How bad is the 720p screen on XPS 15?

I've been hearing lots of horror stories about the 1366x768 screen on the Dell XPS. But I saw the Dell Inspiron 15 in stores today, which I know is a cheap low-end laptop, and yet I thought the 1366x768 screen on it was fine. No, it's not as amazing as the 1080p screen, but I wouldn't expect it to be. I'm assuming that this Inspiron screen would be the same one used on the Dell XPS 15, right?

I don't need anyone to try and sell me the 1080p screen, I already tried it and it wasn't right for me. I'm fine with 720p on a 15-inch. I just want to know if it's the same one on the Inspiron.

 

I believe it is the same one. I ordered a XPS 15 last month with the 720p because I did not care much for such a high resolution but after reading so many horror stories regarding the quality, I exchanged it for the 1080p and let me just say the difference is beyond the bounds of night and day. Better resolution aside, the contrast, brightness, viewing angles, and color gamut cannot be matched against the 1080p.

 

This screen: http://www.yslcd.com.tw/docs/product/B156XW02 V.2.pdf\

Probably the same in the inspiron, in fact, alot of asus models use this screen too.

 

Ive got the screen and frankly i find it bright and vivid. I know
this is just my opinion but im really happy with the screen

 

Initially I was fine with the 720p but then once I saw the B+RGLED 1080p, I was blown away. It was so much brighter and the colors were truly vibrant. The blacks were truly black. I guess if you haven't experienced the good stuff, ignorance is bliss because it would be impossible for me to go back.

 

The viewing angles on the 720 screen are atrocious. I would have upgraded when the option was $130, had I known this.

 

I actually did have the 1080p screen and I know it's great, but I can't stand the small text. It gave me daily eye-strain headaches that lasted all day long and I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to adjust the DPI, but I found it so problematic (website issues, distorted icons, some programs didn't adjust at all) that I just gave up and decided I'd be okay with the 720p screen. After looking at some 15-inch 720p screens in stores (although none of them were the Dell XPS 15 specifically) I think I've realized that it'll be fine.

One thing I did find on the 1080p screen though were that reds were really saturated and looked so bright they were almost pinkish.

 

Was that 1080p with the red issue the same as the B+RGLED that Dell is offering? Because I don't detect that at all.

 

Well I don't know if it was an "issue" really, it was just something I noticed. But yeah, it was the B+RGLED on the Dell XPS L501x.

 

Not that bad though I got spoiled with my XPS 1530 screen. Now i've been missing it!

Besides, $220 upgrade for me is pricey!

 

I got the standard 720p Screen and it looks fine to me. I'm not big on needing high resolution though.

 

With the B+RGLED it's not even just about the resolution. It's about much improved contrast, viewing angles, and color gamut. I was skeptical at first before deciding to exchange for the upgrade, but now I know I can never go back.

 

The 720p is fine people here are so picky anal. My friend got a Dell in15R and it looks great. 1080p res for a 15'' is so overkill. Even if the 720p had the same contrast as the 1080p's some people here would still try to justify as to why you should get a 1080p screen for a 15'' monitor.

 

To the OP, guess no one that has responded knows whether or not the Inspiron 15r and the XPS 15 share the same 720p screen. My guess would be that they are the same. Sorry you had a bad experience with the 1080p so much so that you had the headaches. That would definitely change my mind on screen choice. Had I not seen the 1080p before the 720p I probably would not dislike it so much and would probably keep it.

Totally agree with you that it is not just about the resolution. 1366x768 is a good resolution for my eyes. My 1080p is on its way finally and I can't wait to get it installed. I will scale it back to 1366x768 and enjoy the much better contrast, color gamut and viewing angles.

 

Probably a better idea to scale it down to 1280x720 as that is a perfect multiple of 1.5 (1080/720=1.5) instead of 1.406 with 768p so you will have less issues with the downscaling adjustments.

 

When I tried lowering the resolution on my 1080p screen, it just made everything look really fuzzy and it was out of the question for me. I'm assuming that's just the way it is for any resolution you lower to, right?

 

Did you try to downscale it to 720 or 768? Try both and see if there is a difference. While downscaling will always result in some blur, it shouldn't be as bad with the 720p. One would also imagine that perfect squares will result in no blur at all. (ie 4-->16-->256 total pixels)

 

I forgot to also mention that since 1080p and 720p are both 16:9 ratios, downscaling should be no issue. Since 768p isn't 16:9, I would expect more blur.

 

I'm pretty sure 1366x768 is 16:9. When I say 720p I mean 1366x768. Maybe that's not the right terminology, but I hear people use it that way. All I know is, I down-scaled it to 1600x900, which is definitely 16:9 and it just looked really blurry.

 

Okay I wasn't home before when I answered your questions. Now I'm testing out 720p on my 1080p screen and so far everything still looks crisp. With the added benefit of the better contrast, viewing angle, and gamut of the B+RGLED.

 

That's what I'm talking about! Looking forward to it.

 

At the end of the day it comes down to personal preference. The screen is not bad for a 720p screen. But, that's all it is. If you're comparing it to other 720p screens, it's fine.

If you'e comparing it to Dell's 1080p screen, there really is no comparison. The 1080 screen is sharper, has dramatically more accurate color rendition, and allows for a larger workspace. The increased resolution is also useful if you're using an external monitor.

I am a professional photographer on the side. The 720p screen was a grave disappointment. I don't believe it's even useful for sending a yearly set of photos to your parents (unless it's calibrated- which can be performed).

If you're using the XPS for web surfing and word processing you don't need the 1080 screen and you'll probably won't miss it. Though, it begs the question, why did you purchase the XPS and not a less expensive Inspiron?

One issue to be cautious with is that if you have vision issues, you may find the 1080 screen to be troublesome to view. As a test I would perform the following:

1) Open Microsoft Word.
2) Type a paragraph in 10-point Times Font or a similar commonly used font.
3) Set the view to 75%

If you can read the paragraph without discomfort, you'll likely be fine. If you have trouble reading the screen, try increasing the view to 100%. If you still have issues, reading the paragraph with comfort (be honest with yourself), than the 1080 screen is just not going to work.

The size of the font I'm currently typing is right around size 9.5 to 10. I have 20/20 vision, though, and am in my early 30s.

My friend has an eye prescription of "4," and he has zero trouble reading the screen wearing his glasses or contacts.

The 720p screen does have its virtues. It's bright, not as bright as the 1080, but it is bright. It's great for movies, fine for some games, and is a great overall screen.

If you're performing any graphics intensive computer work, editing photographs, or want to watch true HD movies, the 720p screen is not great.

The biggest downside for most people is going to come when it's time to edit photographs. If you're trying to be precise with your edits and want what you see on the screen to be reflected in what comes out of your printer or the print shop you use, you really should get the 1080 screen.

It's actually comparable to the LED 30" Apple Cinema Display I once owned, and that's a screen that's almost unanimously agreed upon to be one of the best displays ever manufactured. Mind you, I say it's comparable, it's not that good, but it's in the top 5 of displays I've owned, and used. Unless you get into medical grade/professional grade screens, this XPS 1080 screen is pretty dandy.

Skip the 720p, if you're able!

 

Couldn't have said it any better.

 

I'm getting the XPS because I care about having a more powerful computer. I don't want an entry-level computer like the Inspiron. I want one with USB 3.0, an SSD, a high-end processor, a large amount of RAM, a blu-ray player, an HD webcam, and plus I like the look of the Dell XPS and the speaker quality. I thought the 1080p screen was going to be great, but after daily eye-strain headaches, I realized I had to return it.

It sounds like the 720p screen is good for what it is. I have used the 1080p screen and I know that the 720p screen won't be as good, but it sounds like it's fine for what it is and that's all I wanted to know. Come February, I will most likely be ordering the Dell XPS 15 with the 720p screen.

I'm not sure why using the 1080p screen gave me a headache, I was disappointed. I'm 14 and I have no eye issues. But I know that 100% DPI on the 1080p screen is just too small.

 

I do agree that everything seems quite small on the 15.6" and probably a 17" would be more accommodating. But as long as I have the screen close to my eyes, there is no eye strain.

 

I have a question about the 1080p screen and DPI settings... I have an Inspiron 6000 with the 1920x1200 screen. I have the DPI set to 120, and have been happy with that for the most part. My only gripe is that the taskbar icons look distorted and some things are just out of proportion. I've been reading here that Windows 7 scales well, so would that not be a problem on the 1080p XPS?

I just received a 720p XPS 15, and while I like the size of everything, the fonts just don't look near as smooth as on my Inspiron. I already have to return the XPS because of a bad speaker, so I've been debating on pursuing an upgrade to the 1080p...

 

When I scaled the DPI up on my Dell XPS 15 with the 1080p screen, I found the icons in the taskbar did become distorted as did some title bar icons. I also found issues with certain programs that didn't scale well.

 

Thanks for the input. Guess I just need to decide if I'd rather have some jagged edges, or smoother edges for the cost of a little distortion and an extra $200!

 

ok here is thing.............i might buy a xps 15, Nvidia 420m GT (aahh at last Nvidia GPU), i5-460M CPU.......and tralalala...720p wled screen.

this spec cost £750................if i want same spec with RGBled 1080p it cost £960. (i have the 1080p screen on my sxps 16 so i know its top notch)

but is the 720p screen not good enough for great games. etc ?????
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ps.....i saw a video review on youtube with xps 15........its not a proper and elegant as sxps 16...hhhmmm

 

What is the exact DPI settings should you put on the 1080p screen to emulate the icon size on the 1366x768 screen?

By calculation:

To emulate 1280x720 = 1080/720 = 150%

To emulate 1366x768 = 1080/768 = ~141%

However, this video shows that the icons gets too large at 150%, and he tells us that we should not exceed 140%. But if it's too large, does it mean the icons on the 720p is too large as well?

 

I think he is talking about the icons on his dock hovering over the icons on his desktop.
At 720p, the desktop icons are larger, but wether they are too large is mostly a personal preference.

I have the 1080p screen and I just changed the resolution to 768p to compare the two resolutions.
Personally, the larger icons don't bother me. What does bother me is the lack of screen real estate.