Screen resolution for 1520

So im pretty much sure im getting a 1520, and i plan do some gaming on it (getting the 8600 GT). I dont know what resolution i should get though. which would be the best for a 15" laptop?

im deciding between the 1280x800 and the 1440x900

 

It won't really help with gaming, but I'd get the 1440x900 if you're doing anything else with it too... you'll be able to fit more stuff on the screen.

 

I prefer to get 1440x900 cause you can fit more stuff on screen and multi-task with it better. I personally can't stand anything less than 1280x1024.

 

1440x900 is also the brightest dell offers for 15.4 inch laptops. i was thinking of higher res, but was turned off by the fact that it was only 200 nit (like a lenovo) the 1440x900 is 240 nits.

 

What is the nit count on the 1280x800?

 

I plan on getting 1440x900. Like the others said, for anything other than gaming, it's going to help a lot. You can always use 1280x800 as your resolution for gaming (either stretched or "boxed" in)

 

Dell has a 1680 x 1050 res for the 1520

 

Consider what you have on your current screen, especially if it is a CRT. My CRT can go up to 1280x960, but I almost never turn it above 1024x768. So for someone like me, 1440x900 wouldn't make sense.

Also consider how you multi-task: tiling a bunch of windows at once or Alt+Tabbing through them. The more you tile, the better the bigger resolution; the more you Alt+Tab, the better the smaller resolution.

 

oh right...i forgot about the black bars from laptops...when playing games is there anyway to get rid of them without stretching it terribly?

 

You mean the vertical black bars when playing standard display games? Some games you can modify the .ini file to get them to not stretch. Civilization III is one example; tack "KeepRes=1" to the end of the .ini and it'll stretch to whatever resolution you want. Not sure about every game; most new ones probably can go widescreen without distortion. Search for a Web forum on the game you're thinking of and ask there.

 

1920*1200(pref. LED) + HDMI/DVI will make 1520 the perfect laptop!!!

 

what is ultrasharp?it only mentioned at 1680 x 1050 res.does this tech provide better display than other resolutions.

i dont think i'll use even 1280*800.i'll mostly play games and for other than gaming i probably use 1152*864 on my 17'' crt.which res should i buy?is 1280*960 enough for me?is there any difference on display between 1280*800 and 1440*900 or it's only about big&small?

 

i have the 1680 coming i hope i like it

 

I'd also like to know about this. My (nearly) 5 year old inspiron 8200 has the 1600x1200 ultrasharp screen, and I still say it looks much better than my friend's 1440x900 screen that he got on his inspiron 9300 a year or two ago. His has absolutely horrible viewing angles compared to mine. I'm hoping that the new screens are better than his, because I would cry if I couldn't read a whole webpage from top to bottom without pushing the screen back and forth for better viewing.