T40 with poor resolution at 1024x768

[sab2624]

Hello.

I have been a Thinkpad user and fan for many years. I recently was upgraded from a T22 to T40. The first thing I noticed was the LCD display resolution between the two was not the same at the 1024x768 setting. The T22 looks much sharper. the T40 resolution is almost fuzzy. I moved the resolution setting on the T40 up, but then everything gets small. I can change the DPI, but then icons and other images lose their sharpness. Sorry if this is dumb question, but can someone offer some tips on improving the resolution without having to buy glasses? Thanks. Steve

[stanmocek]

Hello.

I have been a Thinkpad user and fan for many years. I recently was upgraded from a T22 to T40. The first thing I noticed was the LCD display resolution between the two was not the same at the 1024x768 setting. The T22 looks much sharper. the T40 resolution is almost fuzzy. I moved the resolution setting on the T40 up, but then everything gets small. I can change the DPI, but then icons and other images lose their sharpness. Sorry if this is dumb question, but can someone offer some tips on improving the resolution without having to buy glasses? Thanks. Steve

My guess, and that's all it is, is that your T22 had a native 1024x768 screen. Looks like your T40 has a higher native resolution, like maybe 1400x1050. LCD panels generally do not look good at other than their native resolutions.

Stan Mocek

[Kenn]

Stan is right here. Your T40 probably runs at a native resolution of SXGA+ (1400x1050), and will look fuzzy at any lower resolution. Don't fret though, having a higher resolution allows you to put more on-screen at once, and is actually a huge boon. It takes most people a few days or weeks to get used to the smaller size, but it's well-worth it in the end.

If you really can't stand it, try going to Display Properties, Settings, Advanced, General, and set DPI setting to Large (120DPI) - which is not a perfect fix but should make it a little better. There are also some 3rd-party apps such as LiquidView that make higher-res displays a bit more readable for the 1024x768 crowd.

[FTC]

Hi,

I agree with Ken... however, note that 1400x1050 makes things really small... remember to set your 'DPI' to compensate for that
(Display properties -> Settings tab -> advanced -> general tab -> DPI Setting). For instance, my DPI is set to 120 (Large size).

Then you may want to reduce the 'active title bar' and 'inactive title bar' size to 26 or so... so you don't loose so much real estate in the desktop once you increase the size of most things...
(Display properties -> Appearance tab -> Advanced -> ...set new sizes.)

Then you get a really useful display which is your tradeoff between visibility and max. real estate desktop.

[Kyocera]

I have a question, my t42 15" has a 1024X768 max setting would I benifit by increasing the DPI and changing the other settings accordingly? My T30 14" actually seems to have a bit "richer" (for lack of a better word) colors seem more vivid not sure if this is just my imagination. What exactly is gained by increasing the DPI? Thanks.

[simscitizen]

Changing DPI won't do anything for your colors. Upping DPI will only make text larger (use more dots per inch).