SXGA vs XGA

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anthony · #1 Post by **anthony** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 12:35 pm

I rarely play 3D games on my laptop, generally using it for work tasks (word processing, spreadsheets, presentations). Will I recognize a difference between SXGA and XGA?

Frankly, I've always gone for the top screen resolution I could afford, but never really knew if it really made that much of a difference for non gaming apps. I'm told that the Thinkpad has excellent resolution even in XGA mode.

TIA,
anthony again

kaplanfx · #2 Post by **kaplanfx** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 1:04 pm

You will notice a huge difference for spreadsheet work with the higher resolution screen. You can never have to much resolution for spreadsheet work, they are resolution monsters. Just imagine how few cells you can see on the lower res screen. Granted with MS Excel you can always zoom, but the the text looks funky and is hard to read. The 1400x1050 rocks, esp. in the 15 inch.

-kaplanfx

anthony · #3 Post by **anthony** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 1:22 pm

Thx. Good point.

goran5 · #4 Post by **goran5** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 3:41 pm

Then you should try the 1600x1200 on the T42 or T43p, thats really the best laptop screen on the market right now. I was afraid that so high resolution on a 15' monitor would be hard on your eyes, but just the screen is worth the money.

Greg Gebhardt · #5 Post by **Greg Gebhardt** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 4:03 pm

My screen allows me to have two spead sheets up on the screen at the same time and be able to work with them with ease. For me the larger high resolution screen is a must.

asiafish · #6 Post by **asiafish** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 5:14 pm

1400X1050 on a 14" screen is about the perfect combination of resolution, legibility and portability for me. Of course, when I take off my bifocals its a whole different story.

Greg Gebhardt · #7 Post by **Greg Gebhardt** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 5:27 pm

asiafish wrote:1400X1050 on a 14" screen is about the perfect combination of resolution, legibility and portability for me. Of course, when I take off my bifocals its a whole different story.

One thing I could not do is take off my glasses. But with them on what a nice screen it is!

emorphien · #8 Post by **emorphien** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 9:39 pm

I haven't seen it, but i imagine the SXGA (1400x1050) 14.1" screen is similar in pixel density to a UXGA (1600x1200) 15" screen. It really is nice to have the extra resolution when doing word processing (you can see a full page easily if your eyes are good) or when doing spreadsheets.

There are times where if my eyes are tired the higher resolution can be a bit annoying, but overall the advantages far outweigh that disadvantage to me.

asiafish · #9 Post by **asiafish** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 9:55 pm

When not wearing glasses it is easy enough to zoom the document, but with a lower resolution screen, you cannot increase the resolution when putting your glasses on.

My PowerBook is only 1024X768 and after using the T42p I find the screen rather limiting.

emorphien · #10 Post by **emorphien** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 10:08 pm

asiafish wrote:My PowerBook is only 1024X768 and after using the T42p I find the screen rather limiting.

That's been one thing I'm waiting on them to improve. From what I recall reading the next gen powerbooks (with the Intel chips maybe?) will offer better screens.

anthony · #11 Post by **anthony** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 7:29 am

Sorry to be dense, but how does higher resolution become annoying? Wouldn't it be easier to read?

thx.

jhonyl · #12 Post by **jhonyl** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 7:42 am

emorphien wrote:I haven't seen it, but i imagine the SXGA (1400x1050) 14.1" screen is similar in pixel density to a UXGA (1600x1200) 15" screen. It really is nice to have the extra resolution when doing word processing (you can see a full page easily if your eyes are good) or when doing spreadsheets.

There are times where if my eyes are tired the higher resolution can be a bit annoying, but overall the advantages far outweigh that disadvantage to me.

I think that 14.1" SXGA+ screen is similar in pixel density to a 16.1" UXGA screen. ( 1600*14.1/1400=16.114 ). So on a 15" UXGA the density is a little higher. 14.1" SXGA+ is like a 15" with 1490x1117 resolution.

Wholesomer · #13 Post by **Wholesomer** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 7:44 am

anthony wrote:Sorry to be dense, but how does higher resolution become annoying? Wouldn't it be easier to read?

thx.

I don't know how to explain it using technical terms. I will explain it my way

High resolution = more dots per inch = more information can be squeeze in a given square inch = your texts and graphics will be smaller = you can display more texts and graphics since more information can be displayed.

anthony · #14 Post by **anthony** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 8:42 am

Wholesomer wrote:
anthony wrote:Sorry to be dense, but how does higher resolution become annoying? Wouldn't it be easier to read?

thx.
I don't know how to explain it using technical terms. I will explain it my way

High resolution = more dots per inch = more information can be squeeze in a given square inch = your texts and graphics will be smaller = you can display more texts and graphics since more information can be displayed.

Aha! Just the kind of technical explanation that makes sense to me.

kaplanfx · #15 Post by **kaplanfx** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 10:20 am

Wholesomer wrote: I don't know how to explain it using technical terms. I will explain it my way

High resolution = more dots per inch = more information can be squeeze in a given square inch = your texts and graphics will be smaller = you can display more texts and graphics since more information can be displayed.

It should be mentioned that this applies to screens of equivelent size. It may apply to larger screens but at some point if you scale up the size of the screen, the DPI of the high res monitor will be equal to that of the smaller sized low resolution monitor. I.E. the DPI on my 20.1 inch 1600x1200 panel is probably actually a bit lower than the DPI of my 14.1 inch 1400x1050 panel just because of the sheer size of the thing scales up the size of each pixel.

-kaplanfx

emorphien · #16 Post by **emorphien** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 10:51 am

jhonyl wrote:I think that 14.1" SXGA+ screen is similar in pixel density to a 16.1" UXGA screen. ( 1600*14.1/1400=16.114 ). So on a 15" UXGA the density is a little higher. 14.1" SXGA+ is like a 15" with 1490x1117 resolution.

Thanks for doing the math

. 8th grade though it may be, I wasn't feeling like doing it last night.

bhtooefr · #17 Post by **bhtooefr** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 1:44 pm

I just want the 15" QXGA (2048x1536) panel. (They actually sell one for $1300 for the R series)

I believe that the DPI on that is 136.5, but my math could be WAY off - that number seems low.

However, such a screen would be GORGEOUS.

emorphien · #18 Post by **emorphien** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 2:24 pm

15" UXGA is 133pix/inch i think and QXGA would be 171.

anthony · #19 Post by **anthony** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 8:43 pm

Please bear with the technologically challenged....

Does that mean that on a smaller screen (say 12"-14"), you probablu do not want SXGA because the resulting fonts would probably be too tiny to read.

kaplanfx · #20 Post by **kaplanfx** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 8:52 pm

anthony wrote:Does that mean that on a smaller screen (say 12"-14"), you probablu do not want SXGA because the resulting fonts would probably be too tiny to read.

Well I am a resolution whore and like as much resolution as possible, but yes as the screen gets smaller and/or the resolution gets higher, the text will be smaller. The key is that other things get smaller too so you can fit more stuff on screen like entire pages in word or acrobat reader, and a ton more cells for excel, or more of a graphic in full zoom in photoshop, the list is nearly endless and the positive benefits in my opinion are huge.

-kaplanfx

P.S. I believe toshiba does have a 12 inch tablet pc that has 1400x1050 resolution (sxga+) however I have never seen it in person.

sugo · #21 Post by **sugo** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 8:57 pm

I have poor eyesight and wear glasses. With default windows configuration.I did find text on a 14.1" SXGA+ too small. After changing from 96 to 120 DPI in display settings, it works very well here.

bhtooefr · #22 Post by **bhtooefr** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 10:43 pm

I agree with kaplanfx - the more resolution, the better!

I still want somebody at IBM to look at whoever's selling 12.1" SXGA+ panels to Toshiba - even if it's only for the X42T (or would it be the X50T - they REALLY need to change the chassis for the tablet...), and not the regular X series.

Heck, if they happen to use the same interface... can you say "it's time to mod an X41T"?

stgreek · #23 Post by **stgreek** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 4:27 am

anthony wrote:Please bear with the technologically challenged....

Does that mean that on a smaller screen (say 12"-14"), you probablu do not want SXGA because the resulting fonts would probably be too tiny to read.

12" will indeed be too small. However, on a 14", while the text might look too small to read at first, when you get used to it you will appreciate the (huge) extra space. Think of it as two XGA screens rotated by 90 degrees and placed side by side, and you will understand why it is so beneficial.

gattler · #24 Post by **gattler** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 8:13 pm

Comparing the T43 XGA to the SXGA screen, the SXGA easily wins thanks to its higher contrast ratio, although for the price absolutely inconvinient. My Samsung X20 for about 1000 USD has a far more superior SXGA display then all those Thinkpads except the Flexview. Two words: Contrast and color reproduction. The XGA with measurements even around 100:1 is not an option except for Black/White Console Only Work. 1800USD for such a display? It sounds like a joke to me. A very expensive and therefore bad one. The T43 SXGA screen has not only better resolution, guys: everybody knows that 1400 is more than 1024. The SXGA has better viewing angle, brightness and color reproduction, but as mentioned for the price absolutely nothing hilarious, not even worth mentioning. Lets face it: The build in Displays are the worst part in a Thinkpad (except the Flexview). I think the display is the most important part of a computer. e.g. if you loose your sight, your live is nearly over. We are visual beeings, if you go deaf you can compensate but your eyes they are worth far more. So forget IBM below-flexview Notebook-Displays, they are nothing more but a BIG JOKE from one of the biggest Computer Seller in the world.

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