1920x1080 resolution: is it too big of a resolution?

W7 has two scaling modes. One of them passes scaled DPI to program, letting program do the scale. Most programs are ok with it.

Other mode scales the whole window as raster image. Obviously this could make it blurrier - but mostly just in contrast to sharp surroundings. On the plus size this could make even worst-behaving programs to scale properly, since program still draws for 96 dpi and low res, just output is transparently upscaled by WPF.
By default, with high DPI raster scaliing applied to any application that don't have a new "DPI aware" flag. There is a switch on "app compatibility" property page which allows you to switch raster scaling off even if app has no such flag, so you can try it and enable DPI scaling if app works ok.

 

Yes, which is why I said 'certain programs' and tweaking each individual program is too time consuming. I 'magnify' my screen by about 10% and just live with the glitches(usually minor and happens in dialog boxes).

 

Why its time consuming? Generally I encounter no more than one of bad-behaving program per about 2 weeks, set correct option, voila, this one is fixed. But this way Iam getting best from both words.

 

If you primarily want to play games, go for 1366x768 and if you want to work with it opt for 1920x1080 (FullHD, 1080p) resolution if your screen size is more than 15"

 

Why some people are assuming you don't want higher res for games? Granted, some games require a lot of power to run at native FullHD+, but not all games. And surely ones which do run in FullHD+ look totally amazing, even on small screen - so much more detail, it looks like printed picture

 

Unfortunately, time consuming is another subjective thing. For you, you think it is fine. For me, I don't bother.

All I just wanted to point out is that text dpi scaling is not really as trouble free as it sounds. Whether one think it is minor(non-issue) or not is not something I am going to argue or comment.

 

We're starting to get technical, for which I apologize. Basically, we're going over "why things can look bad if not viewed at the resolution they were intended to be", which is wandering off a little bit from your original question. Our original suggestions really do still stand; if you can, go out and see what the resolutions on the various screens are like for yourself. The rest of what we're talking about is largely how and why things look different when you're using different resolutions.

 

No, he needs to know he's looking at, and for first.

 

So I just found out my friend's 11-inch netbook has a resolution of 1366x768. There is no way I will get a 14-inch laptop with that resolution. Plus I just don't want to downgrade from what I have now.

I'm still going to go see a 1080p screen in person before I order anything, but I'm 99% sure I'll be getting the 15-inch with 1080p. Thanks everybody.

 

Depending on your age/eyesight 1366x768 may well be sufficient resolution on a 14" - obviously you are not limited by either of those yet.

I tried an 11.6" Timeline with that resolution and although at first I loved how sharp everything seemed compared to my (identical res) 13.3" U30Jc - I could not use the system for more than an hour comfortably - and even then I was forcing myself to just finish the small job/project I was working on.

I believe that there is an optimal resolution for each screen size - and in the long run a 1080p resolution on a 14" monitor will be doing more harm to your eyes than good.

Of course - it also depends on the quality of the screen too. Pay more to get a better screen - but a better screen is not simply about more pixels: contrast, colour accuracy, brightness and a low, low black point is even more important, imo - especially as the resolution of the screen for a given size point is increased.

 

Thing is, generally higher quality screens are also higher res. Manufacturers nowadays hardly bother doing good quality lower res screens.

I don't see how age prevents from using high res. Text and UI elements size could be kept manageable by setting correct DPI scaling, and increased resolution not causing eystrain, quite the contrary. I don't have perfect eyesight, yet I prefer higher res.

 

Ingvarr,

Good points, no doubt.

But doesn't that negate the higher resolution in the first place? (Except of course for displaying photos/videos).

 

Well, for me photos/videos are quite important part of using my display.
On the other hand, text edges are a lot sharper in high res, and you see more glyph detail. That makes it easier on my eyes significantly (higher sharpness and contrast reduces reading eyestrain) - I can be confident of this because I went to medium-high res (117DPI), then to lower res (105DPI), then back to even higher res (133DPI). (By that I mean that I've went through several different laptop models with screens of that DPI).

 

To be honest, the "harm" is really a misnomer: You either see it clearly, or you don't.