Laptop Screens and Resolutions

[WW2Planes1]

I'm looking at buying my first laptop. I've got a pretty good idea of what hardware (CPU, GPU, etc.) I want, but I have almost no experience working with laptops, so I need advice in choosing my display. (once I've done that, I'll be able to finalize the hardware choices).

I'm primarily using the laptop as a backup for my desktop, so that I can have my computer with me w/o having to take my desktop. (such as when I go home for the holidays, or spend the summer across country at an internship or something).

Hopefully that's clear... anyway.

what screen sizes do people find work well in a variety of applications? (i.e. for a laptop that will sometimes be used as a Desktop and sometimes as a highly mobile PC, what screen size is best?)

and what resolution pairs best with what screen size? (i.e. for a 15.4" screen is XGA (1024x768) good, or should I try and find a WSXGA+ screen?)

thanks!

 

[iamtrout]

1920x1200 is REALLY nice. MS Office actually displays two pages side by side at that resolution. Not to mention the sheer amount of space to do stuff in.

 

[WW2Planes1]

Originally posted by: iamtrout
1920x1200 is REALLY nice. MS Office actually displays two pages side by side at that resolution. Not to mention the sheer amount of space to do stuff in.

Does that work on a 15" laptop? i mean, yeah, the space is nice (i'd love to have money for a 1920x1200 LCD for my desktop), but is the text too small to read? or does it work well since you're much closer to the screen than on a desktop?

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: WW2Planes1

Originally posted by: iamtrout
1920x1200 is REALLY nice. MS Office actually displays two pages side by side at that resolution. Not to mention the sheer amount of space to do stuff in.

Does that work on a 15" laptop? i mean, yeah, the space is nice (i'd love to have money for a 1920x1200 LCD for my desktop), but is the text too small to read? or does it work well since you're much closer to the screen than on a desktop?

I used 1600x1200 on a 19" CRT for a long time, and I still think 1920x1200 is ridiculously small. Look at the DPI of some pretty standard resolutions:

desktops
XGA (1024x768) on a 15" LCD = 85 DPI
XGA (1024x768) on a 17" CRT = 80 DPI
SXGA (1280x1024) on an 18" LCD = 91 DPI
UXGA (1600x1200) on a 19" CRT = 111 DPI
UXGA (1600x1200) on a 21" CRT = 100 DPI

standard notebooks
XGA (1024x768) on a 12.1" notebook = 106 DPI
XGA (1024x768) on a 14" notebook = 91 DPI
XGA (1024x768) on a 15" notebook = 85 DPI
SXGA+ (1400x1050) on a 14" notebook = 125 DPI
SXGA+ (1400x1050) on a 15" notebook = 117 DPI

widescreen notebooks
WXGA (1280x768) on a 12.1" notebook = 123 DPI
WXGA (1280x768) on a 14" notebook = 107 DPI
WXGA (1280x768) on a 15.4" notebook = 97 DPI
WSXGA+ (1680x1050) on a 15.4" notebook = 129 DPI
WSXGA+ (1680x1050) on a 17" notebook = 117 DPI
WUXGA (1920x1200) on a 15.4" notebook = 147 DPI
WUXGA (1920x1200) on a 17" notebook = 133 DPI

You sit closer to a laptop than a desktop, so you usually want a little higher DPI, but not completely out of control. Since this is your first laptop, you probably want something with pretty decent resolution just so it can be closer to what you're used to (well, unless you've been using 1024x768 on your desktop). To me, things are just too big when you get below 100 DPI on a laptop, but over 130 DPI is pretty insane. If you go to a Dell kiosk in a mall, they'll usually have 15.4" and 17" Inspirions with 1680x1050 displays, and you can see that 1920x1200 might be OK on a 17" but really not on a 15.4".

If you're looking at 15.4" laptops, 1680x1050 will probably be the best resolution.

 

[mickles]

I'm using 1400 x 1050 resolution on a 15" screen right now and it is very nice.

 

[Conroy9]

Welll, you can always increase your windows font size if the resolution is too high; it's a pain for some applications though - dialog boxes may look funny if the programmer was lazy

The screen size you want depends on how bulky and heavy the laptop you can tolerate - bigger is generally better.

I think the resolution is completely dependent on you and your eyesight - My 15" 1600x1200 is just a bit too small for me; I think 15" 1400x1050 would be perfect.
My second choice would be 14" 1400x1050, but it's so unusable for someone else here that she sets her 14" laptop to 1024x768 even though it's blurry because its native res is 1400x1050

Then some other coworkers prefer 15" XGA..

 

[Conroy9]

Tostada, where did you get those DPI stats? Do you have stats for 15" UXGA?

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: Conroy9
Tostada, where did you get those DPI stats? Do you have stats for 15" UXGA?

I just did the math in a spreadsheet. 15" viewable at 1600x1200 UXGA is 133.3 DPI:

SQRT(1600^2+1200^2)/15 = 133.3

 

[WW2Planes1]

Thanks. Tostada that table is really nice.

 

[Conroy9]

oh - heh, that makes sense

 

[fbrdphreak]

Great info Tostada

 

[RobsTV]

See how you like different resolutions on your desktop first.
With my 21" CRT, I prefer 1280 x 1024 as best for my 44 year old eyes (no glasses).
That works out to be about the same as my 17" laptop with WXGA 1440x900 screen.

LCD's should be run at their native resolutions for text.
With games, sure, you can adjust without problem.
But for text, stick with native res.
Adjusting fonts, by using such things as changing from the built in 96 DPI to the larger 120 DPI setting will not look good. Stick with native, and it will "ALWAYS" be good. Don't run a LCD screen at lower than max res, or same thing, bad text.

Go with the highest resolution you can stand, but do not go any higher.
Just my opinion, and after dealing with 100's of customers setting up their 17" and 19" LCD's, non-native gets old quick.

 

[CptTripps]

Ok, just my opinions...

14" and under - (16:10) 1440x900 or 1280x800. (4:3 Ratio) 1280x1024 or 1024x768 would all probably be good picks.

15" screen - (16:10) 1680x1050 or 1440x900. (4:3 Ratio) 1600x1200 or 1280x1024. These are great resolutions for 15", unless you have severe eye problems you may opt for a 1280x800. I had 1920x1200 on my I9100 and it was a tad small, and that is at 20\20 eyesight.

17" screen - (16:10 Ratio) 1920x1200 or 1680x1050. (4:3 Ratio) 1600x1200 or 1280x1024. I wouldn't go with any smaller resolutions on a 17".

My Two Cents,

CptTripps

 

[CptTripps]

Ok, just my opinions...

14" and under - (16:10) 1440x900 or 1280x800. (4:3 Ratio) 1280x1024 or 1024x768 would all probably be good picks.

15" screen - (16:10) 1680x1050 or 1440x900. (4:3 Ratio) 1600x1200 or 1280x1024. These are great resolutions for 15", unless you have severe eye problems you may opt for a 1280x800. I had 1920x1200 on my I9100 and it was a tad small, and that is at 20\20 eyesight.

17" screen - (16:10 Ratio) 1920x1200 or 1680x1050. (4:3 Ratio) 1600x1200 or 1280x1024. I wouldn't go with any smaller resolutions on a 17".

My Two Cents,

CptTripps

 

[alpha88]

I've got 1920x1200 on a 15.4" and absolutely love it - the real problem is that I got so used to the res that I had to sell my 21" CRTS and get a 2405FPW for my desktop.

I've got 20/10 vision, and have no problems seeing things. My dad has the same screen and average vision, he just has the fonts larger and does just fine.

 

[WackyDan]

1400x1050 is sweet on a 14 or 15"... anything higher, even after adjusting fonts drives my 35 year old eyes batty. I've had 1600x1200 on a 15" and found it to high for me.... everyone is different.

 

[CptTripps]

Originally posted by: alpha88
I've got 1920x1200 on a 15.4" and absolutely love it - the real problem is that I got so used to the res that I had to sell my 21" CRTS and get a 2405FPW for my desktop.

I've got 20/10 vision, and have no problems seeing things. My dad has the same screen and average vision, he just has the fonts larger and does just fine.

Yeah, I sould see everything fine on the 15.4 @ 1920x1200. But for reading articles and stuff for extended periods of time it kinda bugged me.

 

[uOpt]

I don't like too high DPI anymore.

There are too many applications or parts of applications where you cannot set the font size. Or think about pictures in web sites when you scale the fonts. This very forums looks odd when you scale the fonts.

And even if you can, it gets annoying if you switch from the internal screen to an external monitor with lower DPI.

The perfect overall portable mix of DPI, laptop size and resolution for me is the Apple 15" powerbook which is 15" widescreen 1280x854.