D620 or D820 screen problems...

[MIDIman]

I'm getting ready to probably buy one of these for work (Dell only), though I've been seeing multiple threads via googlin' concerning problems with the D620's screen. Curious if anyone else here has experienced this?

Also curious if anyone has heard about similar problems with the D820? I currently have a very similar Inspiron 8600, and while I wanted to go down at least a pound in weight (ie like the D620), I'm a bit worried about the screen. Haven't seen anything yet about the D820's screen.

 

[jlfirehawk]

I read the threads when I got my D820 (WUXGA) and never really noticed the issue until I put a second LCD witth it to run dual monitors. Man the difference is night and day. The D820 screen is so much dimmer and no wear near as clear. But like I said it by itself was not that bad until you compare it with another lcd. I am passed my 30 days (got it in July) but I am seriously thinking of calling my dell rep and going with an HP but the laptop runs so nice other then the screen I might see if they will just give me a deal on a external lcd. Im not going to bother having the screen replaced because the issue with no matter which of the 4 vendors screen you get is that they are backlit from the bottom.

Edit here is the link to the 40+ page thread on the dell support site:
Dell Link

 

[route66]

I'm thinking of getting a D820, hopefuly it doesn't have a similar problem. You may want to hit the notebookreview forums.

Also, looking at the screen shot of the D620 vs D600 on page 1, it looks like his D600 has anti-aliasing on but his D620 has anti-aliasing off - that would explain why his D620 looks grainy.

 

[jlfirehawk]

The big difference between to former D series and these supposedly is the backlighting on the new ones coming from the bottom and not from the sides like the other ones.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Have about a half dozen D620s and D820s and the screens are pretty poor brightness wise, none are more than 3 months old. Just don't get very bright. Not the end of the world and the girls using them still like them, but it seems like output is only half of what my XPS or 5100 is at full brightness.

 

[alesis]

route66 - Both screens in the photo's on page one are running at native resolution (D620 - 1440x900 & D600 - 1400x1050), so anti-aliasing is not a factor in either case.

I'm using a D610 (1400x1050) right now, and turning anti-aliasing on and off has absoutely no effect on graphics that are not being scaled. If you are correct, I should be able to make the D610 look the same as the D620. There are simply no video setting changes I can make to the D610 to produce the poor screen quality present on the D620.

The problems with the D620 screen are physical in nature, not settings related. Compared to previous Latitude models (D600 and D610 with sxga+ screens), the D620 wxga+ screen is grainy, has a silvery appearance, has a reduced vertical viewing angles and is not as bright.

Even with this reduced screen quality, many people find it acceptable. I don't.

 

[lazybum131]

My sister's D620 WXGA+ screen is the grainiest I've ever seen, but I don't find it unusable. She doesn't mind it at all. In terms of brightness it's a bit brighter than my Z70Va and a D610 Samsung XGA. A fair bit brighter than an old 600m SXGA+ Samsung and a helluva improvement over her previous R32 screen.

Viewing angles aren't great, but none of the 14" widescreens I've seen are any better. Horizontal angles are okay, vertical is pretty narrow.

There's also light leakage at the bottom, but her previous R32 and D610 screens had bottom light leakage too. My sister wasn't picky about the leakage or else I would've tried to get a screen replacement.

 

[MIDIman]

Seems like there's no way around this. I don't think I would be able to put up with the issues found on these panels...

OK - so now I'm moving to the M65. Do the same problems exist? Wish I could just move away from Dell...

 

[csell22]

Hi,

what makes you think the M65 is any better? I presume they all use the same technology, whose biggest issue seems to be the backlighting from the bottom, and the strange screen coating..

-C

 

[csell22]

heres 2 statements on the M65 I have come across:

"When the Precision M65's screen brightness was set to maximum, it was noticeably less bright than a three-year-old Latitude D600." from here

and

"and there are no dead pixels and only very minor light leakage at the bottom, which I never actually notice while using the notebook" from here

together, they make me extremely wary of the M65, despite the characterization as "DellSharp Wide Aspect Ratio display"

-C

 

[MIDIman]

Saw this in the conclusions as well of your first link:

"Review unit had a few issues: dim screen brightness and non-functional Automatic Light Sensor."

Weeeee...sounds like they may all have this problem. I have yet to hear about a current Dell model that has really really good screen brightness, etc. I would probably be getting UXGA too, which may make this worse.

Eh. Still waiting for funding, so maybe something new will be out when I need to purchase.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Why are you stuck on the Latitudes? There are other good 14-15.4" business class notebooks out there

 

[imported_kenyee]

The D620 did seem like best bang for buck for a 1440x900 resolution 14" laptop in the $1100-1200 range, but I'm glad the OP brought up the crappy screen issue.
The nearest other thing I've found is the Asus A8Js for around $1500 but it won't be here until next month.
Only other choice on my radar is the HP dv2000t for around $1100 (w/ 2GHz C2D), but it's 1280x800...

 

[programmer]

I recently picked up a D820 from the Dell Outlet. I got the low res WXGA (1280x800) panel and am very happy with it. It is not as bright as a desktop LCD, but is plenty bright for use anywhere but direct sunlight. Also, it is very, very sharp, none of the graininess talked about on the D620.

A friend has a D620 and its screen is pretty dismal. Its the WXGA+ (1440x900) and is very dim at its brightest setting and has an obvious graininess/sparkle-type effect from the diffuser panel on the panel.

I've read the same bad stuff about the D820 but it really comes down to the panel itself. From what I could piece together on notebookrewiew.com, the D series latitudes have a number of different panel suppliers. I got lucky with my WXGA (its a Quanta or something like that which I thought was crap but turns out to be great). I've read of others complaining about their WXGA.

Keep Dell's 20-day return in mind (used to be 30 days).