Z Series Resolution

Hello,

I am about to purchase a Vaio Z23. The only thing i am not sure about is the screen resolution. Basically you can choose either 1600x900 or 1920x1080.

Which one is better suited? Or does it depend on what you use the laptop for?

Thanks

 

It's purely personal preference. Often a sharp preference. I prefer the 1080p which features sharper and smaller (more material fits onto the screen) type while others prefer the modestly larger images from 900p. If at all possible, see both in person. If you can't, as a rough rule of thumb, if you're near-sighted, go for 1080p, if you're far-sighted (use/need reading glasses), go with the 900p. Both are going to better than the screen in any other 13" notebook.

 

I agree with Louche's answer. But the 1920x1080 will also work better with an external display, like a Hi-def TV. You'll feel sorry you saved a few dollars with the lower-rez display.

If you do get the higher rez one, you can always dial it back by right-clicking on your screen and selecting "screen resolution".

Personally, the 1920 pixel setting on a 13"screen is a little too small for me in a lot of default programs, but in most I can increase text size with Ctrl-+ (or shrink with Ctrl-Minus). And in a lot of programs, I don't need to be able to read text on buttons at all -- just find the familiar icons.

 

1600x900 uses less power and has better contrast (lower black level). Do some searching here. I'll tell you, having owned both, I think the 1600x900 is a better display, and the perfect sweet spot between low-res and too-high-res. Both panels are fantastic, though.

 

BritGuy79, maybe you can try see if you can see each screen in person in a local Sony store.

 

Let me add one more thing. I had Z1 w/1600x900 and now Z2 w/1920x1080. The Z1, while docked, was useful as a second display with a 24" lcd. The Z2 is not, as everything is too small to see at ~2.5ft distance. Large fonts aren't an option as it makes all the displays (3 now) switch to large fonts.

 

^ I agree with this.
I like the extra resolution because it means fewer changes to the layout of toolbars when disconnecting from the external monitor and going "on-site" but I do a fair bit of two finger pinching (zooming in) in Firefox when using the laptop by itself.

 

Thanks everyone for your responses.

I would have checked out the screens in my local Sony store but it closed down last year I will see if i can see the screens somewhere. Anyone know of any pics or videos online which show the screens?

Thanks

 

I'm always intrigued by this request.
What are you going to look at the pics or images on that might tell you something useful?

 

The only thing which is really helpful is checking it out in person. Do some surfing on both or whatever you like to do with you computer.

If 1080p feels great go for it. If you have to zoom quite a lot, think about 900p.

 

I own the Z11 with 1080p and the Z2 with 900p.

I like my Z2 more because for my eyes it is easier to work with. The FHD was for everyday usage too small for me and the resolution changed to 900p looked awful!

 

It might be tough to see the 1080p in person. At least in Southern California (and we have access to all the major electronics store players), there are no store bought Z2 configs with the 1080p.

The 900p like everyone says is really, really damn nice.

 

You may want to check out Fry's if there is one near you. I remember seeing both 900p and 1080p Z2 models in their computer section - hopefully they still have it. This was about a month ago

 

If you can only view the 900p screen, launch IE and zoom it to 83%. Stick two of those windows side by side and you will get this idea of what the extra screen real estate will look like. Although, the crispness and appreance obviously will suffer.

 

I too have been through numerous side-by-side comparisons and have owned both the 1080p and 900p. I come out where Beaups and others do: the 900p is the more useful resolution at this size, and it's brighter and has much better contrast - though the 1080p is no slouch in either area.

All this said, the person who asked what your most common use of the display will be had it right. If you will be using it for hi res photo editing or video editing, there is no choice: get the 1080p. If you will primarily use it for text, unless you have perfect vision, you'll be far happier with the 900p. It's also true that both are amazingly great screens and you can't really make a bad decision.

One last factor: if you think you may be wanting to sell this within the next 3 years, as a still high end laptop, you really should get the 1080p. Even today, it is worth $200 more on the resale market. Over the next several years, anything below 1080p @13" will be considered less-than-premium. You can always increase text size without resorting to a kludgy resolution scaling (simply use Windows text scaling, zoom in a bit or use browser plug-ins like "nosquint" on Firefox.

As much as I prefer the 900p screen, I would not get a Z2 with it unless I got a huge discount for it - and that's heresy for me!

 

Except in Sony ultrabooks where it will remain an aspirational goal.

 

hehe. Wonder if no other Sony notebook will have a decent screen to preserve the "exclusivity" of the Z - long after Acers have Qhd displays.