New Latitude D820 wuxga..Screen is Dull and font too small

Hi, I just got my Dell D820 notebook with wuxga i.e 1920*1200 and I am so confused.... I think the text is kind of small than what i was expecing.... I checked and found that its samsung make.. here is how u check the make..
Control Panel->System->Hardware->* Device Manager->Monitors->Plug and Play Monitor->Properties->Details->* Hardware Ids

You should get something like 'Monitor\XXX####" where XXX is a three chars string representing the manufacture and the #### is the model number.

Mine is samsung 3225. At first look, I think it looks dull to me. God Almighty help me.... I am really confused now.... I tried the dpi setting of 150 but didnt change text size a whole lot... The screen looks dull at all dpi I have tried i.e. default 120, 135, 150 dpi etc. So images are not blurred or brightness is less because of DPI

what about others? How do you rate your monitors with 1920 * 1200 resolution???

oh and not to forget, my screen shows fonts crisp clear like High definition video but some images appear grainy/fuzzy.. dont know why? what do you guys suggest...

Plz advise....

I have attached all images here which i feel are enuf to convince anyone...

I am strongly thinking of replacing latitude 820 with inspiron e1505 for
1) text is too small
2) i like glossy screen...

what u suggest? shall i ask dell to give me wsxga+ instead of the current wuxga or shall i get the LG wuxga screen by replacing the current samsung one?

thanks

 

another set of pics... the performace is good... i mean its very quite and all but my eyes are definitely strained by the text and the dull screen..

why is the screen so dull?

 

I believe to counter the dull effect, you need to set it back to its original smaller size DPI but would make everything small again.

I don't mind the small text, I can't even read "my computer" etc, I just remember what the icons look like. I also sit pretty far back from the screen though.

Theres no guarentee that you will get an LG screen if you ask for a replacement.

The main thing that bugged me about my screen was the colour. The gamma levels of each colour were pretty bad when I got the laptop. But I improved it with Adobe Gamma.

(I have the glossy 1900 x 1200 screen, by LG even though on the dell.com website, it tells me I have a samsung)

 

Well, at default settings i.e. 120 dpi also the screen looked the same. I have tried various options i.e 135/150 dpi and the screen looks dull to me.

How do you know its glossy? Can you post some images or the model number of your LG monitor by goign to computer properties?
I didnt have option of buying glossy vs matte, so I am wondering how can I get the glossy one?

Plz clarify..

 

I have a wuxga on my e1705 and its about the same as what your complaining of. I don't like my monitor, but not because of the small print. I only see fuzzy in IE to be honest, the small print is due to the OS not the monitor. My monitor loses tons of contrast from the slightest angle.

 

Yours should be glossy right? Mine is very dull ... I have an old inspiron 5100 and the brightness on it is better than my new dell d820. Not sure what to do.

Anyone wanna say something ???

Rutagur --> What about you? how did you get glossy on ur Latitude? or was it on Inspiron.... plz reply

 

1.) Dell does not offer glossy screens on it's Latitude line.
2.) The DPI setting you should be using is 96.
3.) WUXGA+ is a pretty high resolution for a 15.4 inch screen--you probably should have made sure that's what you wanted before you bought. I'd give it a few days so that your eyes have time to get used to the screen, and if it's still too small & grainy, send it back to Dell for a WSXGA+ screen.
4.) are you sure that you've turned the brightness all the way up (via the fn+function keys?)
5.) A matte screen will never be as vibrant as a glare-type screen. If you want a super bright screen you should return & look elsewhere.
To some degree LCDs are luck of the draw.

 

Ok. just wanted to make sure.

I will try it and let you know.

I thought i would be fine because there are so many ppl using wuxga+ and dont complain and I am also particular abt high screen real estate. I thought it would be decent but the screen is so dull, I dont feel I am enjoying the new notebook. I still have old inspiron 5100 and things look bright on it even though its not the glossy / true life screen. All I need from my d820 is atleast that look of matte with decent brightness.

yes man... I tried fn and up key and I can see from the indicator on the screen that I have max brightness. There is something called auto glare functionality in latitude and I tried both enabling and disabling and could not get more brightness.

Look at my answer to question 3. If the screen was as bright as old inspiron, I can live with it but this is really really dull.

I guess I will make a video and post it so ppl can really look at it and guide me.

Thanks again for all responses.

 

!5.4" WUXGA screens are great. Set-up properly, the higher the hardware-dpi, the easier the screen is on the eyes. Printed books even higher "dpi" (actually, "ppi") than for the 15.4" WUXGA. If your screen is too dull it is nothing to do with resolution, software-dpi or matt finish etc. Maybe there is something wrong with the hardware, other than its native resolution. You could easily have a dud screen. Contact Dell.

 

what is a dud screen? dead screen perhaps?

Yeah maybe its the screen because as i said earlier, my old one screen on inspiron is not glossy but its clear and bright and usually i dont set it at high brightness (i set it 3 points below the max) but still looks good . but on otherhand d820 screen with full brightness looks dull...

Thanks all..

 

I've got a Dell D820 bought in October with the same 1920 by 1200 WUXGA and I'm satisfied with it. My previous screen was 1600 by 1200 glossy on a Toshiba notebook. That screen might be brigher than the new one but I'm enjoying the new machine overall, I like the extra pixels and it's quite legible for me with stock settings. If my eyes weaken in the next few years I'll get a pair of inexpensive magnifier glasses from the drug store just for looking at the computer screen. I do a lot of stuff where high resolution is useful so i put up with the smaller text. It may be that the current style screen consumes less power than the earlier ones and that accounts for some of the difference. I'm impressed with how much much more battery time this Dell gives compared to the old Toshiba. Forget about the comparisons. Give yourself time to get used to the new screen.

I have some quibbles with my D820 but if you gave me the money back I'd go buy the same machine for the same money.

 

Can u tell me which make is ur screen... is it samsung or lg? also did u change any settings? plz guide me

I am also a big fan of high resolution but trust me theres something wrong with the screen... I went to dell kiosk here who carry inspirons only and compared my screen with them and my screen in not even 50% of clarity of what they have....ofcourse they are true life screens but mine doesnt look good infront of my old inspiron 5100 which i feel is atleast more brighter than this new one...

thanks..letme know ur screen for sure

 

If you want your icons/pictures to be clear (not fuzzy), then you will have to set your LCD resolution to the default (Normal Size 96dpi) resolution. Of course, text will be real small but that is the native resolution that your LCD is meant for. However, going by your concerns, it seems that a WSXGA+ or even the lower WXGA will work a whole lot better for you....

 

hi all, i guess ppl are thinking in terms of font when I say clarity... well let me put it this way, my old screen of inspiron is brighter than the new latitude d820... i can live with font being small or i can increase it when i want but how can i get the decent brightness which i expect from a new notebook?

New notebook screen vs a 3 yr old inspiron (technology wasnt that great at that time)

You tell me why I wouldnt be mad ?

 

Hi,
I turned my notebook and looked in the back side and I found this. Let me know if its broken or what.... plz compare this against your D820 and let me know asap... maybe dell sent me some cheap/broken returned notebook as new...

also i have posted a comparision by keeping d600 close to the new d820. PPl in my office also said d600 was more brighter(its not glossy) than the new d820.
Even though you cannot say much from the comparision pictures, if u view it live you can easily see the difference.

plz guide and help me asap... oh can someone tell what that slot is supposed to do above the usb? see the pic if you dont know what I am saying.....

 

Hey,

I have the d820 and I have a LG screen. First, you MUST change the DPI back down to 96 in order to get the proper sharpness. When I received my computer the dpi was set high and I encountered the same grainy/blurryness of my icons. Once you make the change, a very noticeable improvement should be seen.

Your machine is not broken, my laptop also has the same ports in the rear, including the USB port that you believe to have a broken pin. If you check your d820 manual it has a diagram distinguishing all of the computers ports and switches. According to the manual, the USB port that you question is a "powered USB port," explaining the power emblem. I don't know how this port works but nonetheless, it's meant to look that way and is not broken.

If you have searched these forums, you will find that many people are dissappointed with their SAMSUNG screens. It's pretty much established that the LG screens are superior in terms of brightness and light leakage. From the pictures you posted it is clear that your screen lacks brightness. If you cannot get it bright enough for your tastes through adjusting the settings through your nVIDIA control panel, then you can go through the process of requesting a screen change. There have been people who were successful with this. The LG screen in my opinion is fine, sure it's not as bright as glossy screens. But a WUXGA screen is a LUXURY, that is a fact. It certainly requires adjustment, but once you get accustomed you will be rewarded. It's nice to be able to play back 1080p movies and trailers at their full glory.

 

Hi John, thanks for clarifying that issue. But if you look at the picture closely ( i have zoomed & attached in this post), there is break in the seperator between the normal USB(below) and power USB(top). Is this normal? Do you or others have the same break between there usb slots?

see the pic. Do i need to contact returns dept or is there another dept for screen exchange? can somebody guide me?

Also if I dont like the view/screen even after screen replacement, can i still return back the notebook because dell has 21 day policy for returns?

Thanks,

 

Yes I have that break; not sure what the purpose of it is.

I'm not sure of the return policy though, I would think that if the replacement was within the return time period they would still honor your request. However, it's probably best to call and ask to confirm.

 

I'm not too sure about the shape of the port (power & usual USB) so I cannot commend on that. However, I know that those ports are to be used for something called a D-Bay plus external DVD writer &/or burner such as the following:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=313-1669

Notice the connector:

http://i20.ebayimg.com/01/i/07/a0/fe/c4_1_b.JPG

 

Hi,
First things first..thanks AntSkip, Charlie3, John Forte,SPEEDwithJJ. Your replies made lot of sense. SPEEDwithJJ you were right about dbay slot. Surprisingly I didnt get manual in my box but I searched online and found this pic online from dell site since the link you sent didnt open. Also John mentioned he also sees the split/crack in metal betwen usb and usb power. What about others?

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/latd400/smen/pinouts4.jpg

Now to most important part. I called Dell returns and told them my problem. The lady said contact Technical Services. She transferred me and I spoke to a representative who specializes in Latitude. He asked me to go to Dell site and install new drivers for Nvidia 120m and Intel 950 or whatever it was. So I installed drivers and restarted system and nothing changed. The screen was dull like before. After this he remotely logged in to my computer and we tried few options like changing display settings to less than 1920 * 1200. But still the screen was the same i.e dull. Infact the dell guy himself said that it is very dull. I took the opportunity to point him out the icons which were fuzzy in normal resolution as well at the low resolution, which he wanted me to set the system at. After confirming that screen is dull, he siad we will try hardware tests. He asked me to shutdown and start the system again by pressing Cntl + Power button and release both at same time. This started the hardware tests. In the graphics section, the system shows rainbow vertically and horizontally and asks you, if you can see it. First time, I said yes and I started system again but as usual screen was dull. Second time, the guy said select NO as an option and that we wanted to hear the beeps from the system. I selected NO this time, and the screen beeped for sometime. He said Screen is bad. It failed the test. I dont remember guys exactly how many times it beeped but I think He said it should be 20. Also He said it should be beep in a particular pattern and it didnt do that or something like that. Sorry I dont have enuf info on this one. I was so scared and confused abt what is going to happen thats why couldnt remember what was going on.

So its confirmed now that the screen is bad and I wasnt crazy about my screen as some ppl thought I was about font and brightness. Now I have 2 options

1) Dell will send new screen either wsxga or wxuga for replacement by tuesday(which is between the 21 day return window which will end on Feb 23 i.e friday). I am thinking of wuxga again bcause I heard ppl praising the display and crispness of the screen. Also if I had to take wsxga, then I guess I would be happy wiht Inspiron 1505 since it was the wuxga/high res which made me go for latitude.

2) Return it back to Dell and get money back and get an inspiron 1505 with truelife which makes me think what will Latitude give me in terms of quality of work/performance ?(not the external beauty, we all know Latitude is strong). So I would need your assesment. Will Latitude system remain the same i.e. no hard disk noises , no issues, stable ? bcause Inspiron 5100 I have makes a hell lot of noise which i dont like. So can anyone technically point out what exactly is the diff between Inspiron vs Latitude? I will save 300 dollars atleast by going with inspiron.

3)Replace the screen and if I still dont like it return back to dell.

4)Send the system back and ask them for a new system.

Let me know ur thoughts esp inspiron vs Latitude.

 

try this registry fix for IE auto scaling some images (it makes the images blurry) http://geekswithblogs.net/imilovanovic/archive/2006/01/09/65358.aspx

 

Thanks for the tip. I might try it later. If you read my previous post, then its clear that I wouldnt try anything unless Dell replaces my screen with new one which is bright enuf.

Until then no tweaking. I will update you guys once the screen is replaced with a good one and if it has good brightness.

Thanks,

 

Hi,
I talked with a technician on phone and Dell sent a technician with the new screen. The guy just flipped over the notebook and removed battery first. He didnt use any protection like cloth or paper to avoid scratches, so i had to offer him paper towel saying I dont need any scratches.

He removed all the stuff i.e keyboard, lcd stuff etc and opened the box containing the new screen. Guess what, Dell sent a wrong LCD/screen. Mine is Wuxga and he had new xga with him. So he had fix all the stuff on my notebook again and finally he managed to lose a screw from my keyboard also. There are 3 small screws holding the keyboard and one is missing now. He promised that the new screen and the screw will come tomorrow. So basically I have to wait another day. I am glad I was sitting next to him while he was removing and fixing stuff. I wouldnt have known abt missing screw or his handling of new notebook.

I thought I would share this with you guys.

Thanks

 

or you could just up the text size in windows settings.... your overcomplicating this issue.

What did you think would happen if you got a 15" notebook with an uber resolution?

And after looking at your pics, screens to not just pick and choose to magically blur some images. Sounds like a graphics hardware problem, nothing to do with the screen.

 

Dont know what you were trying to convey here.. its not clear...

Well Dell has said its a bad screen. Read my previous posts. I am surprised you missed that and claim that its a hardware issue.

I am waiting for my new screen from dell tomorrow.

Thanks

 

Good luck with the new screen. 15.4" WUXGAs make me weak at the knees.

 

Wednesday 21 feb 2007. There has been a delay from Dell in delivery the right screen to the technician and it looks that I will get a look at new screen tomorrow or Friday. Meanwhile I talked to returns department and he said he will be glad to send a new system in exchange or the worst option i.e complete return. I want to see how the system looks with good screen before I can decide anything because everyone has good opinion abt the WUXGA screen and I want to see that with my own eyes before I can say anything.

I will keep you updated.

 

Dell had it replaced with new screen which is also WUXGA and it didnt make a difference. I am surprised that it didnt make even the slightest different with new screen. My old screen and the new replacement are both Samsung make and I dont know if that has anything to do with brightness as I have seen lot of ppl complaining abt samsung screens and prefer LG over samsung. All you guys over there with WUXGA or even WSXGA, can you please post your experience as I had the option to go with WSXGA but then I said, I am going with the best screen i.e. WUXGA and it should be bright enuf. How bright is your screen? I compared my new D820 screen with old D600 latitude and also Inspiron 5100 and it is definitely less brighter. To give you a clear idea, my screen looks greyish instead of the white you expect on pages like WWW.google.com. Is this normal with WUXGA screens? I am confused as I dont have first hand experience with WSXGA screens on Latitude D820.

I called returns dept and told them my situation and they told me to exchange it with new system which I did. I have gone with the same config as before i.e WUXGA screen. I asked for LG screen but the lady said she cant control that and I can totally understand her situation. Hopefully this time around the screen will be bright enuf. If not I will keep the system and get used to it as I love high real estate a lot and I am willing to sacrifice the intial time which will be needed to get used to that resolution.

Anyone out there with nice WSXGA pictures of Latitude D820 or any links??? And I forgot to ask how to check whether ur DVD burner is Dual layer or not?

Thanks

 

oh man..what a relief... i got my new notebook i.e the one dell sent as an exchange and I could tell the difference the moment i saw windows logo and the initial windows setup. The screen is excellent and I dont have any more probs with the screen... my screen on my new notebook is
LPLAB00... first one was sec3225 as i have mentioned in my previous posts... so iam satisfied with my decision to stick with WUXGA screen. very soon I will post a review or some pics..

Only issue i see withmy new notebook is that the hard disk makes some noise...i checked properties and i found this for hard disk wdc wd1200bevs-75lat0... the system is good and performance is excellent... it just that when system goes to Hard disk , it starts making noise... anyone out there with same issues??? I know its negligible but still nothing like having a very quiet hard disk...

hope it helps...

 

I'm glad you got resolved your screen issue. That is supposedly the LG screen, and the same one I have.

As for the hard drive, I have the hitachi 100gb 7200rpm model and it doesn't make much noise at all.

There's probably not that much you can do about the noise besides getting a different hard drive altogether.

 

By the looks of the model number you posted for the hard drive it looks to be a Western Digital 120GB hard drive. If I guessed the wrong capacity then tell me and I will research the model number. Western Digital makes very good hard drives so if you can live with the noise then there shouldn't be much of an issue.

 

i bought a dell e1505 w/ a 1680x1050 on a 15.4" screen

becareful if u buy the e1505 as a replacement

cause w/ the 1680x1050

the the text/font is horibbly small also

i did all the possible changes to make it better...but staring at it on a daily basis made me want to dig my eyes out w/ a spoon ..cause it was painful to look at

so keep that in mind if u want to buy the E1505

i recommend getting the screen w/ 1200x800 on that model

 

I cant make up my mind between the 1280x800 and 1680x1050... i have seen a e1705 with the highest resolution available and it was frightening small...

 

Sorry for the cross post, but this is one of the reasons I abandoned my Dell D820 and switched to a Macbook Pro. Yes, it uses a different resolution (1440 X 900) on a 15.4" LCD, but the glossy finish and absolutely brighter back lighting really makes usability much better.

I still have my D820 with the WSXGA+ LCD docked on my office desk, but I rarely use it because it is so dim.

I recently decided to upgrade the hard drive in the Macbook Pro from the standard 120 to a 160 gig and it took me a few days to get it done. Accidentally bought a IDE hard drive instead of an SATA, so I had to wait for a new one.

Anyhow, I switched back to using my D820 for that few days and as much as I liked all the other components and ergonomics, I absolutely struggled with the quality of the LCD. Couldn't wait to switch back to the MBP.

I will NOT buy another Dell or Thinkpad until I verify that the quality of the LCD panels has improved. I know there is a trade-off in terms of battery life, but I can't stand an LCD that you can't just turn up the brightness on if you want to. ACER has the same problem with their 8000's models.

For the record, I may use a Macbook Pro, but I'm a windows developer. I'm not OSX fanboy, I just like Apple's hardware.

 

Sorry for the cross post, but this is one of the reasons I abandoned my Dell D820 and switched to a Macbook Pro. Yes, it uses a different resolution (1440 X 900) on a 15.4" LCD, but the glossy finish and absolutely brighter back lighting really makes usability much better.

I still have my D820 with the WSXGA+ LCD docked on my office desk, but I rarely use it because it is so dim.

I recently decided to upgrade the hard drive in the Macbook Pro from the standard 120 to a 160 gig and it took me a few days to get it done. Accidentally bought a IDE hard drive instead of an SATA, so I had to wait for a new one.

Anyhow, I switched back to using my D820 for that few days and as much as I liked all the other components and ergonomics, I absolutely struggled with the quality of the LCD. Couldn't wait to switch back to the MBP.

I will NOT buy another Dell or Thinkpad until I verify that the quality of the LCD panels has improved. I know there is a trade-off in terms of battery life, but I can't stand an LCD that you can't just turn up the brightness on if you want to. ACER has the same problem with their 8000's models.

For the record, I may use a Macbook Pro, but I'm a windows developer. I'm not OSX fanboy, I just like Apple's hardware.