15.4 in. - 1280 x 800 (glossy), 1280 x 800 (anti-glare), or 1440 x 900 (glossy)

I just can't decide. I'm eying the Dell Inspiron 1520 for college. But, I'm not sure which screen resolution to get. I'm afraid the glossy will work against me in a bright classroom or outside and I'm not sure whether I need 1440 x 900 resolution. But, I want to know if my thoughts are unfounded. I'm able to change the resolution in Control Panel-->Display, right? I like the current resolution on my desktop, 1024 x 768. Will that be available on my laptop? I don't want my icons to be too big or too small. I like how I can fit nine icons in a column, currently. I'll be using the laptop for word processing (of course), internet (of course), occasional Photoshop, and TV show watching.

 

If you like 1024X768 then the widescreen version is 1280X800. It is best to run an LCD at it's native resolution, but yes you can change.

 

Go for the 1280x800 glossy!

 

You tend to sit closer to a notebook screen than with a desktop display, so slightly smaller information is no problem.

I personally consider that 1280 x 800 on 15.4" is low resolution and would recommend the 1440 x 900 option so you get a bit more information on the display / slightly better quality.

However, I would also consider that 15.4" is getting a bit big for classroom use (and lots of carrying round) and would recommend that you consider a 14.1" notebook. I've just down-sized from 15.4" to 14.1" and don't regret it.

John

 

a screen looks best at native resolution + GPU will have a harder time running newer games at high resolutions = If you're gonna game a lower resolution is better