Thinkpads Forum

I'm getting ready to buy a 15" t60 and have the choice between the xga and sxga flexview screens. My eyesight is not so hot so I'm wondering if I should stick with the 1024x768 or go for the 1400x1050 and just increase font size. I use a laptop for the web, watching dvd's and streaming video - no graphic work or game playing. My present 15" r52 is not that clear when watching streaming netflix - wondering if the sxga screen would be better than my current xga. Any suggestions appreciated.

I have a T61p with a 14 inch screen and native 1400x1050 resolution. After playing with a lower resolution on this screen and then moving to Windows 7 Pro (better text rendering in my opinion), I went back to 1400x150, 96 DPI and then 9 point font everywhere I could (up from the default 8 point). The result is excellent.

See if you can (1) get the best reading glasses you can (I wear bifocals that vary focus up and down the lens - I forget the name) and (2) see if you can get a look at a 1400x1050 screen before purchase. I see lots of 1024x768 screens (my T41 had such a screen) and now it seems to me I can see every single pixel on a 1024x768 screen. I thought I would never get used to higher resolution, but I have.
... JDH

My first thought was that you should get an SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) since it would be a FlexView model with a T60. The FlexView is a high quality LCD with a very wide viewing angle. However, even that resolution in a 15" LCD is tough for some people. And, if you're the only one looking at the LCD, the angle isn't a real deciding factor.

My current thought is that you might want to try a 15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) LCD. The resolution is effectively the same as XGA (1024 x 768), but you get another inch or so in width. It is also great for watching movies - you get a much bigger picture since the aspect ratio is closer to a film's aspect ratio. So, slightly more screen real estate and great for movies.

The 15" and 15.4" machines weigh about the same, about 5.75 lbs., a little less than a 15" R52.

That my recommendation.

Vista, Windows 7 and even Linux do a much better job of making things bigger via DPI than XP. That might be worth consideration if you were planning on running XP. If you were to get the 15" SXGA, the better screen quality does help with readability.

Just my .02 here.
Being old (pushing 60) and wearing bifocals and having used an XGA, SXGA and several IPS UXGA screens, I would have to vote for the IPS screen. I have mine set at 1280 x 1024, not the highest res, but a very comfortable viewing resolution. While I know my A31P is old and not a wide screen, it is still quite usable and I find it the best for these old eyes. (my wife likes her Flexview IPS as well!)

I would also recommend to go for the higher-res IPS screen. It is just so much better, that it's worth your while, even if you find the high resolution too difficult to read, to play around with it until it becomes comfortable.

For example, you could increase DPI / font sizes. Especially if running Vista or Win7, it should work out quite well in most applications (and Vista/Win7 already have bigger icons and menus by default, compared to XP).

Running at lower resolution is also possible as a last resort. Even though, I generally advise against it (because text becomes not as sharp), some people are not bothered by it and prefer the text to be large, even if a little blurry.

As a follow up, I wanted to mention that if you don't go for a 15" FlexView T60 and want to try a 15.4" widescreen, then there really is no reason to restrict yourself to the T60 models.

15.4" widescreen machines are avialable as Z61m, T60, T61, R61, T500 and R500. All are fine machines with the R's weighing about 1/2 more and adding about 1/2" in thickness. All but the T60 had internal camera options, which is nice for Skype, etc. I'd say the oldest models in good shape, the Z61m's and T60's, start around $300 on eBay. The Lenovo Outlet occasionally has R500 for under $500.

I do agree that the 15" SXGA+ FlexView is a great choice, I use a 15" UXGA FlexView myself, however some people get frustrated with the small fonts and having to tweak nearly every application, with XP anyway.