1420 - Grainy Screen

Hi All,

Well I received my new 1420 yesterday, and was pretty excited to do so. However, after turning it on I was pretty disappointed with the screen. It is very grainy, and makes my eyes unhappy.

It is using an AUO (AU Optronics) Screen. It says AUO1644 on it. I got the regular 1280 X 800 glossy screen option.

My Inspiron 6400 uses a SEC0000 (Samsung) Screen. It is much nicer and without the grain I see on the AUO screen.

If you want to know what kind of screen you have, go to device manager, right click on Monitors, click on the details tab, and then select Hardware Ids from the drop down list.

What type of screen do you have if you have a 1420?

I'm going to send it back. I might try purchasing one of the matte screens instead.

 

I have a 1420 in production with the glossy 1440x900. For those who have the anti-glare, is there less graininess? If so, I might have to cancel my order.

 

When you get it, please post who your screen is by and your thoughts, I'd be interested to know. Cheers.

 

mine says CMO1426. dont know what that means really. i dont have any issues with mine, at least that i can see or tell.

 

Do you have the anti-glare screen?

 

CMO is Chi Mei Optoelectronics. I saw someone else who purchased the matte anti-glare had this screen.

 

I have had my 1420 for a little over a week and let me say it is a pleasure to use, in device manager under monitors it says I have a PNP Generic Monitor, I opted for the 1280/800 antiglare, but for being a generic screen it is truelly amazing, crystal clear, no graininess whatsover or light leakeage, the screen is bright and the colors are vivid. It is very fast, I do alot of net surfing, listening to music, downloading light gaming, and dvd burning and it stays strong without slowing down a bit, the dvd drive is so quite that you wouldn't even know its in use, no noise from the headphones either, even on full volume. I have had my share of notebooks in the last 7yrs, compaq, averatec, gateway, acer and even a mac, and let me tell you this is by far the best one, no problems with the screen, keyboard, hardrive, touchpad, or the dvd/cd drive. I did ofcourse had to configure the settins to my liking, do some uninstalling of bloatware and install my own programs, and vista was running slow on starup and shutdown, but after I played around with the settings everything is now to my satisfaction. I couldn't decide at first which notebook to go with, but I'm glad I chose this one, don't regret it at all.

 

bosco999:

Everyone's notebook says Generic which you pointed out. You have to right click on that, go to properties, then click on the details tab. Then select Hardware Ids from the drop down list. That will tell you who made your screen. =)

 

Ahhhhh, thanks , its CMO1426 (whatever that means)

 

I think the graininess we are seeing is from the glossy coating not the panel itself.....just my opinion though.

 

hm my 1420's 1440x900 glossy screen looks fine. i guess i can kind of see what you mean by "grainy". i'll have to wait and compare it to my bro's e1505 to see if its really bad or just normal

 

Please chime in if you believe that the graininess comes from the glossy. My 1420 is in production and if the graininess is caused by the glossy screen I want to change it to the anti-glare before it ships. Thanks.

 

Jkim: What screen do you have?

As I said before, my Inspiron has a glossy screen and isn't grainy like the 1420 AUO screen is.

 

It appears that everyone with the matte anti-glare screen has a CMO (Chi Mei Optoelectronics) from what I've seen so far.

 

i have the 1440x900 glossy and it is slightly grainy

 

Does this mean I have to cancel my order? I don't want graininess.

 

Some people probably wouldn't even notice unless it was brought to their attention. However I certainly do.

You can always wait and see how it turns out, and send it back if you don't like it. I believe the return policy is 30 days.

 

Gah I'm on the other side of the US right now so I can't reach my 1420 to test it out yet.
But I got someone to check the monitor for me. It's a AUO1447 or something. (1400x900) I just hope I'm tolerant enough for it. I'm a digital artist so I stare at partially white screens for hours.

 

Hi Sky, I'd definitely be interested to hear your thoughts once you get your hands one it.

 

This is from another review on the 1520:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=143959

 

I won't be getting home until August 6th (my notebook shipped WAAAY earlier than expected, haha) my parents say my laptop screen looks fine - but I'm waiting till I see it before I judge.

Here's a post comparing CMO and AUO. Looks like AUO has poorer quality ...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=110847

 

You let them open the box for you? Isn't that part of the excitement of a new notebook? lol

 

Does anyone have the glossy screen that's not AUO? My 700m has the AUO and it's glossy.

 

Can the anti-glare people chime in? Do you have graininess? I need to know ASAP so I can redo my order.

 

i have anti-glare screen and everything looks crisp and clear to me.

 

Have you read anyone complaining about graininess with the anti-glare screen? It seems like the only people complaining about graininess have come from the glossy screen owners.

 

as far as everything i have read regarding graininess, on both the 1420 and 1520 , has been those with the TruLife Glossy Screens. i decided to go back to anti-glare after having the 700m glossy screen and seeing every single spec of dust, smudge, finger-print, etc. i am a bit OCD when it comes to stuff like that so i decided against it on my new laptop. thus far, no regrets what-so-ever.

 

Yeah, I have the 700m and also a bit OCD about such things. That's why I'm pretty concerned.

 

i understand where you are coming from with being concerned. i can't tell you to keep it or switch; that's something you have to decide. but like i said, i am really glad i went with the anti-glare. and all these grainy issues makes me even happier that i went with the ant-glare.

 

I'm assuming thta the 1520's and 1420's graininess issues are the same. I have a glossy 1520, and yes there is graininess, but not even near enough to interfere with anything. I can barely notice it from 6+ inches. If you are very sensitive to this it may be bothersome, but for the average user it is fine. I do have other monitors in my house that have no graininess and i still have no problem with my screen at all. I think the graininess is blown out of proportion a little bit.

Maybe I'm just one of the lucky ones

 

Well, I changed it to the anti-glare screen. I had to call to change it twice though, actually three times. The first time the lady put me on hold so she can change it, but they hung up on me. The second time the guy says it's done and I would get a confirmation email. 2 hours later, nothing. So I call back again for the third time and finally it was changed.

It's been changed to "14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA LCD for Inspiron 1420". I was told that is the anti-glare. I hope it's right.

 

yea that should be right. that is the description that was listed for my anti-glare screen.

 

I know gloss and the anti-glare are both the same cost. But which one is *supposedly* be the better? Why?

 

The glossy 1280x800 would be spec'd as "14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA TL LCD for Inspiron 1420", correct?

 

as far as 1 being "better" that is purely subjective. you have to decide for yourself which you feel would best be suited for your needs. that is why it is always a good idea to go to stores to do a hands-on comparison to get a look and feel for each type of screen.

 

you are correct

 

I see.. so they're both the same... in that case wouldn't it be better to buy anti-glare rather than gloss b/c of all the problem present in the gloss lcd's?

I read somewhere that dell was starting to offer onsite department so you can go checkout the laptops and desktop. Can anyone confirm this?

 

well i didnt say they are the same; i said it is a subjective matter related to each individual person. each has advantages and disadvantages. the glossy you get more of a rich and vivid detail while the anti-glare you dont get reflections. again, it is up to the person to decide which they feel is better.

there are already kiosks where you can go to see the Dell lineup in person. they have been around for years now and are usually in malls.

 

ok... thanks for the reply brian

I should probablly go check out the laptops to how bad this gloss situation is

 

When in Device Manager, I do not see anything titled Monitor, rather I only can find Display Adapters. Going through that, this is what I get under Hardware IDs:

PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0427&SUBSYS_01F31028&REV_A1
PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0427&SUBSYS_01F31028
PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0427&CC_030000
PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0427&CC_0300

I must be doing something wrong?

 

you need to be under "monitor" in order to find out what specific manufacturer you have of the screen. not sure why it is not listed for you; that doesnt make sense.

 

oops, forgot that I had uninstalled the Nvidia drivers. I have AUO1447. Not entirely sure I understand this "grainy" issue, though my screen (WXGA+) may be a victim of it as well. Not really noticeable to me though, yet.

What drivers is everyone using? I tried the most recent 158.24 ForceWare drivers off of Nvidia's website but those would not install, even though they are supposed to fit the 8x00 series. So now I'm running the 8400M drivers found on Dell's support site. Not sure what version they are though.

 

i have a auo WXGA+ and it looks horrible, but dell is coming out to replace it

 

Be sure to let us know if your new screen is any better.

 

yeah i will do, if it is not any better i will be sending this notebook back for a refund cause i really cant stand this graininess

 

So if I order today, the screens are still going to be grainy?
Man, aren't they fixing this?

 

i'm getting my screen replaced as well, probably on thursday or friday. any idea when they are replacing yours?

 

i should get a call from a technician about it tomorrow

 

i got a call today from dell telling me the part was on backorder...

 

yup...same...