WSXGA+ on a 15.4"... too much?

I will be getting a vostro 1500 for school and also for some gaming. There are 3 types of screens I can choose from: WXGA, WXGA+, and WSXGA+. Money is not an issue, I'm just trying to figure out which one will best suite me. First I wanted to get the WXGA+ because it's pretty is good for gaming, and also gives you lots of desktop space and the font isn't that small. But then I heard of the graininess problem with this screen and now I'm scared to get one. I'm also worried about the WSXGA+... the 8600 Graphics card that comes with the vostro probably wont run the games I want to play at the WSXGA+ resolution, and also the font will probably be too small. The WXGA would probably be good for reading and web browsing but not as good as the other screens for gaming. It would be great if some people can give their opinion on which screen I should get. Thanks.

 

It is ok if you get the WSXGA and don't play at it's native resolution. I have a WUXGA sceen and I play on WSXGA resolution. The loss of performance is very,very,very,very low. Maybe a little blur on the corners of boxes but even then, you have to look for it very closely and I can't imagine why anyone would.

I would get the WSXGA.

 

I actually hear about people playing games at decent frame rates with the eye candy on using the 8600gt at 19XX by 12XX, so i'd think 1680 x 1050 would be fine.

As far as everyday use of the machine, i could not go back to anything less than WSXGA+, its not small enough or crisp enough for me. Not to mention its very nice to have that extra screen real estate. Go with the WSXGA+, you'll be glad you did in the long run.

 

I purchased a notebook with a 1440 x 900 screen and love it! It's perfect for reading and the extra space is really nice. Better than the 1280 x 800 and scrolling. I don't think my eyes could handle the higher resolution. If you are a gamer you can use the native resolution with near max details and 2x AA. Personally I think 1440 is pushing/past what the 8600M GT can display at max details. With the newer games Medal of Honor (Medium detail)I lower the resolution to 1280 x 800 and get near 25-30 FPS.

What's nice is, you can go into 1280 x 800 mode without scaling. So it just as sharp as it's native resolution. The screen just displays that amout of pixels. You will get about a 3/4" black bar on the sides and about 1/2" on the top and bottom of the screen. The best part, after gaiming in 1280 mode and exiting out the desktop goes back to 1440 mode, no switching back and forth.

Hope I was able to help and best of luck,

 

thanks for the input guys... I am leaning towards the WSXGA+ but I want to here a little bit about the WXGA+... Any Vostro 1500 users with a WXGA+ screen wanting to tell me a little bit about their notebook?

 

OK! After lots of consideration I've decided to go with the 1280 x 800. That way I can play newer games at native resolution and also not have to read text 2" from the screen. Also I wont have to worry about the graininess of the vostro 1500. Thanks for everyone that replied.

 

I know you've already chosen but just to back up your choice, I have been gaming on a Zepto Znote 6625WD for a review with WSXGA+ and a Geforce 8600M GT and it's not perfect even on some older games like BF2. The gpu struggles a bit with such high res. WSXGA is generally a better compromise for high end cards and lots of space, but WXGA gives the best FPS and settings and will offer you much better chances on the newest games.

Good choice! I hope you picked the truelife screen though!

 

yea it is truelife thanks

 

Oh and this is the whole system i'm getting... I think I got a very nice deal... feels like I'm ripping Dell off lol. I'm getting this for 1,338 + Tax CAD$ with 3 YEARS WARRENTY.

- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7100 (1.8GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB), English
- Genuine Windows XP Home Edition, SP2, English
- 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display with TrueLife™
- 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 Dimm
- 120G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
- 8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability, w/o Roxio Creator
- 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8600M GT
- Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Mini-card
- High Definition Audio 2.0
- MS Works 8.5-Eng: Basic Spreadsheet, Word Processing & Calendar Program, English
- 3 Year Return to Depot Service and Technical Support
- 1 Year Dell Automated PC Tuneup
- Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
- 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

 

Drivers maybe? Half-Life 2 came out roughly around the same time as BF2, didn't it? I don't know what the requirements are for BF2, but I can max HL2 at 1650x1050 and get 80-150ish FPS no problem. Unless HL2 is less demanding than BF2, which I wouldn't expect...