Resolution in Relation to GPU's and Gaming

I am sorry. That just made my day.

 

What do they call that resolution? AGA-?

 

Hey, I didn't know that setting your resolution lower than its native size would "blur" the image or anything. I'm planning to get a WSXGA 15.4" laptop, and I'll probably run my games at a lower resolution while using it to browse and other things at its normal resolution. Am I going to notice anything? I don't notice this on my clunky desktop (which, with its Intel Integrated Graphics, can barely run anything at all )

 

Yes, you will unfortunately notice reduced sharpness. It is not unbearable, but it can tend to be hard on the eyes. This applies more to usage with applications; with games, reduced sharpness will still be a reality, however it should be far less obtrusive. My advice: Unless you are getting a truly powerful GPU, consider a WXGA+ resolution, which is ultimately an ideal all-around resolution for 15.4" laptops.

 

Would you consider 8600M GT a powerful GPU?

If it's not too blurry, I don't mind. I'm not the type who needs everything to be perfect visually - like I said, i got by gaming with a state of the art Intel graphics card <_<

 

Yes, the 8600m GT is currently one of the most powerful GPU's for 15.4" notebooks, (you can check out Chaz's GPU guide, it has something to say about it). I would, however, still recommend getting WXGA+ resolution; everything would appear more comfortably sized on it. There really is no reason to go WSXGA unless you plan HD viewing. With gaming, it'll only be slightly sharper, but the WXGA+ will compensate for that by rendering better frame rates from your graphics card.

 

If you check out some of the other threads, another advantage the WSXGA has is a much better angle of viewing.

Some are complaining that the XGA and XGA+ onl,y have +- 15 degrees of vewing angle, whereas the WSXGA has +- 45 degrees or somesuch.

 

If you check out some of the other threads, for some laptops (like the Inspron 1520) another advantage the WSXGA has is a much better angle of viewing.

Some are complaining that the XGA and XGA+ onl,y have +- 15 degrees of vewing angle, whereas the WSXGA has +- 45 degrees or somesuch.

 

More like think of the day when laptops are filled with flubber.

Unlimited battery, unlimited power, and you can fly it to work every day!

 

I wasn't aware that viewing angle differed with resolution; it may be true, however, I don't see how or why pixel density would affect it. Even if this is true, I'm sure getting a WXGA+ will not handicap your ability to look at the screen at angles other than from straight on, especially since WXGA+ is a favoured resolution for 15.4" laptop owners.

However, if you're still intent on getting the WSXGA resolution, I'm not going to disagree with you; I'm sure the 8600 will perform fine with it, even though it is quite a high resolution for a 15.4", as that is the resolution I usually recommend for a 17".

 

There is just a point where the screen is too big, and where a GPU can not handle 1920 x 1200, and put it on max settings. I think the 1280X800 is the perfect res, because most computers can handle it on even medium settings.

 

Uh, yes, WXGA does achieve better performance from one's GPU, however, the overall picture quality tends to be less sharp then a higher resolution would give, you can fit far less onto the screen, and you have no flexibility to ever set the resolution higher for your needs. WXGA+ is a great resolution because it is sharp, can fit enough onto the screen and is not high enough to have a true negative impact on one's graphics card.

 

Once again, the poll seems quite neutral, with the exception the WUXGA doesn't seem to be too popular!

 

I have no problems gaming on my WUXGA. With some tweaking, I can even run games like oblivion at 1920x1200, and it looks fabulous. Basically, I can run 95% of my games at 1920x1200, and for the other 5% I have to switch to a lower resolution. Overall I think it's worth it. It's definately not a case of having to use a lower resolution for every game.

 

Well from your specs below, I can see that you have a powerful GPU: the 7900 GS. I'm assuming that most people participating in the poll are voting with a slightly less powerful GPU in mind, as ones like the 7900 GS tend to be in expensive machines that exceed many people's budgets. Obviously, if you have a powerful GPU, you can opt for a higher resolution, because the overall picture quality will naturally look better.

 

I myself seem to be a hypocrite... I say don't opt for WUXGA resolution if you don't have a top-of-the-line GPU. Now I'm ordering a Dell laptop with WUXGA resolution with an 8600m GT, which apparently performs fantastic at lower resolutions, but buckles under WUXGA. The reason for this is because on the Inspiron 1720 configuration page, in the "choose your resolution" section, the only clear options are WUXGA and WXGA... there are more, but they are very unclear in terms of what their actual resolution is. So obviously I didn't want to go with WXGA in a 17", especially with a decently powerful card, so I had to go with the insane one. Hope you all don't think I'm a hypocrite!

 

Im satisfied with me res, 1680X1050, it does seem a bit small but I just increase text size on web pages and Im fine.

 

In the first post in this thread, there is an explanation on how to increase your text size (DPI).

 

By the way for those who don't know, when you have cathode ray tube monitor, you can change from your native resolution without the reduced sharpness. This is one of the disadvantages that upgrading from CRT to LCD present.

 

I'm looking at getting the same configuration J-Bytes has purchased from Dell (the 1720) and am wondering how you guys (and gals) feel about Windows Aero performance with the 256MB GeForce 8600M GT with the 1920x1200 screen? I'm not much of a gamer, more of the "occasional" type who doesn't really mind cranking down the resolution to 1280x800 or whatever.

 

how well will the 8600m GT handle the 1520's WSXGA display?

 

I just think that with a lower native res. (1280X800, or 1440X900) you can max out settings more offten than you will be able to with a 1000000X90000

 

Man.. with everyone, including the OP flipping sides so much, I have even less of a clue on what to select for my dell inspiron 1720....

 

i am going to be ordering a dell inspiron 1520 and was wondering if i got the 1400x900 resolution and connected a 19 inch external monitor would the resolution be to low. Or should i upgrade to the 1680x1050. Im going to mainly be gaming and dont want to lose preformance with the higer resolution. My gpu is the 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT and ill have a Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB/4MB cache) with 2 gigs of ram

 

I'm getting the Sager 2090 with the 1680x1050 option. A big high, maybe, but I do like high resolutions. I'll probably game in a lower res anyway, if the 8600M GT has troubles at 1680x1050...I usually game in a lower-than-native res on my LCD monitor currently and I don't really notice the blur much.

'Sides, as there was no 1440x900 option, I didn't want to have 1280x800 on a 15.4" screen.

 

The resolution of an external monitor isn't affected by what it's connected to. If you have a 20'' WSXGA monitor and connect it to a 15'' laptop with a WXGA res, the external monitor will retain its resolution; the two resolutions have nothing to do with eachother. But consider that if your GPU performs well with your notebook's low resolution, it will not perform as well with an external monitor with a higher one.

 

I just got a G2... Its 1920 x 1200 res is beautiful!

 

Very helpful and informative thread, thank you J-Bytes. It should be stickied.

 

WXGA (1280 x 800) for now...currently using 8600GS, even at WXGA i still struggle tweaking to get a decent frame rate
Others reason:
1. Because if not lcd native res. it looks like crap
2. Decent gaming laptop cost a fortune here (Asus G1S cost $2100)

 

J-Bytes

If this is the case then it works in reverse does it not? If my quadro fx1600 isn't powerful enough to run 'call of duty 4' at 1900 x 1200, then rather than crank down my notebook to a non-native res, I could simply hook it up to one of my external screens thats native res is lower? This would allow me to improve the performance whilst sticking in a native res would it not?

craig

 

Yep, you could do that. Non-native resolution isn't usually very noticeable when gaming though, so it's unlikely to make a big difference anyway.

 

excellent Jaif, thanks for the feedback

craig

 

Exactly.

 

Which screen should I get with Dell XPS m1530 with 8600m gt DDR3 to obtain optimal graphics and visual quality (at playable fps) for past/present/future games.

a)1280x800
b)1440x900
c)1680x1050

Thanks

 

Please read the stickies before you post. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=141185

 

To answer his question relating to the m1530. In the end it comes down the preference. I like the 1440x900 for overall desktop space and proportion it isn't too small it isn't too big, its nice. Anyways

a)1280x800 - This IS the resolution I expect most of the m1530 owners use.
- Good resolution for Max Fps and Max settings
- Far too large for a desktop resolution (This is very under preference)
b) 1440x900 - The one up
- Perfect in my opinion for desktop space and room
- Optimal for 20/20 vision readers. No need to raise the dpi on text/websites/in general
- Lose about 15-35% on frames against the 1280 resolution
- Still a workable resolution.
c) 1680x1050 - The highest
- BEAUTIFUL SCREEN.
- Most games cannot run smoothly under this resolution unless you want to reduce quality. To Get Frames = Reduction on quality. Heavily.
- "Too Small" to read under. The text becomes, still readable, but an eye strain over longer periods of time. (If you got better vision than a 20/20 or you got eyes of steel, then be my guest)

 

1) WXGA- Best for modern games, internet browsing.
2) WXGA+- Best for internet browsing,Vista, older/some modern games.
3) WSXGA+ - Best for older games (2004-2006) games that support WSXGA resolutions. Not optimal for internet browsing unless you like squinting.

 

How would games look better and sharper:

1280x800 (native resolution) vs 1440x900 (non-native resolution)

1280x800 (native resolution 1680x1050) vs 1280x800 (native resolution 1440x900)

 

b)1440x900

.. in my opinion is best since it has a good balance.. works with modren games if your ok with lower settings ... if not lower the resolution durring gaming

 

I'm perfectly fine running 1280x1024 on my 19" Samsung LCD, so a 1280x800 on a 14" would be fine for me, right?

 

I'm perfectly fine running 1440x900 on my 17" notebook. Does that mean I would be ok with 1280x800 on 15.4"?

 

Specs of 17' in?

 

You can always scale down the resolution in games when it can't run smoothly in native res.

Otherwise, choosing your screen res for your laptop should be a personal choice.

If you do photo editing and other stuff that would definitely take advantage of more screen estate, WSXGA+ by all means.

If you think text will look to small in WSXGA+ but you'd really appreciate more screen space, WXGA+ is the way to go.

If you really enjoy gaming in native res and you appreciate bigger text [size] than more text [quantity] in a page, WXGA is best.

 

I honestly just prefer the as much desktop space possible, I don't think running games at non native resolution is a big deal. I will always miss my wuxga screens on my old xps gen 1 and xps m1710. I ran my games at 1280x800, it may look a little worse but I didn't mind it at all.

I'm running at 1280x800 on my xps m1210 right now and I hate the lack of desktop space. In the end its all up the individual.

 

How do games look better?

a) 1280x800 and high quality settings
b) 1440x900 and low quality settings

In the end I think its best to decide on a resolution that you would use as native for most of your tasks i.e. internet, documents etc. Would that be the right way to go?

I have a HP Pavillion with integrated graphics. I think its a great size as a desktop replacement, although I have no experience with 15.4".

 

1280x800 for any gaming with 8600M GT.

 

Get the biggest screen available.It`s futureproof,and there will always be some games that you`ll be able to play at that resolution. Also, anything above WXGA+ will be ok, even for HD (720p)

 

I play all my games in 1680x1050 and adjust settings from there. I find with most games I can keep that resolution, highest texture/object settings and as long as I disable or lower things like smoke effects etc to either low or medium they run quite well.

I play CoD4 and Crysis at that res with mixed High/Low settings and I think it looks fantastic. I'd much rather play at a higher res with some minor things disabled than at a low res with high settings. Especially with Crysis, playing it at 1280 just made it look horrendous to me. The jaggies were atrocious, despite some of the other effects looking slightly better.

 

(d.) WUXGA or bust

 

I agree with you for the most part. But then you could use AA.