Quick question on Truelife..

This is the only option im still debating on the i9300 to get or not. Ill be playing games/viewing web pages a lot. I was almost totally convinced to get the non-truelife screen because of the glare (i HATE glare! strains my eyes..) and the fact that its another $125. Also I hear that the native res of 19x12 is crazy small for text (webpage text insanely small comes to mind..., and the 120 dpi I hear looks like crap).

My only reason for still considering the truelife display is that when it comes to gaming I love the 1280x1024 res. Without truelife on the 9300 the max I can play is in the neighboorhood of 1024x768, or the notch right above that. Then again, ive never had a gaming laptop, and ive always had big CRT monitars. Is it a big jump down as far as "quality" of the image in games? should I even be conserned with the little detail?

any adivce?
thanks!

Dan

 

I am COMPLETELY lost. Why would you have to lower your resolution if you don't get truelife?? I am confused :/

Anyway, if you have no need for any resolution above 1280x1024, then you don't need the WUXGA monitior, just get the WXGA. I personally LOVE WUXGA screens, the text is a little small, but I still think it's fine. The gaming, however, is MUCH better in games that actually support it!!

As for glare, I hardly notice it, unless I am outside. Then, it IS pretty bad, but I am not outside with my computer much!! It's all opinion really, but it sure sounds to me like you don't need it...

 

IMHO. No. TrueLife sucks, again IMHO. I would pay $150 NOT to have TrueLife. Glossy screen looks nice for video and pictures but I can't stand the small fonts. Ordered one with TrueLife and had to return it.

 

I would lower the resolution because ive heard that you get a 20 - 40 fps drop in frame rate on the newer games using the 14x12 resolution. that is why. If it can run doom3/quake4 at 14x12 with a fps over 30 minimum, then there is no problem. i guess i'd get the truelife then.

anyone else? Does anyone have a picture of the screen side by side (truelife vs non truelife)?

Dan

 

I have never used the 6800 card (which I assume you are getting), but when I had the 6800 Ultra, I ran Doom 3 VERY smoothly at 1600x1024. I would find it hard to believe you would have any problems running that in your 9300, let alone at an even LOWER resolution!! I still think it sounds like you don't really need it, but I figured I'd make you aware of that anyway!!

 

Also, this is the line that confused me:
My only reason for still considering the truelife display is that when it comes to gaming I love the 1280x1024 res. Without truelife on the 9300 the max I can play is in the neighboorhood of 1024x768

Without truelife(the WXGA monitor), the max resolution is 1280x1024. The resolution you said you like anyway!! And it should run well at that setting, as that is your monitor's native resolution

 

Sublime, how long have you had your XPS Gen2? Are you happy with it? Any dislikes or issues?

Thanks.

 

I read that the regular non-truelife screen could only display a max of 1400x900. Thus, 1280x1024 wouldnt fit the screen...

dan

(on a side note, i went by a Dell kiosk today at the mall to see how the truelife screen really is, and it does make the laptop seem more high class, however the reflectivity is crazy. In the mall (indoors) playing a demo video on an XPS system, it was bad, i can imagine it would be a nightmare trying to read a long document in word or on a website...)

looks like im gettin a non-true life screen

dan

 

I like the TruLife screen. The small font took a couple days to adjust to, but I don;t even notice it now.
As for games.. Only the new games coming out.. COD2, support widesreen resolutions at this point.
Glare? I haven't noticed any, but I am not outside or in a mall gaming or using it as it isn't the lightest or easiest thing to lug around. Keep in mind.. It is a laptop, but is really more of a portable desktop replacement.

 

Well when it comes to true life, its really your own choice. If you like that clear crisp picture, truelife would be great for you. And Vise versa.

 

From what I have seen on many different laptops, I personally like the one's with Trulife on the screen. The image is more crisp and clean and there are far better viewing angles on those LCDs.

 

and you dont have to run at the 1900x1200 anyway. 1680x1050 is fine

 

Well yes, but if im not mistaken, the TruLife feature doesn't have anything to do with resolution. Resolution size has to do with whether the screen is WXGA, WUXGA, WSXGA (something like those), which determines the resolution. But im quite certain that you can equipt TruLife to any of those screens.

 

The truelife screen is a higher resolution native. you cant change the native to a lower resolution, or get it as an option. the next lower resolution is the regular screen.

 

Okay I see. Other manufacturers have similar set ups like Xbrite and Ultra
*something.

 

THe WXGA resolution on the 9300 is 1400x900, that is quite a bit higher than the 1024x768 you seem to think it is.
All of your concerns about the WUXGA screen are valid, while it looks nice at a display, you see every kind of reflection in them which is terribly distracting and the text at native 1920x1200 is very small, that resolution is overkill for a screen of only 17 inches. Some really like them but as you have already observed, the Wuxga screens do have their disadvantages. Anyhow, you can play games at the wxga's native resolution.

 

ok thanks for the reply
the reason i was talking about 1024x768 is that most wierd resolutions above that (but below 1280x1024) stuff gets streched, etc. thats why i was worried. So in native resolution, games like CS:S will look/play totally fine?

dan

 

Objects will only appear distorted when you take your computer out of its native resolution. However, some games may seem a little stretched just because they don't support widescreen. That will be a problem no matter which of the 2 screens you choose, but I find it is hardly noticable anyway. In the end though, you will not be finding any decrease in quality if you run at the 1400x900 resolution. the only reason to get the other screen would be if you want a resolution HIGHER than 1400x900, or like the glossy screen.

 

Yes they will, however with a WUXGA screen, most games dont even support 1920x1200, here again, the overkill of the WUXGA, and yes if you go above I would say 1400 to 1600 x 900 to 800, you will probably see stretching, Which Is another reason I would recommend to you the WXGA screen. One advantage of the WXGA screen is that you can play your games with all of the eye candy set to max, on wuxga you cant always do that and will have to reduce AI/AA filtering.

 

Don't be confused about Truelife vs non-Truelife LCD's
see here is the difference with images.

This is the original TrueLife shiny screen, as supplied. The reflections visible in the screen are from another monitor a few feet away and from my office window which is 20+ feet from where the laptop is.



This is the same laptop with the replacement screen fitted. Please remember that this is a CHEAPER screen than the original. The conditions of the photo are exactly the same, but as you can see the reflection has almost gone.



Here are the two screens, powered down for comparison. This isn't the clearest picture I am afraid, but you can see reflections in the truelife screen (right) that are simply not present on the matt screen.​

to see the full report about " Truelife vs Non-TrueLife " click here


For me I'll buy Dell E1705 with it's original CHEAPER non-Truelife screen.
I finally figured out what TrueLife means : It means that the stock holders of Dell will have a TRUE LIFE with our money which we wasted on a mirror.