My XPS2 has a 1920x1200 resolution display which is going to be excessive for most people on a 15 inch screen. On this Inspiron 6000 there is a 1680x1050 display and I find it to work perfect for this system. Some users may like the higher resolution display but that can make things extremely small. Personally, I prefer the 1680 and it should be fine for most users. If you're really into graphics you may want to get the 1920 screen, but if you're a gamer or student on a budget you need to stay at 1680 so that you can play games in native resolution or have the "just right" size Windows desktop display space for productivity. There is a smaller resolution 1280 screen available but that resolution is too small now and I recall reading bad things about the quality of the screen.
Like in my XPS2 review I'll now rate the 6000's LCD on a series of 4 points. I'd like to note here that the screen on the 6000 and my XPS2 are both Samsungs now and are practically identical in every way other than resolution.
Point 1 -- Coating (Antiglare or Glossy)
The Inspiron 6000 does not have a glossy display. It has an antiglare coating that gives it a dull shine when turned off. On a reflective screen like my XPS2 or Dell screens with TrueLife you'll easily see your reflection with the screen powered off. The coating is not annoying and appears to be uniform over the panel.
(Point Given)
Point 2 -- Dead Pixels
None! I have to give Dell a compliment here. I've seen 4 of their LCD's in the past 2 months and all of them had no dead pixels! I ran Dead Pixel buddy and checked each individual color to verify this.
(Point Given)
Point 3 -- Light Leakage and Color
Unfortunately, here is where the Samsung LCD panels fail. Black is some shade between grey and black over the entire screen. There is even a characteristic pattern in Samsung screens where the center seems to have the least leakage and there's a small circle about the size of a USA quarter in the top center where there is no leakage at all. If you like deep true blacks then this system will not please you. However, I do want to note that normally it's not noticeable unless you're playing a dark game like Doom 3 or others where there are large dark areas on maps. Light leakage on both the 6000 and XPS2 Samsung screens is minimal at the bottom, but it is there.
Color on the 6000 and any Dell Samsung screen is warm and dull without adjustment. You'll want to immediately jump into your video properties and adjust your contrast, brightness, and others. I like a contrast of about 111%, brightness of 98%, and a gamma of 89%. One of the drawbacks of having an ATi card is that there is no digital vibrance control which really livens up the picture on my XPS2 to make the colors on par with a Sony and Princeton Graphics Senergy LCD. You'll want to play with the color settings and other programs at some point if you're really concerned about having your colors jump out and catch your eye. For most people the simple adjustment I outlined above should be enough.
(Point Declined)
Point 4 -- Unusual LCD Surface Anomalies
Back with my XPS2 review I blasted the LG screen for having sparkling on it. Well now I have an XPS2/9300 Samsung and a 6000 Samsung. If you want to be really picky you can see a little bit of sparkling, but that is completely typical of all the non-Sony and Fujitsu LCD's I've seen recently. Even my Princeton does this. The LG had a significantly different effect like as if there was glitter on the screen. I'm happy to say that the Samsung screens I've seen do not have this effect. Yes, if you're being picky you can see somewhat of faint horizontal lines, but it's not annoying in the least even when using programs like Unreal Ed that use grids a lot. Unreal Ed is the program that forced me to have the LG screen replaced.
(Point Given)
Overall, I'd award the inspiron 6000 LCD 3 out of 4 possible points. It's not perfect but it's not bad either. Depending on what you do it should suit you just fine. I personally prefer the Samsung screens because of some of the programs I use. Light leakage and black color accuracy problems are a fact of a lot of LCD screens. If you need perfect you should look elsewhere. But for people on a budget like my family the Dell was the best choice. Sacrificing cost sacrifices some of the quality control on these LCD panels.
Sound:
The Inspiron 6000 comes with two stereo speakers. The sound output is above what you'd expect from a laptop but nothing you'd want to play loud and brag about in public. There is no subwoofer on this system which does detract some from the sound experience. Most laptops don't have subwoofers so most people will be pleased with the sound coming from the 6000. It's much better than what my old Sony GRZ630 used to put out. One thing I like about the sound on the 6000 over my XPS2 is that there is little difference between sound off and sound level 1. It's a more steady increase in volume.
