How important is IPS panel in a laptop?

[TheArium]

Hi all

 

I am looking at two models of the Dell Inspiron 13 5368 2-in-1 laptops.

 

Model A has 7th gen i3, 4 GB DDR4, 1 TB HDD and no IPS panel for the equivalent of 711 USD.

Model B has 7th gen i5, 8 GB DDR4, 250 GB SSD and IPS panel for the equivalent of 925 USD.

 

I have an SSD and I would upgrade model A to 8 GB RAM so the only real difference between the two after I purchase the RAM is the IPS panel and ~150 $ price difference. I will use the laptop for school - note taking, reading PDF's, writing assignments etc. - and everyday casual stuff.

 

So my question is whether the IPS panel is worth the extra money in my use scenario?

 

Other laptops in that price range I should have a look at?

 

Thanks!

[Guest]

If you already have RAM and SSD then go save money. IPS on a laptop not really needed

[TheArium]

I have a 250 GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD in my current laptop, which is due for a replacement. So I would put that SSD in the new machine and then purchase some more RAM.

[Hamil_P1]

don't spend extra on the IPS panel. might be nice for media consumption/content creation. more of a "creature comfort" thing. not a huge i difference. 

i did notice it is slightly annoying to position my TN laptop in the right position to see things well, but eventually i got used to it, ~a week. 

[Pendragon]

depends on the panel. MOST laptop TN panels are garbarge. Some are decent. the laptop you have definitely requires an IPS panel. Only thing is, I don't like that laptop at all. 

[D2ultima]

IPS isn't worth anything for laptops for the most part. In your specific non-gaming, basic usage case though, the IPS panel would only give you a benefit (unless the TN panel is of great quality on the original model, which I don't know if it is).

 

I'd say make sure that the RAM is not soldered in the laptop, before making your decision. It is no longer so simple as "you can just add RAM".

[TheArium]

7 hours ago, Pendragon said:

depends on the panel. MOST laptop TN panels are garbarge. Some are decent. the laptop you have definitely requires an IPS panel. Only thing is, I don't like that laptop at all. 

What don't you like about it? Can you recommend other models? I'm currently trying to scout the market.

1 hour ago, D2ultima said:

IPS isn't worth anything for laptops for the most part. In your specific non-gaming, basic usage case though, the IPS panel would only give you a benefit (unless the TN panel is of great quality on the original model, which I don't know if it is).

 

I'd say make sure that the RAM is not soldered in the laptop, before making your decision. It is no longer so simple as "you can just add RAM".

I would be surprised if the TN panel in the Dell is of any particularly impressive quality. I have no doubt IPS is superior, but I is it worth the extra cash on a budget...

 

The RAM is not soldered in. It is quite replaceable and Dell even provide a service manual.

[D2ultima]

1 minute ago, TheArium said:

What don't you like about it? Can you recommend other models? I'm currently trying to scout the market.

I would be surprised if the TN panel in the Dell is of any particularly impressive quality. I have no doubt IPS is superior, but I is it worth the extra cash on a budget...

 

The RAM is not soldered in. It is quite replaceable and Dell even provide a service manual.

Oh I didn't actually see the name of the computer. Sleepy. Hungry. Blame varying things. 

 

IPS is superior to TN in three manners:

1 - Better CONTRAST; deeper blacks.

2 - Better viewing angles.

3 - I lied, there's just two.

 

TN is superior to IPS in:

1 - Faster response times are possible/common.

2 - Higher refresh rates can be used.

3 - Cheaper to make.

 

What's the same:

1 - Colour potential (both in colour space and colour depth).

 

I just want to clear these things up. A lot of people say IPS has better colours than TN, but this is panel-specific. For example most 17" IPS panels for notebooks are 72% NTSC, 100% sRGB gamut ratings, with 25ms response time or higher (note that 16.67ms or less is required for 60Hz to get no ghosting), and are only 6-bit colour (262K colours). On the other hand there were 90% NTSC, >100% sRGB TN panels on the last generation of notebook panels, which didn't have ghosting issues at all, and were generally better quality. By comparison, the existing panels are the screen equivalent of cheap trash.

 

In your case where gaming doesn't matter, IPS is a straight benefit to you. I just wanted to point out that IPS does not equal better, and TN does not equal crap.