What Screen Rez should I opt for in a Notebook with a X1600?

Hi All,

I want to buy a HP nc8430 because it has a nice matte 15.4" WSXGA screen (which is great for me because I like multi tasking) and a X1600...but I started thinking about it and if I want to play the latest Games like Fear, Oblivion and BF2 would I get better results out of a lower Rez WXGA considering it wont be asking as much from the graphics card? I do not want to run on anything less than the native rez because it will blurr. The other computer I am considering is the Asus W3j, I like its smaller size and more attractive casing but I do not like the fact that the Rez is just a standard WXGA.

Let me know what you think,

Thanks

 

Resoultion is entirely user preference. Go with what you like. If you dont know, then head out to a computer shop that has laptops on display and play with the resolutions there.

Running a game outside of native resolution wont make it as blurry as most people think. I run a lot of games below native res on my laptop, which is 1680x1050 and as long as I keep the resolution at or above 1280x800 I dont notice any blurring.

 

It has been shown in benchmarks and games, higher resolutions puts the most strain on the GPU, even more so than AA & AF.

Yes there will be slight blurring at non-native resolutions but its not that bad in games at all. I play games at lower resolutions and don't notice it much. I only find any form of text being displayed in games to be annoying.

The best thing to do is try it out yourself first and see if you're happy at non native resolutions.

 

Since the X1600 is a midrange card, WXGA is a decent fit for it. Unless you want to turn down quality settings or, alternatively, run at non-native resolution, I wouldn't suggest opting for a higher resolution screen.

 

I would go for the higher resolution regardless. You will have to scale down the resolution in FEAR and the works, but as long as you keep the aspect ratio it should not detract from gameplay. You will appreciate the higher resolution for web surfing and other misc. activities.