HP DV5 - Can you help me pinpoint the problem?

I am having issues with my laptop - wonder if you can help me suss out the issue since I am no guru.

I found this post elsewhere and it perfectly summed up the issues I am having with my notebook. I wonder if anyone can shed some light on how to fix the problem.

Bottom line is that I am a photographer and lately everything has been looking funky on my computer screen. I recently got Photoshop CS4 and installed it on my notebook, and may have updated my driver, or changed some settings somewhere that I am unsure of now. I need to resolve this asap, as it is imperative that everything I see on my screen prints that way.

So, here is the post I found somewhere else that describes the exact same issue I am having, and the notebook, driver, etc are also the same.

**I just bought this new computer (HP Pavilion dv7-1285dx with NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics). I'm a graphic designer for the web, so I notice the little things, and this computer is not displaying everything correctly. Most everything on the display looks fine- it is the correct resolution, and most things appear crisp. However, I am noticing a pixelation problem with various images, gradients, icons etc. This problem affects some graphics viewed in web browsers, but also affects images/graphics outside of the internet such as HP's own graphic banner in the help and support section, and images I am trying to design in photoshop etc.

To further explain the pixelation: Take for instance the website of the company that I work for. I know exactly what the website should look like because I am their graphic designer for the web, and I know that the website looks correct on other computers. When I go to the website on this new computer, the gradient background is very blocky and not at all smooth or the way it should be, although all the other images on that site seem to look normal. On other sites, Jpg images where there is an object/person/text against a white or solid background- there will be a fuzzy pixel halo around the object instead of a pure white/solid background like it should be. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason or system to which images/ graphics will display properly, and which are incorrect.

I usually work in photoshop spending a lot of time zoomed in getting the pixels perfect, and this computer is completely useless to me unless it displays everything exactly as it is. Also, when trying to use the brush tool in photoshop, I have a very light feather brush selected, but when I use it, the brush stroke still has a very harsh edge and it shouldnt. I know all these issues are related- I've tried messing around with the NVIDIA settings, but nothing seems to fix this problem. **

any help would be much appreciated!

 

shameless bump to see if anyone can help me out

 

Update nvidia driver, not from mircrosoft or hp but from nvidia. If no result, see if there is an update for bios.

 

Have you looked at the website on other laptops? I have a cheaper lcd on my desktop and i looked at my website logo on the laptop and saw levels of black I had never seen before. The image was not edited clean when i edited the background out even though it looked perfectly fine.

If you work is sensitive you should be using a calibrated monitor. I can show you some test images to prove you cant calibrate it properly with your eye. Also remember as a photographer most screens under a grand dont show more than 50% of the color gamut many are less then that.

Jpeg images that are poorly compressed or contain text often have jpeg artifacts surrounding areas of high contrast (text or things against white backgrounds). Poorly compressed images also tend to have this around any contrast barrier but complex backgrounds tend to hide this much better then a solid one of course.

All of you guys have me worried about buying my DV6 or DV7 lol. Never had an issue with an HP before but i am getting a decent gpu this time around lol. By what you say you do id expect you to know if there is or is not a problem, though dont get me wrong when I say I hope your wrong and just have a halfway decent screen to work on now.