AW 15 R2 4k diaplay problem that is hard to describe...

My 15 R2 4k display has a problem that I don't know what to describe precisely... I'll try my best to depict it and see whether it's common among all 4k panels or I should go for a replacement..
When it displays a solid white or bright color, it gives a granular feeling that reflects rainbow colors. It's sort of (only sort of) like that there is grease on the screen.
Any ideas?

 

I've seen this as well but not on the AW 15. It may be several things. It could be a bad cable connection from the panel to the motherboard or it could also be a bad or imperfect panel. I would call Dell and explain it to them.

 

Thanks. Will call Dell to see what they think.

 

Anyone else with UHD 15 R2 has seen this?
@Jemplayer
@ Punisher5.0
@Mr. Cuddles

 

isnt it the coating only at angles?

 

Can you post a pic?

 

No, it's there even if I look vertically into the panel.

 

I'll try later today. I'm not sure whether it can be captured in the picture though.

 

If anybody else sees the same, let me know here. I could escalate it if it's not normal or spread.

 

Hmm, it seems I can't capture this phenomenon using my cellphone. It's a subtle problem which does not severely hamper my normal use, but it's very noticeable with my bare eyes if I take a close look, especially when comparing it with a retina mac side by side. It's not serious but very annoying.. I'll probably call Dell..

 

Hi, Thanks for reaching out!
While waiting for other people's experience with this, can I ask you a question about the tech support routine of Alienware? So I called tech support today telling them the problem, expecting they would send someone to check the screen and see if a replacement should be done. However, I was told that I can only send the computer back to Dell and they will see whether there is any problem with the screen there. And if they think the screen is fine they will just send the computer back. So basically I may end up getting the same thing back after a wait of 2 weeks..
I'm wondering whether this is a company policy for handling such cases? I saw Alienware offers onsite service when I purchased the laptop, so is it possible to send a technician to diagnose the problem so that I won't spend 2 weeks without my laptop with possibly nothing changed at the end?
Thank you!

 

Thing is, we only send techs to replace parts. Troubleshooting or verifying an issue isn't part of their contract. That's what happened.

 

I also have an AW15 with the 4k touchscreen. It has this "issue" as do all the 4k touchscreens on the Alienware laptops. The "granular" feeling that "reflects rainbow colors" is a result of the combination of the panel, the glass, and the touchscreen digitizer. It is primarily caused by the touchscreen digitizer - and is a common issue among pretty much all clamshell touchscreen laptops.

This "issue" made me actually want to go back and downgrade to the 1080p matte screen, but in the end, I was just too lazy and it didn't bother me enough to follow through with it. Plus - the colors and black levels are incredible on the panel. I wish Dell had a 4k non-touchscreen options as the panel itself is amazing.

That all said though, there's no "fix" for it - it's just the nature of Alienware's 4k touchscreen unfortunately.

 

Actually the current AW15 R2 has a non-touch 4k panel, which is what I have. Unfortunately the problem persists, so my guess it's mainly due to the anti-glare coating.

 

Sound much like the Toshiba P50 4K last year, it was terrible. I read that the AW15 R2 version 1 Haswell models with touchscreen had the same issue. Although I am a little surprised that the non-touch anti-glare model has this problem?

 

Mentioned this in another thread, but my recently received 15 R2 with UHD screen does not have this problem.

 

So the OP screen is touch or non-touch?

 

It's non-touch.

 

Does the R2 have a touch screen option for 4k? If so perhaps it still has the touchscreen digitizer.
As mentioned before what you describe is exactly the nature of a panel that has a touchscreen digitizer.
Grainy and Rainbows. So it would be very strange to not have the digitizer and still experience these visual characteristics.

 

No, R2 does not have a touch screen option. It also went with the matte finish instead of the glossy one in 4k R1. So my theory is that the suspect is the anti-glare coating, but I know nothing for sure..

 

Must be a crap anti-glare coating for the new UHD panel. Step backwards to the days in 2011 when that sparkly coating was applied to many of the Dell 24" monitors.

-1 for the UHD panel

Even my new XPS 15 with 4K touch doesn't have the oil slick effect, and that is touch screen.

 

Like I said before, there's no such thing wrong with my R2's UHD display. He probably just received a faulty one.

@ccsasuke You should contact tech support and insist on a replacement.

 

lol, use HWINFO and post the panel info. Then have some people post the 4K info from HWINFO from the R1 (same manufacturer). Wouldn't that be a hoot if it was the same panel as the R1 but just lacked capability via the motherboard. LOL

Also just FYI in case you people did not know. Many panel options on each model have different panels that show up. For example the R1 had two different 1080p panels that would show up. A Samsung one and a LG one. The panels are totally random when they come from Dell via an order or warranty replacements.

 

yea Dell has several manufacturing plants, they don't all have the same stock at the same time, and there are often several variants of panels used in a given model.