Pros/Cons of a WSXGA (1680x1050) over a WXGA (1280x800) screen?

I was wondering if you guys could give me some display resolution advice on notebooks. Specifically, what are the pros/cons of a WSXGA (1680x1050) over a WXGA (1280x800) screen?

I think I read somewhere that if you lower your screen resolution from its native resolution you could have some flickering problems? Is this true? WSXGA might lead to too small text for me (though I know DPI could be changed). Would a lower resolution be able to have a higher refresh rate? This is the case with my desktop, but I have never owned a notebook so I would not know.

 

If you run at a lower-than-native resolution, your screen will be blurry. Don't do it. Get the resolution you want when you buy the computer. I have not heard of "flickering" issues, but that could depend on what model and brand you're considering. You can increase the DPI and font size on a higher resolution screen. That will give you more screen real estate while preserving readability.

To be more specific about refresh rates, flickering, etc, we'd have to know what kind of model you're lookin' at.

I have a SXGA+ (1400x1050) on a 14.1" screen and love it. I used to have a WXGA (1280x800) 15.4" and I greatly prefer the higher resolution. I am only 19, so my eyes are still good, but it did take a bit of adjustment. However, I won't go back to a lower resolution now; I'm sold on the extra space.

To be honest, you need to "test drive" the various resolutions before deciding. Check out various retail stores and see what you like.

 

I'm somewhat confused about changing the dpi. People say if the text is too small to increase the dpi. My concern about this alteration is doesn't this defeat the pro of increased screen real estate if you're increasing the size of everything? I would think the pros of the WSXGA is the increased contrast, more screen real estate, and sharper images. The cons would be decreased size of text and other objects on the screen & unless you have a good graphics card, you'll have to reduce the resolution you play your game at. With a WXGA big object and text size. The con would be decreased screen real estate. However, I'm strongly biased towards WXGA. I see no reason outside of screen real estate to get a WSXGA or if you don't have a good TV. I would much rather watch a DVD on my TV then on a WUXGA laptop. Plus, the screen real estate comes at the cost of decreased text size to fit everything. I wouldn't care if I could fit 5 windows on one screen if I couldn't read anything. Lastly, I don't even need multiple windows on the same screen at the same time. When I multi-task I just minimize screens. That said, some people love WSXGA. **It is ALL PERSONAL PREFERENCE.** The best thing to do is to go to the store and look at some yourself.

 

Yep, I agree, personal preference. However, don't let yourself thing WSXGA will give you text that's too small and hard to read. I can easily be more than an arms-length away from the screen and still read the fine print.

 

Yeah, the only reason why text size is important is because my vision is not that great and I have to read text on screen for hours at times. That said, if my 8510p doesn't at least have a SHIPPING DATE AFTER 3 WEEKS, then I'll probably cancel and get the T61p with a WSXGA (with vista unfortunately since it handles dpi better).

 

Vista was meant to handle dpi better, but in my experience it doesn't. Set your dpi to, for example, 108 and you will see text which no longer fit in boxes or windows which are still sized assuming 96 dpi.

I gave up on WSXGA with increased dpi and have gone to WXGA+.

John

 

I personally like running everything, whether it be photo editing programs, or games at the native resolution. My eyesight is okay, so I can opt for the higher resolution screens, which make items smaller, but allows more to fit on the screen. However like others have said, it makes the image more blurry, unless you are running everything at the native resolution, so I can't begin to imagine what a game running at 1024x768, would look like on a screen with a WSXGA+ screen, but you can be sure it will be stretched. Few mainstream graphics cards are even capable of gaming at resolutions this high, so you WILL probably have to run games at lower than native resolution.

If you do a lot of work within Windows, then higher resolution screens look great, with little impact on performance.
Remember WXGA screens are supported in more applications that other higher resolutions.

I looked at Steam's hardware comparisons and the most common screen resolutions were 1280x1024 which I assume were mostly desktops, and 1280x800 which were a majority; laptops.

 

darkspark88
Good pionts like everyone else! I have a IGP and I can control wether it is stretched or boxed so I think on that one point you might be mistaken?

 

To clarify:

WXGA is 1280*768/800
WXGA+/WSXGA is 1440*900
WSXGA+ is 1680*1050

 

My wife has a gateway tablet (14") with 1280x768.
I have a G1S (15.4") with 1680x1050.
She does a lot of stuff with photos and the photos on her screen look fuzzy and mediocre. When they print, they look great, but the screen doesn't do it justice.

I won't ever get another laptop that has 1280 resolution. I would definitely get at least 1440 on a 14" and 1650 on 15.4" or larger.

I suppose it all comes down to personal preference, though.

 

Hi everybody

just tested the following 2 configurations side by side:

1/ Dell 1520 (brand new just received), 15.4 WSXGA+ 1680x1050 glossy.

2/ Dell Latitude business ... (old) standard screen SXGA+ 14.1 - 1440x1050 matte.

I had ordered the new Dell to replace my old Dell. I thought that the 2 screens would have the same height and same quality, and the 15.4 would just give me more width real estate.

The physical height of the 14.1 is just a little bit more than the height of the 15.4. A little more than 0.5 inches.

Watching and reading on the old Dell 14.1 screen was a pleasure, I started having headaches on the new 15.4. The font was just too small for me.

I returned the new Dell. I must say I have been extremely impressed by Dell Customer Service. A lot of people say they are not happy, I am happy: I never waited on the phone more than 2 minutes, the representatives were crisp, accurate, very friendly, and they fully refunded my computer in less than 3 days (shipping cost excluded).

Has anyone tested the Lenovo T61p 14.1 standard screen? what is the physical height of the screen?

thanks

 

I have WSXGA+ screen and loving it so far. I had same question like many people does WSXGA+ truly worth it what about font size? I rolled my dice and figured hell let's just do it and thankfully I made the right decision for myself (note myself !). The font issue was addressed by increasing dpi to 125% and everything is fine now. Able to read texts clearly while having luxurious space to work around is priceless. For everyone's information my eyesight isn't so good I have thick glasses and took me couple days to adapt the new setup but I got used to it already.