Message Edited by hwlund on 06-16-2007 05:17 PM

I just got my D830 with WSXGA+ and it has a SEC3350 panel too. It has a bit of a grainy effect on light colored backgrounds and somewhat limited viewing angle. Is everyone else with WSXGA+ happy with their panels? Is there something other than the SEC3350 available?

If you look up your system config on the dell website using your service tag, you should see something like "NK058 LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY, 15.4WSXGA+, VIDEO ELEC. STDS. ASSOC., SAMSUNG" in the list of parts.

You can also use the Windows Device Manager. Look under the entry for your display adapter. Right click to display the properties. Under the "Details" tab, look for the "Bus Relations" property. You should see something like: DISPLAY\SEC3350\4&203436d8&0&UID67568640

The display is usable, but disappointing. I got my D830 WSXGA+ with the Intel integrated video, and out of the box, the display had a strong blueish cast. Tweaking some of the color correction settings made things look a little better. You might have a different experience with discrete graphics.

There's a grainy/silvery effect that's visible on light backgrounds like in a web browser. It might be the coating on the screen. The viewing angle seems to be a bit tight too. It's pretty bright when looking at it from the sweet spot, but if you move your head just a little, you'll get some noticeable shifting in brightness/color. The viewing angles and light leakage (at the bottom) also makes it hard to get color looking uniform across the screen. Something that's a nice yellow at the top of the screen, might look grayish at the bottom of the screen.

I was able to put my D830/Intel/Samsung WSXGA+ next to a D820/Nvidia/LG WUXGA and the difference was pretty dramatic. The D820's screen was better in every way. Didn't notice the grainy/silvery effect, great viewing angles, and much better color saturation. My D830 paled in comparison and looked washed out.

What is everyone else experiencing with their panels?

I think this whole LCD panel thing with the D830 is a pretty sad state of affairs. Perhaps this is why Dell is having trouble competing. There's no good reason to put a substandard screen in a business notebook. After all, business people need a high quality display as well, don't they? Why is the assumption made that we require something less? I just don't get it. Dell, Put a decent display in these things. Raise the price, if necessary. I'll pay for what I get but not for what I *don't* get.