Why Thinkpad's screen so dim?

[madcow]

The brightness of my Thinkpad X61 is not even comparable to the cheapest acer laptop. I am [censored]. I like my Thinkpad's body but hate the screen.

[ZaZ]

Cause that's the way the were made back then. I don't find the older ThinkPads too dim on the upper settings.

[madcow]

That's not a good reason.

I was trying to impress my friend with Ubuntu and my beautiful Thinkpad. She has a very ugly Acer. I put my thinkpad next to hers and start to show the 3d desktop. She asked me why my screen is so dark. I realized it is already on max brightness. It is very dim compare to that junkie acer laptop..makes me mad. I can't believe Lenovo would make laptops with such dim laptop.

[Neil]

Of course, I'm sure you know, maximum brightness is not the only factor determining quality. The level of max. brightness varies a lot between my Thinpads, but they are all acceptable to me, for the way I use them. But they might not impress anyone else.

I know what you're feeling, though. Several years ago I had my TV calibrated to give the best possible picture. When visitors would come over, most would ask, "why is your TV so dim?" I would have to explain, it was because it was calibrated for the best picture, and they were used to seeing TVs with the contrast over driven so it would look "brighter" in a store display. Blah, blah, blah... Then with glazed eyes, they would say, "oh, but it looks so dim".

Now sometimes when I have a Thinkpad outside in the sunshine, I do wish for a little more brightness, but that's rare.

[goofyGAguy]

I can't believe Lenovo would make laptops with such dim laptop.

Traditionally, ThinkPads were marketed as business machines, and I guess IBM/Lenovo deems LCD brightness to be unimportant to such users.

[eyestrain]

I wish all screens could be dimmed without buzzing.

I'm typing right now on a T23 set to its lowest brightness setting, and it buzzes. It's still a little too bright for me. If I set it bright enough to not buzz, it is blindingly bright. I may have to reverse colors and do black background. (Or sell it.)

Well, blinding to my eyes. maybe not madcow's friend's.

[rkawakami]

A little bit OT: The buzzing could be coming from the inverter board (easy and fairly cheap to swap out) or it may be one of the inductors on the motherboard. If you can get it so that it is barely buzzing, put your ear next to the power button (the inverter board is located just below the screen in the bottom of the lid assembly near the power button) and then put your ear next to the CPU vent (just to the left of the ESC and F1 keys). It may help to do this if/when the fan is not spinning.

[virge]

I'm not too familiar with other brands, but I have noticed that Thinkpads are set by default to be dimmer when running on battery (in BIOS). I usually disable this since I already like to have full manual control of the brightness.

The X61s we have seems plenty bright, but it's usually set to max (is that a bad sign?). The lack of contrast bothers me a lot more.

[eyestrain]

A little bit OT: The buzzing could be coming from the inverter board (easy and fairly cheap to swap out) or it may be one of the inductors on the motherboard. If you can get it so that it is barely buzzing, put your ear ....

Thanks. Inverters.

On both t23s, I could hear crackling sound from the left side, but not from a distance. On both, I could hear buzzing from the front, especially close where you say, and also at a distance, one t23 much worse than the other. I'll try one new inverter in the loud buzzing t23. If the result is quieter than the other t23 is now, I'll probably replace that one too, unless I decide to sell it. (I'm thinking even a brand new inverter might buzz a little when dimmed, when the room is quiet and fan isn't running.)

[RealBlackStuff]

May I suggest one of these?
http://www.boss-safety.com/shop/peltor- ... -1027.html

[eyestrain]

Or switch to black background, then can turn brightness up. That's what I've done in the past, but it's a big nuisance with some applications, and on internet with some webpages that show some text in... Black.

[madcow]

It's just too dim.. It irritates me. I don't understand the reason for thinkpad to have such dim screen whether it is being used inside all day or not. It still bothers my eyes. I like thinkpad's body but hate the screen.

[dr_st]

Perhaps your screen is defective... My wife has an X61 and the screen is not dim at all. Of course it wouldn't cut it in sunny outdoors, but perfectly acceptable in lit indoor environments, and in low lighting conditions it is often too bright on max brightness.

[GrandMasterKhan]

The screens are not as bright as those on consumer notebooks but they are by no means dim. I have mine on the lowest setting and find it to be perfect. If you do a lot of work on the computer then its best to have the screen as bright as say a book or sheet of paper. Why would you want to hurt your eyes and basically stare into a movie projector?

[eyestrain]

Why would you want to hurt your eyes and basically stare into a movie projector?

I guess peoples' eyes vary.

I also use the lowest setting--when the room is dark enough.

Some offices are absurdly bright, with several megabright florescent tubes overhead. Some homes have lots of windows with lots of sun. This does require a brighter screen.

Athough I don't like to look into a bright florescent light source either, I sometimes find myself turning the brightness up towards the brightest. (And because of slight inverter buzz, maybe all the way up.)

[GrandMasterKhan]

You really should not stare into any light sources brighter than a book or sheet of paper. Ever stare into a lamp. Bad for your eyes. TVs might be bright but you are viewing at a distance. I never get eye strain from computer work due to having the display on very very low brightness and its still crystal clear and sharp. Amping up the brightness won't make it any sharper. Try it. Adapt to it and you will be better off. If you wear glasses, viewing a bright monitor is like using a magifying glass to toast ants when you were a kid. lol.

[eyestrain]

happened to run across this today.

The brightness on the 14.1' LCD is top-notch, on par with or above the best matte screens out there. In fact, in direct comparison with my T42's 15' SXGA+ Flexview screen, the T43's 14.1' SXGA+ is comparably bright and is actually MORE viewable in sunny conditions. Using the T43 outside is easily done with the brightness maxed out. Another display option that can help viewability is to disable a power saving feature for the LCD. IBM really goes all out for features and customizability of their notebooks, so far as two having two different LCD brightness levels. Under the 'Thinkpad Configuration' utility, you can adjust the display's brightness when running on batteries from ' Normal' to 'High.' This makes a noticeable difference in brightness, allowing the screen to be readable even outside on a sunny day.

http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:htt ... .php?id=74

Considering GPU&southbridge, funny with today's perspective, the earlier bits about picking up by the corner and "just shoving in a backpack"!

[archer6]

The brightness of my Thinkpad X61 is not even comparable to the cheapest acer laptop. I am *****Expletives removed by Moderator*****. I like my Thinkpad's body but hate the screen.

Other than the model, you've not given us much information. How old is it? Did you buy it new? Has it every had _any_ repairs done, is it all original, etc.

I have the exact same model that I purchased new when they were first released. I have many hours of runtime on it and the display is nice and bright. Certainly not as bright as the new LED backlit ThinkPads I have, but it does produce a more than ample level of brightness. In fact in several environments I encounter when traveling, I actually have to dim it down.

Cheers...

[archer6]

Traditionally, ThinkPads were marketed as business machines, and I guess IBM/Lenovo deems LCD brightness to be unimportant to such users.

While I respect your opinion, I can assure you this is _not_ the case.

If it were, there is no way the ThinkPad brand would be the huge success it has been over the years. The laptop of choice by most corporate businesses for many years, it's got a long history of reliability, and excellence.

Cheers...

[GrandMasterKhan]

" The laptop of choice by most corporate businesses for many years, it's got a long history of reliability, and excellence. "
Er uhm so did Toyota and GM at one time until cost cutting took over. Same for Zenith and RCA. lol.

[archer6]

" The laptop of choice by most corporate businesses for many years, it's got a long history of reliability, and excellence. "
Er uhm so did Toyota and GM at one time until cost cutting took over. Same for Zenith and RCA. lol.

This thread has run it's course / closed.