Looking for a laptop with non glossy screen

Chicken #16 · 7 Apr 2010 at 17:38

Hi

Someone I know is after a 17" laptop with a non glossy screen

Needs a 1.6GHz processor and 2GB ram but not much else. Less than £400 would be perfect.

A brand name and model number would be fine

Thanks

cmndr_andi · 7 Apr 2010 at 17:43

The basic dell Inspiron 17 is a decent machine and only £349. I'm sure £50 of upgrades could get you some nice kit, like a 9 cell battery, bigger hdd, wireless n, faster CPU or more RAM - which ever you think will be more useful.

Chicken #16 · 7 Apr 2010 at 20:00

yes that looks perfect....how do you tell if a laptop will have a glossy screen or not (without seeing it inthe shop)?

mattjd · 7 Apr 2010 at 20:19

Chicken #16 said:
yes that looks perfect....how do you tell if a laptop will have a glossy screen or not (without seeing it inthe shop)?

Think when you personalise it you can choose what screen resolutions they have to offer and whether its glossy or matte.

samurl · 7 Apr 2010 at 20:45

We have some of the new HP's at work, and I'd highly reccomend them, they are matte screens so will not glare when they are sitting on office desks, might be worth considering!

Simon42 · 7 Apr 2010 at 21:08

The last time I looked I'm sure all the Inspirons had glossy screens (or TrueLife as Dell describe them). It's a real pain that too many laptops specifications don't even mention glossy versus matte.

cmndr_andi · 7 Apr 2010 at 21:18

Chicken #16 said:
yes that looks perfect....how do you tell if a laptop will have a glossy screen or not (without seeing it inthe shop)?

I just realised that the Inspiron 17 uses a TrueLife screen (here for more details).

This is a glossy screen.

However, I am currently typing from a Dell Inspiron 9400 laptop with a similar (admitedly much older) TrueLife Screen (the 1200p one) and personally I find it to be fantastic. It can be a bit annoying to use outside in bright sunlight, but inside a well lit tutorial room it is fantastic and the image really "pops" with the coating they use. Unless the intended use is primarily going to be outside I would not discount a glossy screen laptop like the Inspiron 17 - in my experience dell laptops are well made and their screens are high quality.