15.4" Vostro 1500 with SEC3157 WXGA+ NEW PANEL no more AUO2077

I just got a replacement from Dell for my 1500.

It's an SEC3157, New screen for WXGA+ resolution in 15.4" size.

I still have my AUO2077 laptop WXGA+ Vostro 1500. I will compare the two.

I'm posting this in a new thread because I have not heard or seen anyone with Vostro 1500, WXGA+ with screen other than AUO2077.

If you have a Vostro 1500, WXGA+ with SEC screen, please post your findings here.

From initial quick glance, GRAIN is there but I think the SEC may be the better of the two.

Ill try to take pics a bit later on.

 

god im excited now! i should get my wxga+ vostro 1500 today too!

 

I'm having mixed feelings about this one .....

 

Send it back, hold out for an LG

 

NOTE: SEC3157 is ON RIGHT, AUO2077 is on LEFT.





















AUO



SEC

 

Biggest difference can be seen in the video. LOOK AT PIC 1

X264 encoded.

The AUO just has more vibrant colors from i see and a sharper image.

The SEC has less grain (can't be seen in pics).

Both have the 163.44 Drivers
Same settings in control panel
Same codec used for video playback
same brightness level

 

that is some horrible light bleed

 

i just got my vostro 1500 replacement, and i have the same SEC 3157 screen as you...it looks like crap

 

something difference i have noticed so far:

Screen hinge is really strong

bios revision A01

Came with vista disk

screen is ok at a foot or more away, but not very bright at all

Came with crappy ProMOS ram instead of samsung (i replaced this)

build quality is really good

 

Can you toss i8kfangui on there and see what your temps read like? I am wondering if A01 runs hotter...

Camera pictures are always going to be VERY hard to tell details with due to dynamic iris and the fact that a bright light source with a dark background is going to result in softening (thus impossible to properly see grain). Only way around it I could think if is to lock the camera into manual mode so exposure and focus never change and then do multiple shots of each from the exact same angle and same picture.

Also for grain the best chance I would think would be to put your camera in macro mode on a not too bright area.

 

there is no grain on my screen. I highly doubt a bios version would make a laptop change temps, ill read it some time later, im installing vista now, and i have a busy schedule a head the next few days. maybe someone else can do that for you.

 

light bleed is worse on the SEC also...not sure if that bothers you...i wouldnt let it bother me if all other things were perfect....but for you it might also be something to consider...

 

maybe im mistaken what grain is. i thought it was actual lines on the screen. My screen looks like colors are dirty, really dirty. is that what grain is? im not too thrilled over it...

 

the pics of TMNT are very good indication.
To my eyes the differences are exactly what you see in the pictures.

Grain problem is reduced on SEC though

 

CPU whine present in the the laptop with SEC scree .... dangit.

 

all intel core 2 duo processors have this problem. its a hardware problem with them that dell can not do anything about.

 

That SEC screen is horrible and I mean horrible! I'm surprised Dell would use anything that bad. Do yourself a favor and send that piece on it's way. Maybe Dell will get the message sooner or later.

 

I just received my vostro 1500 (wxga+) today and i got a SEC screen also.

It honestly doesn't seem that bad. There doesn't seem to be any background light leakage. However, i do notice a little graininess.

But this is the first laptop I purchased, so i don't have anything to compare it to, or know any specifics to check for.

edit: there is light leakage along the bottom of the screen, not too bad ._.

 

So it's the SWXGA+ without the grain? Cause the XGA+ sounds bad.

 

I think there are two kinds of grain at least going around... one is actualy panel grain which would be similar to dithering. Colors are not completely even and rather seem to have dots of slightly off color within them. This could easilly be considerred dirty looking or lots of very tiny splotches.

Another is the effect of the anit glare coating applied which would probably emphasise this and any other problems, imagine wiping a thin layer of grease or vaseline on the screen. It has a distorting, oil slickish effect that can cause problems or even just the normal black spaces between pixels to jump/sparkle and show up as distortion, often refered to as vaseline on the screen or the effect of throwing sand on the screen.

 

as far as image quality goes, the SEC is utter crap.

its going back....

 

From the first pic, I prefer the AUO screen; color seems more natural. The SEC is brighter but a tad too much for my liking.

The rest I can't really tell that much difference.

 

grain is tough to see in pics... i think i maybe like the second tmnt pic better but again its so hard to tell with lcd's from a picture...

 

Ok.... just for the sake of it and because I was bored I decided to do a little experiment.
I wanted to make sure that it was indeed the screen FOR SURE and nothing else.

This is something you want to read.

1). Both computers have 8600GT
2). Both computers are using the version of drivers.
3). Both computers have the CCCP codec pack of same version
4). Both computers have same Operating system. Win XP Home

2 Laptops:

Laptop 1: OLD Vostro 1500 with AUO2077 WXGA+

Laptop 2: REPLACEMENT Vostro 1500 with SEC3157 WXGA+

The pictures you see above are the computers mentioned above.


THE FINDING!

For the hell of it, I switched the screens.

So i took the SEC screen out of the replacement and put it in my old laptop and i took the AUO screen from the old laptop and put it in the NEW REPLACEMENT.

GUESS WHAT!!!?

Now the SEC is better and the AUO is worse.. lol Roles have switched.

Conclusion, this is where I need your help.

The new laptop board or something is defective that its causing screen to look so horrid.

What do you guys think the problem is with the board. remember everything was kept the same and no matter what screen you put in Laptop 2, the screen looks bad, though if you take the same screen and put it in Laptop 1, its perfect.


Come on people, Let's figure this out.

 

wow really... maybe dell is using sub par boards or maybe it could be the connection where the ribbon connects.. i used to repair electronics including tv's and i have seen this on many occasions where a connector turned out to cause a major issue.. i wish i had both in front of me i could go through them with my test equipment and see what could poss be wrong... have you checked the bios setting to make sure they are both set the same.. i wonder if the screen in laptop number 2 could be picking up an inherent noise issue similar to what people are hearing over the headphones.. which would lead me to think maybe bad grounding or shielding somewhere... do both laptops have the headphone noise??? i wonder if it could be a issue with the installation of the video card.. imo i would def keep the sec over the auo if it looks better now imo its a much better built lcd screen

 

Both laptops have Headphone noise.

I have 5 days to decide what I want to send back lol.

 

it still sound to me like there is something else to this though.. as i said i would keep the sec screen... if in fact they are samsung imo they are much better panels than auo's are.. im not a fan and never have been of the auo screens

im actually thinking about ordering a hp now lol... and just sending back the 1520 when it comes..

 

I dunno man, the brightness level has improved on the SEC but the damn white still look creamish on the SEC lol....

Maybe it was Placebo effect LOL,

 

I'm ordering an HP right now....trying to piece it together.

 

what are you getting?? im torn ....i will not get a 6500 hp since the best it comes with is the 8400gs card

 

I realized I don't need to game on my laptop. After taking the vostro to college daily, I also realize it's FREAKING BIG.

I'm opting for dt2500z 14.1" with 8400M GS

 

i really wish hp had a better card on the 6500... i dont have to take it to school but i do take it to work every day then back hom and do some work on it at home for the next business day.. i realy want a 17" but im still undecided.. if hp had the 8600 on the 6500 id be all over it.. just to be done with my overall dell experiences.. i just dont know if i want to go to a 17" 9500 and downgrade gpu.. but have 2hd's and a bigger screen... man this is killing me

 

Well I just got the SEC screen too and the good news is that my light bleed is not that bad. Along with which...

1. I heard the RAM is now a cheaper version. Although I don't know how to check for this. Can somebody tell me?
2. the SEC screen has less grain, but definitely more washed out.
3. The keyboard is a lot better but the mouse pad isn't.
4. the CD-rom drive seems to have gotten louder. how is that possible?

 

Also, I realize that I have the A02 Bios update. perhaps the problem is the bios update? I mean it can't be the connection, that just wouldn' tmake sense.

 

wow just my impression too.

After doing a bit more analysis, im doing to defunk my finding, It was probably placebo effect or my contacts were super dried out or something.
SEC just plain sucked in both laptops. The whites were very washed out/yellow and thats why the SEC looks bad. Please look at my first picture.

1. Open the Memory door in the back of laptop. Just a screw and it pops out, you probably got PROMOS.

2. As I said, SEC is less grainy but sucks in other aspects.

3. The keyboard on the new one was better, less clicky, felt sturdier. Post keyboards are made in china, but looked different at the bottom.

4. did not try the DVD on the the new one yet, so can't comment.

Also, the hinge mechanism is different on the New vostra than the older one.
Both felt the same to me.

 

if you got that horrid sec get rid of it... i could stand looking at it for more than a few minutes my eyes were killing me its awful

 

--sry, posted before reading the entire post--forget what was here

 

I just got my replacement 1500 today.. SEC3157 I think its still slightly grainy.. not as bad as my old AUO. The colors on the SEC are not that great and it seems darker.

When I called to get a replacement the first time.. the tech said he was able to look up the models that they were using in manufacturing. He only saw the AUO and SEC. He couldn't find LG. I even gave him the model number.

 

now i am getting worried. i'm getting mine replaced for a not-that-bad-but-bothersome grainy AUO.

if i can't get an LG and the samsung is worse....

hm. what should i do....(I was going to get LG, but when the system was in the depot they didn't replace the screen)

[alt route: return, pay 15% restock, buy HP with 30% off, save ~$50, get worse video card....nahhh]

n19htmare...which one do u like better?

 

Before i answer your question lamb....

Today I Went Fry's and Besy buy.

A LOT not just HP had SEC and AUO screens. From gateway, Toshiba, Hp, Compaq...

The sad thing is that they looked good.

Out of maybe 20-30 laptops between two stores, all had NO GRAIN what so ever. Most were very good, crip and clean.

I tested 5 or so and they did not show massive back light bleeding.

I think it's the stupid Truelife coating. Each company has their own little name and Maybe the process is different too so they don't fall into the whole patent bull.

So I really don't know what to think of dell right now.

Lambchops:

As of right now, the only WXGA+ people were getting was the AUO 2077. Have not heard of the LG WXGA+, only WSXGA+

Out of the two, I'd take the AUO. The SEC does not have white whites, more of creamish whites. This is visible when you compare to another screen. If you just saw the SEC, you wouldn't know.

The only negative of the AUO was the grainy look. Overall it is better than the SEC.
AUO screen has MUCH less back light bleeding.
AUO screen has much better color saturation and contrast.

To top it all off, the SEC screen developed a nice little gray/black discoloration in the lower right corner.


Out of the two, AUO.

Overall, None, i'd ditch the WXGA+ or ditch dell all together.

My main reasons I ditched Dell is because of the size of this 1500Vostro, this is a personal taste thing.
2nd was the whine from headphone jack. I like to use my $150 set of headphones. but due to their high sensitivity, they pick up the noise. (lower sensative ones don't pick it up as much). The headphones i'm using are Low impedence (16ohms) and high sensitivity (105db).... so they don't go well with it.
something with lower sensitivity would have less noise.

If you are happy with the samsung, keep it. Maybe yours is better than mine.

Not all SECs are bad.

 

AUO looks better to my eye. I dlon't think that the SEC is an improvement at all.

 

I decided I'm going to call Dell and return my second Vostro. The SEC3157 isn't as bad as my old AUO, but it still annoys the hell out of me when I'm using it. The viewing angles are absolutely horrible too.

I'm ordering a dv9500t tonight. It will run almost 300 more than the 1500 but at least I won't cringe when I look at it.

Guess you get what you paid for.