Should I return P-7811FX?

here is my story, I brought p7811Fx on the 19 of august at best buy and when i got home the laptop lcd came with a stuck pixel. 2 days later I go exchange and quess what. another problem pop up, the lcd screen has this little ghosting cloudy white color near the center ( like a stuck pixel but it isn't). it doesn't appear or seem to be notice when there are no black or dark image present. now don't get me wrong I love this laptop and everything else works perfectly but after going through this its hard to decide If i should return this laptop or exchange again. and do you guys think best buy let me exchange again with a small problem like this? am I asking to much for a laptop that suppose to work flawless without any problem?

 

I think thats normal for these laptops. My screen has a weird look to it, its hard to describe but if you look realy closely it looks like water damaged paper or something. Only on a black screen though.

 

When you buy a brand new laptop you shouldn't have to worry yourself about problems like these...I know it may be a small problem now but with time it may turn into a bigger on, so my vote is yes return it as soon as you can...Think you can post a picture of this cloud like dead pixel...???

 

An overexposed area on the screen is a defect. If you mean a small area, and not a single pixel, go exchange it.

 

sorry, I don't have any digital camera, I think it looks kinda like this (exclude the stars and all those small dots ) image only 15% of screen.

 

Yeahhh...I would have to say defective and return it...

 

defect, return and swap it out.
No reason to keep something thats flawed within bestbuy's 14 days. IF the prob gets worse and you're past 14, then you gotta deal directly with gateway.

 

which is 2 b!tches, so return it ASAP

 

I'm beginning to see a a pattern on the 7811FX screens. This isn't looking too good.

 

Remember folks with a problem are far more likely to post early and often that folks with no problem. Just to offer some contrast, my screen is perfect and quite nice looking.

To the OP, if your screen is not perfect, don't hesitate. Exchange your unit for a new one. You have a right to get one that has no problems.

Ira

 

You are indeed correct. However, this makes the third person on the forum to report the same issue, and the 6th case in total I've heard of. It's quite possible it was just a bad batch and the rest are fine. I'm hopeful, anyways.

 

my 7811 screen is perfect. settle for nothing less

 

My screen is also perfect...*Knock on wood*

 

I go to best buy tomorrow and I hope they letting me exchange. and thank you everyone for replying.

 

No problem...I just hope that you have a painless exchange...

 

okay I got my 7811 today and have not yet opened it so want to know what all things to look for. I got 3 year accidental plan along with laptop. Do you guys think it is worth to have 3 years of exteneded warranty from BB or Gateway provides good support.

 

I have the same issue and I'm exchanging tomorrow. When I apply slight pressure and wipe right to left, it goes away. When I apply slight pressure and wipe left to right, it comes back. I figure since I'm still in the 14 day period, might as well exchange for one without the issue. Luckily I didn't undervolt it yet like I planned to.

 

Personally I trade up my gaming laptops every 12-18 months so I never buy the extended warranty but I have heard from others that Best Buy has a very good program. As always your mileage may vary...

 

i'm pretty sure squaretrade warranties are better valued for a longer time, meaning if you get a 3 year one and cancel it after 2 years, you'll pay less than if you get it for 2 years. I might be wrong though, either way you can get a squaretrade warranty (low price high quality) and cancel it at any time and get the money back per the time you didn't use.

 

don't be shy on deals worth over 1000$. go exchange it, if they refuse then that's another story

 

Wonder if they tried to cut costs and have a lot of questionable screens? I wish I could get a 1440x900ish LED backlit screen instead of that (IMO way too high) screen it comes with. I'd gladly pay the difference.

How much was Best Buy's warranty, and do you guys know what it does for you? I've heard from Best Buy employees that supposedly you just bring the hardware back to the store, and don't have to deal with some 800 number, but the hand ours I've read in the store kind of contradict that. I'd probably go for the warranty if you just drop it off in store and they fix it or replace it for you without you having to call a random place or whatever.

 

BB warranty they ship it to their repair center (BB not Gateway) and attempt to repair it. If its unrepairable, they'll send notice for you to your manufacture and re-emburse you a replacement or a new notebook of equal value. Takes about 3-6 weeks for them to "fix" the notebook. IF its a problem they cant' fix in store that is.

 

I'm having the same issue. It is VERY noticable on a black screen or even when playing Doom3. If I look from the right side of the screen I can't see it. If I look just bairly off center to the left it shows up clearly and covers about a 1/3 of the screen and is mostly on the left side. Mine goes away if I wipe from left to right and comes right back if I wipe right to left.

I wonder if this problem is on most or all of the 7811 screens and only shows up if you clean the screen in the wrong direction. I think this is when my problem showed up - I didn't notice it for the first couple days. Anyone with a good looking screen brave enough to rub it the wrong way

At this point I think I'll just keep mine unless it starts to reapear without my touching it.

 

Yikes, that's really noticible. Is that...I don't know, some kind of light bleed? I do wonder if they had to go cheap with the screen, so there are more defects.

I've seen the previous generation FX in store, and I thought the screen looked fantastic! (Especially for a CCFL!)

 

I'm very happy with the screen other than this issue and because it seems to be easily repaired I'm not too worried about it. It is such a great laptop for the price, other than this, I think I can overlook it. Espically when I consider the comparable Sager is about $700 more with the same feature set.

UPDATE:
I just checked it again and it seems to have come back without my touching the screen. This is a problem for me, maybe I'll exchange it. I'll keep you all updated.

 

Honestly, if you spent 1500 on an item, wouldn't you want it to work 100%?
I wouldn't hesitate to return and exchange for issues like this.

 

Gateway's official policy has been 3 bad pixels (for the most part). Of those of you who returned for a single pixel, have you had any trouble from Best Buy within 14 days? Does BB have a policy of their own? Did you get to try the computer before buying it to check for dead pixels?

 

My fear is if I exchange I'll get one with stuck pixels or other problems. The one I have now is perfect except for the screen issue noted above. If the screen ghosting keeps coming back I'll exchange for sure.

 

Just picked up mine on Saturday and it has two wonky(stuck) pixels as well. Exchanging it tonight.

 

Remember, you only have a 14 day return window, so make sure you give it a workout during this time.

 

Does Best Buy have a restocking fee? Regarding dead/stuck pixels, sometimes gently tapping them brings them back to life (although I don't know for sure if they stay "alive" or not forever).

 

BB does not charge restocking fees for exchanges due to the initial product is defective and if the product is not open (i think).

 

I came back from dinner tonight and the screen ghosting is back. I will be returning it. I hope I get a good one with no stuck pixels.

 

John566, mine had the exact same problem in the exact same area of the screen except you had to look at the screen at an angle from the right side to notice it. I just exchanged mine today. New one has no issues as far as I can see. Go exchange it while you can as yours if worse than mine was.

Be sure to bump up the brightness using fn f8 when the Geek Squad guy checks out the laptop. When I brought it in, you couldn't notice the ghosting right away because of the glossy screen and the bright lights in Best Buy and the laptop was running on battery so it was on the lowest brightness setting.

 

Thanks smiley.

I'll make sure to leave the pictures I posted here on my iPhone also. Those are pretty hard to deny. Any chance you have tried cleaning your screen from right to left and left to right to see if the problem re-appeared? I can get rid of and bring back mine at will with a cleaning cloth. The only problem is that it seems to come back on it's own sometimes. I'm hoping this isn't the case with all of the 7811s because I'm pretty sure mine didn't have the problem for the first couple days untill I cleaned the screen.

 

I'm have the same issue. The ghosting only shows up when you look at the screen from the right. Did they give you a hard time with the exchange?

 

I wonder if that's just because you're putting pressure on the screen, and not because it's something like on the outside of the screen (like a containment of some sort-rather it's actually a defect with the screen).

 

For the record, I have the same exact thing as John566. Although mine is a lot less pronounced than his. I can only see it on an angle on a black background, it does not show at any other moment that I am aware of.

Being this is my first LCD I ever owned, I assumed it was likely normal. I figure they were designed so that light filters out at a 90 degree angle and that so long as you cant tell when you are looking head on, things are in working order.

Well...that is what the reasonable part of me says, my OCD side is going nuts. It doesn't really hinder anything, I just demand perfection when I spend this kind of money.

For people here that know LCD's...is this sort of thing common? Is a "perfect" screen feasible?

I dread dealing with bestbuy, and that is why I plan on cancelling the extended warranty for this thing, curious if I should get an exchange while I am ahead.

 

thefudd,
My ghosting only shows up when I look from the left. I won't be able to do an exchange untill they get more in - the customer service rep. said they should be getting 7 in on Thursday. Does your ghosting go away if you clean the screen with medium preasure from right to left or left to right? If you exchange yours please let us know how it goes and how the new one is. Thanks.

Wolfpup,
I'm pretty sure its a defect with the screen. It stays on the screen even when no pressure is being applied. I also havn't put anything but a lens cleaning cloth (no solvent - not even water) on the screen. I'm just wondering how many of the screens will exibit this if rubbed the wrong way when cleaning.

 

I hate so-called "glossy" screens and so far don't own any, but that's absolutely not normal with LCD screens-regular ones anyway, and others here have ones without that defect.

There can be color shifting on LCD panels as you look at them from the sides, but it dosen't look like that. (The cheaper TN panels that most (all?) laptops use are MUCH more pronounced than the higher quality panels used in higher end desktop displays and TVs.)

 

I noticed the ghosting when I first got the laptop... it went away on it's own once i maximized my browser on it... this morning i put some pressure on it (First time touching the screen, had the laptop for 6 days) and it went away... you can see it only very faintly from the right at a very extreme angle... Head on and to the sides a bit the screen looks perfect.

 

Well after getting home I was able to test wiping the ghosting away. It did indeed go away for the most part after I smoothed it out. My guess is that there is a film of sorts that creates the glossy finish and that there is an excess of it. To be honest mine is so minimal I do not think its worth the trouble of trying to exchange it. Though I do love perfection in my electronics.

Plus...why risk getting one with dead pixels or some massive light bleeding or some other hardware related defect and be forced to go through all this all over again?

 

I think "glossy" just means it's lacking any type of coating, though I could be wrong.

 

The glossy style screens actually do use a special coating. There's more to it than just the absence of an anti-glare coating. Although this is a normal misconception as I thought the same thing at first.

 

I wonder if minor cases of this is considered "common" among glossy lcd screens? Just like people seem to consider a single dead pixel "normal"? Man and I thought I was ocdc before...$1500 puts things into perspective rather quickly.

"ZOMG, I can't look into pure black screens on an angle! This laptop MUST be broken!" I just do not want things to get worse in the long run, like in the one guy's screenshots where you can see it even when playing a game.

 

After doing some research, I found out this type of defect is indeed an air bubble trapped under the polarized film. It was listed as a repairable defect though I am not sure how complicated the process actually is.

 

Nice bit of info, Solitary.

 

I think I'll probably keep mine now becase the problem area has spread to a much larger area and is now less concentrated. Even on a solid black screen I don't see it head on now. I need to be about ten degrees to the left to see it. I'm just afraid of getting another problem which may be worse if I return it. I also don't want to set up everything again. Does anyone know what problems I might run into if I cloned my current drive to a 7811fx replacement. How would windows activation handle it. Thanks.

 

Nevermind. I decided to return it because it is too noticeable from the side. I'm worried about getting another problem with the new unit but I think it is worth the risk. I'll let you all know how the new one is tonight.