Which Inspiron 1720 screen is better (1440 or 1920)?

Hello everyone .

I am trying to decide between the following two screen options for the Dell Inspiron 1720 laptop and would be grateful for people's opinions on which is better for surfing the internet, word processing and email.

(1) 1440 * 900.
(2) 1920 * 1200 but lowering the resolution to 1440 * 900 so text isn’t too small to read easily. I believe this screen is better quality than the first one (such as better viewing angles, contrast ratio, etc).

Also, I would like to know from people who have used the 1920 screen at the lower 1440 resolution about what the quality looks like for surfing the internet, word processing and email. I believe the first screen would be better out of the two if they were both run at 1440. Thank you .

 

Lowering 1920x1200 to 1440x900 will probably result in a lower quality picture than running a 1440x900 display at native. Just FYI. I have had a 17" notebook with 1920x1200, and three 15.4" laptops with 1280x800, 1440x900, and 1680x1050. Running 1440x900 on the 17" caused the screen to put black bars on the edges as not to force distortion (Inspiron 9200), and the 15.4" with 1680x1050 looked really bad at 1440x900.

Not only will the 1440x900 screen be cheaper, but it will look better 99% of the time too.

 

I agree with Hep, using the non-native resolution never looks good.

As for what's best, that's a matter of opinion. So here's my opinion. On a 17" screen I would insist on 1920x1200, or 1680x1050 at a minimum. 1440x900 it perfect for a 15'4" screen, I think. That resolution is too low on a 17".

A couple things to consider. #1, how are your eyes? My eyes are perfect so I like crisp, high resolution. My parents and in-laws hate it, they want big puffy letters their eyes can see.

#2, how far away is the screen? My 14" screen is 1440x900. Working on the laptop it's perfect. When I push the laptop away and use the external keyboard it's hard to see.

On a 17" screen 1920x1200 might make the text too small to see if the screen is pushed away on your desktop. If you're working directly on the laptop and have lots of open windows and need maximum real estate, I would go with 1920x1200.

One thing you might do is visit your local computer store and see the screens in person. You may have difficulty finding a 17" laptop with 1920x1200 on a retail shelf, but you could get lucky.

 

Thanks for your replies Hep! and InlawBiker. I have added reputation to both your posts.

So the consensus up to now is the 1920*1200 screen running at 1440*900 is not as good as the 1440*900 screen running at its native resolution. Is this still the case even though the 1920 screen may be better quality (such as better viewing angles, contrast ratio, etc)?.

I would be grateful for any other opinions as well. Does anyone else agree or even disagree?.

 

My 1720's resolution is set to 1920x1200. For a 17", that would be a recommended resolution to view. I've seen some 14.1 inchers which has a max of 1680x1050, and it was a real pain the in eye to read especially the fonts. I can't remember what laptop was it, but the design looked very Asus like.

Like the others have pointed out, not running in its native resolution from 1920x to 1440x can cause certain amounts of pixelation if you look closely. As a graphic designer, I never liked to see pixelation on screen and working on small resolutions.

I would say the proportion of the resolution goes well and together with the screen size as far as I know for laptops.

There is no right or wrong in choosing what is best for your resolution, it's all a matter of preference - And whether if your eyes are able to work well with it. Health issues are a priority. If you feel comfortable with it, I'd say go for it. Afterall, it's your money. You bought it, so it's your entitlement to do what you want to do with it.

If you ask me, I am on the extreme use - a gamer and graphic and workstation user. I practically use my 1720 everyday 5 days a week in and out with that resolution, designing graphics, photoshop, 3ds Max, Maya, AutoCAD and doing design and concept architecture. I think the strongest advantage with 1920x1200 is the viewing capability to see more especially for those who do graphic design. So before purchasing your machine, (Assuming you haven't) the decision you choose for your laptop specifications should always reflect and fit to your main purpose of using a laptop.

And yes, it is always important to go down to a store and see it in person if you're still unsure what kind of resolution you intend to use. - Always.

We did our best and gave you our suggestions and our experiences. Especially myself, an Inspiron 1720 user, and owner for 4 months and counting. Good luck with your desired choice.

 

Well this is an issue isnt it so I will share some of my experiences and hopefully end some myths.

FIRST OFF: you believe the 1920x1200 screen will be a better quality screen in terms of contrast ratio and viewing angles. Contrast maybe? Viewing angles? NOT VERY LIKELY. You see viewing angles are determined by the TYPE of panel not the SIZE of it's RESOLUTION. All laptops that I have seen have TN lcd panels, these offer faster response, cheaper price for starters and thats what laptop manufacturers need for their product. Better viewing angles would require a higher quality lcd panel and by that Im talking about a PVA/SPVA/PMVA/MVA/SIPS type panel all of which are very cost prohibitive in a laptop chassis. Throwing a glossy cover and increasing resolution does not a better viewing angle make they are still both TN type lcd panels. TN's are great head on and lets face it thats what a laptop is anyways...viewing from head on so they are a perfect fit in a laptop. 1920x1200 resolution requires some certain amount of muscle from a laptops video card and most laptops dont have a video card thats up to the challenge. I have seen LOTS of laptops on the market in the 1920x1200 resolution that are ill equipped, the newer dell inspirons dont really offer a compelling video card solution, forget about gaming unless you are shelling out 3000 dollars for an xps 1730 or something from alienware. Text is also quite small at the native resolution.

Now some good news..... you can as I have use the 1920x1200 panels at a lower resolution though I dont think 14x9 really does well with this panel, 1280x1060 perhaps, depends on alot of things but yes you can find a lower resolution that will look great, I'll say it again.....that will look great.

Dells current video card offerings for inspiron are far less powerful than the 7900 series of the previous well built inspiron line making the 1920x1200 a harder choice.

There's also the reflections you'll see in that glossy panel which are very distracting.

Bottom Line: You'll be alot happier with 1400x900 on a 17 inch laptop. Few companies offer 1920x1200 resolution on a 17 inch laptop panel and for good reason considering the things I have already mentioned. Battery life will also suffer if thats an important consideration to you.

The glossy panel is annoying, 1920 panel without it would be more worthwhile consideration.

Its all opinion of the eyes of the beholder perhaps but Ive pointed out some things to consider and based on my experience with several brands that had 1400x900 and a few with the 1920x1200 Id take the lower resolution anyday and forget about the marketing hype and gimmicks that dont translate well into practical laptop use.

Maya and CAD users dont buy inspirons by the way, they buy the precision models with the quadro video cards. I had an inspiron 9300 with a better video card than the nvidia 8600 or 8700 gt, dont be fooled by the numbers, they aint great by any stretch so Id take the previous review with a bit of salt, he might work for Dell afterall.

Im not saying that you absolutely shouldnt buy the 1920, but I find that most people buy them for the wrong reasons with the wrong expectations and end up using them at less than native anyhow. Consider your laptop needs and how it will be used. outdoors? indoors with lots of natural sunlight or flourescent lights such as one finds in schools, coffee shops, libraries , the office or on the job? Then you probably wont like the glossy. Certainly you DO NOT want to buy one thinking of using it at a lower resolution without first playing around with one to see if you like how it looks at various lower resolution settings. Consider also that you dont see any desktop lcd's at a 1920 resolution unless they are 24 inches, 17 inches is quite smaller.

Glossy glossy glossy glossy.......well enough said...........

There's no denying a movie or a game is going to look great or something youve done a CAD for with that 1920 panel. You just have to ask yourself will my laptop have the graphics balls to pull it off well and will I be spending most of my laptop time gaming or watching movies? If the answe is yes and you like glossy then go for 1920 but if you are more realistic and practical and do the other things like work/school/ coffee shop etc. then you'll find the 1400x900 and non glossy to be the better choice.

ONE THING I WANT TO ADD HERE is that when going to see laptops in person make sure the resolution is set to its native setting, many times the 1920's are not set that high so the text looks bigger and fools people, Dell is notorious for this at their kiosks so check the settings yourself and if you see a 1920 in person then by all means test it out at lower resolutions. YES YOU CAN USE HIGH RES PANELS AT ON RES and they can look very good that doesnt necessarily mean 1400x900 will look good and as previous posters have said your eyesight will also determine comfort.

Okay im dont babbling good luck.

 

Right click on your desktop, click Personalize
On the left panel, click "Adjust Font Size (DPI)"
Select either 120DPI or Custom DPI at the bottom and change it until you get the size you want.

Everything is bigger without the distortion.

 

An Architecture guy who hasn't been sleeping for a week doing CAD drawings day and night on his Inspiron with a glossy screen working flawlessly has even the time to work for Dell??

This is a rather subjectable statement and worthwhile arguing but I wouldn't waste my time to do so. With many backup sources in and around the net and with the majority of strangers right here sitting beside and opposite me doing Maya on their Inspiron 1520s and some fairly old Acer laptops with a non-quadro card in the library doing CAD, I don't think I have to elaborate any further.