Help with 17 R4 screen

Hi all

I've been using a Mac for the last few years as I do mobile app development for work. But they suck for games, so I splashed out on an Alienware 17 R4, GTX 1080, 1440p.

It just came in today and it's working OK except for one issue... The screen is absolutely horrible!

I'm not sure if it's just because I'm used to the MBP or if there's something wrong with my screen. The issue is that there seems to be "little lines" between the rows of pixels.

It's most noticeable when looking at photos, there's lots of tiny little horizontal lines running through the picture. I tried to take a screenshot to post... but the "lines" don't show when I view the screenshot image on the MBP so I can't really show you what I mean.

Is this a configuration issue with Windows, or is it a hardware issue? Is this just because I've been spoiled with the MBP retina display or is there something wrong do you think?

 

it's an issue with the screen, alienware is trying to get the same model screen without the line features

keep in mind that the screen is also a tn, not as good as your macbook pro in terms of viewing angle and color reproduction quality

 

Oh right?

This isn't the "banding" that people have been talking about though, is it?

That's something different where colors appear in "steps" right?

This screen doesn't seem to have any of that. But these lines... It's a worse display that my El Cheapo monitors that I bought for £100!

 

the line is issue with the screen "feature" as said above



banding seems to be a weird issue, have you made sure that the output screen color is 8bpc in the nvcp?

 

Is your El Cheapo monitor 120Hz 1440P for £100? I don't think it's a worse dispaly than that BUT it's an issue that hopefully they'll fix.
Still waiting for my system but from what i've read the colors,blacks are pretty good for a TN screen.

It all about preference : fast screen or photo screen.

 

Thanks for your reply.

Output colour depth is 8 bpc.

Sorry if the last message isn't clear. I don't see any banding really.

I don't think I'm gonna keep this computer with those lines in the screen. Before discount, this is a £2600+ computer (about $3200).

Re-paste I don't mind doing - the temps are fixable. But dodgy display with "features", that doesn't sound fixable.

I'm gonna go play a game to see if it's as noticeable as in the apps...

 

Ha ha, no they're not. And not 400 nits either.

But my eyes don't barf everytime I look at the El Cheapos, and they do with the lines on this display!

 

Please post after you have tried a game...more info is good and the more posts about the issue the better.

 

Unfortunately those lines are still there...

It seems worse on certain colours - like the blue on the top of Google Inbox is very noticeable.

I was spoke to Dell. The agent was sympathetic and said I could return it and get something else...

I went into the 17 R4 section. I would think the UHD screen would be better, but for some unfathomable reason they only sell it with the GTX1070!

 

It's possible that you have something wrong on top of the banding that others are seeing. TBH when I got mine I looked and while I could see the banding that people are complaining about it wasn't THAT bad as it is present in most laptop LCD's I have used unclusing the R1 60Hz displays....all three I have seen. I get why people don't want it there but I didn't think it was so bad I couldn't or didn't want to use the laptop so maybe you have another issue on top of that? Try taking a pic and posting it? Maybe there is another issue with your screen.

 

Yeah same here - I've been on MBP and iMacs for the past 10 years. I was very disappointed with the horizontal lines issue on the 1440p Gsync 120 Hz screen, especially for doing any graphics work. I know now that TN is not right for that, but I'm also an avid gamer.

But strangely, now that I've had the 17R4 for about 4 weeks and been spending huge amounts of time in front of it working and playing, I think my eyes/brain are somehow adapting to the stripes a bit. Even though I can plainly see them, it doesn't annoy me as much anymore. I'll be moving to a new apartment next week, so I'll finally have some space to set up an external monitor.

Dell sent a technician to install a replacement display panel, but it had the same exact issue. Fortunately, there is some hope - Frank Azor, cofounder of Alienware has tweeted multiple times that there will be fixed replacement panels in Feb or March:

https://twitter.com/AzorFrank/status/811650998724952065

Another big display difference from Macs is the Windows 10 display scaling. It's supposed to make text look ok at this resolution for all apps, but it seems to work for some apps, but make other apps look blurry. The only solution I've found is to click on the Properties for the app, go to the Compatibility tab, and check the "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings" for the offending apps. Meh.

 

I noticed that even tonight. I think it's because my eyes are getting a bit tired so the lines don't stick out so much.

I saw that in the another post in this forum. I don't think I'm gonna wait and take the chance though. Who knows what their policy will be in March... I can't keep that on the off chance he fulfils a promise to replace any 1440p screen where the owner complains...

Frankly for a £2600 laptop this issue should not exist - full stop. Absolutely shocking. I was looking so forward to receiving this beast after a wait from order to delivery of 24 days... Complete letdown.

Sending it back tomorrow.

 

Yeah it's weird. Like the Steam Client looks really pants, all blurry and like a image that's been enlarged. I guess even if I had a better display like the UHD, this would still be a problem...

 

I really like this laptop except for the screen. Was thinking about getting the UHD version, but it only comes with a GTX 1070...

Oddly enough, I can buy the 17R4 with UHD and GTX1070 for cheaper at PC World than at Dell. And I can get it delivered tomorrow morning rather than waiting almost 4 weeks, like from Dell:

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/compu...7-3-4k-gaming-laptop-silver-10155169-pdt.html

Is there any advantage to buying it from Dell rather than PC World?

 

Just an update for anyone who's interested. I sent the QHD back to Dell, and I picked up the UHD in PC World.

The UHD display is fantastic. It doesn't have the visible line artifacts and the colors are much brighter.

The specs on the UHD state 300-nits, where the QHD states 400-nits. But the UHD seems much brighter... maybe the deeper colors make it appear brighter?

Additionally, the UHD doesn't have G-Sync. However the lack of G-Sync means it's possible to switch to the integrated graphics card when you need longer battery life.

Shame it's not available with the GTX1080 though. This display and the GTX1080 would be the perfect laptop!