WXGA+ bad resolution?

Hey, I am looking to buy a T-series soon (not sure if I'm gonna go with the T400 or the upcoming one...yet)

Anyway, my friend has a T400 with normal WXGA TFT, and he told me that the WXGA+ panel, when using the same resolution as the WXGA (instead of its highest res) will result in horrible resolution quality. The Canada lenovo.com website has these options for screen resolution:

14.1" WXGA TFT [$0.00]
14.1 WXGA TFT w/LED BL
14.1" WXGA+ TFT w/ LED BL [add $80.00] [Lenovo recommended]
14.1" WXGA TFT HN w/LED BL [add $150.00]

Is his claim true? Also is it prudent to invest in the $150 option...? Because I love the higher resolution that the WXGA+ offers, but if that means I can't use any other resolution when I need it then I would definitely stay away from it. Anyone with WXGA+ who can shed some light?

Thanks.

 

well yes...but why do you want wxga on a wxga+ panel?

anyone not using the native resolution of an lcd panel is wasting the lcd.

the only time that you might look at non wxga+ stuff i can think of is gaming or video, which both would still be fine

 

Yeah, any LCD is going to be like that. Think about it, an LCD has physical pixels, and anything beyond 1:1 will be imperfect. Some ratios are better than others, but you'll always get some amount of blurriness. But, for gaming, considering the concessions you'd be making by gaming on a laptop anyway, I don't think it would be a big deal. I can't see any other situation other than video playback where it would even come into play, and really, you're going to have the same issue at times with any resolution.

 

Oh I see, thanks for your replies. I don't intend to play games. But I do need it for word processing (hence the 1400x900 res would work nicely). I just hope the text won't be so small that it strains the eyes after a period of usage.

 

unless you're old and you're eyesight is getting bad, go for it then. 1400x900 is not small at all. i'd prefer even high resolution if i'm very honest.

 

On a 14", the 1440 x 900 resolution is actually my preferred resolution. I think you'll enjoy it.

 

WUXGA on a 15.4" isn't hard on the eyes at all, although it took a bit of getting used to coming from using a 14" 1400x1050

 

Keep in mind that you keep a laptop much closer to you than a desktop monitor, so high pixel density isn't as much of an issue. Still though, if you have vision problems or a tendency towards eye strain, it may not be for you. But then, they also make a 12" with the same resolution: it's not THAT small on a 14".

 

heck I got a 15.4 WUXGA 1920X1200 Screen. I can see fine

 

Default text size on a 1440x900 14" panel is a bit larger than appears on a WXGA 12" panel, a fair bit larger than text on a WSXGA+ 15" panel, and quite a bit larger than text on a WUXGA 17" panel.

If your local electronics stores doesn't have 14" laptops with WXGA+ panels, you can find other laptops with those resolutions and do a rough comparison.

 

I remember when 14" use to be 1280x1024. Oh the humanity.

 

I remember when they were 1440x1050, I think we've been scammed. Not by Lenovo, mind you, by the panel manufacturers.

 

Well to some degree we've got no one to blame for this but ourselves. There's enormous cost pressure on LCD manufacturers right now and notebook makers to for that matter. I would assume they give the best prices on 16:9 screens because they make the most profits on them. Every dollar they raise prices costs them sales because everyone runs to SlickDeals and FatWallet for the best deals, which is completely understandable. For every thread here bemoaning the lack of 4:3 screens, the change to 16:9 or the lack of quality screens, there's 100 asking where to find the best deal on this or that notebook. While there are some who care about that, we're not enough a big enough slice of the pie for them to care.

 

so can i...doesn't mean he can