The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Inspiron 1420 Screen Option

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by gtabmx, Aug 4, 2007.

  1. gtabmx

    gtabmx Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    5
    Messages:
    79
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Hey, I've been reading many threads in this forum about Dell's screen choices and their quality, but can someone give me a quick run-down on what exactly each of these options offer.

    -Glossy, high contrast, widescreen 14.1 inch display (1280x800)
    -14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA LCD Display
    -14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA+ TrueLife LCD Display

    Thanks,
    Mike
     
  2. SmoothTofu

    SmoothTofu Inspiron 1420 Owner

    Reputations:
    64
    Messages:
    1,481
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Glossy, high contrast WXGA: Vibrant, beautiful colours, great contrast, but reflective. Geared towards indoor use.

    Regular WXGA: Colours not as great as a glossy display, but better suited for outdoors because of reduced reflections

    WXGA+ Truelife: Same as #1, except in a 1440x900 widescreen resolution.
     
  3. gtabmx

    gtabmx Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    5
    Messages:
    79
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    So if I will be in a classroom, in a metro car, or on the bus, and on a bench outside most of the time, what would be my best pick if having high resolution was not important?
     
  4. ryuuzaki89

    ryuuzaki89 Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    86
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    The matte screen I presume.
     
  5. gtabmx

    gtabmx Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    5
    Messages:
    79
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    OK, this question my be subjective but i will ask it anyway. I will also use this laptop for photo and video editing as well and moderate gaming. Is the increase in sharpness and vividness in the TrueLife glossy screen worth its reflectiveness?
     
  6. EagleDevil

    EagleDevil Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    7
    Messages:
    405
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    As long as you work in the dark all the time, go for glossy. If you ever sit near a window or under bright lights, let alone outside, forget about glossy. I've returned two laptops in two years because it's totally unworkable.

    Thank God Dell finally wised up and started offering matte more widely again.

    Chris
     
  7. HappyFunBall

    HappyFunBall Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    22
    Messages:
    235
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    To OP, I think that if you have the money, definitely go for the WXGA+ True Life. I've seen both True Life and non, glossy and matte side-by-side, and there is a clear difference in contrast and richness of color. And since video/photo editing and gaming are important to you, then it'll pay off. As for glare when outside or in high lighting conditions, you can always get either an anti-glare filter or slap on a screen protector which will also reduce glare. These don't cost very much. IMHO.
     
  8. swarmer

    swarmer beep beep

    Reputations:
    2,071
    Messages:
    5,234
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    205
    For these environments I'd definitely go for matte (anti-glare). But... you're doing photo and video editing on a bus? Glossy might be nicer for those multimedia tasks... but they'll cause glare in the environments you describe above.

    Go to a computer store, and you can see all the glossy screens. The reflections are usually awful in the store, because of the lighting.