From XPS M170 to Studio 1555

EHM. my 4 years old xps m170 was getting slow, dirty, and hot. Few days ago I got a good deal on studio 1555 laptop and decided to give it a go. I thought it was a reasonable upgrade, considering processor core duo over centrino. Disk space 60gb over 300.

But, I'm having buyers remorse, I totally hate new laptop screen. It's horrible! With bluish, purple cast, I used a fix provided here, but boy it makes a little difference. Color cast changes according to the viewing angle, hearts my eyes!

now I have few questions, is it because I'm used to high end but old monitor? 17 ultra sharp XPS monitor was fantastic. Colors dead on, everything perfect. Now I see photos and I want to puke... all colors messed up!

p.s. I tried fix, I found it on this forum, it messes with color management and fixes some of this issues.

Should I return it? or will I get used to it?

 

If you are really unhappy, do what you think is right, I would return because your initial opinion was that you hate it, its probably not going to change. If less than 30 days passed since you got the invoice for it, then play around and see if it grows on you. If not, call em up and give em hell .

If you bough it new, you have 30 days since the date of invoice to get a full refund, no questions asked (except all those stupid ones by tech support). And if your 30 days since the invoice passed call em up and tell em that you have been using it for less than 30 days (assuming it is true) and see where that gets you.

Good luck with your decision and hope you have success acquiring your new laptop or refund. And I know the position you are in as my Studio 1536 was "nice" and "cool" when I got it, but now I just want to throw it out the window with all the problems I have had.

 

I don't know honestly... I like this machine, it's fast and responsive, no heat issues... my XPS is like an oven. But this monitor, but I searched around and people are pretty happy with the image. My monitor is SEC5441, and they praise it, also in other dell models... but I don't know, maybe it's me! my GF also tells me it's fine, compared to her apple, it's similar in quality, but has different color cast. apple - yellowish, dell bluish :S

 

LOL, who praises the SEC5441?!?

There's a long discussion here about the 720p which most of the times has the SEC5441, and the verdict is that it is below average.

The 1080p and 900p are in another class as far as brightness, viewing angles and picture quality is concerned.

Too bad there isn't a better option for 720p though.

(p.s. I would suggest just getting a 900p if you don't like the 1080p resolution, it has the AUO screen which if you look around has gotten very good reviews)

 

The SEC displays are generally regarded as poor quality. I assume you got the 720p display option?

I recommend the 900p or 1080p displays. They are made by AUOptronics, and according to review, are MUCH better than that SEC display. Better colors and viewing angles, and brighter backlight.

 

that boils it, so what are my options? can I buy screen and replace it?

I live in italy, nobody gave me an option to choose one or the other... was a promotion in the store, and guy recommended it. I said I want it for photography, and the guy was like don't worry it's awesome for that... hm.... I knew there was something fishy, but at the store, I didn't notice so much a problem. Only after I got it home to work on photos, sky became purple instead of blue!

 

You can but it would be mighty expensive and mighty time consuming to do...a WUXGA+ (1920x1200) for my lappy would be around 220CAD not including shipping from eBay...

And for the 1555, since it is a new laptop, there are not many parts out there for people to buy and upgrade. I looked at eBay and they have no screens for the 1555.

If you want a different screen, you could send this one in, get a refund and order a new Studio 1555 with a better screen <- never tried that so I don't know how long it will take....

 

You can buy a replacement LCD and do it yourself, but it's a difficult process if you've never done it before. You would probably be better off returning the laptop, and ordering a new one through Dell.com with the 900p display.

Since you bought yours in an actual store, that explains why you didn't get many options.

 

I cannot buy any LCD right? I have a friend who specializes in laptops, engineer, so getting it done will not be hard. Just where do I get better screen? how do I know it's compatible?

I'm afraid it will be hard to get it back to the store, since laptop isn't faulty itself...

 

how do I tell if it's 720p or 900p? it doesn't say anything on the box, or on the description of the laptop.

 

According to the AU website, this might be the correct model for the 900p screen found in the Dell 1555s. Someone whom actually has their 1555 might want to verify that.
Edit: I seem to have forgotten that the Dell 1555 has a 15.6" screen. Nevermind that above

Go to your screen resolution, the 720p will have a highest resolution of 1366x768.

 

There is a big difference between the 720, 900 & 1080 displays. If you are unhappy though I recommend returning it. If you have any doubts, better to get rid and buy a different one rather than waiting another day and missing the opportunity to return.

 

1366x768 = 720p
1600x900 = 900p
1920x1080 = 1080p

This may be of some help to people looking at LCD screens:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WSXGA+

 

okay, so today I go to try to exchange... honestly I really like the machine, except for the monitor I would keep it.

works flawlessly, got 4200 3dmark06 points, which is good for this configuration. photoshop cs4 works perfectly, very fast. no lag. even with 600mb files... so quiet, and doesn't get hot as my other laptop...

but this monitor is a deal breaker since I use it for photo editing.... so will see what happens.