Thinkpad Screen does it hurt

From what I've read Thinkpads have pretty much the worst LCD on any notebook. To be honest I don't really care as long as I'm not having difficulty searching the web, or programming (electrical engineering is fun).

Do any of you have difficulty using thinkpads for extended periods, specifically in these areas? I have to be on the computer several hours a day. Viewing angles really don't matter, this thinkpad is only for me

 

I guess it depends which exactly Thinkpad you're looking at.

W70x series has an RGB LED screen. Hardly the worst (try the best) LCD.
X200/201t comes with FlexView PVA, AFFS or IPS screens.
I actually liked even what everyone said it was crappy AUO matte screen on X200, much much more than the glossy garbage you get on (insert your favorite consumer laptop). It's not the best screen for watching bluerays or whatnot but at least it's actually usable in the classroom or a room with many lights.

 

They are certainly usable, i am mostly using the standard LCD monitors of my Thinkpad.

The only problem i have with certain thinkpad screen is the limited viewing angle and lack of high contrast ratio (which shows up if you do lot of photoshop and watch lot of HD movies).

 

T410 (1440x900 version) here does have pretty bad viewing angles (vertical) but the screen nevertheless is good and very very bright. As long as you're not picky and tell yourself that "this is a business notebook" you'll be happy with it

I'm happy with mine and would rather stick to this than any glossy screen no matter how good it is. Just trying to make my machine a work-only y'know

 

From the angle of your question (pun intended ): No problem! Enjoy your ThinkPad.

 

I have four generations of ThinkPads and three models in the current gen. Do you have a particular ThinkPad in mind?

 

I have a few generations of ThinkPads, including one with 15" Flexview... Anyway, the OP bought a T410s.

 

Yeah, what Kaso said I bought the t410s . It's coming Monday I can't wait, but I am worried about the screen. If it's worst than the x31 screen I'm typing on now I'll be very disappointed.

 

Its fine if you're just using the laptop by itself and doing work. When I use it with my desktop monitor in dual screen and have to look at both, it's sad times.

 

Their fine. The viewing angles are not that great but this isn't really an issue for a laptop imo. Also for the t510, the screen colour has a blueish hue. It's clearly noticeable if you use a dual monitor.

 

My 400s also came with a strong blue tinge. Everything looked blue and sad. Calibrate it as best as you can when you get it and it'll be fine for browsing, documents, etc.

Like someone else said, you don't really notice it until you put it next to another laptop or plug in your desktop screen.

Then you're just amazed at how different and ugly it is lol.

 

That's cause the .ICM file for the machine isn't set correctly. I calibrate mine with the SpyderElite3. Big difference in color and enjoyment after.

 

For the price of SpyderElite 3 you can buy a new screen.

 

This has been discussed before. People that buy calibrators are buying them for more than one machine. For professional photography or video, it's an invaluable tool.

And to your point, I would certainly like having LCD choices on the ThinkPads I buy.

 

I am aware that calibrators are certainly useful and used for professional graphics work. It would make sense to use one if the laptop came with a really good quality screen. But I think the discussion here isn't about multiple screens or even screens that would be used for professional photography.

The setup options with Intel IGP drivers work pretty well otherwise. Or at least most of the time (I never managed to get even remotely accurate colors on the AFFS screen, but worked well on other screens.)

 

My point was that the screen can display other colors if told to. My T410s has that blueish tint if I run it with that factory settings.

 

As I said, enjoy searching the web and developing programs with your T410s! No need for color calibration or any tangential concerns.

 

I am lucky. My T400's CCFL WXGA+ screen has good contrast, although the brightness of the screen is less than that of LED screens these days. Viewing angles are a bit picky. My T510's LED HD+ screen has even better contrast, brightness, and viewing angles.

Since I don't have a calibrator, I use LCD monitor test images and the graphics driver's color settings to adjust my screen. On my T400, I can see all the bands on the contrast page. I can distinguish 2 and 254 on the black level and white saturation screen respectively. I have adjusted my gamma so it is around 2.2, although it's hard to say because of gamma shift due to viewing angle change.