Thinkpads Forum

Need some help from the group. I purchased a R500 with the integrated Intel graphics and received it on Wednesday. I re-imaged it with XP SP3. What I have found is that the display is horrible. The taskbar at the bottom is almost a sky blue and there is a noticeable difference when I take the top of a window to the bottom. I have been messing around with the color correction but I have never had to mess with this on any laptop or display in the past. I've corrected most of the problem but still can't get it correct. Does anyone else have this particular graphic chipset and have experienced this problem? I've called for help but they want me to send it in for repair. Does this look like a faulty screen or just a poor quality screen? If I hook the display port to my Samsung monitor the screen looks excellent. I just don't want to run into 21 days and not be able to return the laptop if they come back to say that the screen is not damaged.

Also the text does not appear as dark as it should. I notice this significantly in IE. The URL and status (in the bottom lower left) appear to be ok.

Thanks,
Nick

Here are two pictures of the screens. The external monitor was plugged into the R500.

My Samsung external monitor:


My R500's screen

I think this is normal. That's why I am shopping for a flexview thinkpad which has around the same display quality like your external monitor.

OMG, even my ThinkPad (non-Flexview, wide) has more color accuracy...

Marin85 wrote:OMG, even my ThinkPad (non-Flexview, wide) has more color accuracy...

So from what you see do you think the LCD is bad, or is it a poor screen?

I think it´s simply a poor quality screen, but not a faulty screen. Maybe it´s partly the pic or the wallpaper too, but the colors look really washed-out, like on a 10 years old laptop.

Marin85 wrote:I think it´s simply a poor quality screen, but not a faulty screen. Maybe it´s partly the pic or the wallpaper too, but the colors look really washed-out, like on a 10 years old laptop.

You couldn't have said it any better. I don't remember seeing a screen this bad since back when my cousin bought a Toshiba that had a P2-266 years ago. As much as I did like the Thinkpads, I think with Lenovo unless you buy the top of the line model, everything else is just garbage. I used to praise the Thinkpads but not anymore.

npolite wrote:I think with Lenovo unless you buy the top of the line model, everything else is just garbage.

I gave the actual top of the line model x301 back due to its screen.

I guess in such a case the top line model of Lenovo would be X200 tablet as it comes with an IPS panel

Thats right, although doesn't the x200 with table weight around 2 kg where a T60 14 inch without optical drive weights the same?

Marin85 wrote:I guess in such a case the top line model of Lenovo would be X200 tablet as it comes with an IPS panel

You shouldn't need to buy an IPS panel to get a good quality screen. My Samsung 933BW doesn't have it (TN) and it is day and night compared to the one on the Thinkpad. I just think Lenovo is using the bottom of the barrel stuff. Even the keyboard feels as cheap, it is definitly not the same as my T41.

A few of my friends have the Vostro line and those screens are excellent. At least for now I have repaired my T41 so it should last me a while longer, but I will probably buy a Dell the next time I need a laptop.

Here is an update. I went to Microcenter and luckily they had a R500 model. The model number was slightly different 2727-5GU and mine is 2714-CTO but the screens are the same resolution. That screen looked exceptional and is what I was expecting. They made life a lot easier too because it had XP. I'm going to call sales tomorrow and speak to someone about getting it replaced with a new one since it has been less than a week since I received it. If I send it for repairs they'll replace it with a refurb screen and I didn't pay for a refurbed machine.

Edit: Nevermind I think they had the screen at a 45 degree angle which made it appear better than what it was.

ssd_thinkpad wrote:doesn't the x200 with table weight around 2 kg where a T60 14 inch without optical drive weights the same?

I haven´t compared the weights yet, but it could be well the case, although it would be certainly somewhat disappointing for a 12'' machine.

npolite wrote:You shouldn't need to buy an IPS panel to get a good quality screen. My Samsung 933BW doesn't have it (TN) and it is day and night compared to the one on the Thinkpad.

I couldn´t agree more!

I played with an R500 at my institution's computer store today. When I first saw the screen, it looked so fuzzy and washed out that I was sure it had been set to a non-native resolution, so I went to Display Properties to fix it. But no, it was already at the native resolution!!! It's by far the worst laptop LCD I have ever seen. All the other dozen or so laptops on display (including Dell, HP, Apple and other Thinkpads) have much better screens. Shame on Lenovo for using such a piece of garbage. Using cheap components may help increase sale in the short term, but will backfire in the long run.

pianowizard wrote:When I first saw the screen, it looked so fuzzy and washed out that I was sure it had been set to a non-native resolution, so I went to Display Properties to fix it. But no, it was already at the native resolution!!!

I know that. The first model with such "display" was HP nx6110. The display pixels looked like to be shifted-out of the display matrice and thus the picture was completely blurry even in native resolution. Disabling ClearType and setting 32bit color depth helped a bit but the picture remains horrible at all. It is the cheapest crap used in cheapest notebooks ... including current ThinkPads

Hello -

So are the best Lenovo screens in the X200t (IPS) and the W700 (400 nit WUXGA)? It looks like my next machine might be one of these two then, if this is true.

The x200t ccfl PVA display might have a better contrast then the both ips models you mentioned.

Does anyone have this problem with the 1680 x 1050 screen?