Best notebook screens currently available

ok no problem! What do you think of the screen on the Dell XPS 15 (the full-hd) version?

Jan

 

Very good, I added it to the list....thanks

 

The B+RGLED screen is one of the best consumer LCD's on the market right now.

Can we add Lenovo's SXGA+ IPS screens from the older Thinkpad line?

 

Is it possible to buy any screens similar to these separate from the computer itself?

 

Yes, although mounting them can occasionally be a pain, due to mixed interfaces. For example, I don't think you can mount an IPS Dreamcolor 2 in anything other than an 8540w or 8740w (assuming you can actually source the screen for anything other than the high price HP charges), due to the need for 10-bit support.

 

No point in adding screens that are not available anymore...

 

I have come up with another choice: The new macbook pro 13.
If you had to choose between the macbook pro 13 and the dell xps 15 which would you choose and why?

Thanks Jan

 

MBP 13" screen is not too exciting its far worse than the MBA, and WAY the heck behind any of the IPS, AFFS or PVA screens in models pointed out above .... besides . Intel IGP in a $1000+ laptop not a snowballs chance. ( and yes that is a crack at how it heats to 100c and throttles to 800mhz making it slower than the AMD Fusion chips in netbooks )

 

Thanks,

As i want a laptop on which i have a good enough screen for photoediting, what are the main aspecst i should pay attention to? Is it the % of argb coverage or everything combined?

Thanks Jan

 

While I'd LOVE an IPS screen I'd settle for less.

Are there any sites that specialize in this?

 

What would be the best 17inch 16:10 CCFL screen? I'm planning to upgrade the screen in my GX740, but I don't know, which one is worth considering. I am looking for one with highest possible brightness and color gamut. WSXGA+ or WUXGA. Does anybody know if I can connect a dual CCFL panel to GX740 MoBo?

 

Specs generally aren't that useful since they aren't very reliable. A good guide in the terminology and differences in LCDs:

Monitor Specifications

I'd also recommend reading reviews such as Anandtech and Notebookcheck to see exactly how screens compare up to their specs.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by specialize, but there are many sites that sell notebook LCDs. You do kind of have to know what you're already looking for, though. Otherwise, your best bet for any given model is probably to go digging through the Owners' Lounge here for that specific model, to find out what screens were offered for that model, and what screens may be compatible.

 

Thanks for the info!

So actually the screen quality isn't quantifiable in any specification then? Is there a combination of specifications i should pay attention too? Anandtech measures contrast, black and white values, and a-rgb, while notebookcheck usually only gives values for contrast and a diagram of different colorgamuts.

How can i findout what is good enough for my wishes? At this time the dell xps 15 looks great, however the size and wieght of the vaio z (13inch) looks even better. But the price of the full hd version (with the best screen) is way to much (around 3000 euro). The price of the 1600*900 version of this vaio z is within budget. And the specifications of that screen look more or less equal to the praised macbook pro series (at least in a-rgb).

Vaio z 1600*900 vs Macbook pro 13
[

Vaio z 1600*900 vs Macbook pro 17


I know the full hd version is way better, but how bad is this 1600*900 screen in terms of color?

Jan

 

Hi! And what about the Sony Vaio FW series with Full HD display? (Not the F!) I can't find any details about its colour representation.

 

Finally another IPS screen is on the way, check this:

http://shop.lenovo.com/ISS_Static/ww/wci/us/ww/pdf/X220_datasheet.pdf

 

I wish it had a higher resolution panel, still. I mean, I think 1920x1080 would be too much, but 1600x900 would be nice. And yes, I do realize it's a 12.5" panel.

 

1440x900 would be perfect.

 

Just added the new HP Elitebooks with Dreamcolor to the list.

 

The Dell Precision has an optional IPS LCD now.

 

I'd like to make several things clear about the IPS technology recently used on a few laptops.

Although it's true the best laptop screens are using IPS technology, the specific IPS technology they are currently using is not the best available in the market. IPS technology has evolved over time, for better but also for worse, and currently there are several variants in the market. The more important and widely used are: S-IPS, H-IPS and e-IPS. The last one is the currently used on laptops with IPS screens, including the Lenovo X220 and the DreamColor EliteBooks. In fact, e-IPS tecnology is the worst of the group. LG.Display designed this variant in order to manufacture IPS screens with a cost similar to TN screens. They are cheaper to produce than other IPS variants, because they need lower backlight intensity than the other variants, and therefore they're much more efficient transmitting the light through the panel matrix. Naturally, they have many advantages over cheap TN panels, but they have drawbacks when they're compared with S-IPS or H-IPS panels too. The TFT Central website sums up these drawbacks nicely:

In addition, we, the 8740w DreamColor (2) users, have found other annoyances with our panels:
Image stability is not as good as a S-IPS screen, even in some cases is worse than a very decent TN panel (you may be surprised here), since there is some color shifting when moving your head, as has been posted here. Personally, I've felt in a subtle way this "effect", but it doesn't bother much though. Also it's worth noting *many users* (not a few) we've seen pink/green tints on the sides when the screen is watched on a white background, specifically a pink tint on the left side and a green tint on the right one. It seems this is more a factory calibration fault than a technology flaw, but it's worrying becase near none of mainstream TN panels suffer this flaw. This pink/green tint has been noted in IPS desktop monitors too, like the HP LP2475w (H-IPS panel) and the Dell U2410 (Google for the 'pink green tint' search term and you will see U2410 related posts).

Fortunately, I'm the proud owner of an already old but awesome NEC 2490WUXi desktop monitor. It uses H-IPS technology (the very best at current date) with the addition of an A-TW polarizer that increases viewing angles and avoids the white glow on dark backgrounds when the screen is seen at an angle. Unfortunately, the A-TW polarizer is already extinct and none of the new H-IPS monitors use this enhancement. Of course, my 2490 does not suffer ANY of the pink/green tint nor color shifting issues (white is almost perfect) and image stability is superb, near a good old CRT monitor. Not even the second version of my model (2490WUXi2) is better than mine, but is even worse (you can read reviews for these monitors on the Internet) and lacks of the mentioned A-TW polarizer, designed to improve the annoyances of H-IPS screens: less viewing angles than a S-IPS screen and the mentioned white glow. I also have a NEC 20WGX2 S-IPS monitor.

So keep in mind these drawbacks before buying a new IPS monitor, either for a laptop or a desktop. It's a shame because TN technology sucks even if you're not a professional but a power user and a perfectionist, like me. I hope my 2490WUXi lasts for a long time, although I must say I'm very pleased with my DC2 screen. After all, an e-IPS screen is the best you can get in a laptop, for now (I guess the "next big step" will be an OLED/PLED/FED screen).

Just my 2 cents.

 

What do you guys think of THIS screen ?

 

And what about Samsung sens RF712 , the world's brightest 3D screen available? Or new Samsung Gamers' screen ( presented in CES) ?