Choosing the Best Dell m1530 Screen Resolution

Hey guys,

I'm probably going to order a Dell m1530 very soon, but I can't seem to decide on the screen resolution that would be appropriate for my personal needs. The laptop will primarily be used for school work (ex. mostly research, internet, and MS Office) with some occasional gaming (ex. Warcraft III and Counter-Strike:Source).

Do you guys think I should go for the 1440x900 or 1680x1050? I heard things about the text on the 1680x1050 being too small but I can't really compare it since I don't know many stores that have them on display. As a reference, I currently use a 17" monitor on 1280x1024 resolution. I wouldn't mind the extra space as I was hoping to have maybe Firefox on one side and MS Word on the other.

UPDATE: Does the CPU whine problem still exist with the m1530? Are there also any other problems I should be aware of or look out for in this laptop?

Thanks for the help

 

I think for what you'll be doing, the WXGA+ resolution would be best for you. Unless you like squinting.

 

Haha, is it really true that you need to squint for the 1680x1050?

Also, I wouldn't mind the extra space as I was hoping to have maybe internet explorer on one side and microsoft word on the other.

 

I'd probably say the 1440x900. Also some other posts have been talking about the fact that alot of the 1680 screens are samsung ones which have become defect and grainy causing people to call dell for a replacement.

G'luck on your Purchase

 

Hm.. well then maybe you might consider getting the WSXGA+ res. But after prolonged use, you might think you're losing some vision. If you have glasses, just go with the WSXGA+.

 

Oh, one more thing. I have an M1330 (1280x800) and I can put MS Office on one side and IE on the other side, it's just that it squeezes the original screen in half.

 

From what you've described it's very clear that you will do best with 1280x800. This is the res that is most comfortable for text, and it's the res you will be gaming at.

 

yup I have glasses, but I do not want to lose any more of my vision haha. Maybe 1440x900 might be best...

 

I've just emailed my account managerand told her I'm sending my M1530 back for refund.

The 15.4” screen is of poor quality when rendering detailed graphics despite the 256MB graphics adapter set to ‘high quality’ settings and I shall likely wait until a suitable 1680x1050 screen is available in the UK before committing to a future purchase as the 1440x900 just feels to clunky by far.

Nice machine once reinstalled clean, but poor build quality in many respects in my opinion.

 

What do you mean by clunky? Was it just a bad screen?

 

WXGA+ should be good for you

 

Actually, LG Samsung's are the ones replacing the crappy SEC screens that are coming default in most xps'. There's a huge thread in this forum regarding it. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=206527

If you're doing mainly word processing/Internet with your laptop, you're best bet is the 1280x760 res, any more and it's an eye strain. I got the 1680 for the movies.

edit: to include forum link

 

Wagz, some correction and/or clarification is needed.

LG and Samsung are two different companies. SEC screens are Samsung. 1280x800 is the lowest res available for the 1530.

 

I know enough to be dangerous, thanks for the clarification.

 

NP, glad to help.

 

The 1440x900 are the brightest

 

It's a bad screen imo cos it does seem grainy compared to my Inspiron 9300 screen, but also because the Res just seems too low for my taste.

 

I like the 1650. People must either have really bad eyes to squint to see the fonts, or I have really good vision. I used to have a 1920...that was squinty but the 1650, its perfect.
I did receive a SEC by the way that is not grainy. Just lucky I guess.

 

I think WXGA+ is a good compromise for you. The WXGA might be a little too "in your face," but it is good for reading. The WXGA+ is a decent upgrade from the WXGA and it doesn't put that much strain on our eyes. It's all about preference though. I went and looked at a 1650 screen and thought it was just a little bit too small for me, and if you are going to be reading: wordprocessing and internet exploring a lot it might be too small. I would suggest looking for yourself at a store, it is the best solution to your resolution choice problem.

 

Yup, this is exactly along the lines I was thinking of. I'll keep digging around for a store; best buy, staples, etc. don't seem to have anything > 1280x800 around my area. Might check out a Dell kiosk if I have the time.

 

When I ordered the 1440x900, I was afraid that I would regret not getting the 1650x1050 instead. I went to severla stores in town looking for ANY laptop with these higher resolutions. Nada. Now that I have the 1440x900, I'm glad I didn't get the 1650 as the text on this is perfect size.

 

If only you knew how I understand your feeling heh... I'm 1 damn click away from buying exactly for this issue... 1440x900 or 1680x1050, I just can't decide.

 

Haha not only that, another issue is whether to wait for Penryn + LED

 

I've had one in my cart all day, but can't decide.

I'm running my 9300 in 1440, but I was thinking the extra would be nice for gaming/movies; could one get the highest resolution, then turn it down for everyday use without distortion/issues?

Like you and others (appears we are not alone, as I just spent a few hours reading a ton of posts that are ambigious as to which to buy and people unable to decide), I just hate to regret it later....

I have, however, ruled out the $25 audio 'software' upgrade based on my research here...

I'm still at just under $1,700 right now (upgraded to the 2.2G..2x9-cell batteries..extra adapter, as I had to replace AC adapters on all my Dells and usually twice the price after purchase...200G 7,200rpm...etc).


I'm willing to pay the $50 upgrade, but just not sure I need to if typically run in 1440x anyway

 

Why do people complain about small text when talking about the higher resolutions? Last time I checked, you can customize the behavior of the OS to make the text larger. Old people all over the world know how to do this - why can't the notebook gurus recommend it?

There might be other good reasons for going with a lower resolution, but "the text is too small" isn't one of them IMHO.

 

Should the screens been run in their native resolution? Otherwise, I am starting to learn toward this being moot in my case....get the 1680x and run it in 1440x Is this problematic? When I play the occasional game or watch the occasional DVD, I'll turn it up; otherwise, I'll continue to work in Excel, Word, InDesign, build my websites, play poker, and try to reach the end of the internet.

 

What about the fact the 1440x900 supposed to be brighter than the 1680x1050? Is this actually true?

 

If you can, just go to Best Buy or some such and look at different screens. 1680 is a requirement for me, but uncomfortable to others. 1680 print will naturally be larger than newspaper print. It's about the same size as paper back book print.

 

All the local stores and stores such as Best Buy, Future Shop and in the likes have 15 inches with 1280x800 and 17 inches with 1440x900, so I can't even see a 1440x900 on a 15 inches and there's no 1680x1050 :|

 

Thing is, at home, I will be using my m1530 on a 22inches 1680x1050 screen, so I don't want to be changing the OS DPI (and applications) all the time when I have to switch from the laptop screen to my 22 inches screen. So I have to make a choice, 1440x900 on the laptop and 1680x1050 with my screen or 1680x1050 all the time but having to change the DPI and applications settings :|

 

I had a 1680x1050 LG screen on my 1520, the screen was perfect on native resolution, but everything was TOO SMALL! So I would lower the res to 1440x900....It would be slightly blurry when lowered out of native res. I actualy kept it in 1440x900, so I became used to the slight bluring.
When I order my 1530, I ordered the 1440x900 without hesitation. It is again a LG screen. When I had both LG screens side by side at there respective native resoultions, the 1440x900 was significantly brighter then the 1680x1050. Both had crystal clear screens at these settings.

Out of curiosity I also tried lowering the resolution of the 1440x900 down to 1280x800...it was slightly blurry.
So using other resolutions other then the Native resoultion will cause slight bluriness. And the 1440x900 is brighter then the 1660x1050, at least with the LG's.

Mac

 

This was the configuration option I struggled the most with. Wanting as much usable screen as possible but not wanting to squint to read text. Figured the 1440 was a good compromise based on feedback here. So seeing your comments reinforces that I made the right choice. Thanks, Mac!

 

I don't get this "text is too small" crap. You can change the theme to have larger icons. You can increase the dpi of the fonts. A font on 1680 by 1050 scaled to a 0.25 inch height will look better than a font on a 1400 by 900 screen also scaled to a 0.25 inch height.

 

I'd agree with sko. Just go to your Display panel (XP Classic) and change the DPI setting, from 96, to 120. If you need a temporary font increase, hold down the CTRL key and click your mouse scroll wheel upward.

Al ..

 

Grrrr, hard decision to make - I want Penryn and LED but the discounts are pretty decent right now.

 

Haha im the same
Sitting here at work debating whether to order today with the savings or wait
Dilema

 

Me too, but think I will wait just a few days more, LED and Penryn

 

Yeah although i have an extra 10% voucher for use on UK dell store and that expires 23rd so not sure what to do
I mean is LED that much better ?
And people already saying penryns not majorly faster
Hmm so undecided

 

Now I'm completely bluffing here and assuming that LED = LED Backlight like the new wave of LCDs that are coming out.

With the voucher (that I'm planning on using too!) and quidco, i'd just jump in now.

Led backlighting is great for those letterbox films where you get a proper black rather than LCD off black around the edges. Whether its worth waiting for, I dunno.

I've just bought a TV without LED backlights and the near black that it does is good enough for me. Not noticable on gaming for sure... plus the old lappy won't be a main source of TV viewing.

Plus LED backlights introduce its own new oddity of being able to see areas of the backlight turn off as the screen detects pure black.

Bluffing as I say, so correct me if I'm wrong!

 

Don't this change the the resolution of the desktop only? For internet, don't you have to change the settings for the browser, same thing for your wordprocessing application and so on?

 

Thanks for giving details on the brightness of the screen You reinforced my choice too, yet I'm still a bit nervous about the resolution of the screen... Oh well, 30 days to change my mind if I'm not happy anyway

 

Widge
you ordered yours yet then ?
If so what you going for ?

Whats quidco
More savings on top of the 10% ??

 

Quidco:

http://www.quidco.com/

Which means another 2% off the price! (I seem to remember when last searching for Dell)

Not ordered yet.
Not sure.

I literally had some credit cards delivered to me and have been toying with a £600-£700 lappy in my mind for a good long time. I had been interested in the MSI GX610 (non-flames MSI ... hate the flames!)... but this should liberally poo over that, as well as looking slinky.

I know I shouldn't spend, but I'm well tempted. Its January. I need cheering up. Means I can Ableton at work, on trains etc.

I wouldn't go for a mega busting system. T7250, 2 GB, 1440 res screen, 6 cell batt, 120gb 7200rpm...

all the stuff like bags and mice I'll get elsewhere.

I would get a 9 cell but I don't want something that sticks out the back.

Considering most places I'll be should be with sockets anyway.

I like the fact that it'll also hold its own with a few games. I don't want to be a leet PC gamer, this is why I have a PS3, but its always good to have the choice.

 

thanks for that mate
Im same as you really
Dont really wanna order then 2 days later find out its outdated.
I think for what you wanna do with it itll be fine.
That abletons a kick arse piece of software
I just gotta learn how to use it

 

hahaha, pop by www.themixingbowl.org and you can see what I've done with it!
Lots of great tips on there.

I love it, feels natural to use, although i've only been using it for mixing. If I get this, going to get stuck into production too....

I think everything outdates so quickly. End of last year, I had a huge mental tussle about getting a Philips 9632 LCD... chose it over the Tosh Z series. A few months later and Tosh have announced some mega LCD with LED backlight, PS3 Cell chip and all sorts in it. To perhaps surface as early as April in the US. Tech passing by so quickly!

Jump in and be happy will be my motto.

 

Wicked will look there now
Although thats a torrent site aint it ?
Which ones have you done ?
I used to DJ big time , got some limited 1200 in gold and ove 10k records
Used to be on all the mailing lists, hyper, power prmotions etc get all the tunes for free.
Nowadays i guess its all digital based, turn up in club with a 1530 and off ya go

 

Yes you can make these adjustments, and you're right you have to do it for the desk top, your browser and any other app. you want to adjust the size of the text and icons, to get it somewhat to the res and scale of 1440x900...but why would you do that? I disagree, it doesn't look better then 1440x900, its still slightly blurry, and I found threw off the alignment of words and pics when web browsing. It also is not as bright.
There's nothing wrong with 1680x1050, its a matter of preference. I've had both resolutions, I find, like the majority of users here,that the 1440x900 is the perfect size for a 15.4 inch screen. It provides plenty of space and a clear, bright screen.

 

Yeah, it specialises in anything non-commercial (I'm a resident there too). If you can buy it, then its not allowed! Like the opposite of Oink. It has a section for readers mixes and stuff and thats where I put my bits. Got one or two from when I had decks, but then I sold it all to buy a house. Now I mix digitally. Love it though, more freedom to mess around and be creative.

Looking forward to rendering a mix on the 1530. I did one where I had a channel per tune, on each channel I had limiters and all sorts. Took an absolute age to render. Want to see the power of C2D make mincemeat of my mixing!

 

Wicked
Once i get the 1530 ill download ableton and have a play
Sounds like awesome fun
Ill hook the dell up to my onkyo 875 and blast the house

 

and if you go onto TMB, say hello, I'm Widge on there too!