6400 screen selection??

Hey,
I am about to order my Inspiron 6400 with core 2 duo from dell canada. Yet, i could not decide to do with the screen. My eyes are not really healthy, I can see very well with contact lenses but my eyes get tired very quickly. For example, on my desktop with CRT monitor, a few hours of gameplay or reading turns my eyes into bloodshed and hurts them. And I am going to read lots of scientific articles with this new laptop. I really don't care about the extra cost of WSXGA+ screen dell offers but it only comes with glossy version. Do you think that glossy screens are bad for sensitive eyes? And what do I lose by going with matte WXGA screen?

Thanks people!

 

I ordered one with a matte WXGA as a gift. If it had been intended for anyone other than my unsophisticated dumbarse of a brother, I would have been disgusted by the viewing angles, which are nothing short of unacceptable. To translate viewing angle (which you can find on "Help me decide" fuction at the Web site) into motion range, I would guess you can move your head about 5" from center (left/right) without destroying image quality. I believe vertical viewing angles were even worse.

If you can get to a brick-and-mortar store (I don't know what the big ones are in Canada), you can get a better feel for what a glossy finish will look like. Try using it for more than a few minutes (even if just to play some built-in game or type random stuff in a word processor); 10 minutes seems good. This will help you decide what you think of the glare factor on a glossy screen.

If you're comfortable with the glare and can afford it, definitely go with the WSXGA screen.

Good luck

 

Thanks for the reply. I have been to the stores more than several times and tried the glossy screens for 1-2 minute periods, sure they look much better than the matte ones. But my concern is their glare and more importantly their high brightness would cause my eyes irritate with the long time use. As I said a fine quality CRT monitor can hurt them. But my girlfriend's Toshiba's matte screen, although does not really look shiny, allows me to read or play for hours. What I can't fıgure out is where would WSXGA+ glossy screen fits in this picture. I can afford it but I don't wanna spend money on something I can't use.(And don't replace it since I need a laptop nowadays).

By the way, what do you think about the config and price:

Inspiron 6400/E1505
WXGA matte
t7400
2gb ram
120 gb 5400 rpm
ati x1400 256m
3 yr RTD

1620 CAD (inc tax)

I appreciate any kind of comment.

cheers,

 

I'd upgrade to a 9-cell battery and get their carrying case if you can swing it (they're pretty nice). You might want to dial back on the memory since Dell charges a pretty coin for memory and 2 Gb won't buy you much more performance over 1 Gb. I'd also upgrade to the Intel Wireless + Bluetooth. The Intel Wireless has gotten pretty good reviews and the bluetooth addition is only $20US more.

And, yes, I also went with a matte WXGA screen. No regrets given the alternatives.

 

Thanks for comments. Well, 1->2gb upgrade is free, so I won't back from that one. (Dell Canada offers discounts through free upgrades) 9-cell battery is a neat idea, thanks. And they don't offer intel's wireless, what they offer is Dell N draft. You guys think that is it worth an extra 50 CDN?

And seabrook, would you please explain your experience with matte wxga screen? Is it a a good quality matte screen? How are the viewing angles? How is its contrast? etc.. Anthing that can be helpful. Especially I am worried about the resolution, having not enough space on the desktops and being able to count the pixels. What do you say about that? Actually, I found a b130(0) with 15.4"matte WXGA at my school's computer store, will its screen and the one on 6400/E1505 comparable? If it is, I will have a great benchmark.

Thanks for the support..

cheers,

 

I want to repeat my questions.I know it is a kinda rude, sorry, but it is urgent.

1) What do you think about the matte WXGA screen on E1505/6400?
2) How about Ultrasharp Truelife WSXGA+ one?
3) Do your answers change if I say my eyes are sensitive and I am going to read lots of stuff on the screen in an office with mediocre lightining?
4) Is Dell draft N is worth upgrading?

Thanks and cheers,

 

2. that is best screen (or only decent one) that is offered. WXGA has big letters and bad pixel pitch, I wouldn't be able to use/like it.
3. It depends what you are reading. For PDF, WSXGA+ is much more smooth and works better with smaller letters because of vastly superior dot pitch
4. i don't think it is, that standard hasn't been finished, it is like a cat in the bag.

 

the only person who can make a screen decision is you.

you have to see the screen in person.

any post you read is just someone's opinion of what they prefer which has absolutely nothing to do with what you prefer.

find a store that's close to you that has lots of different model's of computers and check them out in person. if there's a fry's close to you, they have lots of models with different resolutions. if you can find a specialty shop, that would be another possibility. or you can hit a coffee shop or a university student lounge; anywhere that you might find lots of notebooks.

but seriously, basing your decision on what people post on a forum for such a personal-preference-thing like choosing a notebook LCD resolution is a bad idea.

 

Remember you can always turn down the brightness. As a nice side effect, you'll extend your battery life.

 

That is true to some/most degree. There are subjective and objective parts to this decision. Objective parts are ones when you can do comparison based on numbers. For example, WSXGA+ has ~0.15mm dot pitch while WXGA has about 0.27mm. WSXGA+ also has 75% more of desk estate. He still might preffer WXGA even it has worse specifications, but I dare to say based just on these two, WSXGA+ is better in a long run.