Vostro 1400 w/WXGA+ Poll thread

I'd like to determine if all the Vostro 1400's have the lousy Samsung LCD (bad backlighting, poor viewing angle).

Once you guys start getting your 1400's and if they have the WXGA+ screen, please post what model (manufacturer) your panel is, and if the backlighting is poor (very visable on dark/black screens).

To do this, look in device manager under Monitors, and find the Plug and Play monitor. Under the properties, choose the details tab and look at the hardware ID. Mine was SEC4457 which is Samsung Electronics Corp.

I'm hoping Dell is using at least a couple different brands, and I have a hope of getting a better LCD if I complain.

Thanks!

 

Is it really that bad? I'm not that dissapointed... i guess the other laptops I've had the view angles were also bad... but screen itself isn't bad either.

i my brand was a SEC... but i've upgraded the geforce drivers, it no longer show the brand...

I recommend this http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/7/0/b7019730-0fa3-47a9-a159-98b80c185aad/setup.exe
for the best text viewing

 

hmmm i hate to break it to you, but the auo screens look much much worse than the sec ones. I know, because i have used both.

 

the auo displays might look worse than the sec ones, but that doesn't mean the sec displays look good. my guess is that no matter what screen your inspiron ships with, it's going to be terrible.

 

I have the Samsung, I find it looks bad compare to the AUO that is on my M1210 and 640M

 

Does anyone have an AUO screen in their 1400, or are you speculating that if there were AUO panels, they would be just as bad?

 

FWIW, I just unboxed and fired up the Vostro 1500, and that LCD panel (the WSXGA+) is an LG panel, with decent backlighting (a little bleed from the top and bottom), but none of the weird position/viewing angle lighting changes that happen with the SEC.

But, I don't want to lug around the 1500...the 1400 is the biggest and heaviest I want to deal with.

 

yes i DID have one

 

no text here

 

I have a sec screen and don't mind it too much except for a ridiculous amount of glare.

Any suggestions for an antiglare coating.

 

Yes, this has been my experience: AUO <<<<< SAMSUNG

I am actually relatively pleased with the Samsung. Equivalent to the macbook pro screen that I used to have.

No company has a specifically better screen that they use. It's luck of the draw.I think that since there are few LED screens out there and few suppliers, you'd probably have more uniformity with that type of screen at the moment.

 

which screen are you talking about? you cant just say SEC > AUO, because there are 3 different types of screens for the 1400

- WXGA matte (anti-glare)
- WXGA glossy
- WXGA+ glossy

i know for a fact that the SEC version of the WXGA+ is the worst

 

How do I find out what screen I have?

 

In Device Manager, Monitor, Plug and Play, and check the details. On the Hardware ID, you should see some characters. SEC is Samsung, AUO is AUO.

 

I wonder why Dell always makes their 14" models the "bastard child" of their laptop line? Unlike the 1500/1700, the Vostro 1400 has no XP option (since the hardware is the same as the 1500 and 1700, why?), they chose crappy LCD panels (the 1500 has a great LG panel), and they limit the video card to the 8400 instead of the 8600 like the Vostro 1500/1700.

The Inspiron E1405 had a similar lineage. No discrete video card, base model was pricier than the E1505, and the WXGA+ Truelife LCD was crap, whereas the E1505 LCD was all good.

14.1 is a nice size...not too small, but not mainstream (15.4) big. Too bad they're crippled.