Are T42 displays bottom of the barrel?

[BoostedA4]

I was almost all set to pull the trigger on a T42 14.1" or 15" SXGA+, but I've read some posts/articles that made me think twice. I know how sturdy, reliable, and performing the T42's are....but what about the screen?

I've heard issues with 14.1" SXGA+ viewing angles and that the 15" flexview helps, but I am not sure how readily I could find a 15" SXGA. I've seen in many places the IBM screens near the bottom rankings, after Sony, Toshiba, Dell, HP/Compaq, Fujitsu, etc... is this so? How sharp are these SXGA 14.1/15" screens? What's the contrast? Brightness? If i'm going to be purchasing a T42, I certainly don't want to live with a dull screen that must be viewed at just the right spot for a proper display.

The only screens I can see in person are those at the local best buy/circuit city.....and IBM's are certainly not there. Anyone give me some input on these screens.....especially those individuals that may own/owned other laptops recently?

NOTE: I will be coming from a 15" Dell Flatpanel Ultrasharp on on my 8250 desktop, which I love and have had no issues with at all. How might the IBM display compare to this?

[rocketman]

My T42 2379R9U 15" SXGA+ has an absolutely gorgeous display. I have two Apple Powerbooks, 15" and 17" and the T42's display is way brighter and sharper, when I put the T42 next to either Powerbook the Powerbook displays look dim, dingy and fuzzy which completely shocked me. I couldn't be happier with my T42's display.

[brewt]

NOTE: I will be coming from a 15" Dell Flatpanel Ultrasharp on on my 8250 desktop, which I love and have had no issues with at all. How might the IBM display compare to this?

You can't compare a desktop LCD with a notebook LCD because the desktop LCD's are always brighter since they don't have power usage to worry about.

I've compared my friend's Dell D600 14.1" SXGA+ to my T42's 14.1" SXGA+ and his viewing angle is pretty terrible compared to my T42 (which isn't really really great, but it's not too bad). Also, the D600's LCD has a 6500K colour temperature, vs the 9300K colour temperature of my T42. However, colour temp probably won't make a difference unless you do a direct side by side comparison. My old Fujitsu S6010 was at 6500K, and I didn't really notice until later when i compared it with my T42. You can see the difference between 6500K and 9300K if your CRT allows you do change it (my LG does). It's the difference between yellowy tinged/dull white vs bright white.

[Kenn]

The displays on the 14" T42s are just fine by LCD standards, not subpar at all. The only difference is, all the new laptops coming onto the market use those "xbrite-type" glossy films that increase contrast (and resist dust, btw), and many have higher-viewing-angle screens.

So if you're upgrading from an older laptop or LCD screen, the T42 screen should be at least as good. If you've been looking around at all the glossy screens in the computer store and like what you see, you might feel like the 14" on the T42 doesn't stack up.

But apples to apples, the T42 screen is just fine. In fact, I like contrast on it better than on my 15" (though the 15" is brighter and has significantly better viewing angle).

[dvorak]

I in general also adore my T42, but I too have some dislikinings with the display, the vertical viewing angle seems so tough, that I even get a rather noticeable brightness difference from the top, middle and bottom part.
Now I'm trying to find out if its the general problem or a faulty display.

(This is a new display too, last one on this Thinkpad had slow red pixels about 1 inch from the bottom, stayed for 10secs when switching to black color)

[aamsel]

Do a parts lookup for your serial number at:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... sLookup.vm
and post the manufacturer and/or FRU of the LCD panel that you got here.
If you get the FRU, do a search in PC Support (option on the left of the same webpage) and you will find the manufacturer.

My guess is that you got an IDTech and not a Samsung. I ordered a 2378FVU awhile back, got an IDTech and sent it back during the 30 day period. I now just got another 2378FVU with a Samsung panel, and like it quite a lot. The viewing angle is not as good as a 15" Flexview, of course, but it is very sharp. Text on it is less pixelated than on both of my 19" 1280 X 1024 Samsung desktop LCD monitors, one of which is brand new and very expensive, a 193P I think.
Of course, it is not as bright, and does not have as much contrast as a desktop LCD, but the text is really, really smooth!

Andrew
Austin, TX

I in general also adore my T42, but I too have some dislikinings with the display, the vertical viewing angle seems so tough, that I even get a rather noticeable brightness difference from the top, middle and bottom part.
Now I'm trying to find out if its the general problem or a faulty display.

(This is a new display too, last one on this Thinkpad had slow red pixels about 1 inch from the bottom, stayed for 10secs when switching to black color)

[dvorak]

Do a parts lookup for your serial number at:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... sLookup.vm
and post the manufacturer and/or FRU of the LCD panel that you got here.
If you get the FRU, do a search in PC Support (option on the left of the same webpage) and you will find the manufacturer.

Andrew
Austin, TX

Answered your question in a related thread: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?p=46586#46586

Another possibility is to accept the screens for now and perhaps visit IBM again in the following years to get a LCD with a newer technology for a replacement, if it's possible :)