Replacing the 6860 Display

So I just got my p6860 fx a few hours ago and one of the first things I noticed was the display. I don't know if I am the only one here who has commented on this but it seams to be EXTREMELY washed out. Probably the worst I have ever seen in an LCD.

I am an artist by occupation so having good contrast and color accuracy is important, and granted, there is only so much of that you can get out of a laptop LCD, but if I load up an UT3 level, for example, and take a look at that same level on my Dell 27'' LCD its like night and day.

So my question specifically is whether or not replacing the display with a different one would help. I think a big part of this is the back light for the LCD itself.

Is the back light attached to the display and if I get a new display will it come with its own back light. I have never tried to replace a laptop screen before so I know very little about it.

Any comments or info on the screen would be helpful. I am just trying to figure out what my options are.

Thanks

 

why dont you just hook it up to an lcd diplay?

 

the bulb is part of the lcd and can not be replaced by itself. if you want a nice display look for a lg lp171wu1 tl a2 or the lp171wu3 tl a2 the wu1 is better imo but both are very nice

 

Thanks for the info. Is there anyway to find out if there are any other notebooks using the displays you listed? I would be really nice to be able to go to the store and look at them in person

@RedDragon: Obviously I am going to have it hooked up to my LCD most of the time, but it is a laptop and if I take it somewhere it would be nice to have something good to look at.

 

prob not but i ASSURE you the lg numbers i posted are great displays. i have full testing setups here including hcfr, eye-one, calman, spyder 2 and 3, chroma, etc..while they are not perfect they are some of the best panels for 17" notebooks, the only panel i have seen that is better for color accuracy is a sharp but its grainy and dim

 

Awsome thanks your advice.

 

use digital vibrance

 

Digital vibrance will only help with the colors and even then it makes them less accurate. Its sort of an eye candy slider, and while that may make some games look better it doesn't help me.

There is nothing you can do with the display to fix its biggest problem which the fact that it cant display blacks. The back lighting is so overpowering its impossible to get any kind of good looking blacks.

Any attempt to counter that with software settings is futile. Because the blacks your trying to bring out aren't there in the first place.

 

imo digital vibrance sucks. as jocose said all it does is make thing worse. yes it makes colors more vibrant and brighter but it makes them much further from being accurate, i dont use that at all and always leave it at 0.

as far as blacks go if you wants the best blacks imo get a samsung panel. but they are not great at much else imo. the sharp does very well with blacks also but has other issues as i mentioned. lg models i listed seem imo to be the best all around displays let me try to find a link to show you what i mean

 

http://www.tanksdigitaleffects.com/gallery/4560225_fWrfR#268737984_2S6JK

look at these pics it will show you the samsung vs the lg.. you will see what i mean

 

I agree, besides the silly placement of the FN key, the screen is my biggest complaint about the 6860. I may have to pick up one of these LG screens myself, although I might rather spend the money on upgrading my stock CPU first...

 

Haha, the same exact pet peeve for me as well.
But i would definitely go:

1) CPU Replacement
2) HDD Replacement (to 7200RPM)
3) Screen Replacement

 

Yeah I see what you mean. It looks as though the LG is going to be the most well rounded display I can get.

Thanks for all your help this was exactly the information I was looking for.

 

Look what display has the sager NP9262, I read a review and it was written that it has the best viewing angles and Excellent IQ and contrast. It was teh best display that he reviewer ever seen.

Here is one review that i found but there is andoeht that is better http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3783

Look for it and look if it will fit in Gateway.

 

here is another review of sager NP8660

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4590

 

the 9262 uses the lp171wu1 a4 k4 and ITS NOT AS GOOD as the lp171wu1 tl a2 model the tl a2 is far better

the direct replacement for the gateway is the lp171wu3 tl ax (1,2,5,6) model i like the tl a2 the best myself

 

any recommended 1680x1050 lcds ?

 

ill post part numbers for you when im get to the office tomm.

 

what about 1440x900 LCD is there a better LCD than this one at 6860

 

ill be at the office today after 12 or so and ill check my books for part number for you. i didnt forget im just running behind today.

ill check for the 1440 screen to see if i see anything that stands out

 

OK thanks Zfactor

 

i did do some research but i need to call my vendor to check to see what brackets the one i have in mind has to see if it will fit for you ill call them tomm for you

 

Thanks for all your help zFactor.

 

Thanks for all Zfactor

 

okay as for the wsxga the lg model:

LP171WE2
ㆍFeatures

17.1" TFT LCD Panel for Notebook PC



Model Name LP171WE2
Active Area [mm]

367.42 X 229.64
Outline Dimension [mm]

382.2 X 244.5
Thickness [mm]

6.5
Resolution

1680 X RGB X 1050
Aspect Ratio

16:10
Pixel Pitch [mm]

0.219(116)
Number of Colors

262,144(6bit)
Luminance [cd/㎡]

300
Color Saturation (%)

45
Weight [g]

670
Contrast Ratio

600:1
Interface

LVDS 2port
Viewing Angle [˚,U/D/L/R]

100/130
Color Temperature [K]


Response Time [ms]

25
MP Schedule

Now

 

Hey Zfactor is this the screen that you were talking about?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-LP171WU1-TL-A2-17-WUXGA-LCD-Display-w-INV_W0QQitemZ150309912072QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item150309912072&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

 

yes he is a great seller. that screen is awesome..the tl a2 has a extra bracket you will have to remove though. the lp171wu3 version will drop right it. but the bracket comes off pretty easy if you get the tl a2 version it will still work just remove the bracket since the gateway only screws in from the sides not the top and bottom

 

I keep hearing people say that a matte display is better, I have only ever used matte.... Now I know this is subjective but did the display that you tested on and said was awesome glossy or matte?

This display only seams to be sold as glossy.

Also I was a little confused were you saying the LP171WE2 is the display you would recommend for a 1680 x 1050 display. Is there anything wrong with that display have you seen it?

 

yes for wsxga the we2 is a great screen yes i have seen it. i prefer glossy myself unless you need matte especially for photo work glossy really lets the colors shine

the tla2 comes both ways but to find a matte one you have to search for one its not easy to find. in fact all lg screens come both ways. the matte versions are harder to get though. check out screentek for a wider selection of matte but warning they are pricey

 

Whats the Contrast ration.

I thing that the Samsung LTN170X2 used on stock gateway 6860 has contrast about 250:1 from the AnandTech laptop review but at the samsung web site it is written that contrast ration is 500:1

http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3273&p=9

http://www.samsung.com/global/busin...pper_fmly_id=601&fmly_id=611&partnum=LTN170X2

Truly It is very bright but the contrast is a bit and the viewing angels.

I would really what to change this display

Can this display be calibrated a bit to get better colors

 

I have mailed the AnandTech to helm me calibrate the LCD as they did.

If they will help me i will post some results and a tutorial how to calibrate the LCD ASAP.

 

670:1 on the lg i posted

 

i recc x-rite eye one for a cheaper colorimeter and dont bother with the whole display 2 pacakage just get the cheaper one and download the software from x-rite web site the colorimeter is the same one.. the i2

 

Just sell your 6860 and get a 7811.

 

imo the auo display used on the 7811 is terrible, i would for sure replace it if i bought one ive seen 5 of them and they all had the same display and they were all dark with bad angles and washed out when you tried to turn up the brightness and all had a bit of grain to them

 

I have got a email from AnandTech, very special thanks go to them for respond.


In the emaill was written:

Hi,

I can't really promise that the color profiles will be better that what you've got, since they're for the LCD panel in the laptop I tested, but here they are. Enabling color profiles in Vista is a different matter; I use ColorEyes Display Pro and it has a utility that loads the appropriate profiles; I could tell you how to do it in XP, but Vista is a bit trickier and doesn't always seem to work as expected. Go into display properties, then display settings, then advanced settings. In there is a "Color Management" tab, where you can then select one of the included profiles. From there... well, trial and error will hopefully get you through it all. Like I said, Vista's Color Management is a bit weird and doesn't always work the way I'd expect.

Hope that helps,
Jarred Walton
Senior Editor
http://www.AnandTech.com

The Profiles are for the FX 6831, but the FX 6860 has the same LCD so it will work

 

Here are the Color Profiles.

If you need any help We are here.

The zip file was to big and i had to comperes it as a rar and then as a zip due to the size limit was exceeded.

 

remember those are ONLY FOR the panel THEY HAD if you use them with any other panel even from the same manufacture with a slightly different model number they will not be the same

 

Yep, so i should guess i have to buy the whole packet just to calibrate my onw display. LOL

the colors are very reddish i thing they are 6500K.
I have to mod them or do something to get more cool colors.

 

Has anyone looked into putting a 17'' Mac book LED screen into the P6860. It seams like the LED screens are the best out there.

http://installingcats.com/2008/03/02/best-laptop-screen-macbook-pro-led-backlit-lcd-display/

 

you usually cant. they almost always will not work with a previous ccfl based notebook..

 

So I found out that one of the big online LCD providers actually has a shop really close to where I live.

I decided to go there and one of their techs let me install a few of the panels they had to see if I liked them. It was really nice and I got to see a few screen but he said something that I didn't think was accurate.

He claimed that you can only exchange an LCD panel for one with the same native resolution as the origional. Is there ANY truth to this? From what I know about how desktops work this didn't make any sense.

Also if there is any truth to this notion can someone confirm that the p6860fx can go up in resolution from what its already at?

 

no not true. ive done it many times. the only usual reason is if the gpu cant handle it. i have done it many times for customers and so have many on these boards as well

 

So zfactor, can you recommend a 1440 screen please?

 

Can anyone?

 

The only advice I can give you is get a Panasonic screen. I went to a laptop screen store in my area and tried the 3 screens they had in stock and the Panasonic stood above the rest (it was a 1440 screen)

 

I guess I'll just get the LP171WE2. Will TL A2 be the best?