New Dell XPS 17 Matte Screen Issue

Hey guys,

Just recieved my dell xps 17. Love the design and performance. However, this matte screen has this "sparkle/grainy" effect that is somewhat distracting!

Is this something I will eventually get used too? Or is it somthing you either like or dislike. I really do not want to return this and am hoping its something that my eyes just need some time to adjust.

Suggestions!???

 

I am generally picky about my monitors, and my reaction was the same as yours when I got mine last May. I posted a mesage much the same as yours to this forum back then, and I was actually happy when the original display (Chi Mei brand) developed a problem and was replaced with an LG model that was less sparkly. However, that display had issues too, and was replaced with another Chi-Mei.

It affects different people differently. Some folks here at the forum dislike it so much they'll complain to Dell and ask for a replacement, or pop for one out of their own pocket.

Personally, I got used to it in a short time. I use the L702X at home, and have less sparkly desktop LCDs both at home and at work. I go back and forth between them without noticing the difference.

You can check out some recent threads to verify this, but IIRC, Dell at one time had different models to send out as a replacement, however lately they only stock the Chi Mei, so you'll just get another one if you convince them yours is defective and they agree to replace it. Suppliers seem to change quickly though, so that may not be true next month, or even next week.

My advice, if you have an onsite warranty, give it two or three weeks.

 

Thanks for the input, I am going to use it for at least a week and see if I can get used to is, it's already a little bit more tolerable.

Is there any color settings that you changed that can reduce the effect (especially for reading text behind a white background)? The matte screen + 1080p makes the letters pretty small and a little dim.

Colored pics and playing games look great, just when using excel spreadsheets and word documents..basically anything with a white background the sparkle effect becomes a little irritating, to the point where it makes the display look like ...which is surprising bc I was thinking I was getting this awesome 1080p screen, now I'm struggling to get used to working on a simple word document.

 

Back in XP days, I often customized colors, setting the windows client area (the white page in Word, for example) to an customized off-white. AFAIK, that's not possible with 7 and and an aero theme, only if you use the Windows Classic theme, though you might be able to find an aero theme that's more pleasing than the default.

I did find that the default brightness setting is way too high for me. On approx medium setting, it's blinding compared to my old Inspiron 8600. All I've done is turn the brightness setting way down, almost all the way to the bottom.

There have been several posts here at the forum on color profiles. I've never had the inclination to play with them myself, but if you do some searching, you might find something helpful.

BTW, the forum's search function doesn't work well. The best way to search is with google, and specify only this site, e.g.

site:forum.notebookreview.com "color profile"

or for a specific forum

site:forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps "color profile"


You can always use the zoom in Word and Excel.

 

Thanks for the feedback, tough searching through these 500 page forums looking for people's color suggestions, so Ill have to keep looking.

I'm really surprised I did not read about this issue with matte screens before I bought the laptop, I guess most people like a screen that sparkles.

 

I contacted dell after recieving my L702X in January just to tell them I didn't like the screen. Three days later I received a call and three days after that a tech came to my house and replaced it. Both screens were the Chi mei, but the second onw was much better. If you really don't like the screen, let Dell know.

 

A friend of mine had this laptop and I was thinking of getting it, so I used it for about 5 minute and I already had an eye-strain related headache due to the graininess. Pretty much ruled out the laptop for me. I figured "1920x1080" was a guarantee the screen would be excellent, but even that doesn't cut it. A good display is so difficult to find these days.

 

You can purchase a glossy screen and replace it yourself if you really don't like the matte screen. They run about 90 USD to order. I am actually considering going that route.

 

Ya, I got used to it as well. I just think for the price, it might be fun to try changing it out. I don't even notice the graininess anymore.