wxga or wsxga+ for 15.4 laptop better for gaming?

hey guys,

im planning to get a 15.4 laptop for college and plan to do some gaming.

would a wsga (1280 x 800) or a wsxga+ (1680 x 1050) screen be better for games such as doom 3 and half life 2?

my planned setup is either asus z96j or s96j with core duo 2.0 gHz with maxed ram and hard drive speed.

 

What resolution do you use now? The higher resolutions are better for gaming, but they tax the video card considerably more.

 

on my MSI 1039 i went with the WXGA 1280x800 bc i love the glossy look. If you are using it outside a lot or in the sun i would say the glossy is not a good idea. for indoors it is GORGEOUS

i too maxed out my laptop

 

If you go w.one of those laptops it wil come w/ the X1600 256mb which is what i have..its a great card but if you want to play all the new games at High settings i would go WXGA as chaz stated the higher res may sputter things on high setting with demanding games

 

If you can, check out a local shop and see if you can look at the two resolutions side by side. That will give you an idea of which size you will prefer.

Of course, the lower resolution will take less work from the GPU, so there's that too...

 

Resolution is personal preference. Go with what you like. I agree with chrisyano. You should go to a shop to see both if you dont know what they already look like.

You can always run games below the native resolution so you wont tax the video card as much.

 

would games running under native resolution look ok?

 

of course, lol i do it all the time

 

I do it all the time (Especially with oblivion! duh lol) It doesnt degrade the image that badly.

 

I'm considering a 15.4" WSXGA (1680 x 1050) screen with 128 MB Dedicated ATi X600 (M24) PCI-E Video Card on my next laptop. The computer's purpose is to do work (hence the high res) but I also want the PC to let me play some games (hence the dedicated card). I'm concerned about degraded picture quality at non-native resolution if I bump the res down a bit for games v. whether the laptop is even capable of running the games at native resolution.

Is anyone willing and able to post pictures, performance benchmarks, comments, etc. of their high-res laptops running games at lower, non-native resolutions as well as native resolutions so I can get a better sense of what works and what doesn't?

Thanks!

(the computer I'm looking at is the Compal DL76 http://discountlaptops.com/index.php?section=specs&model_id=1319&category_id=39&category_theme=c1)

BTW the games I intend to play on the laptop are not FPS-style but things like Civilization IV, Neverwinter Nights II and various Myst incarnations.

 

I take WXGA, less strain on the GPU which means better performance.

WXGA is good for me.

 

You may want to consider a Core Duo laptop, as that will give you better performance and flexibility. The Compal HEL80 is comparable in price but with much better and newer components.

 

Or you may want to consider the S96J, its a very good laptop. Good specs, good price, good build, good looks.

Its actually pretty thin for such powerful parts.

Its just below and inch in the thickest part toward the back with the screen open.

 

If you are a hardcore gamer and if you want to play the latest games on the highest settings, go for the WXGA. You can use more effects this way.

If you are a normal gamer, go for WSXGA+ and turn off some effects and play at native resolution.

Charlie

 

personally when gaming I dont notice much of a difference when playing at a non-native res (as long as its the same aspect ratio) but I want to habe the highest res as possible when using windows, so I'd go with the higher res. Personally I've got a WUXGA on my 15.4" laptop and I think its perfect...

 

Whats the video card used? Native resolution is allways better, and easily more noticable (on my 2005WFP, I can easily tell if I am in a lower resolution then native due to blurryness), so you will need a video card that can drive the native resolution rather smoothly. Luckly I have a 7800GS on my 2005wfp so all my games run native 1680x1050 just fine, but if I was seeking to game on a laptop with a weeker video card, I would prolly seek out the lower resolution lcd.

That said, I am quite impressed how games like NFSU2, guild wars, and Unreal2k4 are looking at 1200x800 on my 1680x1050 laptop display (x1300 video card). I guess the smaller screen helps tighten it up and look abit sharper then my 20 inch desktop lcd.

 

That computer is previous-gen, if you can afford to spend that much, better notebooks are available. Consider completing our FAQ in the What Should I Buy forum so we can give you some recommendations.

 

I appreciate all the help, everyone. I did start a What should I buy thread here (I hope that's the right procedure, I'm new on this board).

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=65428