1420 Is Here!! Pics Momentarily

"i will live with it but I SHALL BE COMPENSATED IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER.... "

I too think this is overly arrogant and makes you appear as if you're grasping at straws just for the sake of making a quick buck. If your laptop is genuinely defective, return it for a refund. Don't expect to get compensated because of a little wiggle room. During the laptop battery recall fiasco, do you think that the millions of effected consumers received monetary compensation? No, they got new batteries.

 

It's not like there's any performance effect at all. And even on aesthetic grounds, it's the most frivolous of criticisms, since you would barely notice it unless you were looking for it...

 

Yeah. Thats all I was saying - it seemed an awfully frivolous point to send someone into such an angry demanding mode.

No, I havent gotten mine yet. Im second guessing the screen (WSXGA) because of the relative dimness. I wish they'd hurry up and deliver it so I can stop 2nd guessing and just see it.

Its driving me crazy. So I keep reading these forums. And I keep seeing these entertaining posts.

 

Maybe it's not about being spoiled but about people finally getting tired of companies selling imperfect crap manufactured in China with minimal costs.

Everyday I see half assed manufactured products and people doing a half assed job and it pisses me of tbh, I wonder if the world was always like this?

And I hate how more and more companies are trying to secure themselves from being responsible for anything.

I say if you can rip anything out of their throats go ahead.

 

Well my box says Made in Malaysia.

I have my own qualms about the quality and durability of consumer goods and the rather low bar manufacturers set. It's precisely this sort of practice which adds to the already abundant waste of humans. Of course manufacturers claim that in order to provide a higher quality product the price must be passed on to the consumer, otherwise it will hurt their bottom line. I'm tired of this economics model that we have come to accept, and it really should be on the shoulders of the companies to provide high-grade products - but this is for another discussion. To the battery topic, perhaps some did get faulty systems, because mine is hardly worth noticing, if it is even the same issue.

 

on the "sluggish" vista

i am yet to test this (because my 1520 is "boxing" or flying or whatever), but nvidia has a technology called powermizer (sort of like a speedstep for GPUs), so if you guys have a look around the driver control panel, you could find a setting for power savings and turn it off.

what i think is happening is that once the GPU gets all excited about lots of GPU 3D activity (eg. the windows opening closing) then it starts clocking up (from what i've read it can go down to 100mhz)

 

ive had a hell of a time trying to get powermizer to mix with vista, even with Non-Dell drivers. blah

 

powermizer wasnt playing well for me on my computer. i gave up with it and left it alone.

 

i don't think vista supports powermizer.

 

Woo!! 1420 Came today. The battery is wobbely but I can live with it, not that big of a deal as people make it. I do have a question however is there a new video driver available, I looked through nvidia and i can't find it there?

 

Also the little thing you move to turn on your wireless card, my card is connected but the little green light next to it is off? Does anyone know anything about that?

 

the wireless switch acts as the hardware on/off for the wireless. if you push it over to the right all the way, it has a built-in wireless network scan so that you see what networks are available right away. at least that is what mine did when i tried it. the green light i dont think is normally lit on mine, even when connected to a wireless network.

 

I know that on my 1420 the wireless light (green light by the switch) does not stay on, only is on during the scan.

 

why no discussion of the display being 6-bit and the resulting "graininess" of the screen noticed by peopl? Does it bother you phobos that the colors are maxed out at 18-bits in the hardware rather than the native 24-bit? Did you see any difference from the other lappies you have?

24-bit (or 32-bit as windows display properties show it) color is not native 24-bit in all dell laptops according to the specs in the manual. It is 18-bit extrapolated into 24-bit. Real native colors are only 262K.

 

week already and love every f'ing minutes of it! Yes, my battery (9-cells) also 'wobbles' (slightly) if i shake it while holding the laptop away from desk. My laptop wobbles on the front left corner as the rubber stand is shorter on that side. Dell is in the process of shipping me the replacement. For ~$1150 (after $350 discount coupon), this is best f'ing thing I ever bought. (I/we can easily spend $1000 on our car repair....)

 

What screens did you two order and do you have any graininess?

 

Why no discussion of it? Because it's a non-issue. Most laptop screens are 6-bit. Even the coveted MacBooks are 6-bit color depth. Looks just the same as my fiancée's e1505, probably because it's 6-bit also.

I'm really starting to think that many of you folks are just looking for things to complain about because you want a $4,000 laptop for $1,000.

 

The light is for the Wi-Fi finder. Basically with the laptop off you can throw that switch and if the radio detects wireless networks in the area the little light will light up.

 

I asked because I would like to hear from other users. I used the following methodology for comparison on my 1420:

1. Look at a webpage with lot of color and text on white background on my 24" dell monitor in 1920x1200 resolution.
2. Open VNC to 19" dell ultrasharp running XP with 32-bit colors.
3. Open VNC to 1420 display with 32-bit colors on 24"
4. Open VNC to 1420 display on 19".

Because I am looking at these three windows in 24", and individual windows in 19" and 1420 at the same time side by side, I can really see the difference in color reproduction of the displays. 24" and 19" are way better. Although, I didn't find the mysterious "graininess" that others have noted.

I vaguely remember you mentioned 24" dell yourself. So, I was wondering how come you missed the difference if you have used the 24" for some time now. People using laptops may not find it. It is first for me, so I found the difference. Does it bother me? Not so much.

Its not about 4000 vs 1000. Its about having everybody aware of the facts. And bringing out issues and investigating them can make your review really richer.

 

You might want to see this thread:

1420 - Grainy Screen [gashbaugh]
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=144207

Well I received my new 1420 yesterday, and was pretty excited to do so. However, after turning it on I was pretty disappointed with the screen. It is very grainy, and makes my eyes unhappy.

It is using an AUO (AU Optronics) Screen. It says AUO1644 on it. I got the regular 1280 X 800 glossy screen option.

-LQ

 

BTW, what screen do you have?


My guess is that your 6-bit assertion is not the true issue.

-LQ

 

glossy 1440x900. I don't have the "graininess" issue that people are experiencing. My problem is the color reproduction: green is not green enough, blue is not blue enough and red is not red enough. I can clearly see the difference with my test above.

I got less color for my money...LOL

But my conclusion for people who are scared that this is an issue and not buying 1x20 series, is: If you can't tell the difference between 16-bit and 32-bit color display settings (easy to test in Windows) in your current setup (whatever that is, be it laptop or desktop LCD) by just looking at it from 2 feet, you don't need to worry! If that difference bothers you, you may notice this effect. Personally, I can tell the difference but still not giving up on my 1420...

 

Color reproduction can be adjusted a little through software, right? Would that solve the color issue at least a little? I'd like accurate colors on my screen (who wouldn't?)

 

The following might provide some insight into LCD issues.


Laptop LCD Roundup: Road Warriors Deserve Better

-LQ

 

not beyond a point. Its pretty much like mp3 compression. Once you use lower number of bits to represent your signal, you have lost the accuracy compared to higher number of bits. dithering can extrapolate 6-bit colors up to an extent but it can not make them as accurate as those with 8-bit. This is at the hardware level in these displays. Nothing much can be done.

 

During the whole 2 and a half days I spent writing my review, I had my 1420 sitting next to my 2405fpw. You know what I noticed? 2 things. Brightness and color saturation. That's really it.

Maybe the people having the problems are the weird people who can see a fourth color (really: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrachromacy)?

I'm not a guy who has a darkroom who sits here with a stick-on color calibrator. I mean, the background on my 2405fpw is solid red with a picture of my bike in the middle, which is also red, with slightly darker red lettering. The background on the laptop is a far more colorful picture and as far as I can discern it looks just fine.

I guess I just knew what I was getting ahead of time and don't feel the need to blow all these things out of proportion.

 

Phobos, I might have asked this before, but did you say you downloaded a drive update for the nVidia? ..and on the grainy issue....people make such a big thing out of nothing...i got my 1420 today and I would not say it has a "grainy" issue, especially compared to 3 other notebooks at my house..old Medion, new T60 and my Inspiron ....this machine is great especially for its price.

 

phobos and ruskiz - if im not mistaken you guys both got the matte screens though, thats why. the people with the problems got the glossy...

 

you just called me weird! But I am weird!...so, its alright!

 

Yes I downloaded the 162.13 Forceware drivers from laptopvideo2go.com. jkim I believe has the 162.18s. The .13s raised my 3dmark06 score approximately 5%.

 

That may very well be it. I absolutely cannot stand glossy screens. Hate them with a passion.

 

so a dell rep contacted me today,... i was supposed to receive that battery yesterday but dhl is having issues with it... anyways, dell figured out(i guess) that the problem in with the laptop and not the battery (duh!!) and now are asking me if they can send me out a new laptop and i can send them back this one so that they can see what's going on with it... also, just to let you know, there is no way to get a 9 cell battery unless you order your lappy with it.... the guy said that probably the reason that you can't get them is because of this specific issue but you can configure your lappy with one.... which maybe i should do, but i don't want to wait for another couple of weeks.... so this sux that i have to configure and reset up my lappy for a 3rd time but hey, if it solves the problem for me and others, not that it was a real problem, i mean i was going to live with it, but like i said before, it's a matter of principle. i will keep you guys updated

 

thefisl - any updates?

 

I checked out your configuration.... its exactly what I ordered, please let me know how it performs when you get a chance to play with it a bit more.

Edit: Oops... i'm an idiot, I didn't realize this thread had another 43 pages for me to read.

 

You cant order a 9 cell battery by itself from Dell? Seriously?


Crap. Even the 9 cell for the 1501 is $185. I should have opted for both batteries. I thought the 6 cell would be enough since Ill mostly use it plugged in anyway. I didnt realize it would be so difficult/expensive to get a 9-cell later.

 

no, i have yet to get the new cpu... it's still being produced but they have it configured wrong so i have tried hitting them up with an e-mail (since that chat thing is always backed up) and have yet to hear back from them... i had told them that i really wanted a 9 cell battery but i cant go through the process of returning it and waiting for it to be produced... the guy that i spoke with (american) told me that they could only send me out what i had originally ordered but he would put a note in there and try to get me a 9 cell (sweet) i told him that i was willing to pay for one but there was no option to do it through the site.... when i looked at the specs of the replacement that they were sending me out it had a 9 cell but had lost the webcam and bluetooth.... these are options that i need and would rather have those than the 9 cell, so, i am trying to tell them that if its because of the cost, they can bill me for the 9 cell, i really don't care but i want to receive the machine as per my configuration plus a 9 cell battery if possible..... we'll see.. i did receive the replacement 6 cell and tried it out just for kicks... as expected wobble wobble..... i will keep you guys informed as updates come in..... as always, from the frontlines... the fisl

 

lol... just checked dell and the system has been shipped... i guess they didn't get my email in time even though i sent it the same day... this is one time where a fast turnaround did not work in their favor... oh well, lets see what happens tomorrow when i know that i will get a reply from a dell rep.... cant wait for morning....

 

ok, so i got the new cpu.... and after being on the phone with dell for like an hour, and after having to explain to them that even though the cpu that they sent me was more expensive (msrp i guess) was still not up to the configuration that i had ordered at 2/3 the price... anyways, the new cpu still has the wobble... lol

 

yep. I figured it would. Thanks for the update though.

 

i just recieved mine today after a week's delay. fedex shipped it a weekend earlier than dell's expected delivery date. which is good!

i opened it up everything's fine the standard 6cell came snug with the laptop and the 9 cells connects fine as well. no major defect on hardware...yet but software and else are fine. ermm well...my stickers arent very straight (vista sticker and intel sticker )

 

you could always take the stickers off.