More proof that Dell Screens are worst in Industry.

ok then go to HP. stop the crap!

 

So for the people who do or did have this problem, when did you guys order your Vostro's?

 

to raphie... re read your first post.. you did not state dell was the number one "vendor" you said manufacture, and no not all companies outsource... samsung makes panels.. sony makes panels... toshiba makes some.... sharp... lg phillips... etc.... yes most outsource but at least they pick better quality panels for their systems and not the cheapest ones they can find..

 

People should be aware of the issue. Especially people who are considering buying a Vostro.

 

Dell manufacturers the finshed good, with Dell firmware and Dell badged design. The panel in there is ofcourse 1 of the big three, like every other vendor in the world.

So just to give in a little: Yes Dell buys their panels elsewhere *just like everybody else) but they DO manufacture their own finished goods.

Did you know by the way that nearly all PC Manufacturers outsource their processors and chipsets to Intel or AMD? And that ASUS is the biggest component manufacturer who is also manufacturing Dell and Lenovo branded components? (no pun intended) There are very little companies left who spend R&D and develop on component level. The game has become nearly a taiwan component mix & match game where the vendor designs their own casing and features around it.

 

This is purely an OPINION and nothing more. Provide me proof that Dell has picked the cheapest panels ON PURPOSE.

 

He didn't say they did on purpose... whatever lead up to it (on purpose, due to ignorance or just by chance) it would seem they did pick the cheap batch.

They did on purpose is an opinion without documented proof. That Dell currently seems to have a significantly higher percentage of poor quality displays in the vostro/inspiron line is not an opinion.

If I run over you in my car on accident or on purpose you still end up dead. The problem here isn't WHY they did, but THAT they did and specifically that they aren't actively fixing it or responding to it.

And for the people who think it's better to just go to HP, yes for pure results it probably is better in the short run for you to just go HP, but running from the problem is never the good way to solve it, after all if those who complain run and those who stay don't complain, the problem will never get resolved.

If one sees that another can get away with something like this, the problem will spread (who wouldn't want to use cheap components vs quality if the consumer base won't complain?).

That could lead to low quality being the standard, which in all too many cases happens. I can't count how many people seem to be ok with getting sub par service/products in every realm of life just because it's done so much they think it's ok.

 

i have said it before and i'll say it again. people with nice screens just don't understand.

i wonder how many of the people that object to bad dell LCD posts have had a grainy screen from dell themselves?




have you seen my stapler?

 

Thats exactly what I'm trying to say. All these people telling us to "get over it" and "stop the crap" probably never had a crappy screen. I'd love for them to spend $1200 and get a crappy grainy screen and see how they accept it or react to it.

I'm sure they'll say "Oh, it's a cheap $1200 vostro. I will accept the fact that I got a grainy sub-par screen".

Hardly.




ummmm I kinda broke your stapler.

 

hahahahaa... can i at least listen to music at a reasonable volume between 9 and 11?

 

I can honestly say that before getting my crappy screen I probably would have thought people were overreacting too. Having had it, I can even see how someone might see it for a few minutes and agree something is wrong but still say it's something you can live with.

But upon having gotten it and tried to use it for more than half an hour I have to say it's absolutely one of those things if you never experienced it, you can't imagine how important it is.

So to everyone who is complaining it really does come down to walking a mile in someone elses shoes... to the vast majority of users out there I think the grainy screens really would be "THAT" bad.

 

^^^^^^^ 100% well said would rep you but it says i cant lol

 

Let me top it all off..... Both headphone jacks have the whine/noise/static

Wonderful. Thanks Dell.

 

Lol wow, this blew up since last night..

Well I was talking to the highest authority I could get a hold of today. And I asked him what is the issue, typically, he didn't say much. He did drop the hint that all the typical manufactures Dell chooses for screens were swamped with all the demand for the 'back to school session' (roughly 4.2 million laptops of all brands sold around this time lol.. that's a lot of screens).

He let on like he had no frigging clue what so ever, but, he said that Dell ordered a massive ( around 950,000 screens total ) before the production of the new inspirons and such and they needed them like...now... and the manufactures rushed everything right out the door which is what is causing all the issues, FOR THE MOST PART. Right now they are trying to solve the problem but when dealing with those numbers I wouldn't expect to see this fixed instantly.

It's not like they can take all those screens and just dump them in a hole at the local city dump like what has been done many years ago to that ET game. lol

But right now they're doing their procedures to solve the issue, so everyone stop any bashing, Dell still own 6 ways to Sunday and you know it.

As for computers in retail stores looking better.. OF COURSE they're gonna put the display model up there which will be the perfect machine. Go to a Dell outlet.. They look perfect to.. Just common sense, if you're selling apples you don't display the rotten apple, no, you show the shiniest, reddest one of all.

I don't blame anyone for getting mad over the situation.. now and days, 1000 dollars is a lot of money to earn just to toss to a product with sub-par parts. I agree with what was said, if we settle for less, it'll become a standard. So if you don't want sub-par parts in you're computers, no matter if it's a HP, Dell, Sony, Frank, Billy or Bob.. Call none stop.. Bug the living **** out of these vendors/manufactures until they get the ****ing idea!

You won't just be helping yourself now, but everyone else.. And for the future ahead to... Cuz soon they'll figure out we want quality for dirt cheap prices.. And that, sounds like music to my ears. I'd much rather have a Mercedes for pennies then a beater car for the same price..

My 2(million) cents.

So in summary, instead of raging and channeling all this rage and frustration on a form.. Call the people that make the damn product you're so mad about..

(red neck accent) Well aw'darn jeez.. that's one of'em ide'ers there...

 

Nice post B2.

It does seem like these manufacturers slapped these LCDs together quickly.

and you are right, keeping quiet and letting something sub-par becoming the norm is never right for the consumer.

 

Firsts off I am personally (and I think most people also) not so angry that they haven't fixed it yet (I understand they deal in volumes that can't be resolved in a week) but rather that they haven't even owned up to it or announced in any way that they will resolve it. A week ago I spoke to someone and directly asked if this was a known issue, he put me on hold then came back a few minutes and said his supervisor states absolutely there is no known issue with bad/grainy LCDs. Now this might be one uninformed sup and support agent but the point is by this point it's just ridiculous that anyone at Dell doesn't know.

Now factor in that others have been told similar things to what you were told and often those panned out to be totally undtrue (no more AUO screens used in production, you will not get an AUO screen etc) so we KNOW Dell will state as fact things that aren't necessarily true just to say something that sounds good. Add to that that you had to do a lot of assuming in your post (you say he dropped a lot of hints but you had to fill in the blanks) and I think you can see how many would still be skeptical of exactly what is going on.

And lastly, I worked in a big box store, I can say for sure that at the one I woked at (BB) we did not cherry pick display units. In fact if something was wrong minorly wrong the manager would not authorize a second unit as it came out of the bottom line (only if it was broken and could be returned was it not put on the shelf). We did not open 9 boxes to get the prettiest one then open box the rest, that just doesn't happen. We get a pallet of notebooks, open one, put it on the shelf, if it works then that's that.

I know a few people who worked in other big boxes and the story was the same. Maybe some places cherry pick but I agarauntee it's not the norm. And users have reported ugly screens at Dell stores too so even there it's not a guarantee. Basically what I am saying is that it might sound good to think that stores cherry pick displays but I would be dollars to donuts that in reality the reason you see so few bad displays in stores is that they just aren't out there in that great of numbers.

I actually went window shopping shortly after I got my first vostro to double check my eyes and out of about 50 laptops in 3 stores only one had a grainy screen. I coudln't verify manufacturer but it was the SAME grainy problem as my vostro but on a 17 incher. So there also goes the cherry picking theory.

So it's good to be optomistic and I always try to give the benefit of the doubt where applicable but in this case I just don't think there is any reason to give Dell a break... they just dropped the ball bad and haven't showed any signs of getting better.

 

I don't believe they cherry pick either but I do know in bigger department stores, sometimes they get a special boxed unit and it'll have a big ass stick on it labeled "display unit" or something along the lines. So that theory will vary greatly on the stores. I could care less really about that cuz it wouldn't make me feel any better if I was in the position that some people are in!

The person I was speaking with didn't really blurt it all out but he said it exactly as I did. he didn't admit to the screen issue at all like you pointed out. I don't blame dell for doing it.. It'd likely kill business.. But they can at least tell these owners with problematic screens, they're ARE some issues. It's not the CS-R's fault, I believe they're under contract not to say or admit anything, and with all those calls being recorded, I don't think they'd take the chance.

I know for a fact, Dell are extremely picky with the parts they buy. You'd be surprised the stories I hear. I've talked to people working in some of the manufactures data centers and it's almost scary how much pressure Dell applies, so these people make it seem - true or not.

I think this should be a calling - introduce human interaction quality control before any system is shipped. Pay a bunch of teens to just run a routine on each machine before packages..Simple.. They can pay teens to test video games why not just inspect a simple computer.

Ah well.. Riot the phones, the doors and the vendor/manufactures employees homes - that'll get the message across consumers ain't gonna stand for this garbage.

 

Where is the infamous Bios fix for the headphone jack noise?

 

Tried to build a 14.1 2500t or whatever HP and you cant build them the same.
1)6 cell or 12 cell for HP no 9 cell
2) HP has a 64mg Dedicated vid card Dell is 128
3) The lowest processor for HP is 667 FSB not 800 like the dell
4) One screen choice only on the HP XGA no XGA+ or SXGA+ or UBERSUPERTINYPRINTPWNAGE+
5) HP all of them come with HP's version of TrueLife
6) Dell is still Cheaper.
7) Both are good budget computers and each have their flaws.

 

there is none from what i was told that actually works..

 

I don't care if you buy a HP at the store or order it from their web site like I did..... HP screens are generally brilliant. Very few complaints about them on the HP forum. HP has very good QC on what they except for LCD's on their systems. And yes, I got a HP online and during the school rush.. The build quality on my dv6500t is considerably better then the 1420 I briefly had. And as far as volume goes, HP ships out more systems.. period. They are larger then Dell at this point in time. It amazes me how some people are making up excuses for theses pathetic displays that Dell is shipping out. Yes there are other manufacturers that also sell grainy crap displays.. but there are those like HP that are generally consistent.

My point is simple, Dell has much looser boundary samples as what they see as exceptable. HP, no doubt, is much more demanding from what they expect from their LCD vendors. Basically, dell probably gets whats left over. HP, at this point, probably has more muscle on the panel vendors then dell has. Allot of this is pure speculation.. but the one reality is HP delivers on nice screens with the school rush and all.

 

Its a combination of putting the headphone jacks too close to the processor and using cheap shielding etc.. Its a design flaw pure and simple. You can even hear it slightly with the 1420 (morse code sounds) I did. But it was not enough to be an issue. The 1420 had the headphone jacks up front.. away from the processor.. and lets get this straight.. its the processor causing the interference from most of the analysis that has gone to troubleshooting this. Rm clock fix turns up the core speed on the processor which helps.. but not a good idea for heat/power issues. Maybe that is why HP put their headphone jack up front on the dv6500t 15" model. I know some don't like those jacks up front. But what would you rather have? Static or jacks up front. The 1500/1520 with speakers on bottom and jacks on side is just a poor design if you ask me. I am thinking the best of the lot is the 1700 since they generally have nicer screens and no static. 14 inch panels are problematic to build and have issues with grain and poor viewing angles. Yes the dell 1720 is a tank but I think it may be the best of the bunch.

 

Vostro 1400 headjacks are also in the front. The CPU is towards back, facing down.... Yet The headphone picks up EVERYTHING. low volume music is impossible to listen to without the clicking and ticking and hissing and morse code.

 

the 17xx ones have the headphone noise as well 2 of my employees have them i have heard it first hand. the screens are fine on them though.. but one of them has the cpu whine...

 

Both of the 1400s ive had so far you can only hear that ticking when it is muted the second you start some music you gotta have jedi hearing to hear it cus I cant nor can any of my roomies. That or you listen to music VERY softly... as for that guy who thinks it is coming from the processor... if I recall this "Static" issue is happening in lots of other company's laptops too. Friend has a 6500t and the way you type about it makes me seem to think you would rather have that than a toilet made of gold or a winning lottery ticket. But his has that same "Static" problem. From what I could hear on his it sounds like some sort of interference but i highly doubt it is a processor. I'd put more money on stronger wi-fi cards+crappy wire insulation or even the HD.

 

Well maybe my dv6500t is just a good one then. But the screen on my HP is light years better then either the SEC/AUO crapola screens that Dell tried to unload on me. And as far as the static on my HP, I don't hear it. Sorry. The built in altec lansing speakers are much better too. With the Dell I wasted no time in finding my creative external speakers and hooking them up to the 1420. With the HP, i am satisfied enough that I don't have to bother using externals. So as far as sound with headphones/speakers go with the HP its not an issue. If you want me to be picky, then I will say yes, the dv6500t is a little warmer on the left palm rest, but not enough to bother me. And of course, no 86xx gt GPU. But other then that, the dell I had pailed in comparison to the HP I have. Unless you think I should always have to hook up my external speakers and look through a vasoline greasy looking AUO screen, I differ to agree that the dell I had is something better then what I have now.

I will also add that all HP and Dell systems are massed produced. You will get bad ones either way you go. But one thing you don't see on the HP forum is threads with hundreds of posts spanning over several months about headphone jacks and screens. There is something more serious going on here with dells.

I also just plugged in my Sennheiser Ear bud again and cranked up the volumn full on my dv6500t with no music on.. Again, no static. Sorry but I am not making this up.. I did hear some beeping/morse code type of sounds when I did that with the 1420. I would tell your friend to call HP if this is a bad enough issue for him/her. Because this is something that is not reported as a major issue on the HP forums or something that may be a design flaw.. Like the Dells.. that is most definitely a design issue.. especially with the 1500/1520 systems.

 

the dv2500t I had did not have any noise in the head-jacks either. but it did get a bit warmer.

The HP also had a crappier keyboard and touchpad in my opinion.
The HP also had a worse battery life. 2 hours compared to dell's 3.5 hours
The Dell has 2 year warranty with onsite repair. Hp was 1 Year
The screen on HP is better

IMO the Dell looks better/professional.

It's a touch decision for me .

 

Yes the smaller dv2500t has been reported to get warmer. Its not that big an issue with the larger models.. and you don't hear people complaining about it on the dv6500 and 9500. But you do hear about the heat on the 2500 for sure. Personally, I prefer the HP keyboard over the dell.. the dell was a bit too stiff for my tastes. But I agree, the touch pad could be better. Mostly I use a notebook blue tooth MS presenter mouse 8000 which is really nice.. it has 5 button navigation with tilting scroll wheel. The bottom of this mouse has buttons that can be used for movies, powerpoint presentations and even has a laser pointer. I never care to use touchpads, pointing sticks on laptops.. unless I am mobile of course.

One thing you can consider is buying a 6500t to replace a dell 1420. The weight/size is not that much different. When you compare how bulky the 1520 is yes, I can see going with the smaller 1420. But when comparing a 1420 to a 6500t its not that much difference in portability.

 

I certainly can't speak for every store but I can definitely say that in 3 big boxes in my fairly large city they do not have any kind of display laptops coming in with an regularity (that is maybe once in a while but I have never heard of it or the people I know who work there). But yeah I agree, whatever the stores do or don't do really doesn't bear much on how much it sucks to have a bad screen.

I can believe they are supposed to be careful how they choose their words, but if you are going to specifically go ask your supervisor then come back and directly tell me that it has been investigated and no such issue exists... that's a bit worse than just being guarded as to what you say. If they said we are unaware of, or I can't say, that's one thing. Let me go check, no absolutely no problems is something different all together.

And yes I can believe Dell is very picky about their resources, in theory I am sure they set rigorous standards and demand the best... but nothing speaks louder than the fact that indeed these poor quality screens are out there in significant numbers.

 

i would like to get a 15.4" but it just does not suit my needs.

the 300 student classrooms are tightly packed. You can't even move your arm without elbowing the person next to you. It was so hard with the Vostro 1500 i had, thats why I went with Dv2500t (smaller) but I much rather have Dell for it's service/support and plain look (yes i like the plain look).
Dell was able to match the specs of my HP for about the same price. (About $450 discount compared to their website).

The Vostro 1400 is smaller than the 1500, It's a little lighter, It's much much cooler than the 2500t, It's got ALMOST double the battery life of HP. The HP could not pass 2 hours for me, yet the Vostro 1400 is 3.5 hours EASY on 6-cell.

I just feel I will be better off with a Dell for some reason and it's better of the two deals (Dell threw in 2 year onsite repair for free).

Dell is sending a replacement mostly because I cannot stand the headjack noise. LIsten to lectures (online/hybrid classes) is hard because i can't get my mind off the morse code lol.