WUXGA screen (1900x1200) WOES!! :-( XPS M1530

I ordered my XPS M1530 at the beginning of this month, and I decided to add a blu-ray drive to it, so they had to cancel and place the order again.

I received my XPS m1530 this Monday 12/15/2008.

M1530, t9300, 4gb 667mhz, 8600mt 256mb, 320gb, Blu-ray Burner, 9cell, midnight blue...

One of the main reasons I chose to go with the dell was:

A. I had the option of having a very high resolution screen 1900 x 1200 (wuxga)

B. I got a good deal on a 4 year accidental damage warranty w/ the package.

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I was so excited about getting a 1900 x 1200 screen; it would allow me to be as productive as on my desktop since I work with many windows open. I also play a little with video editing.

As soon as I received it I tested out the notebook for several hours.

The first thing I noticed was that white and light colors are shimmery / grainy. I have never seen this on any other screen that I work on.

After several hours I found myself feeling a little nauseous. In addition, my eyes felt strained.

I have never experience this in my life as I sit in front of computers 8-10 hours a day for the past 20 years (Work).

I raised the DPI of the fonts in vista to make them a normal size, so I don't feel that the size of the letters caused this feeling.

The next day, I decided to try again. This time I set the screen to 1440 x 900. I still experienced the same effect. I think the shimmery / graininess of the screen is causing this, as it causes the text to blend in with the background to a degree.

I tried using the notebook throughout the week. I tried getting used to it, and I did somewhat, but still felt uncomfortable working on it for an extended period of time (after only 2 hours).

I then called my sales rep. to see if he had heard of this problem. His only advice was that I should call customer support.

I called customer support, and got someone from the Philippines on the phone very quickly. The person was very nice, friendly, and wanted to help me. I was impressed. (They probably don’t want me to return it within 21 days).

He told me this is the nature of the wuxga screens. He was willing to send me another notebook to compare it with either a 1440x900 display or another wuxga.

I then did a bit of searching and found other people expressing dissatisfaction about the graininess (which is what I think is causing my fatigue) on the wuxga screens as well as other Samsung screens.


My question to everyone is:

Has anyone else experience this?

Do you think switching to the 1440 x 900 LED screen will resolve this issue?

Does the WUXGA 1900 x 1200 screen come in any other brands besides Samsung, eg. LG ?

I am really dreading on downgrading to 1440x900 as I love the real estate that the wuxga screen provides, but something is up with its quality.

I am trying to convince myself that I will get used to it but I really do not think this is the case..

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DrDark

 

Hello! I own an Alienware m9750 with the WUXGA option with the LG screen and it is the same as the Samsung. I believe it is the nature of screens at such a high resolution to have some shimmering or graininess. I do have lots of shimmering and graininess, but it seems that as time progresses, I get used to it. Now, I am not as bothered by it as when I first spotted it. If it is really bothering you, I would try to swap for another screen to see if it makes any visible difference. If not, I would then request a 1440x900 screen. I have heard those screen are very bright, crisp, and have no grain, unlike the WUXGA screens. Although you may lose some space that the WUXGA provides, I think that it is more important to be comfortable and without headaches for the sake of your safety and health to just downgrade to a 1440x900.

 

Dark,

i have the 1920by1200 screen and i had the same experience, but making the font bigger (120 dpi) helped a lot, and with some time i became used to it, yes ITS GRAINY, and sometimes it bothers me, but i really like it since i work with photoshop, premiere, and other programs that require lots of space, but if you are not happy with you screen you could ask dell to change it for the LED one, ive heard wonders of it, and it wont strain your sight.

cheers man, and best of luck!

 

Thanks for your comments,

I set the dpi to 120 and 125 and even changed the resolution to 1440x900 just to see if that would help.... It's not the size of the font/text causing it it's the way the white background appears behind the black lettering... I guess it's the grainiess that's causing it. I love the space I get with this resolution.. :-( I guess I can't have it all.. It's always the case with technology. Where there is a plus there is always a minus.

LED screen = better battery life, great contrast, and brightness, but you loose the real estate.

WUXGA = Lots of desktop realestate but grainy screen, good contrast. hd resolution. worse battery life, not as bright.

If it wasn't for the graininess that I think is causing the issues I am experiancing with the screen... I'd be in heaven!

 

I too have the 1920*1200 wuxga, Whilst I do love it to bits - being able to run so many different documents on a single screen is brilliant.

Though I have to admit its not a perfect screen. There's a bit of bleeding at start up and when looking at the screen it has fairly uneven lighting which kind of follows you round the screen, kind of like your peripheral vision sees much darker lighting outside of the bit that you're directly looking at -If that kind of makes sense to anyone.

But I've been using it for the last 3/4 months so I've gotten used to it. Given that its a Samsung I kind of expected it to be a bit grainy, as there's no dead pixels and as its the best res screen I could get with the 1530 I've no regrets about it. I definitely couldn't downgrade now to a 1440.

 

i had a i6000d with a wuxga screen, and it did bother me, just so too much in such a small space i just didn't like it, don't know if it made me sick though, but eye strain was a problem. my 17 wuxga doesn't bother me at all, i think it is better with a larger display

i also hate my xps 1330's screen, not enough resolution, but i suppose if it was a wuxga it would definitely bother me with such a small screen

 

I am planning on calling dell today with my decision on what to do.. I wonder if I should just return the entire thing and wait for the xps 16 ... I wonder what sort of screens will be available for it.. :-/ and will it be a lot more expensive?

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions... :-/

 

Would you recommend this to a person with weak eyes

 

unless you ca get the newer lg wxuga then they will almost all be like this since most people are getting them all from samsung they are known for the grainy look..

 

I see in your signature you have a "Full Hi-Definition WUXGA LED LCD (1900 x 1200) screen" in your m1530. How'd you get an LED option? What brand of screen is it? Is it grainy?

 

Does anyone know if there are any NONE-GRAINY screens that are wuxga (1920 x 1200) or WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050)?

If so? Do you know the brand and part number?

I'd like to ask dell for such a screen. I really can not keep a notebook with a grainy screen, it bothers me heavily when reading text on a white background or when viewing light colors.

I am sure someone here can help

 

if all yur font and text sizes are satisfactory, after increasing yur DPI settings. then i suggest u right click desktop > nvidia controls > play with the settings. really pay attention to yur digital vibrance settings. i found that on higher resolution screens, u will sometimes find a bit of grainy-ness. i've found that digital vibrance will make pictures much more vibrant, but u will trade off a bit too much of contrast. i personally use my m1530 at full digital vibrance. it does blend the reds in a bit, but the picture quality is even more vivid than alot of 1080p LCD's.

it's just like most 1080p TV's. most tv's will never be displayed at their full potential because the user didn't or hasn't set it up correctly. just try to sit down and play with it a little more closely. good luck and happy new year