1080p or not

Hi,
I'm about to order a Dell xps 15 but I'm not sure if I shoud go for the 1080p screen or not although I've heard nothing but good things about it. I will use it as a replacment for my old desktop wich means I'll be doing my everyday tasks on it. Mostly surfing the internet, word processing, listening to music and maybe also some gaming like Civilazation.

I would love to have as much space to work on as possible, but is the text readable or is it too small? I know I can change the dpi settings in Windows but how much will it reduce my workspace?

If it's not too much trouble, could someoone with the 1080p screen upload a picture of their desktop, perhaps with the start menu open, with dpi set to small 100% and one with medium 125% so I can get a hang of the difference?

Or as above but with a maximized internet page?

Peaple with the 720p screen are more then welcome to post a picture too for a comparison!

I have never owned a laptop before and I have never seen a laptop with a 1080p screen in real life (no store nearby have one) so I would love if someone with experience from it would take their time to answer.

 

I am among the few that has experienced both the 720p and 1080p personally and let me tell you that the difference was beyond night and day. Initially I ordered the L501x with the 720p and once I received it I immediately regretted it. The graininess of the display made me felt like I was myopic. So after hours of haggling with the Dell reps, they agreed to allow for an exchange without any restocking fees. The 1080p was overwhelming. Better resolution aside, the color gamut, contrast, and viewing angles were eons of years ahead of the 720p. Trust me on this one, the upgrade is worth every penny; the 720p is a disgrace to the XPS line.

 

The 720p display will make your computer feel like a cheap laptop bought from Staples or Office Max. Go for 1080p, it's possibly the most important upgrade on the XPS 15, and a lot of other computers too for that matter.

 

@Theprom
Thank you, that's exactly what I was looking for!
Don't think it's going to be too small after all and I guess it looks even sharper in real life than on my old crt screen.

Was hoping to keep the laptop for at least 3-5 years so maybe it's worth it after all.

 

I would go for the 1080p screen. Though I don't own an XPS 15, I have seen it in person and it is one of the best consumer grade LCD's on the market.

 

go for 1080p screen
i think you can change the resolution if you want to
1080p is unarguably the selling point of the laptop
and the most important upgrade
go for it

 

I had purchased a 1080p screen and they sent a 720p instead. Hence dell replaced it and I had the opportunity to test the screens side by side. The difference between the screens is huge. The colors on the 1080p are richer. If you are going to be watching movies on your laptop then go with the 1080p option.

 

Thank you all for your advice.

I sure don't want to regret not buying the 1080p screen in a year or two. So just a few more questions for you guys.

What dpi settings would you recommend?

Is it readable at 100%?

If I lower the resolution if I'm about to play a game, would it be blurry or just fine? I'm not that picky, just curious.

 

Mine is at 125%. The 100% setting is too small for my taste.

 

I use 100% dpi all the way. When sitting at a desk with my computer (face 2 to 3 feet away from the screen), everything is good for me. I can definitely see that some people might prefer 125%, but for me, I prefer 100% then use zoom in my browser if any websites use particularly small fonts.

*additional comment: After using this screen, anything that has a lower resolution now just feels cheap and like it must be an old computer. I really do love 1920x1080 on a 15" screen. My previous laptop was 1280x800 and every time I go back to it, I just cringe.

 

125% is the default DPI setting that the computer comes with. Some people may be able to lower it to something like 115%, however.

It is readable at 100%, but for me at least, it gave me eye strain headaches every day, so I couldn't take it. I returned the laptop partly because the higher DPI caused icons to become distorted and caused other distortion in some programs and I basically decided it was 100% DPI or nothing and since that was too small for me, I had to get a different computer. Not trying to scare you, that was just my 2-week experience with the Dell XPS 15's 1080p screen.

Also, yes, lowering the resolution will cause blurriness. That is just how it works when you lower the resolution to anything but the native resolution. 1600x900, 1366x768, it becomes blurry I'm afraid.

 

I use [email protected]" with 100%, which is even smaller. It's perfectly readable for me.

 

This is pretty much what I was worried about. Since the upgrade is about 2000SEK (2000SEK=$310) and with all praise about colors, contrast, viewing angle and so on, I'm afraid it won't live up to my expectations. I seriously doubt I will enjoy the rich color scheme if programs get distorted (or if I'm not able to read the text without eyestrain). I'm sure most programs handle it but then again, with an extra cost, my expectations get higher. In the end I guess I'm the only one who can tell whether I like it or not but I would like to gather as much information as I can before I make my decision.

I really appreciate everybody who take their time to answer my questions and give their opinions in this topic! Any info, whether it's pro or con, is highly valuble to me.

 

Like I said in another thread, you could try gaming at 960x540 (exactly 1/4 1080p). Add the custom resolution via the NVIDIA control panel and see if it shows up in your game's settings

 

For those who are afraid the desktop would be unreadable, just perform a "pinch to zoom" on the desktop, like how to zoom in a pic with touch pad, this will enlarge the icons slowly without making them blur.

I made them as big as a regular cell phone screen and they as still as clear as if they were small.