M11x Screen Quality Discussion

Seriously, how bad is the screen and is it a major deterrent toward buying the product? What are your experiences with it? I've so far been very impressed with the M11x, but the screen seems to be the worst gripe I've heard yet.

 

how should i put this, em..... my 2nd wife as example. I'm very very happy with her and everything, set my focus on her body not the face.

 

got any pictures? so we can do a M11x R2/ Wife R2 comparison?

 

Its not THAT bad actually.. I kind of like it, sure you can probably find "better" screens out there, but size and resolution taken into count I think it shows everything very nice.

 

Some reviews:

Chilla Frilla: YouTube - Chilla Frilla - Alienware M11x Review (with Gameplay)

IGN: YouTube - Alienware M11x Review

Cnet: YouTube - Alienware M11x reviews

 

I just got my m11x R1 and like the screen. Just wish the plastic wasn't flush against the keyboard. Seriously. Who thought that was a good idea?

 

How is the vertical viewing angle? I'm using an older Vostro 1400 (almost 3 years old now) and my biggest complaint is that the screen never looks 'good', either the bottom is washed out or the top is too dark. Is there a similar effect on this?

 

viewing angles unfortunately are a big problem on most laptops these days...


From what I understand, the side and top viewing angles on m11x are quite good. it should be easy enough to angle so it looks right.

but I think its going to be a major problem except for the high end dell display, sony, apple and such... its a premium thing that many companies don't invest in because the users only want to pay for specs... not the build quality.

 

LOL i died

 

It's pretty reflective. I put the Alienware anti-glare screen on it and it's much better. With the anti-glare screen, I have no regrets on the purchase. Without it, it could get really obnoxious.

 

It is pretty annoying, I am going to get the antiglare screen sometime (btw coffee which did you get, dells?) in the mean time, it really isn't that terrible unless you are it is pretty bright around you, even then the vertical viewing angles are good and you can just tilt it down a little bit more and that works well. I probably just got used to it with my old glossy screened laptop.

 

i'm not sure if this is help or even constructive, but i had my ALIEN licked the screen and it's now matt non-reflecting. now the deficult part is to find a PREDATOR to catch a ALIEN for you. i stronly disencourage people try catching ALIEN on their own, because you meight end up being someone's baby mama.

 

Um. K...........

 

Yes, I got the one from Dell designed for the m11x. It is cut to fit perfectly and has a cutout for the webcam. Really easy to put on and I haven't had any issues with it peeling up or anything.

 

lolwut? I tried to work some metaphor out of that, it just didn't work. Grammer is also incorrect making it nearly impossible to decipher.

 

exactly how does the screen protector work? is it sticky like an adhesive or is it like a static cling?

 

What in the world...?

 

what you talkin bout willis

 

It's static cling, no adhesive. You remove a plastic sheet from the screen side, get it situated, then remove a plastic sheet from the outside. It has tabs on it telling you what side goes where. It's completely removable and wouldn't leave behind any residue at all. The only negative I have is on a white screen, it can get pretty grainy. Like looking at an old projection tv screen. Other than that, it's great.

 

... 10char

 

lmao did not see that coming.

 

got my screen protector today! only if i had a m11x for it! lol!

 

In soviet russia, M11X WEARS YOU

 

lol. i say stupid things every time i drink i was mocking m11x screen that it's so terrible even ALIEN saliva could not penetrade. as of ALIEN i was reffering to the movie.

 

umm.. k.





(10char)

 

If the screen is the deciding factor on buying this very small powerhouse of a laptop then good luck finding something comparable...

I don't think it's bad.

 

Hello all...I posted this somewhere else but wanted to reiterate to help prospective buyers...
The screen is terrible! It's the absolute worst screen I've ever seen....I was so excited to get my m11x r1...but can't keep it with a screen this bad. The search continues for a smaller laptop that can game

I'm honestly shocked people can say anything other than this screen is the worst. You cannot get an even picture across the display....no matter how you tilt it or what angle you are looking at it from. IT is impossible. I would have gladly paid $100 for a better screen! Even $200! that is how much I like the rest of this laptop. I had a recently refreshed macbook pro 13" and the screen looks amazing compared to the m11x. Not just the brightness but EVERYTHING. The viewing angles are waaaaaaaay better, contrast is way better. The m11x basically looks like you are looking through a cloudy film all the time. I had an asus ul80vt and one of the main reasons I got rid of that was the horrible screen, and the alienware is worse! Sorry, I just can't stress enough how bad it is... I wish I had known before I purchased.

btw I have the samsung display, don't know if the au is any or much better.

 

No need to double post. The shortcomings of the panel is very well documented in other posts here. A number of the reviews for the R1 even mention what to expect.

Notebookcheck: Review Alienware M11x Subnotebook

 

I have the Samsung display. I just got it professionally calibrated. And while I agree with your initial impressions, after having a true and proper calibration done by a certified professional, the screen quality is night and day.

The Samsung screen is not CFL but LED and the same screen used on all of Dell's higher end notebooks of this size.

Samsung's quality in LCD's are bar none and are actually the ones manufacturing all of Sony's panels.

With this calibration, I couldn't be happier.

Sorry that you're not having the same experience. I was unhappy with mine at first too until the calibration. Maybe that's also what you need? But don't go to Best Buy, go to someone certified. Avical is who I used as they do notebook calibrations.

And please tell me where you can find an LCD in this size with the kind of quality you're really after? You can't. If you're going to throw the Macbook at me, I'm going to throw you a bunch of links with people that had yellow defective screens that Apple tried to bury and remind you that the Macbook can't game.

I honestly don't believe you will. I don't think that kind of quality exists in this size outside of OLED and then you've potentially doubled or tripled the price of the computer.

If the M11x was my main notebook, I might feel less forgiving, but since it's my secondary as I believe all "netbooks" should be, I don't find it as bothersome.

But, and maybe because it's newer, but the screen conundrum had me really gaming hard on the m11x to see if I really liked it. But now, I find myself gaming on it more than my Asus G73JH-A1 or my Desktop custom rig.

And I play it on the screen and not on my secondary monitor (a Pioneer Kuro) And you know what? The more I play on it, the happier I become with the purchase and the display.

For me, it's the idea that I'm doing some serious PC gaming on an 11" screen that I can take anywhere, that gets me excited about the whole unit.

Consider a calibration. It did worlds of wonders for me.

If that's not good enough and you're expecting the quality display of a good 15" to 17" 1080p notebook, in a netbook of this size that can game, then according to all the research I've done, it's going to be a ways of a wait. 12-24 months. Maybe less, who knows?

I'm truly in love with my Asus G73JH-A1, though. And I have a feeling Asus is looking at the m11x market with a hungry eye and we'll possibly see a worthy competitor from them in the next 6-8 months. That's where I'd keep my focus.

In the meantime, while the display on the m11x was also my biggest source of disappointment with the unit, having it calibrated and researching that there's not really any better options out there for any brand at this size, helped a lot. 98% was the calibration. But there was still some limited viewing angles, so knowing that you can't get much better for the size, pushed it another 2%

For the OP, if you live in the States, go to a Best Buy and check out a floor model. If you like the display at all in that horrible lighting conditions after it's been touched and fingerprinted to death, then you're probably going to love a pristine one at home. If you don't live near a Best Buy or equivalent, you can always return it within in 21 days.

If you have to have 11", then buy it without reservation. If you're not bound by size then have a look at Asus ROG line. The display on the G73JH are rated some of the best, and it is. My calibration guy was really impressed when I showed him that display. But make sure to get a unit that does a full 1920x1080, as the units with the 1600x1900 at Best Buy and other places are a different make of screen and don't have the same quality.

But an Asus 17" G73JH-A1 or A2 model would be almost the same as buying an M11x with 4gb of Ram and a 500gb HD with a calibration. And you'll get double the gaming performance.

But it's much bulkier and heavier. Not nearly as portable, but considering how much power is under the hood, and the fact that it comes with a sweet backpack (Not at Newegg) helps with the size and weight a lot.

While I love my Asus, I'm more than happy with my m11x and would recommend it hands down to anyone even if they can't do a calibration. Having that much gaming power in that small a package... It's just too Pimp.

The display isn't great for a gaming rig, but it is one of the best for a netbook. When you get in a dark room, get a good viewing angle and start up a 1080p ripped movie or your favorite game and are deep into the content. You won't be questioning the quality of your display at all. You'll realize that for it's size, it's just fine.

I used to sell high end home theatre equipment and displays, so I consider myself a bit of a videophile, and this is exactly how I felt after playing mine.

And when somebody else jumps in here to say that the display on the m11x is horrid and you shouldn't get one because of it, let me remind you -

Everybody's eyes are different, and everyone sees things differently. What look like crap to someone else, may look perfect to you. And it may not have anything to do with the quality of the display, or you, but the difference is just in the eyes of the naysayer.

The display was my biggest disappointment and now I love mine. I recommend the m11x on this regard wholeheartedly.

Now, if you want to talk about whether you should buy an M11x and want to deal with Dell's driver support, well, now that's a different story....


Cheers

 

Hey, great info thx. Maybe I will try that as I really am looking for something this size and there doesn't seem to be any alternatives to the m11x. I just don't see how a calibration could fix the vertical viewing angles.

 

There are LOTS of posts here detailing the shortcomings of the panel(s) they've chosen.

One of the things you can do do mitigate those issues is to calibrate your monitor. This will correct the out-of-the-box color cast it has. The AUO has a blue cast to it whereas the Samsung SEC5441 is reported to have a warmer cast to it.

Give the Win7 monitor calibration wizard a shot. It's not going to correct color and gamma to the extent that a hardware calibration will, but it's better than uncalibrated output for sure. Since it's a very subjective method of calibration, you may end up having to run it a couple of times before you're happy with a profile that works for you. Then you'll have fun dealing with the bug that's been around since Vista that will unload your card's gamma LUT for a whole slew of reasons. More on that here.

Here are the specifications for each of the panels used for the M11x:

SEC5441:

Maximum: 193.4 cd/m²
Average: 172.5 cd/m²
Illumination: 78 %
Black: 1.56 cd/m²
Contrast: 124:1

AUO105C:

Maximum: 175.6 cd/m²
Average: 157.5 cd/m²
Illumination: 80 %
Black: 0.81 cd/m²
Contrast: 217:1

As you can see the black level for the Samsung isn't very good. I'm not terribly pleased with my AUO's black level either. However, THX5334 recently had his LCD assembly replaced with an SEC5441 and he noted that it was substantially better than what he'd had previously.

Here's another thread where you can see some reasonably useful side-by-side photos comparing the two panels.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/464852-m11x-screenid-5.html#post5995538

 

Given that there are zero adjustments that can be made for contrast and RGB gain levels there is absolutely no reason to have this panel professionally calibrated. They won't be able to do anything more than anyone else who owns an ColorMunki, i1 Display2 or Spyder colorimeter can do. This is true for 99% of laptop panels out there.

 

While that may be true, let's be clear, the viewing angle to a great looking picture is there. It can just be very limited.

Is this display going to look great in the middle of bright sunlight or even shaded daylight while gaming in between class? No. But can you show me one that is that's not OLED?

Apple's retina display? Great! I have a 3GS and an IPhone 4 on the way, but could you please tell me when Apple is going to truly get their computers to have AAA games available day and date as PC and not 6 months to a year later?

Or, even better, can you tell me when Apple is going to stop with their "Apple Tax" and selling their computers with hardware that's 2 generations older than what's going in current PC's for twice the price of that same PC?

You can't. And going by the criteria of buying a "gaming" netbook, there's nothing else but the M11x. If you want an 11" machine to do CAD or graphic design or video editing, great! Look at Apple. But if your criteria is sweet PC quality gaming at 11". Then your only option is Alienware or wait for the next hardware refresh to see what Asus and whomever comes out with.

A compromise, might be to pick up an R1 and wait to see what comes down the line. When you figure that you can get an R1 with 4gb of Ram and 250gb HD for the same price as an IPad, having an R1 as a temporary compromise isn't a bad option either.

But the viewing angles are there. I mean, if the display was clear and utter crap, there'd be press all over it just like the IPhone 4 antenna. But it's not crap. All the problems people have with the display are problems due to limitations with the technology at that small of size. So until the technology becomes affordable to give us the PQ gamers are used to at that small of a screen size, the current display is pretty sweet.

You just have to find the viewing angle.

I do most of my gaming with it sitting on a desk or table and sometimes hooked up to my 50" display. For me the unit is meant as a travel gaming rig for air travel, hotel stays, extended visits with family or relatives. So when I sit down to play it, I'm usually in a room with darkened lighting conditions with the unit on a flat surface, so I can easily find that angle.

Once you do, the picture can really pop and finding it after becomes almost second nature.

Now, if the glossiness of the screen is what bothers you, then I can't help you. Let's be clear. In those terms, the screen is a mirror. But this was done exactly for gaming in daylight reasons. And personally, I'd rather take a glossy screen with colors that really pop where I can change the room lighting and lose the screen reflection most of the time; rather than having a matted screen that had muted colors all of the time. No matter the room or lighting conditions.

If that's the trade off, then I'll take Glossy any time.

Get the unit in a dark room, the viewing angle is there. Even without the calibration.

Cheers

 

How the heck do I find out which screen I have? Aside from my hinge error, the screen has given me no trouble whatsoever. Seems fine ever since I pulled it out of the box.

 

Device Manager > Monitors > Generic PnP Monitor > Properties > Details > Hardware Ids

 

Ah, gotcha. I apparently have the SEC5441 on this rig. Heh, I'll see if the replacement rig I have coming in will have this one or the other one. Anyhow, mine seems to work a-okay.

 

Yeah but Slickie, how many people own those?

I don't know. I know I don't. But I do believe my calibration guy said the same thing you're saying now before he did the job. I told him I wanted to do it anyway, mainly to satisfy my curiosity.

So after the job, when I asked my guy what he did that made mine look so much better from before he said it mainly had to do with adjusting the greyscale. Which is probably what you're talking about as well and in your case maybe nothing with a calibration can be done.

Who knows, maybe nothing substantial was really adjusted on mine that justified the gig and I'm just trying to convince myself that there is (I didn't have to pay for it, we bartered services)

Bottom line, for me, when I got my unit I was disappointed with the display within moments of first turning it on. Dust was found under the glass of that display and it was replaced with the Samsung unit through an in home service call.

And after having the Samsung, I was immediately happier. Colors were more vibrant and less washed out. No grey haze on the top or bottom. Though the viewing angles were equally as narrow as the first display.

I was already happy with it once I found a viewing angle. My Pioneer Kuro calibrator offered to calibrate my display in exchange for my help in my trade. And after the job, I was even happier with the display.

But Slickie, it sounds like you're already a calibration Jedi and can do everything my guy does, so I'm bummed that can't help you out. I wish you had a Samsung display, so I could compare a calibration profile like the one you made previously for your model with the one I just had done professionally.

I don't know. I'm really happy with mine. Even before the calibration job. But it did take some more fiddling with the angle of the display and how I was sitting and how dark the room was around me to get there.

Hopefully you can find that sweet spot too. If not, I hope it's not a dealbreaker.

Now that I've gotten past my own display issues and have just been gaming with it, I get more impressed each day at what a fantastic little powerhouse of a machine it really is.

I'm infinitely more happy with mine than I was the first week I had it.

I really, really love it and am really happy I bought it.

I'm trusting other R2 owners will soon feel the same way.

But yeah, if the next revision has a new display and the case doesn't change from the current design, you can bet I'm going to try to get the panel switched out. I'm an admitted graphics floozie. It's why I quit the stability of consoles and went back to this godforsaken hobby of PC gaming again.

It's all about Graphics and display, man. Graphics and Display.

 

Somehow I have gotten the AUO ICC profile to stick most of the time. With the ICC profile, the AUO panel is semi decent for being a TN. For all that have an AUO, try the ICC profile that was created by our member. Everything looks very natural.

 

That's the Samsung. And the one I have that I'm happier with as a replacement.

If the replacement was the other make of screen with a fixed hinge, I'd rather have a Samsung display with frakked up hinge, and keep a microfiber cloth between the keyboard and screen while carrying it around; rather than have a fixed hinge with a display that might not have as good of picture quality as what you have now, or as high as manufacturing quality as Samsung has.

I asked the Dell tech who replaced my panel about the hinge and if there was anything he could do, and he looked at it carefully and said he thought it looked due to a design flaw. He felt that the hinge issue was never going to get properly fixed without a whole new case redesign.

Now, take that with a grain of salt as he's definitely a contracted worker for Dell and not corporate. But he was cool and seemed to know what he was talking about, unlike most IT or Tech guys that come through here.

Hope that helps. Cheers.

 

Yeah, that's courtesy of good ole's Slickie. Everyone should be giving Slickie a rep for creating that profile. It's about $200 worth or work.

Even though I don't have the panel for the profile, thanks again Slickie. Without people like you, there'd be a lot of frustrated owners out there.

 

Essentially that's what a colorimeter is adjusting. It's compensating for the panel's native RBG levels across a predefined range of levels in order to give you a more neutral grayscale. The image below shows you the adjustments that my calibration made. Not the massive compensation required to bring the blue channel under control.

Nope, you got your money's worth having a hardware calibration done and it's certainly better than you'd been able to do with software based calibration. But for everyone else, for the price of what it would cost to hire someone to do this for you, you could by an i1 Display2 or Spyder, do it yourself and have something that will work for years to come for all of your monitors. HDTVs on the other hand DO require a pro to calibrate. The kit and technical know-how for that level of calibration is an order of magnitude above what you need for computer monitors.

That's key here. The sweet spot is very very narrow. The vertical axis variation is extreme on the AUO, and from what I understand, the SEC5441 too. This limitation makes the panel difficult at best to do any color sensitive work such as photo or video editing. For me, the sweet spot - where black level is best -is a few degrees tilted back from straight on.

 

anyone have an adjusted profile for the SEC?

 

If anyone in DFW has an SEC5441 then PM me.

 

This site is good for checking black levels, luminance, grayscale and gamma.

Monitor Calibration Tests: Black Point

 

so i activated your profile and checked that site, I don't notice the square till about setting 4. Is this normal?

I have the non-samsung screen.

 

When I've got my panel adjusted to the sweet spot (tilted back perhaps 5 degrees?) I can see 3,3,3.

In general it's easiest to find your sweet spot in a dark or dimly lit room with no lights hitting the screen. Screen at full brightness. You want a black screen like the one on the site. Tilt the lid back and forth until you get the most even black coverage. You're trying to minimize any shifts at the top and bottom to gray. On my AUO it's a horribly narrow sweet spot.

As a rule I dim my backlight two notches as this is acceptable brightness for my AUO and helps with black level ever so slightly.

 

Does anyone think it would be possible to increase the size of the screen through some excessive modding? It is pretty annoying that they waste the bottom 2 inches just to have their logo shine in my face.

 

I think that is my point, I have used much better displays on inexpensive notebooks! I'm feeling like there may be something wrong with my display as I don't know how anyone could look at it and find it usable. But to your point...I have used about a dozen notebooks of all brands and sizes in the last couple years and this one is the worst I have seen. For comparison, I have an asus eee 1005ha netbook with an led screen that blows this alienware m11x screen out of the water in every aspect. Contrast is much better, viewing angles (although not amazing) are much better. This is in a 10 inch netbook. My asus ul80vt (which was the previous worst I had seen) was even better than this alienware.

I think I was most disappointed when I launched mass effect 2 and played the intro which is very dark. I couldn't see the details in anything. Characters looks the same grey color as space did and everything just kind of blended together.

I just wanted to make a point that there are much better displays out there even on cheaper machines such as netbooks. If you don't believe me look at anandtechs analysis: ASUS Eee PC 1005HA: Refining the Netbook - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

 

The quality panels do exist, you can look at the tiny 11 inch TVs and such and find great panels, the problem is that the M11X was designed to be affordable, and if you tack on a $400 screen it tends to hurt that affordability. Make no mistake though, if Dell was willing to spend $$$ more per unit then we could have a much nicer edge to edge matte screen.

Anyway, is the screen great? No. Does it get the job done, and do reasonably well? Yes.

 

Very good point Yoda. Though it still would of been nice if they offered some better screen options.