Can a 1600*900 lpatop play HD on an external 1820*1080 monitor?

General question - how can you tell what the capabilities of a laptop (or desktop for that matter) are re external monitors?

thanks

 

What resolution the laptop is able to output depends on the video output(s) available. You can see which resolutions the different HDMI standards support here (1920x1080 is nothing new). Whether or not you're able to have playable frame rates at a given resolution depends on how demanding the game is (select appropriate graphics settings) and how powerful your hardware is, primarely your GPU(s).

The capabilities of your laptop's screen will not limit your external output(s) unless you mirror the image.

 

Thanks. So basically (as far as non gaming is concerned) if i want to watch dvd's or edit photos or just browse in HD on the external monitor my only concern is that the laptop should have an HDMI port?

 

yep if it has HDMI it should be able to support at least 1920x1200. Depending on the version HDMI can support up to 2560x1600

 

Other outputs would work too, such as DVI, DisplayPort and even VGA. I would steer away from VGA though since it's analogue. If you have a look, the current digital standards are actually fairly modular with lots of adapters letting you achieve what you want. HDMI is 'easy' because it's widely adopted and found in most laptops. HDMI 1.4 even supports 4K resolutions but it will be some time until we see consumer monitors packing that kind of pixel density.

 

I have yet to run into a recent laptop that can't do 1920x1080, I also have yet to run into a recent laptop that doesn't have either HDMI/DVI or a display port connector. If you only have a display port, you may need an adapter though.

 

Non gaming IGP's have been able to display at high resolutions for media for a very long time.

And to OP point of order, 1600x900 is HD. HD starts even below 720 by any standard.

 

You'll have no problem outputting to display in 1080p so long as you have an HDMI port. Normal windows functions, like browsing and watching video, will all be fine. Gaming is a different story though, and will depend on the power of your GPU.