1600x900 vs 1920x1080

So, having just ordered an m17x, I thought I'd come on here and express the one concern with my configuration.

In an effort to cut costs where possible, I stuck with the 1600x900 default option.

My reasoning was:

• I watch movies and TV mostly on, you know, my TV.
• I game on my laptop. Frame rates will be higher with a lower resolution.
• My eyesight isn't the most amazing after many years of computer use. I read one comment about a guy needed a stronger prescription to use his 1920x1080 m17x. Yikes. What if I want my glasses off for a while?
• I do a lot of reading on the computer. I don't really want things to be tiny, or to constantly be having to zoom or adjust font sizes. Seems like a hassle.
• Native display.
• Finally, based on the above, I assumed I'd largely be using 1600x900 anyway, but in an un-native fashion... and I could reasonably save the money here.

Then I noticed that all of Alienware's competitors that I've been browsing have 1920x1080 resolution screens as default, and I went "oh... oops? maybe?".

Did I make an oops? I'm unable to tell. The decision seemed logical to me until I saw the default settings in places like Sager, Origin PC, and on Ibuypower's Valkyrie, so on and so forth.

 

It really is just a matter of preference. I would much rather have as high of a resolution as possible whereas my dad can barely see on a 17" 1920x1080 screen.

A lot of the reason why the 1920x1080 is default in a lot of cases is that it is considered to be better because there are more pixels and people always want the best.

 

If you aren't happy with the 1600x900 screen when you get the laptop you'll still have the option to return and rebuy. It's a bit of a wait, but it's important to make sure you're satisfied with the laptop.

I jump between a 1440x900 and 1920x1080 screen all the time now. It was a bit of an adjustment to the larger screen and I do find myself getting close to the monitor to read text from time to time. But the larger resolution does leave me feeling like the 1440x900 is very small and clunky by comparison, and it is very, very nice to look at while gaming.

Maybe it would be a good idea to head to a local Microsoft/BestBuy/whatever store to check out a few different laptop screens. Then, if you decide you can't live without the larger screen, cancel and reorder.

 

1080p screen is a must on this laptop IMHO. You can still game at 900p if you want for higher frames but when reading things on your laptop the 1080 is gonna be clearer. You can change the size of text through windows to make it look like its at 900p but it's gonna much more clear because of all the extra pixels.

 

I'd have gone with the higher res. It can always be turned down but you cant turn up a 1600x900 to 1920x1080. If the cost was within budget, I would look at changing if at all possible.

 

i have the 1600x900 screen and its perfect for me. Still looks crisp and i have had many 1080p 17 inch laptops, messed with the color options in cat control center and looks very nice

 

Definitely worth getting the screen upgrade. Most can live with the 1600x900, but as some have stated, you can always down res a 1920x1080, but you can't turn up the 1600x900. I'm glad I opted for the upgraded screen, don't think I would have been satisfied with a lower res screen, but that's just me....

 

Why?

Just more room, or is the picture significantly more "crisp"?

Side by side, is the difference something that can be noticed with ease?

I don't really care much about the size of the screen. I'd rather have larger text natively and higher frame rates in games than more room on the screen. That's my original reasoning for ordering the 1600x900.

 

wats the diference on the 1600x900 RES and the 1900x1080? any diference on the games? more textures or something?

 

Its all of that plus some. Its just a worse display overall, it has a worse resolution, worse brightness, worse color gamut, wont look as good in games (1080p always being the superior resolution). Dont get me wrong, its not a "bad" display, its just not as good as the 1080p upgrade. As far as font is concerned, you can always make that bigger in windows no matter what resolution you use, same goes with icons. In all honestly wanting bigger font is not really a good reason to downgrade a monitor. The only reason I would order the 'base' display option is if I was going to use an external 1080p display 100% of the time. Hope this helps.

 

I usually browse at 200% zoom because the text is just too small in some applications.

It is up to your personal preference, but I will say this: Skyrim at 1920x1080 on ultra is a thing of beauty.

 

My Asus g72 has the 1600x900 screen, and it looks good. I can say that the colors do not pop as much as my 1080p screens. The colors seemed more washed out, but if you are used to it, it is not a big deal. I set the screen just a tad darker to compensate when i use that laptop.

I'm 48, and after having 20/20 vision for most of my life my eyes were slowly going. I now wear no line bifocals, so I can once again read smaller type. But I still do the ctrl+ ctrl+ to zoom in while web browsing on the 1080 screen.

 

Don't make the same mistake I did! Go with the 1080!! I went with the 900 and regretted it! I ordered a replacement screen through dell that should be here this week for about $600 when the upgrade when I configured the system was just $150.

GO WITH THE 1080!!!!

Shout out to the Dell Alienware peeps! Super fast in helping me order the new screen assembly

 

I understand a budget but I never understood why people skimp on the display. Its the one thing you will use on your laptop 100% of the time.

 

Definitely! I've found myself taking screenshots for the first time. Almost makes me want to play it with the hud opacity turned down all the time.

 

Take it from someone who's in the same boat as you. My eyesight sucks as well from years of computer use AND retina damage from years of welding. As such, I have the Windows scaling ramped up to 150%, and then Internet Explorer to 150% on top of that (can't read dark text on white background well). I am certainly glad my screen is high resolution because if it wasn't, the fonts would turn out blurry.

Case in point: we just got a brand new XPS 15 for my cousin. It comes with a screen size of 1366x768, so slightly less rez than the 1600x900. So that I could install all her programs, etc., I turned up the scaling on her machine to 150%. Damn, what a difference a lower pixel resolution makes. It was like the difference between a circle (1920x1200), and an octagon (1366x768). If you plan to do a lot of reading, the higher resolution is a must so the characters stay focused and sharp. As far as gaming goes, you're right. The lower resolution will be less work on your GPU to render frames with...or at least that's what I've read.

 

If a 1080 screen doesn't fit into your budget then get the 900p. My M17X R3 was a 900p and I was fine with it, although I did upgrade to the 1080p with my R4.

Some options if you go with the 900p.
1. You could hook up an external 1080p monitor via hdmi.
2. I'm almost positive that the R3 and R4 share the screen assembly (someone correct me if i'm wrong.) Since the R3's have been around for awhile, there have been screens and such finally popping up on eBay and in the marketplace.

Used 1080p screen ~ 200.00usd
OEM Dell Alienware M17x R3 M17xR3 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080 Led LCD Screen MGNC7 | eBay

 

Thanks for all of the replies. I genuinely appreciate it.

The question, however, is now moot. I've cancelled the order due to Dell's absolutely shocking level of customer service. When I'm spending thousands of dollars, I don't expect to ever be treated like an annoyance instead of a customer.

Since the "upgraded" resolution is default absolutely everywhere else I've looked, it looks like I'll be getting it for "free" now.

 

Higher resolution is honestly better for gaming, but it is a rip off as many competitors, i.e. sager or msi, offer 1920x1080 as default, but definitely worth it to go for an HD screen.

 

Not sure is it my eyes or not, my T420s with 1600 x 900 it seems hurting my eyes...with all those small icons and buttons.

 

Increase your windows scaling (in the screen resolution sub-menu). That's what helped relieve my eyes and headaches.

 

I found a $999 deal on amazon for m17x r4 with 7970m, but with 1600x900 display. My previous laptop was g73 and had 900p screen on it. I always wanted a better screen. So I'm also thinking about upgrading the screen, but I'm not sure. 1080p has better contrast, color and angle. But...
900p has better fps. Some say you can lower the resolution on 1080p, but i don't agree. It's not the same thing, you get sharp images out of your 900p because that is the native resolution, but with 1080p lowered to any other resolution you will loose native resolution and get muddy pixels. And you can always plug it to an 1080p TV via HDMI.
So everything is not bad on the 900p side. Still...
If i wanted to upgrade,
How to find the right screen? Is the webcam a problem? Where to buy? Could anyone share a link?

 

eBay, I guess. The webcam is removable so you can buy any 1080p screen and use your own webcam. If it's said it's R3/ R4 1080p screen then it's pretty much the right screen or at least, that's what I know.

 

With the likes of the 680M and 7970M, going for a low resolution screen for gaming seems a bit silly now.

 

I got the same deal! Only issue is that when I tried the FN + F7 to turn on the dedicated GPU only, the screen was flickering blue all over.. I ended up tapping it on the bottom after noticing that when I'd move the screen back and forth the blue distortion would change, now it seems fine.

I'd also like to find a 1920x1080 screen if anyone has a suggestion. I found one that was just the screen itself, no housing. How difficult would it be to replace just the screen itself? I haven't seen anyone recommend that in all the searching I've done for this laptop.

 

One does not simply buy an ALIENWARE and NOT get a 1080p screen! *facepalm*

If you are buying one of these beasts, go cheap on hard drives or RAM or the CPU or the wireless card or SOMETHING else... but you never skimp on the GPU or Full HD screen -.-

 

Definitely plan on getting a 1080p screen. It is a way better panel and only has a better resolution, but is also way more vivid. The color contrast is also much better. I had the 900p screen till up to a few months ago, and I was blown away when I got the 1080p panel finally installed. I never plan on going back either.

 

Unless you plan to hook it to a 2560 x 1440p monitor pretty much all the time like I do

 

still always good to have a good panel for on the go.

 

Okay... One does not simply buy an ALIENWARE and use it on any resolution BELOW 1080p

 

Now we are talking

 

I have you plan to up the memory speed on your 7970M to keep pace with that resolution, it's going to be wanting all the bandwidth it can get.

 

I have upped it a bit but I dont generally game at that high resolution on my 27" monitor. 1440p is usually what I use for gaming, even 1080p is enough more often than not.