For SXGA Can Resolution Be Set At 1024 x 768?

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KCDoug · #1 Post by **KCDoug** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:25 pm

I couldn't discern from the FAQs or searching about resolution whether or not it is possible to set the resolution to 1024 x 768 on an SXGA screen?

I think I would tend to use that setting for daily word processing, but up the resolution to do other things. My 4y/o 14" TFT screen Dell lappy with an ATI grapics card allows me to set resolution from 800 x 600 up to 1400 x 1050. The latter, however, is not ideal for word processing and simple spreadsheet stuff. Can I assume that a new ThinkPad SXGA will enable me the same flexibility without a problem?

Thanks,
-Doug

#2 Post by **daeojkim** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:35 pm

It is possible to set the resolution to 1024 x 768 on a SXGA+. However, LCD monitors are designed to be used at their native resolution. At any other resolution the picture quality will be degraded, with rough edges. This is not only for IBM, it goes for any type of LCD monitor.

So it is always wiser to leave the resolution to it's native setting (1400 x 1050 for SXGA) and for word processing you can always change the magnification in MS Word to something greater than 100% to see better (I don't mean to increase the font size).

Marc_G · #3 Post by **Marc_G** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:48 pm

I agree.

I've used a T30 with SXGA+ for 2.5 years, and learned how to tweak each application for optimal viewing pleasure. MS Word at 110% worked well for me.

Marc

KCDoug · #4 Post by **KCDoug** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 11:02 pm

Let me ask this - could I go with an XGA screen and occassionally increase the resolution above 1024 x 768? I think I'll be using that resolution most often, but perhaps 20-30% want to have higher resolution of photo work, etc.

-Doug

Flightvector · #5 Post by **Flightvector** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 11:12 pm

Working with the OS, i.e. increasing zoom or scaling the system fonts to higher dpi settings (in display options, found by right-clicking the desktop and clicking properties), should be the proper way to increase readability when you consider the limitations in non-native LCD resolutions and in the general trend to higher resolutions with progressively increasing quality in content and graphics processing ability.

Please don't take my post as one that is trying to make you compromise. My truthful opinion is that this may not actually be a compromise for you. Since you imply that you use SXGA for some things and because, in effect, zooming is exactly what setting a lower resolution will do for you, it should not be any less convenient since you will still need to do more scrolling to view the whole page. Also zooming should give you an advantage since the rest of your toolbar workspace will be lot roomier and the text will remain very sharp.

#6 Post by **daeojkim** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 11:15 pm

Well i tried in mine (SXGA+) and it did not allow me to go above 1400 x 1050. You can get higher resolution if you get an external monitor.

If it does allow you to do so, I think it depends on the driver, desktop will extend beyond your LCD screen, which is not good.

I would recommend to get SXGA+ and change settings on your application for word processing.

Especially if you want to do photo work you would want higher resolution.

#7 Post by **aamsel** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 12:35 am

I have posted about this product a couple times but...
I discovered a program called "Liquid View" at www.portrait.com that allows you to custom scale the size of icons on the Windows XP Desktop and also the size of text in most applications. It works great. I thought that I would have to settle for an XGA notebook, but with this program, I now use an SXGA+ at 1400 X 1050. I am thrilled.
Liquid View costs $20 or $30 to purchase (don't remember) but you can try it for free for 30 days to see if it works ok for you.

(If I post about this program again, I will probably be accused of having some association with the author, but I assure you that I have none whatsoever...I just like it a lot!)

It is a free to try, cheap to buy utility that works well for me.

All of this will be a moot point when Windows Longhorn comes out, since it should have full scalability built in, and then anyone should be able to use any display with any resolution, and adjust it appropriately for their eyes.

Like others said here...you NEVER want to run an LCD display in any resolution other than its native resolution. An LCD panel is not like a CRT which can sync to multiple resolutions. Yes, an LCD will sync to another resolution, but it will look horrible!!

Andrew
Austin, TX

KCDoug · #8 Post by **KCDoug** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 8:32 am

Flightvector wrote:Working with the OS, i.e. increasing zoom or scaling the system fonts to higher dpi settings (in display options, found by right-clicking the desktop and clicking properties), should be the proper way to increase readability when you consider the limitations in non-native LCD resolutions..

I change resolutions via display options. I don't recall what the native resolution is for my old Dell laptop, but I know that the available worakable range is 800x600 to up 1400x 1050, and the setting I've chosen to use daily for for my business apps default is 1024 x 768. (1400 x1050 on the Dell screen is a little too small for my taste and would require adjusting MS Word, Outlook and other text intense apps. I use daily.) Perhaps the 1400x1050 native on the ThinkPad doesn't look as small as it does on the 14" Dell -- is that possible?

I suppose a more accurate question is whether or not the SXGA ThinkPad allows for a similar dpi range, or at least 1024 x 768 and up, or is 1400 x 1050 the minimum available setting? Likewise, on the XGA screen whose native is 1024 x 768, can I change display setting to increase the dpi?
====================

Andrew - thanks for heads-up about Liquid View. I've made note of it, but for now my preference is to make dpi adjustments though Windows display settings.

Cheers,
-Doug

#9 Post by **aamsel** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:45 am

If you do this, everything other than the native resolution will look HORRIBLE. The text, icons, everything will be blurry.
That is the way of LCD displays...there is ONE NATIVE RESOLUTION where the display is supposed to be set. Period.
I don't want to be blunt, but changing resolution is a no no on an LCD (for anything other than a few minutes.)
Thinkpads have a ZOOM feature on an SXGA+ display, if you hit Fn+Spacebar it will switch from 1400X1050 to 800X600. However, as I said above, you will notice quickly that 800X600 is very, very blurry and distorted.

Now, back to your question of how "small" the native 1400X1050 looks on a Thinkpad, that all depends on DPI and which fonts are used. IBM does make everything a pinch larger than standard to begin with, but you can tweak everything to your heart's content. For web-browsing you can increase the text size also (within the browser) but only Opera will actually scale the graphics too (I just don't like Opera much). Other than that, with a high-res display, when you are web-browsing, the text can get huge but the graphics remain their original size. "Graphics" does not just include pictures, it is little things like emoticons also. They will all stay tiny.

Andrew
Austin, TX

KCDoug wrote:...I change resolutions via display options...

KCDoug · #10 Post by **KCDoug** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 12:31 pm

aamsel wrote:If you do this, everything other than the native resolution will look HORRIBLE. The text, icons, everything will be blurry.
That is the way of LCD displays...there is ONE NATIVE RESOLUTION where the display is supposed to be set. Period.
I don't want to be blunt, but changing resolution is a no no on an LCD (for anything other than a few minutes.)

Andrew
Austin, TX

I'm not sure what the native setting actually is suppose to be on my 4 y/o laptop which may be a SVGA TFT screen - probably 1024x768. But I've not noticed any problems when I change the diplay settings - though I don't do it that often and I'm only bumping up in resolution from the 1024x768 I routinely use.

So, if I can periodically bump the XGA screen above 1024x768 for sharper dpi for video/graphics, perhaps that is the way for me to go instead of the SXGA+ screen? If the 1400 x 1050 SXGA+ resolution on the ThinkPad is as tiny as it appears on my current SVGA(?) Dell lap top, I don't think I'll be happy with it for my daily business apps. Now, if that SXGA native resolution somehow appears larger (vs. tiny) on the ThinkPad than it does on mine, great. I just don't know how to determine w/o seeing one I suppose. Seems most folks recommend the SXGA, and for that reason I'm exploring it, but I'm not going with the masses just for the sake of doing so. The majority of my daily use is text intense stuff, from word processing to e-mail/internet browser and a contact management software. For me sharp is preferred, but tiny text and having to constantly tweak individual apps is not.

Thanks again for your helpful insight, Andrew.
-Doug

gazingwa · #11 Post by **gazingwa** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 12:41 pm

you sure you aren't confusing vga with xga
vga - 640x480
svga - 800x600
xga - 1024x768
sxga - 1280x1024
sxga+ - 1400x1050
uxga - 1600x1200

MobileGuru · #12 Post by **MobileGuru** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 1:01 pm

It all comes down to personal taste .. the screens are ultimately designed to run at their present resolutions, so a SXGA+ will always be best looking at a 1400x1050 setting. You can certainly go lower, but the compensation will cause dithering and a generally blurry look, just like you could go higher with screen expansion and scroll around the virtual desktop.

In the end, if you are going to using 1024x768 99% of the time, I wouldn't buy anything above that native resolution level.

KCDoug · #13 Post by **KCDoug** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 1:06 pm

MobileGuru wrote:It all comes down to personal taste .. the screens are ultimately designed to run at their present resolutions, so a SXGA+ will always be best looking at a 1400x1050 setting. You can certainly go lower, but the compensation will cause dithering and a generally blurry look, just like you could go higher with screen expansion and scroll around the virtual desktop.

In the end, if you are going to using 1024x768 99% of the time, I wouldn't buy anything above that native resolution level.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. Optimally I'd like to eyeball a TP SXGA+ with Word running at 100%, and see the desktop icons at default, etc. I'm wondering if somehow its native size is comparable to the 1024x768 of what may be an SVGA or XGA screen on my old laptop??

-Doug

PS - After writing this I did a web search on the topic of XGA vs. SXGA for laptops and found an article that was a little bit helpful, seemed to suggest that sxga would be better suited to 15" and up: http://www.m-techlaptops.com/lcdchoices.htm

Marc_G · #14 Post by **Marc_G** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 2:31 pm

One further note... I saw the mention of LiquidView. I thought I'd mention that there is a free utility that allows you to change some (not all) of the same settings. Do a google search for DisplaySet and choose the first hit. It's from PC Magazine as a free download. I use it myself.

I've found it invaluable for tweaking my desktop settings with higher res displays.

Marc

Aramitz · #15 Post by **Aramitz** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 9:41 am

aamsel wrote: (I just don't like Opera much).
KCDoug wrote:...I change resolutions via display options...

Have you tried Opera 8 Beta ?
It works fine

For SXGA Can Resolution Be Set At 1024 x 768?

For SXGA Can Resolution Be Set At 1024 x 768?

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