole point of the flagship AW system, imho. I've been digging all over the web for the past few days trying to find a high gamut LED model with decent specs... Not a chance. The best WLED panel has mediocre viewing angles, poor brightness, etc. I really hope, Dell made a special deal with LG or Samsung this time around and won't disappoint us like with the M17XR1..

 

I second every one of your words. a 'mothership' without an adequate screen is just not enough. By all means. No matter what other 'adds and gadgets', 'bells and rings' you put in it.
Hope Dellienware will understand it.

 

The lack of a RGB LED screen is the only thing keeping me from boarding the mothership when it arrives. I think I'll have to wait for reviews of the screen.

 

Would it be possible to put a 5010m in m18x?

 

Shouldn't be much of a problem to physically fit it in. It's the bios that needs to support it. But what is the point in putting in a single 5010m into a dual gpu machine? Though I think it would be amazing if you could use dual 6970m and then flash the master one to a firepro model when you need to do CAD and flash it back to a 6970m for xfire gaming. We can still dream.

 

We can't really say what the price differences are yet, because the prices aren't really stable yet and the M18x prices seem very high so far.

So yes I weigh in price and tradeoffs at each level. I'm not really leaning much in the way of the 6600, BUT we have NO idea what the screen on the M18x is like. If it's pretty mediocre, I weigh that heavily when considering, because I stare at that screen year in and year out and being not happy with it will bother me over time.

 

The M18x screen should have been B+RG at least. However I think it will most likely be 72% gamut with 300+ nit brightness. Dell messed up by not adding in a better screen option. Even 120 hz wled would've been okay.

 

That's the same reason for me to lean toward M6600 if it will have a better screen... I have at work a 18.4" 1920x1080 and a 17"1920x1280... the differences is quite noticeable...and annoying! The pixels are bigger, and so the distance between them... (besides the heavy problems with the glare screen on the 18.4 comparing to non-glare in the 17") My advise from working experience: be careful with what you buy. Computers are for now, your eyes (and the optical nerves) are for ever...

 

Any links supporting this assumption? From what I see on the net, it's either a mediocre CCFL or WLED with 160nits average brightness.

 

However price still factors in. And for each person I'm sure that matrix reads a bit different. Example

Base R3 single card
18x +$x for +/- screen +GPU perf
6600 = to - gpu perf for ++screen for ++$

and so forth. Each person weighs each of these gains and $ gains/losses at a different rate, partially impacted by budget and partially impacted by how long they end up owning these machines.

 

I didn't see any "good" 18.4" panels out there. Some were "ok" but I have to suspect that AW had a custom one built. If not, then from all I've scanned over the web, we are going to get a pretty mediocre screen at best.

If they had it custom made then it'll all be what they thought the market could afford and how fancy they wanted to go. Whatever the case, with a month to market, whatever choice they made is made. But if I order one, I'll be heavily weighing my 21 days vs my ability to "live with" that screen for a few years.

 

After some more digging, I'm pretty sure, Dell will be using the Chi Mei N184H6-L02 (REv2) panel. I'm waiting for the data sheet on this panel from the manufacturer. The good thing, it comes in two flavors: Glare and Matte. If the specs are ok and it has a decent NTSC% and good brightness, than it's decided...

Edit, got the datasheet.

Average brightness: 220nits
Contrast: 650:1
White: 1.25
Display colors: 262,144


No info on the NTSC

 

Matte wont matter because of the E2E plastic....you know this.....

And I am sorry but this has been bugging me for some time now....

WUXGA is 1920x1200 NOT 1920x1280

 

E2E can be cut out, you know this

This panel is 1920x1080

 

I know this one is 1080, but it had been misquoted several times. And cutting out the E2E is an ugly process and obviously does away with ones warranty

 

If I decide to buy it, - screw the warranty Or, I can get another lid ($$ )for experiments...

 

I would go the experiment route myself if it bothered me that much.

 

Thanks for finding this data sheet. Can someone with more experience in these things perhaps indicate (or guesstimate) where this screen would come in terms of quality then?

I have an M1730 at present. Whilst the colours are by no means superbly accurate, it is a screen I can happily stare at all day. Is it possible to compare with this?

 

The above panel does not match the pixel pitch specified in the M18x user manual (M18x manual = 0.2550mm, this one 0.213mm)

I'm trying to get the specs on this model: Samsung LTN184HT02-S01

Also trying to figure out the model number of the 18.4 panels displayed here http://www.samsung.com/global/business/lcdpanel/product/note.html
The second 18.4 panel from the 16:9 table looks really good in terms of specs.

 

You're right, though there are several revisions of this model, let's continue digging.

As for the Samsung LTN184HT02-S01, there's a total havoc, some websites indicate LED backlight while others state CCFL.

Back to square 1...

 

Wow, nice find, Bro!
It does look awesome!

 

I contacted Samsung directly. Lets see if they send me some specs.

 

Same here, waiting for their reply

 

I think these are the specs of the display:

Samsung Enterprise Portal mySingle

Also some more specs here:

SAMSUNG's Digital World

Still no match with the M18x manual.

Also, what happened to the Samsung LTN184HT02 (RGB LED)-112% Color Gamut/ 1000:1 Contrast Ratio/Maximum Brightness: 250:1 that is used in the Sony AW models? Did Sony put a flag on it and said "MINE"?

 

So it looks like AW does have some nice choices for screens, they just aren't going to utilize them. If they chose to offer that RGB screen, it would really influence me into buying the M18x, even if it blew a hole in my wallet.

 

That's 16:10 so it can't be the one.

 

Yeah, well it depends on what one reads. Some times it appears as 16:10 (notebookcheck) other times as 16:9...an elusive creature the LTN184HT02 is.

Look here for example:

VAIO AW | Full HD 18.4? Display

The links I provided in my earlier post are for 16:9 18.4 panels according to the Samsung specs. I don't know if they are correct.

 

One thing is certain, there are decent 18.4" panels out there. The question is what did Dell choose?

 

Well the official Samsung page shows it as 1920x1200 unless Samsung got their own product wrong. Anyway, the only way I'd accept the M18x display is if it had similar specs: 300 nit, 90%+ gamut and decent contrast ratio. Not sure if 6970M Xfire is compelling enough to leave behind rgb led.

 

Most regreatabily (and ilogic) +

 

As long as this panel exists, we should be ok. Hopefully, by tomorrow I will get the datasheet and price range on this screen.

 

Those better be wrong because that's a horrible (relatively to high end) display. It's a 6 bit panel not even 8 bit, dithering will be ugly, and contrast about middle of the road, but brightness is rather pathetic. 220 nits is enough for normal viewing, but remember backlights grow dimmer over time. Old 5-7 years ago "good" displays had 200-250 nits in a notebook, but the tech exists to do way better than that today.

The color limitation on that also won't even fulfill SRGB colorspace, so that'll be terrible as well. Let's hope for sure it isn't that panel. It will be immediately obvious what to anyone that owns one that it's awful.

 

We already agreed that those specs don't belong to the M18x screen

 

Ok well I guess I can whip out some salt for that hat again. 6bit plus FRC gains a 16.2M color palette. TFT UK has some 18.4, one Samsung in particular for notebooks that looks decent enough:

LTN184HT (lists as CCFL but white LED can give the same properties as CCFL in certain types of white LED's).
1920x1080
8ms
800:1
300 cd/m2
140/130 h/v angles
262k 6bit probably +FRC because...
90% NTSC

Link to the 3 18.4" panels in their database:
TFT Central Laptop Panel Part Database