95% matte or stock matte NP8130?

Just curious what I should do? +$95 isn't much but it's also a lot of money if there isn't significant difference. I'm sure anything will be an improvement over the crap screen of my NP8170 stock glossy.

 

Take a look around the forums, there have already been a lot of topics concerning this issue. =P

It seems like the general agreement is that the stock matte is very nice and the 95% matte upgrade is good for people who plan to do a lot with photos, 3d, etc.

If you're struggling this much with it, I would say go ahead and get the upgrade. That way you won't regret missing out on getting a feature that you can't attain anymore. (You can always upgrade RAM, HDD, etc, but never the display)

 

i have it and its awesome, the brightest screen i have ever seen, amazing contrast and colors, it makes my mom droid charge(AMOLED) screen look like crap. and the screen on that phone is really nice.

 

I think you will regret not getting it, you will notice the difference from your 8170 stock screen instantly.

 

I just ordered my NP8130 and I got the upgrade. I've heard it's worth it. Plus the RAM deal basically pays for most of it anyway.

 

Even the stock screen on the P151HM1 will be noticeably better than the stock on the other model you had. I have used both and decided on the P151HM1 because it's much better. I think you will be thoroughly satisfied with any of the screen choices on the P151HM1, they are all nice.

 

How do the 3D matte, 95% matte and stock matte all compare to each other? (Especially the 3D and 95%)

 

The colors definitely "pop" more on the 95%. It is a night and day difference from the stock screen, without a doubt.

 

I ordered it with the 95% matte. I know I'll be happy. Many people have thought I'm weird to sell my NP8170 and "downgrade" but IMHO, I was going to spend $150 on a new screen for the NP8170 because it bothered me. It had good brightness and color and contrast, just viewing angles were bad. In the end I'll still pocket about $500 from the switch to NP8130. 17" Desktop replacements are great if they're your only machine, but not so portable if you need it to be!

 

if you have ever seen an led screen its similar to that, but with brighter whites.

 

Oh, so it's like Tide with bleach for your undies?

I owned an Envy 14 for a little while with a Radiance screen and while everyone praised it, I thought it almost gave it a "glowing" look to the screen, almost like it was plasma. I wasn't a big fan of it. I eventually returned the notebook because of the screen and other reasons.

 

its like i stuck my undies in the bottle of bleach for 5 days and then took them out.

 

Wow. That's like angelic bright!

BTW, my dad owns a condo in Scottsdale, AZ.

 

yes i literally use the screen as a projector, ever heard of a 100in tv.

and hmm, thats nice.

 

Oh, so it must be what's in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction?

 

Why is there so much bashing on glossy screens?

I'm waiting on my 8130 as well...and stuck with the stock matte screen.. I'm coming from a long line of glossy screen laptops. I'm actually worried I might not like it..prove me otherwise?

 

If you're vain and like to admire yourself while using the laptop, then glossy is ok. Otherwise matte is where it's at!

 

lol. On the p151 and p150 with the glossy screen, they forgot to put in the manual that pressing fn+f2 will automatically turn your screen into a mirror, which is extremely useful if you want to use your screen as a rear view mirror to make sure your boss doesn't walk up on you whilst you are playing games. this option is also available while using the matte screen, except you go to the desktop type "web" and press enter.

 

I really love the glossy screens on the macbook. Anyone have real reviews of the 95% glossy screen?

 

It isn't the same two reviewers (and I'm not sure how Contrast is being measured between Anandtech and Notebookcheck), but this thread showed me:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...550475-15-6-fhd-1920x1080-panels-reviews.html

AUO14ED (95% Gamut Matte Option):
Black: 0.5 cd/m²
Contrast: 514:1

AUO17ED (95% Gamut Glossy Option):
Black: 0.39 cd/m²
Contrast: 692:1

I use my computer indoors, and glossy has never bothered me. Rare are the car trips where I'll have to tolerate it (so I think anyway, right, but maybe now that I have this awesome system.... )

But anyway, I'd expect the numbers to be better for glossy vs. matte in general, however, this seemed enough of a gap (and with my usage expectations) that I went with glossy.

Sound like sound judgement?

 

I find these interesting data points (which further complicates things):

Using the same screen (AUO15ED):
Anandtech: 233:1
Notebookcheck.net: 166:1

Notebookcheck score is 71.2% of Anandtech's.


Looking at numbers posted above, in my previous post:
AUO14ED (95% Gamut Matte Option, by NotebookCheck):
Contrast: 514:1

AUO17ED (95% Gamut Glossy Option, by Anandtech):
Black: 0.39 cd/m²
Contrast: 692:1

Notebookcheck score is 74.2% of Anandtech's.

Hmmm.... Right?
Maybe...

Notebookcheck IS capable of awarding higher scores. Both reviews for the (AUO11ED, Stock 60% Gamut, Matte) gave 687:1, and 633:1. Inconsistent for the same screen, yet both consistently higher than the 95% Gamut Matte Screen...

Decisions, decisions...

 

i guess u guys didnt get my comment, oh well...

 

I should be getting my p150hm in the next few days, and I decided to go with the glossy 95% gamut screen. For weeks before my purchase I was pretty much sold on the matte screen, but at the last minute opted for the glossy choice.
I'm not sure why I did so, but I have heard that the glossy generally looks better than the matte screen in desirable conditions and realistically, I don't think I will be using the laptop outdoors much. Even if I do, as a few people pointed out the brightness on these displays seems to be excellent, and this should still make a glossy display bearable in outdoor conditions.

I guess one of the main reasons I changed to the glossy in the final stages of purchasing is due to my experience with the 27' iMac which also has a glossy display. The colours are so bright (2nd lowest brightness setting) that I barely notice any reflection unless the computer is turned off.

Hopefully I've made a good choice, can't wait until it arrives!

 

sounds good and you get that extra feature of the rear view mirror.

 

To wrap up my posting in this thread, I found two reviews of these screens, from notebookcheck, and only a month apart.

Matte 95%:
Review Lenovo ThinkPad W520 Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

Maximum: 236 cd/m²
Average: 217.9 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 87 %
Center on Battery: 236 cd/m²
Black: 0.36 cd/m²
Contrast: 656:1


Glossy 95%:
Review Dell XPS 15 Notebook (i5-2410M & GT 540M) - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

Maximum: 284 cd/m²
Average: 262.2 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 87 %
Center on Battery: 265 cd/m²
Black: 0.41 cd/m²
Contrast: 646:1


Some things I take away & interpret:
-Choose either screen, both are great.
-The Matte is (obviously) less subject to reflections and more appropriate if you're going to be near windows/outside
-The Glossy Display is noticeably brighter, and this probably helps mitigate those reflections some
-The Glossy Display will be more appropriate for those using AdobeRGB colorspace, or image editing
-For sRGB, the Matte screen may appear more over saturated than the glossy
-The viewing angles seem better by my reading on the Matte, not the glossy.

 

95% all the way, have you check the pics? those made me buy the 95% upgrade.

 

Is there any good color calibration for these 95% gamut screens?

 

I'd definitely be interested in hearing your impressions of the 95% glossy.

 

I have a Spyder 3 Express that I plan on using to calibrate my screen. I could share that profile, but every monitor is different, but maybe get you closer to "true" representation than stock.

 

I'm pretty sure from what I've read this calibration changes hardware, things behind the scenes on the card itself... and then from that I'd infer:

-Regardless of wiping the system and re-installing, the changes stay.
-Full Screen Games will be able to use your settings (unlike desktop coloration changes)
-Even when you first boot the computer up, and you POST, you'd actually be able to see your differences in effect.

All true Wingnut?

 

It basically creates a color profile that loads with Windows, or you can choose it from an image program like Adobe Photoshop. No hardware affected.

 

Hmm, see this is more of what I was expecting. So one wouldn't worry about doing it unless they required color accuracy for working with photos or the like? This sounds like it wouldn't affect full-screen games then.

 

It will affect everything, including full screen games. I don't think it's necessary unless your colors seem way out of whack. I have the Spyder because I found it cheap, and was tired of looking at my laptop, desktop, and notebook screens and seeing something completely different between each one.

 

How do I know if I have the 95% color gamut screen? Where to check?

 

I think I saw you post this in the other thread, and Justin from xoticPC responded. I thought you knew what he meant, but let me go into some more detail here then.

-Click Start -> Right Click on "My Computer (or "Computer" in Windows7)"
-Select "Manage"
-When the window opens, click on "Device Manager" (about 5 down)
-Under "Monitors" Right Click on your screen and select "Properties"
-On the "Details" Page, change the "Property" Drop-Down to "Hardware IDs"

What does it say in the box for you?

 

Mine says LEN40B2 which is the B156HW01 V4 95% gamut matte.

 

just got my 8130 about 6 hours ago. been loading it up and checking it out! the screen is great--seems pretty similar in appearance to the HP DV6 matte screen even though that one wasn't 95%. One thing I've noticed is that the DV6's screen seemed to have a better vertical viewing angle, but that's nitpicking.

 

Good to know. I'll get a better side by side when my DV6 arrives. So you basically returned the DV6 and bought the NP8130? Definitely interested to hear your thoughts on it. I love the NP8130. Just wish more battery life and saving $400-$500 is also a benefit of the DV6, although not everything.

 

The screen seems to be a mixed bag--it's got a reddish cast and if I null that out, when I scroll a webpage, the text goes green on me until it stops scrolling. very annoying, just to get a more balanced color appearance, based on my subjectively-set calibration.

Also, when I move my viewpoint a bit, the color changes way more than I remember the matte screen on the DV6 doing, but it's been out of my possession since early June, so I MIGHT be mistaken.

I watched a few minutes of Zorro on Blu ray and it looked sorta ok--it was a bit to red/purple for my taste. If more movies look that way too, I'll go into the Nvidia settings and tweak the color and see how that works out. This screen is really not a "turn it on and forget it" kind of screen--it needs a bit of adjustment, apparently.

 

I find the screen a bit purple too, at least black looks dark purple. Once I calibrate the display with my Spyder 3 I'll see if it helps, but something like that I think is inherent in the display. Otherwise it is very vibrant and viewing angles are good. Wondering if I should have just stuck with the stock screen. Meh oh well.

 

Yes, that's a very good question, as the HD matte screen on the DV6 sure seemed sweet and had no color cast that I remember. and I'm pretty certain I would have noticed that right away, as this 8130 is decidedly red--when the screen is dark, but backlit, it looks dark red instead of black. odd.

 

Yeah, after reading all the reviews I've posted about the screens on these forums, I added another 3 days of my build time because I changed back to the stock Matte LCD on my system which was on order already.

I originally thought the best 95% panel for me though was the glossy one. I never was convinced to spend $95 extra for 95% gamut matte (I only use sRGB anyway) and I'm not sensitive to reflections based on how / where I use it. I could only take a $30 price bump, not $95... so I ordered with the Glossy 95%.

In the end, the dang reviews were so good on all 3 screens and convincing myself that matte really is a better laptop choice, I went back to the stock matte. I was also worried about having to spend extra money to calibrate, or fiddly fart with the 95% matte.

I think money no object though, the best viewing pleasure is gonna be your 95% gamut screens, calibrated. I just wanna hear you say WingNut that you've literally loaded a full-screen game, before & after and you can see that your Spyder 3 calibration is in effect. (I know you mentioned somewhere to me that either it "would" or "should"). And if it's hard to discern, then set your calibration to something goofy temporarily that makes an obvious difference to know for sure. Screenshots are icing. A +1 awaits you

It'd also be a nice test dave/wingnut if we knew that a calibration profile from one machine worked on another. I mean, your machines aren't gonna get any closer than this. Again, Wingnut mentioned this idea somewhere else, but we weren't sure if it would work / the software would let you. If you guys figure this out, let us know!

 

How do you calibrate that 95% color gamut screen?

 

Don't cross post on these forums please, I deleted your other post.