Which 14.1" screen should I get?

[own6volvos]

Just got access to the IBM Employee discount plan through a friend and really brought down the prices.

Would it be worth it to get the 1400x1050 screen or the 1024x768 screen for the 14.1" laptop? Which is brighter? Which has better color?

[k3nnis]

Just got access to the IBM Employee discount plan through a friend and really brought down the prices.

Would it be worth it to get the 1400x1050 screen or the 1024x768 screen for the 14.1" laptop? Which is brighter? Which has better color?

Hi there.

If you have good eyesight i recommend the 1400X1050, its a very clean res:) It does take a bit of time of getting used to but its worth it:)

Cheers.
Kenn.

[own6volvos]

I don't have the best of eyes, but I am near-sighted... so reading stuff up close isn't a problem, and being so close to the screen with it being a laptop makes things different than it if were a screen with a desktop thing.

[Kenn]

I don't have the best of eyes, but I am near-sighted... so reading stuff up close isn't a problem, and being so close to the screen with it being a laptop makes things different than it if were a screen with a desktop thing.

This is going to be am important decision. Go to Best Buy, look at a 14.1" laptop with 1024x768 and another with 1440x1050, they're both very common resolutions and you'll be sure to see both. Don't pay much attention to the specifics like how bright or glossy the screens are, but you need to be able to see how comfortable you are with the higher resolution, and there's no replacement to seeing with your own eyes. For most people who ask, I tell them to err towards 1024x768, but be aware that you're giving up a lot of real estate for multiple windows and more workspace by doing so.

[lvlolvlo]

i would say go with the 1400 res, if you don't like it then you can always just set the dpi to 120 which will compensate for the "smallness"

[Plinkerton]

I love the 1400 res. I do have good eyesight though. When I hae to use my girlfriends computer, I hate how big everything is. Very clean and crisp.

[own6volvos]

I can see unbelieveably small things even without my glasses, as it is just stuff farther away that is the problem. My brother has a dell with the same resolution, but in 15" form. I remember seeing some post where someone did an equation that compared different pixels sizes and such.

[Ghostrider]

I can see unbelieveably small things even without my glasses, as it is just stuff farther away that is the problem. My brother has a dell with the same resolution, but in 15" form. I remember seeing some post where someone did an equation that compared different pixels sizes and such.

I've seen 14.1" @1024*768, 15" @1024*768, 15.4" @1280*800 and 14.1" @1400*1050.
(and some really, really old Toshiba Tecra C160 (?) and compareable with 800*600 at smaller screens)

In the end I bought a 14.1" with 1400*1050.

1024*768:
It's the lowest really useful choice today. Browse the internet with a resolution of 1280*1024 and compare your experience with 1024*768. You will notice that already today many homepages seem to look optimized for the higher resolution. At 1024*768 many pages look overcrowded.

14.1" @1024*768:
Looks OK, but the minimum to go with.

15" @1024*768:
Looks blocky. Each pixel seems to be HUGE. All edges on fonts seem to be much more pronounced than on any other display I've seen so far. Round shapes in letters are obviously build of rectangular pixels. It is just BIG - not beautiful. With 1280*960 or 1280*1024 this display size would be much better.

15.4" @1280*800:
Widescreen. Take a look at the second number inside the resolution: "*800". That's just a little bit above 768 but far below "*960" or even "*1024". It will offer more useable space than a 1024*768 display but much less than 1280*1024 or even 1400*1050. So the widescreen "myth" of more useable space in genearal is nonsense. On the other hand this display is huge and heavy with a low "pixel per inch" ratio.

14.1" @1400*1050:
Standard fonts while running Windows are a little bit tiny. You have to be close to the screen to read (as you should be most of the time using a laptop). But the resolution is that high that it offers you even more space than 1280*1024. Edges on fonts seem to be more smooth than on the resolutions mentioned before because of the much smaller pixels that are used to build them. Nevertheless the steps are still there. But if you increase the DPI settings more pixels are used to get the same text size as with lower resolutions which results in greater clearance. After selecting a higher DPI setting you could also activate font smoothing by clear type to get them smooth.

I had the chance to compare IBM Thinkpads with resolutions of 1024*768 (14.1" and 15") and 1400*1050 in our company. So it was easy for me to make the decision which resolution I like best.
The 14.1" 1400*1050 Display on my new T42p 2373-GXG is evenly bright and crystal clear. No dead pixels, no "shadows", no flickering.
Right now while typing this text I tried to play around with the DPI setting. Take the 1400*1050 and adjust the DPI if the font is too small for you. The text quality will be better than on the smaller 1024er display.

[leedatsing]

definitely, 1400