Well that was fast...

So I was excited to see that the XSP 14/15/17 was available in the Outlet, and even better, with the raved-about 1080 screens.

I didn't (and don't) have the money to buy one specced how I want it quite yet. So I knew I had to wait, but geez, those Full HD screens went fast!! There are hardly any around any more.

So the question is...is the inventory of "good" XPS 15s gone forever, or will enough people still be returning laptops that another good deal on a Full HD might come around?

On a related note...I went to my area Best Buy to try to see an XPS 15 in person. They didn't have any XPS's but I was pleasantly surprised by how good most of the "consumer grade" 768p screens looked. So, I'm wondering if I might be satisfied with the lower resolution anyway. (I do photo/video editing...which is why I figured higher res is better. But laptop screens are so small!)

 

There's a difference between good enough and what I like to use. 1024x768 is so 1997.

 

The inventory at the Outlet is constantly refreshing. You just need to keep rechecking.

They may not have availi' when you check, but 1/2 later there may be some availi' then.

When you add it to your cart it only stays there for 15 minutes and then drops off if you don't purchase at that time, so someone else has a chance at it.

 

Im glad that I ordered mine when I did. Before when I looked at the outlet they didn't specify what screen you got. Mine should be coming in Tuesday so Im hoping that what I read on the forums are true.

 

It is as I feared. :-( While the 1080p screens were available in quantity in the outlet at the start they are nonexistent on any of the quad core models right now*. The inventory hasn't seemed to change much, if at all, within the last few days (believe me, I've checked!)

So it looks like a long wait...for a screen and a coupon to come up at exactly the same time. Guess that'll give me time to see how much of an effect SB has.

*Well actually there is one left...specced waaay out of my price range, especially without a coupon. Gah!

On a side not - EPP is kind of a joke. The systems there start at a higher price then apply "discounts" to make it lower, with the end result being only $50-100 cheaper then the Home site.

 

Well, to be fair 768p is actually 1366 x 768p.

 

A wide screen version of 1024x768. Still just as trashy as 1024x768...

I just wish they kept it at 1920x1200 and didn't go with this whole 16:9 1920x1080 crap, but I digress.

 

Agreed 16/9 is quite nasty by itself on a small diagonal, they HAVE to put crappy display on it, and I suppose it doesn't bother many people or they would have switched for a more workable standard resolution already. 1366*768 is just plain horrible. XPS 15 without the 1080p option is a no-go for me.

 

I don't care what anybody says, a 1080p res is so not needed for a 15'' screen. It's over kill.

 

Ideally I would choose 1600*900 but since it's almost nonexistent on 15" I'd rather get an "overkill" display over that outer space turd 768p standard.

 

How is it overkill? Programmers greatly benefit from having significantly more vertical real estate. Also web browsing is more pleasurable. Plug the B + RG LED screen on the XPS 15 is beautiful, worth the extra money for the LCD. Not exactly RGBLED or Dreamcolor 2 money but it isn't those prices.

 

On a related note then, is there any good replacement screens that can fit into the XPS 15? Such as what has been discussed for the 17 and 14 inch variants of this model.

Obviously Dell wouldn't cover the screen under warranty after that, but I've read that they will still cover the rest of the laptop and hopefully the screen would have its own warranty.