Is It Worth It Upgrading To 17 Wuxga Lcd Scrren

I dont really have that much money.
Im a web developer on hiatus.

I was wondering if it is worth it upgrading my screen from strock to 1920X1200 ?

thanks

Please dont be mad about the post.

 

It is not. 1920x1200 is awesome, but not vital. 1680x1020 is more than enough, especially for development or even image editing. The best option is to go and look at a laptop in a store and see for your self. You can always clock down with minimal look degradation. Each person has their own opinion, but it comes down to cost, usage, and aesthetics. Good luck

 

In my opinion, 1920*1200 makes everything look microscopic while 1680*1050 looks just right for text size/page area. I would take a look at both first if you can. If you go to like Best Buy to compare screens I believe that the Gateway P-7811FX has a 17" 1920*1200 screen and there is bound to be another brand of notebook with a 1680*1050 screen on display.

-J.B.

 

Well having a 6831fx i can tell you that the 7811 1920*1200 screen has a better screen cuz it has a higher viewing angle. so watching movies, playing games will be a lot better.

 

Thanks everyone.
If i got the 1920*1200 couldn't i reduce the resolution to 1680*1050 ?

See the thing is when i work, i need to see at least 2 windows open (like photoshop and dreamweaver). It makes work much easier and faster. Will it be big enough to allow more room for the windows ?

thanks again

 

Oh and if i do decide to upgrade, should i sell the old screen or keep it.
I have 3yrs replacement warranty with bestbuy. Will i loose my upgardes if i ever need a replacement?

Do i have to put things back to stock if i need a replacement ?

 

Put back your stock stuff if you are giving it back to best buy.
1) if they see something non-stock; could void warranty
2) you are paying for a new screen; you would be giving away your money.

 

As someone already said, the WUXGA makes things look microscopic! My best friend has a ThinkPad T61p with WUXGA display and I'm not a fan!

On a 15.4", WXGA+ (1440x900) is my preference, especially over the WXGA (1280x800) that's standard on most. Some 15.4" are still offered with WSXGA+ (1680x1050), which is my second choice after WXGA+. WSXGA+ is available on HP's 17" dv7 models, and it's perfect for that size display.

What laptop/notebook are you buying and what are the display options?

 

The 1920X1200 resolution does not make everything look microscopic when you implement only 2 small tweaks. Just change default font DPI to 120 by right click desktop and going to properties, the option is along the sidebar (makes icons and task bar bigger as well). Also, get NoSquint extension for firefox which puts everything at 120%, making it look perfect in my opinion (you can set it to a different default, and have it remember certain zoom percentages for certain sites).

click here to see my desktop on my 1920x1200 display << p.s., that's a dreamscene background, the water moves

get the 1920x1200.

 

To the op, you can change the resolution, but you loose sharpness. For general use, that is cool, if you do any graphic design, just switch back.

 

Oh sorry, i failed to mention that i have a the 6860fx

 

wow thats lovely. you just sealed the deal for me.

Im getting it. lol
thanks everyone

 

I like the 1920x1200 but I believe it's more of a personal preference. If you're on a hiatus, then hold it off until you feel like you want to upgrade it. For me, all my icons (like desktop, folders, etc) are enlarged for easier viewer. (FYI, my desktop only has one icon so it's not a jumble of mess =] )

 

Thanks alot

 

As a Web Developer myself I absolutely love the 1920x1200. It's great being able to have two application open side by side.

At first I wasn't sure because everything was so small. I was afraid I would have eye strain and constant headaches. That hasn't been the case though.

 

Ahh quality opinion from someone in my field lol
thanks

 

For years, I used a WXGA 15.4" display (1280x800). When I got my 15.4" WXGA+ (1440x900), I was amazed at the difference (it's my first LED). Now, when I'm forced to use a laptop with a WXGA display, the desktop seems so cluttered and I can't view two windows side-by-side! We also have a 17" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) rather than the standard issue 17" WXGA+.

It still amazes me that there are some notebook makers that still don't offer display resolution upgrades! Prior to the new HP dv5, which was introduced less than six months ago, HP only offered a resolution upgrade on their 17" models! Now they offer the same choice on the 15.4" Pavilion models.

Toshiba, on the other hand, sells $1600+ Qosmio 17" "gaming" notebooks with the same WXGA+ 1440x900 resolution as the $699 L355 budget model. The Satellite A305 starts as low as $599 and tops $1200 in its top current configuration....but every single on them has a 15.4 WXGA 1280x800 display. It seems rather ironic from a company that also makes some fantastic LCD TVs! The one exception to Toshiba's lack of resolution upgrades- the business-oriented 14.1 Tecra M10 and 15.4 Tecra A10. Both have WXGA displays standard, but the M10 can be upgraded to WXGA+ and the A10 offer an updgrade to WSXGA+.

 

I think you can deal with it fine if you have never had it, but for the past three years I have kept my laptops set at 1920x1200 and I could never go back to anything else. I love the small amount of room menus etc take up and all the reality space I have on my desktop.

 

I find 1920x1200 to be fine as long as you take Jacamo5's advice about DPI and nosquint for Firefox. I wasn't sure about it myself at first but have found that the higher resolution allows me to tweak things more in order to insure that they are the exact size that I want. I use a Firefox theme with extra large icons, use Ctrl+mouse wheel to adjust the size of my desktop icons, etc. If you find yourself straining to see text on 1920x1200, you haven't done a proper job of customization. I love the exquisite detail of my desktop background; it is stunning. I love my P-7811FX screen; I feel that it strains my eyes less than my 1280x1024 19" Viewsonic LCD. I just wonder how much money that would set you back to change your screen. I would be tempted to save the money until I could afford a laptop with a video card that could drive the 1920x1200 monitor sufficiently for cutting edge games, but that's just my inner gamer talking. My inner web developer says just do it.