w520 Screen and color sensor

hey guys. ive narrowed my choice down to a w520, and am now considering the customization options in regards to laptop screen/screen quality. background info: I'm going to be an industrial engineering/economics student in college, and I plan to use the computer for four years. While I am willing to spend some money, I'd like to get bang for my buck.


So... will the FHD screen provide me a worthwhile boost in the quality of my experience on the computer? Also, what exactly does the color sensor do, and should I get it if I do opt for the FHD screen? Should I get it even if I don't opt for the FHD screen?

I know I'm throwing out a lot here but thanks in advance.

 

I bought the FHD screen and I think it's worth every penny. It bright, it gives me tons of space to work with (two full-sized documents or web browsers side-by-side are easily readable), and colors are great (95% gamut). If you don't get the 1080p display (which you should), at least get the 900p display. 720p on a workstation makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

I don't have the color calibrator, but I don't think you'd need it since it's mostly aimed for professional graphics designers, photographers, etc. Save the $75 for that upgrade and instead buy an aftermarket pack of 2x4GB RAM instead.

 

Hi, the color sensor will make sure the gamma curves for your color primaries are proper. The gamma curve function defines the distribution of brightness over the possible numerical values. So, if you are in 8bit color, each primary has a possible 256 values. The gamma function defines how the total brightness of the primary color is distributed over these 256 values.

Most people could care less whether or not their displays are calibrated, but I contend that the artists always intended their works to be displayed properly.

 

Make sure your eyes are used to that resolution. Go to your local electronics store and find a 15.6" with that resolution. I always say opt for the high end resolution panels are they are usually much higher quality, but if people don't like it then don't waste your money on it. privatejarhead had a good suggestion, add some more RAM or something else.

 

The W520 ships out preconfigured with 125% DPI, so text will appear relatively large (as if you text was on a 900p display, but the graphics were still 1080p, if that makes any sense). You can keep text at 125% if you don't like 100%, which is tiny. I had to take a day or two to get use to it, but now I use 100% DPI all the time. If I need bigger text (if I'm in bed at night), I usually use the lazy method of lowering the resolution to 900p. Anywho, i would still recommend that you get the 1080p display. Just my two cents.