Can someone explain screen resolutions to me?

I'm looking at the ifl90, and assuming the cards are both GTs I think I might just get the lower resolution. but theres something I don't get. I know that resolution is mainly an issue of preference but I think that the 1680x1050 is way too high for a 15" laptop.

1)Am I right in thinking it's too high?

2)Is it possible to play games at higher resolutions than what it comes with?

Also, it feels like I'm missing a lot of things when it comes to resolution and games etc. Anything it seems like i"m completely missing?

 

Here's a good guide: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=26696

As for is it too high, it's hard to say, it's all about personal preferences. Perhaps check out a store and look at the screens to see what you prefer.

 

Yeah, as coriolis says, it's a matter of personal preference. All you can do is see what a machine with that res at that screen size looks like.

You can't game at a higher resolution than the native resolution of the laptop. As it is, the mobile GPU would probably struggle more anyway.

Personally, I do find 1680x1050 on a 15.4" screen to be a bit too much for me, but I know plenty of people that don't mind it.

 

yes 1680 x 1050 is a ridiculously high number for a laptop or a computer. you must have one helluva chip to do that.

2. Depends on the how much the game's resolution can go, also depends on how good ur screen resolution is. If you have a sweet ass graphics card, but a crappy screen, than its impossible to play the game on high resolutions

 

i have a Nvidia Go 7400 128 mb, (though its a decent/ not good chip) i can run farcry smoothly with only m settings and 1024X768 settings... just think about that. Im talking about a desktop here...

 

You can always play a game at a lower resolution and let it scale up.

Its not written in stone that you must play a game at your screens native resolution.

I prefer a higher resolution for desktop work, more stuff fits on screen and no scrolling for certian websites.

If font is too small for you, just change font size in your control panel options, or use the zoom feature from nvidia or firefox.

 

Well I'm not worried about it being to small for games, I'd like the 1680x1050 for games. But if I get the lower one, can I move it up when I play games? Or would that just slow me down.

The only reason I'd even consider getting the 1680x1050 is because if I get that one it's more likely to have the 8600M GT, because compal hasn't released official specs yet.

 

You can't play higher than the native resolution of an LCD. So no, if you got, say, a 1440x900 res screen, you couldn't play something at 1680x1050 on it.

 

depends on the user. my 17" notebook has a resolution of 1920X1200, which is also the same resolution of my desktops 24" moniter lol I don't find it too big at all. granted I have an Nvidia 7900gs, so most games can be played at that resolution, but even if I didn't play games on it I would still take it in a heartbeat because of the screen real estate.

 

Plus 1920x1200 gives you the ablility to view 1080p HD content in its native resolution but thats massive overkill on a small screen, you wont see the diffrence from that and standard.

 

i dont think wsxga+ is too small on a 15 inch display. I have a WUXGA display and love it...