Clarification on Laptop Screen Size Measurements

I really don't understand laptop screens?

How are the measurements made? Diagonal? Height? Width?

Shouldn't two 17inch screens look exactly the same then? Even if it is wide-screen vs normal?

 

Generally, the measurements are made diagonally.

What probably confuses you is the aspect ratio. They can be different.
Have a look here: Aspect Ratio for displays

 

well it also depend of the ratio... but its always the diagonal...

some screen might look bigger simply because they are 16:10 instead of 16:9... but at the end... a 17ich monitor in 16:10 or 16:9 is 17inch...

720p and 1080p are 16:9... its the standard now...

 

also dont forget that some cheaper screens have a large bezzle around them so make them look a lot bigger than they actually are.

 

Thanks for those clarifications. The reason I ask is, I have an Rock X770 (Clevo M571RU), which was said to be widescreen. Can't even find many sites saying that it is widescreen, but it is. Check this link to see the mention of widescreen

The feeling I get with most widescreen models, is that the working area on the screen is smaller, you have more scrollbars popping out on webpages. So why would I want such a widescreen.

And I am thinking of buying the Dell Inspiron 17R SE, which is also said to be widescreen. But from the pictures it looks wider somehow.

So how does these two screen compare to you:

Rock: Rock Xtreme 770 Laptop computer picture

Dell: Dell Inspiron 17R Special Edition picture

Do the screen sizes look the same?

Why the heck don't these Dell have any stores. If I could see the freaking model I wouldn't be having so many questions. But no... you gotta buy it first to see if you like it, then return the thing if not.

 

ive got the user manual at home so i will check later but as far as i can remember the lappys like yours and my
m860tu werent wide screen 4 years ago. i could be wrong though as yours was the refresh.
has yours got the orange bezzle around the base or lid.

 

Mine has an orange bezzle around the base like in the picture in the link.

And I got the highest customization for the screen and the resolution is 1920x1080.

I thought my screen was widescreen (still do) all this time (as you can see from the specs in the links it says tft widescreen). So when looking at the Dell pix which is also 17 widescreen, I don't get why it looks kinda different from the pix (when they should look the same).

Maybe I need a live comparison next to each other. Could it be the out of screen area which is making it look different to me.

I just don't get peoples fascination with widescreen, if it is at the expense of the height, and a comfortable viewing area. With most websites having to scroll down (rather than sideways), I would think it is preferable to have the least need to scroll down.

And I know it depends on the page, but you know what I mean. Most pages have a standard height that fits the page. The unnecessary garbage such as toolbars that some insistenly install just shrinks the page size.

 

The screens aren't geared towards long scrolling web pages. They are geared towards film, video, and games.

The two screens you have listed look different because the shapes ARE different. One is 1680x1050. The other is 1920x1080.

The model you linked to of the rock xtreme is not the model you bought. The one you linked to is over 4 years old. If you bought something recently, it was certainly a different model.

 

you can get the user manual here but it is from 2008 and doesnt show your screen CLEVO - Download

when did you buy the lappy as i know the m57tu was discontinued over 3 years ago but im not sure about the m57ru and tbh ive never heard of the m571ru

 

Thanks for the replies.

I think as you said the resolution is different. One is 1080 and the other 1200. So which would be better: 1920x1080 or 1920x1200?

I bought my laptop in 2007. It looks exactly the same as the rock link. When I put my graphics settings to maximum it is 1920x1200. This laptop is 17inch widescreen according to specs.

Now the Dell Inspiron 17R SE which I am looking to buy with the highest configuration is also 17inch widescreen but with a resolution of 1920x1080.

So does resolution determine screen size as well? How is it that we have large TVs with the same 1080 resolution then?

Actually my GPU is not working now so I can't really check the resolution settings, but from what I remember my max setting was 1920x1200, one less than that was 1920x1080 and another less than that was 1600x1200. Correct me, if I am wrong, coz I don't remember.

 

1920x1080 is the norm now on 15" and 17"
my 4 year old m860tu has 1680x1050 which i thought the m57 had the same back then.
ive never heard or seen a 1920x1200 before so cant help on that one.

what graphics card have you got. if you are getting vertical lines on screen then it might need baking in the oven to bring it back to life.

http://www.overclockers.com/the-oven-trick-repairing-your-broken-video-card-with-an-oven/

http://forum.notebookreview.com/zep...znote-6224w-but-works-all-brands-modells.html

my new xmg should be here hopefully by friday and ive never used a 1920x1080 before so i think its going to take me time to get used to it.