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Inexpensive Laptops Have Cheap LCDs

And now it's time to show some really poor LCD results yet again. Actually, beyond just being bigger, the Gateway EC5409u does have a decent display in terms of color quality. Contrast ratios are all lacking, however, with the best result coming from the AS1810T - and the 11z delivering one of the worst results we've recorded to date.

As stated, the contrast ratios are nothing to write home about. The Dell 11z with a black level of 1.3 nits results in more of a gray than black screen, and while the other two laptops are better, none are "good". We'd really like to see contrast ratios above 500:1, at which point black is usually a lot closer to being black. White levels all hover around 200 nits, give or take, which is sufficient for indoor use. With the glossy LCDs, outdoor use is going to be problematic.

Acer Timeline AS1810T

Dell Inspiron 11z

Gateway EC5409u

Color gamut and accuracy show why we felt the EC5409u looked better: because it is better. We're looking at color gamut relative to Adobe RGB 1998, and it scores 57%. If we compare it to sRGB (which some will say is far more important), that value rises to 79%. It's definitely the best of these three LCDs, but there's still plenty of room for improvement.