Just got my m15x, but the screen is bugging me...

Hi all,

Been reading the forums for a while, and because of it, I went ahead and bought an m15x (refurbished from Dell Outlet, which came remarkably a day after I ordered it).

Anyways, I love the system, but the screen is really bothering me. When I compare it to my old HP Pavillion DV6 (~14", 1280x 800 pixels), the m15x screen (~15", 1920 x 1080) frankly seems to be very pixelated (ie I really notice the pixels a lot more, than say on my old computer). Is this normal? The drivers for the GTX 260M are up to date, and I set the resolution for the highest resolution. Do you guys have any recommendations, or am I just going nuts? Thanks.

Gordon

My specs:

Alienware M15x Laptop
Processor: Intel Core i7-720QM Quad Core Processor 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Operating System DVD
1 GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M
Operating System DVD
Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
320 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
15.6 inch Wide FHD 1920x1080 (1080p) WLED

 

What's the resolution you set it to?

Should be 1920 X 1080, if it is, then there's a problem.

The screen shouldn't be pixelly at all.

 

Yup, I set the resolution to the max to take advantage of the 1080p screen. This is really frustrating. When I look at my icons or large patches of color, it's really easy to make out the pixels (unlike on my last computer where things look much smoother). Thanks.

 

Right click then go to screen res, underneath that is an option to make text larger or smaller. Make it smaller. Might be that, it was with me.

Craig

 

Thanks Craig. I tried that, but that doesn't really solve my issue. It's almost as if I am looking at the screen, but you see this faint "mesh" screen covering everything. It's as if they swapped out the monitor with one with lower res (although I can select the right resolution). So weird.

Thanks again.

 

So here is a picture of my problem. The first pic is from my m15x (resolution set at 1920 x 1080). The second is from my old HP DV6000 laptop (resolution set at 1280 x 800, also its native resolution).

The vertical lines to me are very noticeable in the Alienware and it is very apparent in pictures and what not (frankly throughout the screen). The images of the HP look much smoother (although admitedly the pics from HP look like they have some vertical lines too, but overall the Alienware image looks far worse). I checked the NVIDIA drivers and they are up to date as is the bios. I feel for such a high end gaming system, you should have a high quality screen. Can I safely assume that this is not normal on the m15x? I will probably call Dell, but if anyone has any further suggestions that would be great. Thanks again!

 

Send it back. That screen sucks.

 

AGREES, Send it back.
Im not getting anything like that with the same screen and GPU.

 

I'm with the above posters. That shouldn't be happening.

 

If you wish, try reseating the connector.if doesn't work then call dell.

 

i know it's difficult (if not impossible) to take a clear shot of an lcd screen, but if those black bars are visible through the firefox icon... i agree, send it back. something is definately wrong.

 

Thanks for the comments folks. Interesting thing happened when I tried to call. There seems to be no record of them having shipped the system to me(their system says "under production..."). I wonder if they sent me the wrong one. So weird. Anyways, I have to wait 48 hrs while they try to figure out what is going on.
By the way, not to be naive, but what does "reseating the connector mean?"

 

I believe he's talking about the connection of the monitor to the motherboard. Reseating it would be unplug it and re-plug it, making sure it is seated firmly and correctly.

 

it involves opening up the laptop so it's not for the squeamish

hehe would be funny if a second laptop came in about a week later.

 

Haha, apparently my received laptop is from my canceled ordered, and another one is coming... Sometimes I wonder about Dell and who works there...