Thinkpads Forum

Would some of you with a 1600x1200 Flexview screen try something for me, please?

Please set your resolution to 800x600, reboot, and let me know if TEXT is as crisp and sharp (i.e. non fuzzy/blury) as it is at 1600x1200, please.

I ask because I'm thinking of buying a thinkpad with a 1600x1200 screen -- but am worried the text might be too small. I know about DPI scaling, but just want to know if text at 800x600 is as crisp and sharp as text at the screen's native 1600x1200 resolution.

Please try and let me know what your perception of text sharpness at 800x600 is, please.

Thank you very much!!

My understanding of how LCDs work is that text will only display the sharpest an LCD screen can show at either the native resolution of an LCD, or at a resolution that's a whole number division or multiple of the native resolution; thus 800x600 would be the only reasonable whole number division of 1600x1200 that would display larger text at the sharpest the 1600x1200 Flexview screen is able to display.

I read a LOT (often 10-16 hours a day) and want to minimize strain on my 43 year old eyes.

Thanks again!!

Well I just tried it and I think that the 800 setting looks way tooooooooo big on a 15in UXGA screen. It was not too clear IMO but I liked the 1024 X 768 which is what I am using to type this.
I usually use the 1600 setting and at first found everything to be a little small but now I prefer the clairity of the 1600 setting. You get used to it in a few short days.

In all honesty the closer you get to 1600 the better it gets. 800 is not all that great but you would need to be half blind to want it to be that big.
1024 is quite good and more clear than 800
1280 X 1024 is of course even better than the previous 2 and 1600 seems to be the best.

Irrespective I think that you will find a setting that keeps you eyes happy.
If you are stuck on 800 X 600 I would not go for the 15in screen as it seems almost ridiculously big.

Agreed that with high DPI displays the default fonts are too small. But why not just make the fonts bigger? Windows lets you choose larger fonts for the whole system, web browsers let you set the default font size bigger, etc. A high DPI screen with large fonts is even more readable, because the extra pixels make the font outlines smoother.

I also find ClearType makes my fonts much more readable. I believe it's enabled by default on the Thinkpads.

I just tried it and IMHO the text looks pretty bad (fuzzy, blurry, etc). Why go for a 1600x1200 screen if you want to run it at 800x600? There are myriad ways to increase the font size. Personally, I don't find the text size too small.

stlouislouis wrote:My understanding of how LCDs work is that text will only display the sharpest an LCD screen can show at either the native resolution of an LCD, or at a resolution that's a whole number division or multiple of the native resolution; thus 800x600 would be the only reasonable whole number division of 1600x1200 that would display larger text at the sharpest the 1600x1200 Flexview screen is able to display.

This is just a limitation of the technology, an LCD will only display at its sharpest when running the native resolution, evenly divided resolutions will be clearer than those that are not but still not as sharp as the native resolution - you really need to buy the resolution that you require. Your best bet is to use windows options and individual program magnifications to increase text size while remaining on UXGA if you must purchase a system with this resolution.

Being a pro photographer I have tried so many computers with a higher resolution my last one being a 1680* Dell, that I have tried everything in the book to increase the font size and even making changes in the registry to get viewable fonts. Sometimes the fonts would be large, but many buttons on important webpages like banking etc would disappear. Finally I resigned and bought myself a T60 with a resolution of 1068*768 for the same price as a T60 with a higher resolution of 1600*.
I am very happy with my decision and have concluded that it is better to let a laptop remain a laptop for travelling and on the go jobs and not to try to do desktop tasks on a laptop.
Just my humble suggestion, dont get me wrong.

I do a lot of graphics design and although good ol' XGA is perhaps a little low I still find it to be absolutly useable.