WXGA+ Resolution... & Other High Resolution Questions

Question

Hi, I will warn you that this message could be fairly long as I tend to ramble but here I go.
Looking for the specs for the spec of "15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen WXGA+ Display with TrueLife™" seems impossible. Not even on the online support is this particular resolution listed. According the brilliant level one tech support staff at dell, lol... All the rep could say is that is ultrasharp, that is what the + stands for. Is this really the correct answer? In the case of a MacPro Notebook equipped with a 15.4 monitor, it has a resolution of 1400x900 and is beautiful. Of course Dell has the WSXGA+ (notice the "S") at a quoted resolution of 1680x1050. So does anyone know if the 3rd choice on customization of WXGA+ is 1400x900? or is it really still 1280x800 with the "ultrasharp" name?

One of the main reasons for my inquiry is that I am unable to find anyone I know or even a dell mall store that has any laptops with a 15.4 screen and 1680x1050. I recently ordered an Inspiron from the outlet with a configuration a little above basic that should arrive any day now. This has the onboard Intel graphics and described as "Module,Liquid Crystal Display 15.4WX,Samsung,Glare Wide Viewing Angle,6400" in the order status description. This is 1280x800 with Truelife considered WXGA and it has shared video memory. Where the onboard ATI 128 or 256mb Hypermemory is dedicated. For $509 I wasn't going to complain as it came with a single 512mb dimm and a laptop I recently sold I pulled my upgraded 533mhz 1gb Dimm from it to give me a total of 1536mb when it arrives. Now for the issue I had last Christmas. I ordered and received a Dell Inspiron with a 17" monitor customized with WUXGA 1920x1200. I found it to fit so small on the 17" screen, even changing DPI settings and font sizes couldn't make it usable for my eyes. Dell was helpful on the phone with all possible configurations but no can do. I returned it for a full refund. I ended up with an HP 17" with a resolution of 1680x1050 and it was beautiful on the 17" wide screen laptop monitor. So one of my concerns is having an Inspiron configured with WSXGA+ with this same resolution but only having a 15.4 screen. Will this be similar torture to my eyes as the 1900x1200 resolution was on the 17" Inspiron? I had the HP for about 6 months and played recently at the Mac store with a Macpro Book 15.4 1400x900 and loved it. But like my 17" experience, the next step was way too small for me and I am afraid that upping the stakes another 280x150 may give me a similar issue that I had last year with WUXGA.

Is there anyone out here who either has both or has played with both the Dell 17" WUXGA and Dell 15.4 WSXGA+ to give me a fair comparison as far as size of the content and the way it fits on each monitor? I hope someone out here understands what I am getting at? I already have a new Macbook on a 13.3 wide screen with a resolution of 1280x800, the same that will be going on this new Inspiron that is 15.4. I think a 15.4 and 1280x800 is a tad large for my taste. But livable as I don't wish to return to using a 17" laptop otherwise known as a tank. I am still going to primarily use this as a DTR though in my bedroom as I am very happy with my new Tower in my home office.

Does anyone want to take a stab at my questions? I assume there is someone out here who can answer the easy question of what resolution does a custom configured Inspiron 6400/E1505 with the description of "15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen SXGA+ Display with TrueLife™" is it 1280x800 or 1400x900? though this is listed as SXGA+, in reality that is incorrect because dell's own support document defines SXGA+ as 1400x1050 with a 4:3 aspect ratio. IBM Thinkpads are famous for using this for years on a standard 15.0 monitor.

I welcome anyone's opinion and technical information regarding the real specs of a new custom configured Insprion as it can be ordered today. If the WSXGA+ on a 15.4" is viewable to me, I would gladly replace the cheap Inspiron I just bought with a new custom config or previously ordered new one via the outlet. Preferably next time with an ATI based video card.

Thank You very much for your time.
I have the forum send me notification on any replies to my personal email address.
I will also leave my public e-mail if someone would like to go into detail without bothering the folks out in the forums. My public e-mail is mrvoice (at) hotmail.com.

Regards,
Scott

cyclocommuter · Answer

I basically have the same question as you. I am spec'ing out an Inspiron with a 15.4" display in Canada but the Canadian website just says "FREE Upgrade to 15.4” Widescreen XGA+ display with TrueLife". Unlike the US website, the Canadian Dell website does not have a "help/learn more" topic for resolution options.

What I am afraid of is that Widescreen XGA+ with TrueLife might be 1440 x 900 meaning that on a 15.4" screen the dot pitch would be too small for my eyesight. At least in the US site it is made clear that the options 15.4 Inspiron options are WXGA, WXGA with Truelife (both 1280 x 800), and WSXGA+ with TrueLife (1680 x 1050 too small for me).

Bottom line is what I am looking for is an Inspiron 15.4 1280 x 800 with Truelife (glossy screen) which does not appear to be an option in Dell's Canadian website. If I don't get more info on this I will probably just buy a laptop at the retail store so I can eyeball the screen and see if it is comfortable to my eyes.

vrv · Answer

Yikes sorry to hear Canada is less help then the USA site. Just know that the native resolution for 15.4 monitors is 1280x800 and is referred to as WXGA no plus and no SXGA. There are very few manufacters that offer the hi resolution like Dell. IBM thinkpad is one of them and selective HP Pavillions are also on that list. An apple Macbook gives you no option. The resolution will be smaller. Heck my 13.3 intel macbook is also 1280x800 and is pretty small. They are not predicting PC sales to be big on the high end side this year waiting to see what Vista really needs, so you can find just about any manufacter that suits your needs. Walmart started black Friday early this year. Today they introduced a Compaq 3300+ laptop with a 15.4 truebrite screen and i think 512mb and 60gb hd for $398. If you don't need dual core, this machine can't run any slower than a Celeron. From what I read, Walmart wants to start becoming a real player in electronic sales now. Heck they priced a 42" Panasonic Plasma TV for $1294 which sold out very quickly. I Actually picked up a 32" Panasonic LCD TV where circuit city matched another walmart deal. List price is $1599 and sales price was -$601 = $998.

Walmart is also to have said they are going to clear out their old stock of out of date notebooks.

Remember every manufacter has their own trade mark name for the Non Anti-Glare screen or simply known as a glossy finish. I know if you pick option #2 on the dell site you're safe. No promises on option 3 ($50 option)

Good luck.Hopefully someone will answer in here eventually.

Scott

cyclocommuter · Answer

Well I finally figured out how to get WXGA (1280 x 800) when ordering the Inspiron 6400 (15.4" screen). All I had to do was select the model which is not discounted and therefore fully configurable. The reason it (WXGA) was not an option was because I was selecting the top of the line Inspiron 6400 which was discounted and which defaulted to WXGA+ (1440×900). That resolution, on a 15.4" screen, produces a pixel pitch way way to small for my eyes.

The "help" about screen resolutions also appeared when I chose the generic (non discounted) configurator. Now I finally figured out Dell's laptop site I can focus choosing between an Inspiron 6400 (15.4" WXGA @ 1280x800 Pixel Pitch 0.2591) or an Inspiron 9600 (17" WSXGA+ @ 1440x900 Pixel Pitch 0.255).

vrv · Answer

Well on a 17' laptop. The standard monitor does 1400x900 and just say on a macbook, it comes out as 1680x1050 I think i have the exact numbers in there. See I would be happy with 1400x900 if the dell WXGA+ is truly that resolution but i have seen nothing on their website referencing that resolution on a 15.4. Though just say a base HP laptop that is 17' truebrite or not is 1400x900. Now I would be afraid that taking the Dell option #4 1680x1050 and trying to look at a 15.4 monitor with that resolution would be painful on the eyes. I remember I used to complain when I had a 21' CRT and I think the max resolution was 1600x1200 or something like that? That made my eyes crazy. the monitors weren't good enough to give a high refresh rate with that resolution in the old days. I used 1152x768 i know i'm getting some of these numbers wrong but you get the picture.... But with CRTs you don't have the stretching issue that we all have with LCD monitors... If I could verify the dell 3rd option WXGA+ is 1400x900 like the macbook pro on the 15.4 screen, that is definitely what I would want to customize my laptop to include.

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WXGA+ Resolution... & Other High Resolution Questions

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