1080p screen worth the $150?

Most people recommend getting the 1080p matt screen and I was wondering if its really worth the 150$?

We could get a bigger standalone 23" 1080p screen for that money. Moreover, isnt everything going to look alot smaller on a 15" screen?

 

Why buy a laptop then? You can get a more powerful desktop for the money spent on the laptop... unless you plan on lugging around a monitor too.


The 1080p screens are worth every penny. Yes, everything is smaller, but you can adjust the sizes. Not only do you get a better quality image, but with features such as snap in Windows 7 you can also have two fully viewable documents/web pages/spreadsheets/etc. open side by side at the same time without a lot of PITA side scrolling.

 

You are right when it comes to people who will be using the laptop screen full time.

For me the laptop is a desktop replacement, so it wont be carried for most parts of the time. And also, I'll be connecting a bigger screen and make it my primary display. Laptop screen will be hardly used, only time being when its used in an urgent situation while on the move.

Above being said, you still think I should get the 1080 screen? Any advice will be appreciated.

 

If a desktop is out of the question then I'd probably get a bigger laptop than a 15" as a replacement... either a 17" or 18". Although even on the 15" laptops the 1080p is still worth it for the reasons I mentioned before and would make for a nice dual display setup. But it sounds like you don't really need the 1080p screen for your purpose.

 

If you're connected to a bigger screen most of the time then just get the 1366x768 screen. However grimreefer's point should be considered about getting a desktop. Also, not sure what your budget is, but if you're going for $1000-$1200 you can get a laptop with GTX 460m or 560m in that price range that will offer a lot more GPU performance, like the MSI Force 16F2, Asus G53, Sager NP8130.

 

Might I add that the first two laptops in that list have been widely considered unreliable or with poor build quality. The NP 8130 is a safe bet, though.

Gonna plug my own deal in here - paid $1119 before tax for a quality HP Envy 17 3D (120 hz screen) with an AMD 6850m. If you can wait for the right - 30% - coupon.

 

Erm, I guess I'd like to see evidence of that "unreliable and poor build quality". I'd personally choose the Sager, but that's only because I'm familiar with them and know what I'm getting. HP usually ends up at the bottom of reliability surveys. Asus ends up near the top of reliability and customer satisfaction. Although take all that with a grain of salt because there's always exceptions.

 

ASUS G53 has so many dead on arrivals it would almost seem like half the ones they ship are defective. Just look at the reviews on newegg - many people say avoid.

And I can't really say much about the MSI Force 16F2 in particular but I have heard more than once MSI is a brand to avoid. There's a reason why they sell the 560m at such a cheap price - they make sacrifices in other areas. Personally I don't even like the Force 16F2 b/c it's a huge, bulky, and ugly machine.

 

if you are questioning whether the 1080p screen is worth it, you should also consider if this is the right laptop for you.

dv6t/z is more built like a portable powerhouse rather than a desktop replacement, you are spending a lot of your money on the slim form factor and portability (battery life, weight, etc). if you are keeping it on the desk with a external monitor most of the time, you are better off spending the same amount or less on a real bulky desktop replacement forgoing the battery life and size considerations.

 

If you are going to use the external monitor most of the time, why are you even asking?

 

I'd still get it if you are going the CTO route. If you buy during a 30% off coupon time, then the upgrade is really only costing you ~100. Well worth the money, and one of the reasons to choose a dv6 over something else.

Note: I owned a spec'd out dv6 quad, but ended up returning because of the graphics issues.

 

So most comments about the 1080 resolution is that you can fit more on the screen and I can see where that comes in handy....But what about picture quality? If I download an HD movie is it going to look that much better than the 900 resolution? Seems like it wouldn't due to screen size.

 

Resolution isn't everything. Contrast, brightness, color gamut, black levels, etc. matter as well, and from what I've heard, the 1080p panel is superior in those respects.

 

the most perceivable thing for a screen is the contrast - it is much more noticeable than color gamut or brightness for example.

the 1080p screen has a spec contrast of 400:1 (i.e. white is 400x brighter than black), and a measured contrast of 666:1 according to notebookcheck review.

the 768p screen on the other hand, has a contrast ratio about 150:1 - blacks appear grey, and colors are much more washed out.

resolution for full screen movie watching doesn't matter unless you are watching 1080p videos or bluray, as HD is defined as 720p

 

Thanks for the info

 

Yup. Another thing to note is that the high-res screen is matte whereas the low-res one is glossy. If you're going to be using it in places where you can't control the lighting, it's well worth the extra $100. I brought in on a train recently and the image quality is decent well past the point where the display of my old laptop is essentially a mirror.

 

Has anyone actually taken video of the screen yet? There are probably dozens of people that ordered the 1080p screen on this forums, has no one taken out a camera and gotten shots of the screen or done a side by side video?

words are less useful and impactful than just showing someone something like this comparison of the old envy 14 radiance screen vs standard brightview...

‪HP Envy 14 Vs HP DV5t Display Comparison‬‏ - YouTube


I have seen nothing and no one do anything like that for the 1080p screens for either the dv6 or dv7, might have just missed it. But if it does not exist yet, someone please take like 30 seconds, pull out your smartphone, and take a video or picture, and post the results. These words about "its better" are not that helpful, better compared to what? how much better? people need to SEE it like that radiance screen video showcased. The radiance was not simply higher resolution, the colors were more saturated, the viewing angles were superior, the contrast higher, etc. That video in particular shows the vast difference in color saturation compared to the washed out standard brightview.

 

I don't think anyone owns a dv6 with a stock and another with the 1080p screen. Even if we got someone to take a picture of their 1080p screen and another person of their stock screen, factors like lighting/camera come into play and it's just a hassle...

 

Considering the primary sense for most people is sight, this would make a display for a computer the primary output.

I've spent more than $150 on mouse/keyboard combos.

 

i posted some photos of them side by side taken by my phone before i returned my brightview model.

Dv6t-6XXX Screens

 

Nice. getting so impatient for my dv7 to ship already...

 

Thank you. The lighting was not pitch black and the differences were stark, in both viewing angles, and direct line color saturation. The 1080p panel is just much better, and now people can SEE how much better.

nothing fancy to setup up, just a basic camera with basic shots, and still a world of difference is shown.

 

Wow, looks like the anti-glare really does the job. What a difference!

 

different shots by different people with different cameras is definitely non ideal, but on these forums many people ordered the standard brightview and then ordered a version with the higher res screen and had both, like teof above. In those cases, it's pretty straight forward to take some comparison shots or video. And while it would be difficult to determine relative color saturation with different shots with different camera between the 1080p model versus the standard brightview, viewing angles could still be demonstrated pretty well with video.

 

By the way, it has come to my attention that the dv7t is 72% color gamut, while the dv6t is only 60%. A pretty big reason to ugprade to the dv7 IMO

I had the old AUO 220 nits dv6t screen, and the one thing that stood out was the poor colors

 

btw in those screenshots the one on the left is the upgrade, right?

 

no, obvious the 1080p screen is the brighter screen on the right

can't you tell? it's got a great personality! if you look at it the wrong way it throws angry glares back at you. the one on the left is so much more boring.

 

Why do you keep making new accounts?

 

well, my 1366 screen looks NOTHING like the one in the photos he provided. Side by Side with the 1080p on my Envy 15 there is very little to choose. But then again, I'm not doing pro photo or graphics work on this laptop. Frankly, with the gestures now available on the trackpad, I can resize whatever page I'm looking at instantly, so if I need to see more of a page, just a two finger swipe and there it is. If I want to zoom in, swipe again. All in all I find the std screen just fine. Note there are a host of adjustments both in the hp/windows software, and in the catalyst drivers to adjust the color, brightness, etc. etc. In fact if you take the time to do the screen setup, THIS 1366 works just fine. I'm in agreement with the guy who said that he'd use an external monitor to do heavy visual work. For a college student coding in class, the 1080 might make some sense, but 150 on top of a 600.00 laptop is a bit much for us bang for buck types.

To the op, if you're really on the fence about this, don't take anyone else's opinion, go down to best buy or whatever and look at some 1080's and 768's side by side and take your pick. It's going to be YOUR laptop and YOUR money after all and in the end, its YOUR opinion that matters

seer

Seer

 

that was the better of the two 1366x768 dv6t screens i had (SEC and CMO). i mean, it's pretty obvious that the 1080p screen is better on multiple levels - there is no question about that. the real question is whether it's worth $150.

for most people who use this laptop, it is. if you are rarely using the laptop screen, then you technically dont need the upgrade, but this is also when you should be thinking about whether this laptop is right for you to begin with.

 

I was going to ask the same thing...

 

The 1366x768 screen is fine, it would easily please most people. You don't see anything wrong about it until you set it next to a higher quality screen and notice what you've been missing. When I had a dv6t quad with the 1366 screen for a little while, I put it next to my old family laptop whose screen suited me just fine, and I realized how ridiculously washed out my old laptop screen was.

Now that I SEE what I'm missing, I threw that dv6t quad back at HP in return for an i5 and the 1080p screen because it really DOES make a difference though I thought differently before. Having a higher resolution allows you to use Windows 7 snap more effectively, 1080p movies/videos, beautiful gaming. And if you're a programmer, it really is convenient instead of scrolling every 5 seconds. I'm somewhat surprised you didn't get the 1080p screen yourself. The dv6z has great graphics power, so you'd actually be able to relish in it at 1080p...

 

I thought my 2 year old Inspiron's screen was decent - until I got the 1080p screen. It's brighter, better colors, and sharper.

 

like I said, i'm a 'bang for buck' type. different strokes etc. side by side with my envy15 which has a darned nice 1080p. Is the 1080p better? yep. Is it 150.00 better on a six hundred dollar box? well, not to me I'm telling you the truth, don't miss it a bit with what i'm using this for. Iposted somewhere about my kid sniping my butt in first person shooters. I couldn't find the sneaky little b*stard before he popped me. So, I went out and got a 65" DLP 1080 Mitsu, and...well now at least I can see him as he kills me RFLMAO and, sometimes I do get him now. He's in spec ops with the 82nd Airborne, I was 'special observations' originally with the 18th ABN (if you're curious about the difference, look it up. all "SOG's" are not equal.
In any event, like I told the op, I'd advise a potential buyer to take a look and pick the one he wants.

seer

 

Right. It's all about choice. My parents both prefer 1366x768 in a 15" because it naturally presents larger text, icons, etc. I prefer 1080p so I can actually be productive and multitask on my desktop. 1366x768 just doesn't cut it for me. But for others it's a non issue. For gaming 1366x768 is preferable because running at native looks best, and the GPU in these machines can crank out some decent frames at that resolution.

I've been playing BFBC2 though on my 1080p at 1280x720 and it still looks great. Although eventually was able to manage avg 40-45 fps at 1080p so went back to that. Until my system started locking up after 30-45 minutes due to heat (assuming). Running at 89-95C

 

In my opinion it is worth the extra bucks for sure . I am spoiled by 1080p displays and i don't think i could go with anything less unless i had to of course.

 

I have 1366x768 on my netbook, but it's 12" and it's perfect. I wouldn't have it any less though. Hate the 1024x600 resolution on most netbooks. That needs to DIE!

 

Agreed, it all depends on the size of the notebook

 

The 1366x768 screen is a let down. Its even worse than my previous HP Pavilion dv6000 laptop. The colors look horrible. Maybe I am used to my 23" Matt external display.

Is the 1080p screen better in terms of color and everything else, and not just the resolution?

Will I be able to replace this screen with the 1080p? Can I get the part from ebay?

 

Yes the 1080p is better in color blah blah blah along with resolution. If you want to upgrade the screen you need to buy the screen and find the FHD cable (think someone found it in the modding topic) and replace it. No one on here has reported attempting it though.

 

Here's the link for the FHD Cable, Con247 on the HP Pavillion DV6T SE Laptop LCD screen Repair!!!
HP.com FHD Cable

The guy on that forum did replace his screen but did not attempt to upgrade it to the 1080p display.