Very unimpressed with the Studio 1555's 720p screen

Hiya, I ordered a Dell Studio 1555 and it arrived today. It's a P8600, 4 gig RAM, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 512. Now the specs are great, I'm very impressed with this laptop, being able to play a game like CS Source in 720p with all settings on high with FPS over 100! (No anti-aliasing on though, but whatever, nevermind).

The screen, however, is absolutely atrocious! I'm actually shocked at how bad the screen tearing gets during videogames... honestly before I used to read complaints about screen tearing I'd always wonder what the big fuss was and now I know since I had never experienced screen tearing so bad before.

I paid a good £599 for this laptop and am seriously considering returning it. What's the point of having above average specs when they're horribly tainted by a -poor monitor?

Any advice on what I can do? Does Dell offer to upgrade laptop screens? This is a refurbished laptop so is there any chance I'm missing a driver?

 

well its no doubt a cheap sourced 6-bit TN panel with at least I hope LED backlighting.

I would push dell to release the manufacturer, new drivers and or what the Refresh Hz is, and what the ms response time is. 2ms 8ms or what.


Displays are what keep the value in a laptop.

720p sounds good, maybe when its on a quality HDTV using an 8-bit PVA or IPS high quality panel.

But in a Laptop in 2009 almost 2010

720p is just 1280x720 and Laptop have surpassed that since 2006

 

If you know of a modern laptop with a quality 8-bit PVA or IPS display, tell me. I've been searching for one for a while now.

 

umm turn on v-sync?

 

There is a backlight.

Dude this is a refurbished laptop, but in my receipt they call it "720p Truelife HD"

When I go to Display Settings, I just get "Generic PnP Monitor" and the refresh rate is 60 hertz. I really hope I'm missing some driver...

 

Good idea, I'll try it out. I always used to streer clear of v-sync since it'd kill your fps, of course.

 

Just so you know, though, this is so crappy that when I minimize/restore windows I can see trails of the window going to and from the Start bar.

 

Wowww, 30 FPS with V-Sync on. Guess this piece of crap is going back tomorrow, unless you guys have any suggestions.

 

Theres a Lenovo model with a IPS or VA panel not sure which one, also some Sony VAIO

 

You mean they can change the screen for me?

 

Something's wrong there. I have the 720p panel, and I don't have any issues like that. What you're experiencing is called ghosting, and usually indicates a faulty display. Contact Dell and get them to replace your display; that's why you have warranty.

Also, the "generic PnP monitor" is pretty much universal; I've never had a display (desktop or laptop) that didn't have that in the Device Manager. And 60Hz is standard for laptop displays as well.

 

An another 1555 owner and I too don't get what's your problem.. I can play Far Cry 2 in High-Medium details(mostly high), and get over 40fps on average WITHOUT ANY ISSUES. And your machine is FAR superior than mine. Probably defected?

 

forgot to mention the most important fact: I own the same 720p screen.

 

Yeah I'm going to return this now. I hope they don't give me any crap since it's refurbished from a company called NDC. They have a seven day return policy from date of purchase and I'm well within seven days so I hope this goes smoothly... you know what these firms are like.

 

Also, if they don't accept it and give me a refund which is quite likely, would it be possible for me to change the screen myself? Either DIY or sending it to Dell so they can change it? Thank you.

 

Yes you can change the screen yourself; it's not difficult, but it's time consuming if you're not used to taking notebooks apart. I had a tech rep come and replace mine with a 1600x900 in my Inspiron 15, took him about 30 minutes. I've done the same myself in previous machines though and spent maybe best part of an hour and a half.

You will get your money back due to DSR legislation governing cancellations and returns within 7 days (i'm assuming your are from the UK). However, the seller is within their rights to:
a. charge you a restocking fee
b. have you pay for the return postage.

Look here for information on how to replace your display panel. Have a search on eBay for a higher res model, there will probably be some available.

Regards

 

That's what V-sync does, it locks your framerate to your monitor's refresh rate, or a derivative of it to prevent tearing. That means you'll never see your fps go above 60.

 

I knowwwwww. The point is I got 30FPS with V-Sync on when I should have gotten 60FPS 'cause the screen's refresh rate was supposed to be 60 hertz.

Anyway, I returned the laptop. The first dude at the reception said I'd be refunded but at a cost of 15%, can you imagine? I had owned the laptop for one day! Thankfully his superiors came and they gave me the full refund I deserved (although it will apparently take 3 working days to go back into my account, fingers crossed).

Well, back to the drawing board. At least I know the laptop I want as I was amazed by its performance. I'm never going for refurbished again.

 

Technically you didn't deserve the full refund - as I had said before they are fully within their rights to charge fees related to recovering goods according to the DSR (Distance Selling Regulations) here in section 14. Dells own terms and conditions do not mention a restocking fee for the UK (which can be applied in some cases), but they do mention "price paid will be refunded less the cost of recovering the goods" in section 7.7 here.

If you kick up enough fuss sometimes this can be waived, but not all the time. Before you buy anything, you should always make sure you know your rights.

Still, glad you got that sorted anyway.

 

Look buddy, if I order a £599 refurbished laptop and it arrives with a faulty screen, I'd say I'd deserve a full refund. I received it yesterday and returned it today so had it less than 24 hours. On their website, they assert that you can return the laptop within seven days for a full refund:

7 Day Money Back / Return Policy
If you wish to return the item to us for a refund for whatever reason within 7 days of you receiving it, please return it to us in the original condition sent to you and we will process your refund within 7 days of receipt back to us. Please ensure the item is packed and addressed adequately as the costs/responsibility of returning the item back to us will be yours. We cannot refund on any items either not received back or received back damaged or have missing items

The first guy said he'd take 15% ( £89.95) off, are you kidding me? For what? There's no way I had devalued the system in any way and I paid the shipping costs. The firm's headquarters are also fairly close to where I live, hence the reason I went there myself in order to return it. Formatting and reinstalling Windows really isn't that big of a deal (even if they have to do that), especially when these companies have all the drivers they need and it's more than likely a standardized process. As for re-stocking, they sent me the machine in any old cardboard box I could pick out from my garage. They don't have these machines long either, as both the Dell Studio 1555s on their website that I was looking at are already gone.

Anyway, thanks everyone for helping me out with this.

 

OK, do not "look buddy" me; I was simply advising you of your rights, as agreed by you when you confirmed your order with Dell. This was more for future purchases so you don't get your "fingers burnt" rather than anything else.

If you do not appreciate the advice then fine, I hope for your sake that you don't discover at some point in the future that you are out of pocket due to not understanding your own rights.

My comments on the matter are now done. Good day.

 

Ah, I see, you're a Dell employee hahaha.

This wasn't through Dell, if it helps.

See ya.