Problem [1720 res 1920x1200], need help

I ordered Dell Inspiron 1720 with high resolution option 1920x1200 and 8600 Video card. This is my first laptop purchase.
But when I got the laptop, the screen is flickering at that resolution.
I contacted Dell techs, after trying to upgrade the video drivers and bios they told me the video card can only support max to 1600x1200. And screen looks blurry at this 1600x1200 settings. Is it true that I paid additional $150 for unusable resolution? Can anyone please confirm on this?
If it's only my system, I can get the exchange for free.
Now if I want to return the laptop, I have to pay for the shipping and maybe 15% restocking fees.
Any one have a suggestion on this. I need advices please.

Thanks a lot.

 

You should be able to use 1920x1200 without a flickering problem.
Whatever Dell tech told you the 8600 card couldn't support 1920x1200 needs to go back to school.
1600x1200 isn't even the correct aspect ratio for a widescreen monitor.

You should be able to exchange the laptop for free if you're within your 21 days of shipment.

 

usually thats the lcd not being right, not the video card.

 

The 1720 is available with either WXGA+ (1440x900) or WUXGA (1920x1200) resolutions. Whichever screen you purchased, you need to run it at the "native" (the maximum) resolution. This is the nature of LCDs and in a non-native resolution, you will experience less than perfectly crisp and clear images and text.

Additionally, the 1720's form factor is widescreen. 1600x1200 (UXGA) is not a widescreen resolution, it is for traditional aspect ratio screens. If you ran 1600x1200 on your screen, it would either be stretched/distorted or have vertical black bars on the sides.

Even the "lowest" integrated card available can push high resolution effortlessly.

If you're experiencing flickering on a normal Windows desktop and this is a brand new computer, I would actually suggest reinstalling your OS. Usually, that's a really drastic solution, but since this is a new computer, I would suggest doing it anyway whether you had a problem or not just to have a fresh clean install with no bloatware.

This way, if you do a reinstall with new drivers and still have the problem, you can get a replacement. If you do a reinstall and it's fixed, then you have a new computer with a fresh install of your OS and you're ready to rock.

 

Thank you all. Seems like their techs have less knowledge than the customer service I just chatted with. He just told me exactly what you guys mentioned above. He also set up an exchange for me at no charge.
Since I just got this beast, there's no data I need to worry about.
Thanks for your great advices.