T42 Screen Questions

[rickslate]

Considering two different screen options:

15.0" 1400x1050 64MB ATI Mobility RADEON 9600
15.0" 1600x1200 128MB ATI Mobility FIREGL T2

I plan on running the computer in 1400x1050 mode (I think I'll go blind at any higher resolution). The only reason I would buy the 1600x1200 version is because it comes with all the preconfigured 15" T42p's (and those come with 1GB of RAM on one DIMM and up to 2.0GhZ or 2.1GhZ processors, which I want).

So my question is, will the larger screen look crappier than the 1400x1050 screen when running in 1400x1050 mode?

SECOND QUESTION... I can't stand the super reflective screens on some of the new HPs and Vaios (the ones where you can see yourself in the screen). Do I need to worry about that on any of the T42 screens?

Thanks for the help guys.

[cj3209]

I am no means an expert on this topic but from my understanding, anytime you choose a different resolution other than the native, you will get some fuzziness.

You could always upgrade the RAM yourself so why not try an 15" SXGA screen with the 2.0 dothan? Is this config. possible?

I've used the Sony XBrite screen and I really like it; the reflections don't bother me as the screen is incredibly sharp - the best screen I've ever seen on a notebook (with the exception of the Fujitsu crystal view screens)

[beeblebrox]

I think there is a common misunderstanding on screen resolution.
The higher the resolution, the better!
Look at a printed book, that has a resolution of maybe 1200dpi, and still you can read the words!

The SXGA+ has 125dpi and all you need to do is adapt the font size and icon size. That results in a super crisp display. I was worried as well in the beginning, now I can not look at an XGA display anymore. Windows lets you perfectly adapt the font size independently to the resolution. AN dof course, use ClearType!!

Use Firefox for browsing and set the minimun font size so that you can read it. Firefox can increase/decrease font size smoothly.

just my 2 cents...

[cj3209]

Sorry, I have to disagree with the above post. I use a notebook with a 15" 1600x1200 LCD (UGXA). It's very sharp and great for PS work but even when I enlarge the fonts, it's still small. Maybe I'm getting old but at that resolution, with max. enlarged fonts, it's still a bit too small for me and I would haphazard a guess that it's the same for many (older) people.

When I try to decrease the resolution, lower than its native UGXA resolution, at 1024x768 (XGA) it's too fuzzy. Better at SXGA but still too fuzzy. I have a friend who has an XGA LCD (native) and it looks very sharp to me.

Getting a higher res. screen is really designed for people who either require it for their work (PS, CAD/CAM, etc.) or need the increased desk space. So I don't think higher res. is necessarily better unless you require it as I mentioned above.

Just my two cents; your mileage may vary...

[Plinkerton]

I hate cleartype so far. I tried it to see how it worked, and I think it just makes everything look strange. I think you should make sure this is something you can use, just in case you would be relying on it to make your computer useable. Make sure you see how clear type makes things look first.

[beeblebrox]

...well, I am still not quite sure what the problem is.
I use Thinkpads with XGA, SXGA+ and a Dell with UXGA. Each notebook has its screen resolution set at its appropriate DPI setting, which is part of the Windows operating system. You can get Arial fonts that are 3 cm in height or more if you like. Again, you have to set up the display system according to your hardware.

Most screens I have seen so far have the default setting, which on an UXGA display produces fonts of 3-5mm height which is very hard to read. But you have to tell Windows, what hardware you use, because it doesn't know. That's all.

And Cleartyp is far better than the standard fonts since it uses RGB sub-pixels of each white pixel, which results in 3 times the visible pixel-resolution. If you have problems with contrast and readibility then maybe try Liquidview or go to Microsofts Cleartype page for a tool that adjusts Cleartype to your comfort.
I have an UXGA screen currently set up with almost the output of an XGA, and it is super crisp and there are almost no pixels visible anymore. It looks like a print.

Fuzzyness of XGA output on an SXGA+ display is just plain physics. Divide 1400 pixels by 1024, it doesn't work. You get an uneven number for one resulting pixel. therefore the graphics chip tries to compromise.

So for me the only useful solution was to change the overall DPI setting. If you go to firefox or windows display settings, it will show a ruler on the screen and that shows the necessary dpi setting.

well, it worked fine for me... just my $0.02

[mattfromomaha]

I've stuck with XGA for two reasons -

Primarily, because any resolution higher than that is hard for me to read, and it seems like the icons get "ugly" and things don't all lay out correctly when you start trying to mess with the font/icon sizes.

Secondly, I do a lot of multimedia presentations and most projectors out there like 1024x768 resolution, so with this I don't have to keep switching back and forth.