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General discussion

Dell inspiron 8600 screen

Feb 16, 2004 9:30AM PST

I just got a Dell inspiron 8600 with an WSXGA+ screen which has a top resolution of 1680X1050. The problem is at this resolution the text and icons are really small and its hard to read web pages when browsing the net, it also makes it hard for word processing. I can't change the screen resolution because then the whole screen gets blurry and increasing the DPI makes text and pictures in internet explorer look fuzzy too.

I was wondering if all other laptops like hp pavilions which have a similar screen resolution have the same problem.

Discussion is locked

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I'll write no.
Feb 16, 2004 10:30AM PST

But the model I saw was not so many pixels in such a small screen.

If it's less than a day, just call them up and start complaining about it and ask for the next screen down.

Bob

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Re:I'll write no.
Feb 16, 2004 11:03AM PST

I just wanted to make my situation clear. I have a 1680X1050 resolution WSXGA+ on a 15.4' screen. Should I get the higher resolution WUXGA screen or the lower resolution. But I read some reviews somewhere where the reviewer said that a WSXGA ( 1280X1024) looks funny on a 15.4' screen.

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Its a common complaint.
Feb 16, 2004 11:16AM PST

Putting that many pixels on a 15.4" screen is just not a good idea. That's not "resolution." It's just a common complaint about that selection.

Bounce down in the pixel count and it seems to look pretty good.

Call and complain now before they say it's yours to keep.

Bob

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Re:Its a common complaint.
Feb 17, 2004 5:00AM PST

Would a WSXGA, that is a 1280X1024 resolution look ok on a 15.4'?

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Go look at such.
Feb 17, 2004 5:30AM PST

I was just down by a Best Buy a few days ago and there were laptops with such a screen size and pixel count. This is a personal area that you have to decide. The over 1600 on 15.4" has been complained about by many...

Bob

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Going up in Res won't help -- only hurt
Jan 19, 2005 9:07AM PST

I L-O-V-E my WXGA 1280x800. Some think the resolution is awkward, but I never saw that. I always thought that 1280x1024 was an awkward resolution (the ratio of pixels doesn't match the 1.333:1 size of the screen).

The problem you're having is that you can't handle the resolution. There isn't much you can do about that. LCD's have a fixed resolution. When you display less pixels on it than intended, the computer has to SAMPLE them and that creates blurriness.

As Bob said, you just shouldn't cram that many pixels into that size screen. They get a lot more bad pixels that way. I would try to get it swapped for a regular WXGA. The downside is with Dell, you only get the Brigtview screen with WSXGA+ and WUXGA.

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fix to this problem
Jan 19, 2005 4:02AM PST

I just got my 8600 and i had the same problem. I was bummin but i noticed that if i go to a web page using Itunes it the text and images were fine. so i thought maybe it is IE. I downloaded Mozilla's Firefox and now web pages look great. hope it helps ya

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LCD resolution is fixed but Powerstrip program exists
Jan 19, 2005 6:21AM PST

You need to select the LCD resolution that most matches your uses as LCD pixels are fixed. You can use some software programs like Powerstrip to adjust somewhat going below the fixed maximum resolution (but never higher) but again only the native resolution is going to be ideal.

For web surfing, etc you are better off staying at XGA (1024x768 for square or 1200x800 for widescreen LCD's) -- widescreen LCD's give you more real estate for more spreadsheet columns or more width for code writing even without moving up in resolution.

However, for those that have very good eyes and want to have smaller pixels to have more information on the screen they can move up to SXGA or the extreme UXGA.

DVD's will look better in the higher resolutions as the more pixels there on the screen the better video looks but it is still great at XGA ........