Screen Calibration Help

I just received a new GS63, and I opted not to have the reseller calibrate the screen. Now I regret that decision. My last laptop was a Clevo P150EM, which I had calibrated, and the colors are just so much better on that. I've tried a few tools, including the Windows 10 built-in calibration guide, as well as a couple of different online tools. However, I don't have a very good eye for this, and when it comes time to adjust things like contrast, saturation, hue, and color levels, it always looks like I did a pretty good job. Then, as soon as I fire up a game, it just looks wrong.

Basically, I can't trust my eye to successfully do it manually. I figure that means three options:

1. Live with it
2. Buy a colorimeter
3. Pay somebody with a colorimeter to fix it for me

I'd like advice on the last two options. The reseller asked for $50 to do it for me; my thoughts are to put that money towards purchasing a colorimeter, which may only get used once or twice, and finding somebody local that will charge a similar amount (or hopefully less). Does anybody even provide that kind of service?

Thanks in advance.

 

If colour accuracy is important to you I recommend buying a colorimeter. I've had the Spyder4Pro since about 2013, and it noticeably changes the grayscale/colours/gamma for the better on all the laptops & desktops it's been used on (can be used on friends & family's machines), as well as my TV! There's a Spyder5Pro now, but I don't know enough specifics about the new model to recommend it or not. In my view, the expense of the colorimeter has already repaid itself, definitely worth getting one. (In order for it to work on the TV I had to download free public software & drivers from HCFR, but when I was done calibrating the TV I just uninstalled that & then reinstalled the Spyder4Pro software to return it back to it's usual behaviour for use with PC's/laptops).

 

I think you're probably right, I do have a TV I could use it on and maybe my wife's laptop, if she really cared. There's a Spyder5Express that's a lot cheaper and probably good enough. But I'll probably ask around and see if I have any friends that own one already. Thanks for your input.

 

Before you go with the cheaper versions of the colorimeter (the Express version) just do some research as to what is ommitted - if you're treating this as a tool & investment to last you 5+ years then you don't want to cheap out on features otherwise it won't be as useful and you won't get such a great "return on your investment". There are other colorimeters out there too, so worth researching those with reviews from websites, etc. I also recommending reading up on the theory of colour calibration & colour reproduction so you understand the whole topic before you buy one - it will help you make the right decisions.

 

Turns out I have an uncle that had about a 15 year old colorimeter that was once pretty popular. I ran it a few times as I learned the software a bit, and it turns out that my color accuracy is pretty good right now, but I think the gamut on my old monitor was just wider so colors appeared more vibrant. Good to know for my next laptop.

 

I'm surprised it's still compatible with today's PC's & operating systems given how old it is - but if it's still providing reliable results then that's cool.

 

I found open-source drivers called Argyll and open-source calibration software called DisplayCal that work well together. Officially, it's no longer supported. But Argyll allowed my computer to recognize the colorimeter, and DisplayCal allowed me to calibrate it. Is it providing reliable results? Who knows.

 

Excellent! I did something similar in order to get my colorimeter to work with my TV.