regular res very high res...why get high res?

why would i want a high res screen except for gaming? I don't want my letters and numbers to by tiny because the laptops primary function is work, play is a distant second. So why would i want high res?

 

Well, high resolution is useful if you work with large images in Photoshop, for example. Instead of minimizing to 50%, you could be able to edit an image at 100% with a higher resolution. Depends what your work is...if your work is more business such as text documents, presentations, maybe high resolution may not necessarily be best for you. But graphics work, higher resolution is preferred. Also, watching movies in higher resolution is nicer as well.

 

The reason I got into high resolution screens in the first place is for coding and dealing with large spreadsheets. The extra real estate space is great.

 

Where did you get the idea that high res necessarily = gaming?

Even for 17", but especially for 15", you'd be hard-pressed to find laptops with GPUs that can run modern games at high resolutions, such as WUXGA, natively with decent settings and FPS.

Actually, although there are one or two high-end gaming machines that offer WUXGA or higher, the highest resolution displays are usually on business laptops - HP, Thinkpads, Latitudes. It's for work that high res is best - not gaming.

As Sam mentioned, any type of graphics work needs a lot of screen real estate. Any heavy database, presentation, publishing, spreadsheet or statistical work benefits from having a high res too.

For any job that requires you to see a lot of text or images, and sometimes multiple side by side, such as programming or designing, architecture, engineering, etc. etc. etc. the list goes one, having more screen real estate = higher efficiency.

Even for a student, having a high res widescreen could be very useful.
Have your note-taking page/application on one side, your Wordprocessing software on the other, a spreadsheet open in the other corner for tables, and a presentation program open in the remaining corner for your presentation.

 

Good point on gaming. Pretty tough to drive high resolutions monitor from a laptop for gaming. Desktop is another story.

 

You probably don't want very high res for gaming. You get better frame rates and better detail at lower res.

I personally want high res for work - spreadsheets, powerpoint and general multi-tasking. Why work on a spreadsheet in 1024x768 when I can see more and do more in 1680 or at 1920? I can also have more windows up and multi-task better. My company gave me a thinkpad X60 (1280x768) for travel and to do work from home but if I'm home, I do all my work on my G1S 1680x1050 res. I don't see how one can be more productive at lower screen resolutions.

 

good point on the gaming...didn't think about that. But don't get me wrong, i see your point but doesn't the smaller numbers/text put a huge amount of stress on your eyes? I have 20/20 vision and have no problem reading my screen now but I can't imagine trying to double my work space. your eyes aren't shot after 30 mins?

Oh and I will be doing tons of spreadsheets, presentations, and what not. Im going to grad school for business. I can change my order, i currently have the normal 1280 res but I can change my order, drop my warranty by a year and pay for the highest res at like 1600 or something like that.

 

Everyone's a little different, and yes your eyes can get quite tired, especially if you're staring at a tiny screen. There's a fine line between maximum productivity and blindness (okay maybe not THAT extreme), and it's different for everyone.

The best thing you can do is to get your hands onto an actual laptop or two with the resolutions in question and try them out for a fair amount of time. Try out different settings where you think you'll be using them as well (make sure to take matte/glossy into consideration - glossy can be harder on your eyes if you're under bright lighting a lot). You'll get a feel for which suits you best.

 

I do massive spreadsheets and fairly complex presentations as part of my job. And no, it doesn't kill my eyes - my vision hasn't changed in 10 yrs.

IMHO, 1280 is serviceable. At 1680 the extra real estate does come in handy when that spreadsheet starts getting big and when you need to multi-task between that and a presentation.

The higher res does take getting used to tho but if you can do it, you won't ever go back.