Understanding monitor resolution

[jfelano]

I built a "green" office/home theater pc around a low power AMD 5350 quad apu with R3 graphics.

I currently have a 22" (1680x1050) monitor. Now it seems, and I may be wrong, that the higher the resolution your monitor, the smaller everything is.?

Now that I'm getting older and my eyesight is degrading, I find myself going to display settings on a daily basis and changing text size to 125% so I can see easier.

My question is, I'm ready to upgrade to a 25-27" ips display, will this make it worse for me because resolution is higher or better cause the screen is larger?

The 27" is 1920x1080, will that make everything even smaller? Or does it not matter because the larger screen makes up for it?

Also the 25" is 2560x1080, will my apu even run that resolution? Will everything be REALLY small? Can I just down it to 1920x1080 or will that degrade picture quality?

Since I need things larger, what would you suggest? Any suggestions would be helpful to understand how resolution is relevant to screen size, thanks in advance.

 

[therealnickdanger]

Now it seems, and I may be wrong, that the higher the resolution your monitor, the smaller everything is.?

You're not wrong, but the higher resolution something is, the smaller everything gets relative to the screen size.

A 27" 1080p (16:9) monitor will appear larger than your current monitor, but you may want to consider going even larger. I would not recommend getting the 25" 21:9 monitor as they are very short in height. It might even be harder to see than your current monitor.

A few months ago I got a 40" 1080p HDTV for my dad to use as a computer monitor. It was an Insignia on sale for $179. It's certainly not the pinnacle of monitor technology, but the text is large and sharp and he can actually sit back in his chair without straining his eyes or hunching over. Also, for the size, it's a lot cheaper than most other monitors of that size. Plus, it has a TV tuner and lots of other inputs for Blu-ray, Xbox, whatever...

 

[Tweak155]

I try to explain it to people using the projector as an example, because most people are comfortable with how a projector works.

Resolution and screen size is exactly similar to projecting one resolution onto a wall. As you physically pull a projector back, the items become larger but become less sharp. As you push the projector closer to the wall, everything gets smaller and sharper to look at.

Monitors are the exact same way, except they're stuck in one physical orientation.

Your example is a little trickier because of the different resolutions AND different physical size... in comes PPI Calculator!

https://www.sven.de/dpi/

Based on this calculator, since you will have less PPI (pixels per inch) on the 27" screen, icons will in fact appear bigger still! This is like taking the projector and pulling it back ever so slightly. Roughly 10% larger, so nothing major, but still bigger.

EDIT:

If it's not clear from my post above, LESS PPI will be easier to see. Just punch it into the calculator. The higher the PPI, the harder things get to read due to being smaller (they will look sharper though).

 

[Flapdrol1337]

Yeah, on the 27" 1920x1080 screen everything will be bigger.

On the smaller screen with higher resolution things will be smaller of course. But since you're already scaling to 125%, might as well scale it up further.

 

[know of fence]

96 DPI is the traditional default pixel density for PCs, for which fonts and font sizes were designed, with a distance of about 60 cm or two feet in mind.

You can set a scaling factor in windows, which eliminates the need to constantly zoom in and out. I set a default of 125% scaling for my parent's 100 PPI PC.

With presbyopia people tend to sit closer to the screen, at this point for text to look sharp you need the "retina" pixel densities of 300+ PPI of phones or at least the 200 PPI of tablet screens. IF you don't play video games getting a high resotion/high pixel density display, then setting up windows scaling is generally a good way to go.

You need to check your motherboard manual for maximum supported resolution, because it's the motherboard that holds the hdmi / DVI connectors.

 

[crazzy.heartz]

I too have a 22" 1680x1050 monitor and was concerned abt the same thing in regards to a future monitor purchase.

A 27" 1920x1080 monitor will be perfect for you.

You dont need more than 1920x1080 resolution in a 27" screen.

Higher resolutions such as 2560x1440 will make icons and text smaller.

In general, higher resolution in a small screen will make text/icons smaller and lower resolution on a large screen will make icons/text bigger..

Thus, 1080p on a 25" display will make icons/text smaller..

That's why I have bought 5-5.5" Display cellphones with 720p resolution, instead of 1080p, for my parents.. That makes text/icons bigger by default.

Also, LED/LCDs come with a fixed/native resolution.. you can dial it down but that'll make things fuzzy/washed out.. They are meant to b viewed at that Resolution only, for best picture clarity..

You can also purchase a 2560x1080 29" monitor.
Or
34" 2560x1080 monitor. <- Even Better.. this will b perfect for work/watching movies..

Just buy a bigger screen monitor with 1080p resolution.

 

[jfelano]

You're not wrong, but the higher resolution something is, the smaller everything gets relative to the screen size.

A 27" 1080p (16:9) monitor will appear larger than your current monitor, but you may want to consider going even larger. I would not recommend getting the 25" 21:9 monitor as they are very short in height. It might even be harder to see than your current monitor.

A few months ago I got a 40" 1080p HDTV for my dad to use as a computer monitor. It was an Insignia on sale for $179. It's certainly not the pinnacle of monitor technology, but the text is large and sharp and he can actually sit back in his chair without straining his eyes or hunching over. Also, for the size, it's a lot cheaper than most other monitors of that size. Plus, it has a TV tuner and lots of other inputs for Blu-ray, Xbox, whatever...

Hmmm...thanks I may consider a tv....not 40" but will consider it.

Either way the consensus seems to be that I should get a bigger screen that's 1080p, and the bigger the better. If I'm understanding correctly.

 

[BSim500]

My question is, I'm ready to upgrade to a 25-27" ips display, will this make it worse for me because resolution is higher or better cause the screen is larger?

The 27" is 1920x1080, will that make everything even smaller? Or does it not matter because the larger screen makes up for it?

In theory more resolution is easier to read (sharper text) but that only holds true if the physical size of the text stays the same, which it doesn't given how Windows scales. And that's why people with less than perfect vision find lower ppi displays easier to read:-

22" 1680 x 1050 = 90.05ppi (yours)
24" 1920 x 1080 = 91.79ppi
27" 1920 x 1080 = 81.59ppi
25" 2560 x 1080 = 111.14dpi

The 24" 1080p will be roughly the same give or take 2%. The 27" will make everything around 10% bigger. The 25" ultra-widescreen will be quite a lot smaller. If you've ever used a standard 1366x768 15.6" laptop (103.94dpi), that 25" 2560x1080 will be even smaller than that. Personally, if I were in your position, I'd go with the 27" 1920 x 1080 if you want bigger text. It's very popular for many people for precisely that reason.

 

[know of fence]

In theory more resolution is easier to read (sharper text) but that only holds true if the physical size of the text stays the same, which it doesn't given how Windows scales. And that's why people with less than perfect vision find lower ppi displays easier to read [...]

... given how Windows scales. Which is, not at all. It shows everything pixel for pixel by default, which is why one needs to drill down into display settings, check a box then scaling options appear, 100 - 125 - 150%, check another box to scale manually.

Low PPI dispay are quite terrible, learning to scale and to live with the effects of scaling is a much better route. You are not at the mercy of default settings, however there is nothing that can be done once you bought a redactedpanel, except leaning back and squinting.

I've tested good old 1280x1040 19" displays, 86 PPI ... and had to lean back alot to unsee the pixel grid.
A 21" 1366*768 TV 74 PPi is basically unusable as a PC monitor, though 74 was the standard back in early CRT days.





No profanity in tech.


esquared
Anandtech Forum Director

 

[BSim500]

Low PPI dispay are quite terrible, learning to scale and to live with the effects of scaling is a much better route.

Relying on scaling is very inconsistent with some applications ending up with both scaled & non-scaled fonts & elements on the same page and looking ridiculous. Other applications scale UI elements but not the fonts themselves, ironically ending up with even blockier text (view image at 100% zoom) or even unusably small UI (view image fullscreen) than a 10% lower dpi monitor.

Likewise, it also depends on the person's vision. Ever had an eye test? Smaller letters printed at 300dpi are not easier to read than larger ones printed at 75dpi, nor something you can "learn" to adapt to if it's beyond the threshold of what underlying vision permits. Likewise, if someone has less than perfect vision, the perceived "blockiness" of low dpi is often reduced to the point of even being unnoticeable. If you have perfect eyesight and want a 27" screen, a 1440p is a better choice. But if you don't have perfect eyesight and feel you need a bigger screen to reduce eyestrain, etc, then you'll probably not be noticing that pixel grid anyway.

Accommodation is another aspect. Sit in front of a different ppi screen for 5 mins and it feels odd, but after a week you've already adjusted. However it doesn't translate equally in both directions, ie, it's easier for many to adjust to a 82-85dpi screen than a +110dpi one when both are compared to a 92dpi baseline, as plenty of Amazon reviews of 27"/1080p screens testify : "I think it's easier on the eyes at the end of the day", "As I age I find it harder to read tiny text on my laptop monitor or a typical 17-inch monitor. This monitor is excellent!", "Large size reduces eyestrain.", "I spend a lot of time at my computer, and this screen makes my work so much easier. It is a large size and that helps my eyes not to have to strain. Also it has a comfortable resolution so I don’t develop headaches when viewing it for long periods.", etc.

Best thing the OP can do is test one in person before buying, but I'm willing to bet a 27"/1080p screen is exactly what he ends up with given a lot of other people buy them for same reason.

 

[giantpandaman2]

You could just do what I did for my father. Buy a 42" HDTV and use it as a monitor. Given his poor eyesight, it's about the only thing that works for him. Pricewise it's not that expensive compared to buying a high resolution monitor.

When I have to do troubleshooting on his computer the screen is way too big for me, but he's happy with it.

 

[know of fence]

Relying on scaling is very inconsistent with some applications ending up with both scaled & non-scaled fonts & elements on the same page and looking ridiculous. Other applications scale UI elements but not the fonts themselves, ironically ending up with even blockier text (view image at 100% zoom) or even unusably small UI (view image fullscreen) than a 10% lower dpi monitor.

Likewise, it also depends on the person's vision. Ever had an eye test? Smaller letters printed at 300dpi are not easier to read than larger ones printed at 75dpi, nor something you can "learn" to adapt to if it's beyond the threshold of what underlying vision permits. Likewise, if someone has less than perfect vision, the perceived "blockiness" of low dpi is often reduced to the point of even being unnoticeable. If you have perfect eyesight and want a 27" screen, a 1440p is a better choice. But if you don't have perfect eyesight and feel you need a bigger screen to reduce eyestrain, etc, then you'll probably not be noticing that pixel grid anyway.

Accommodation is another aspect. Sit in front of a different ppi screen for 5 mins and it feels odd, but after a week you've already adjusted. However it doesn't translate equally in both directions, ie, it's easier for many to adjust to a 82-85dpi screen than a +110dpi one when both are compared to a 92dpi baseline, as plenty of Amazon reviews of 27"/1080p screens testify : "I think it's easier on the eyes at the end of the day", "As I age I find it harder to read tiny text on my laptop monitor or a typical 17-inch monitor. This monitor is excellent!", "Large size reduces eyestrain.", "I spend a lot of time at my computer, and this screen makes my work so much easier. It is a large size and that helps my eyes not to have to strain. Also it has a comfortable resolution so I don’t develop headaches when viewing it for long periods.", etc.

Best thing the OP can do is test one in person before buying, but I'm willing to bet a 27"/1080p screen is exactly what he ends up with given a lot of other people buy them for same reason.

Yes, there are downsides to scaling, as it isn't a trivial problem to solve. Still the biggest downside is, not knowing how to set it up. To which all the Amazon quotes you have compiled seem to attest. Because Microsoft buried it a dozen clicks and several check boxes deep.

And honestly humanity would be better off sticking to a standard, instead of creating screens of every size, shape and curvature imaginable. Inevitably with black bars covering a third of your screen playing video more than half the time...

My advice would be to also to try before you buy, just set the scaling on the PC you are using to 125% and see if things improve or deteriorate.

 

[jfelano]

You could just do what I did for my father. Buy a 42" HDTV and use it as a monitor. Given his poor eyesight, it's about the only thing that works for him. Pricewise it's not that expensive compared to buying a high resolution monitor.

When I have to do troubleshooting on his computer the screen is way too big for me, but he's happy with it.

Unfortunately it has to fit on my desk so that's a no go lol.

I guess 27" 1920x1080 is the consensus. Should I go IPS? Seems most are now anyways.

Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[BSim500]

I guess 27" 1920x1080 is the consensus. Should I go IPS? Seems most are now anyways.

For general usage, IPS does give far better color quality and viewing angles than TN. If you suffer from eyestrain, you might want to look at the flicker free panels too.

 

[crazzy.heartz]

Unfortunately it has to fit on my desk so that's a no go lol.

I guess 27" 1920x1080 is the consensus. Should I go IPS? Seems most are now anyways.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Read this once before you make a final decision : http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/monitor-buying-guide,4559.html