14 or 15.4 inch screen on a laptop?

[gplracer]

I am about to buy a new laptop. Should I get one with a 14 or 15.4 inch screen? This will be used by my wife for bills and for the kids to take and use for movies and games on trips.

 

[Brainonska511]

What kind of games? You won't find many 14" notebooks with a graphics card (Asus W3J - MRX1600, Asus A8Jm - 7600 Go). Though, the 14" will be lighter than a 15.4" notebook.

 

[gplracer]

Really not many games.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: gplracer
Really not many games.

Any particular budget? and Integrated graphics would be fine (basically meaning only flash games and basic Windows games)?

 

[gplracer]

I saw a deal at dell. It was a Inspirion with dual core intel cpu, 120gb hd, 1gb ram, intel 950 integraged graphics 14" screen, and dvd writer for $779. I just wondered for general use if the 14" inch screen is fine or if i should get a 15.4.

 

[corkyg]

The questiuon really revolves around portability. Last year, I changed from a 17-in laptop to a 14.1. Reason? 3.5 pounds. My latop is primarily for travel, and on long trips, big means a load, especially when flying.

The 17 was great as a desktop replacement - movies were good. Games? I couldn't care less about them.

BTW - if you get a Dell Inspiron with a Sony battery, you might even manage a bigger discount.

 

[gplracer]

Nice pics Corky. I have a 20d as well. What about the corre 2 chips that are coming out? Should I wait? I have someone that is a friend of the family that is buying me a laptop. They are ready to get one for me. I have a computer that is in my signature so I do not really need a desktop replacement. This is just going to be used for loading pictures while out and about. It may also be used by my wife at the kitchen table to do bills. Is a 14" screen large enough? Thanks!!!

 

[Rockinacoustic]

If you want to use this for simple tasks, then the screen dimension won't really be noticeable. However, since you mentioned pictures and paying bills I think you should look for a laptop with the best Screen resolution possible, something like 1680x1050 on a 15.4 inch would be a good option. Pictures will look sharper and using programs like excel or spreadsheet for your bills will prosper from a larger resolution.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Go to a retail store and check out the different sizes. It is all about preference

I wouldn't wait for Core 2 Duo; performance is better, but negligible battery life and there will be an increased cost at first.

 

[gplracer]

I am real tempted to wait for conroe 2 but someone is buying this for me so i hate to wait too long. Plus the deals on the current cpus maybe gone with less discounts on the new stuff.

 

[soccerballtux]

I'd go for the 14.1". Think about resolution too. The compaq's that are 14.1" are 1280x768 resolution. The 15.4" screen is 1024x768. It looks hideous; the pixels are far too large.

 

[alimoalem]

14" for portability, weight, etc. unless you need a good graphics card, going the 15"+ route isn't good, imo

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: soccerballtux
I'd go for the 14.1". Think about resolution too. The compaq's that are 14.1" are 1280x768 resolution. The 15.4" screen is 1024x768. It looks hideous; the pixels are far too large.

Most 14.1" are 1280x768, but most 15.4" are 1280x800. I personally despise the low res on both, but some find it adequate.

 

[theNEOone]

integrated graphics shouldn't be too much of a problem on older gen games. warcraft 3, doom3, UT tournament 2005 all work fine on my dell 2.13ghz w/ integrated graphics. it does have 2gb of ram though, which might help a bit in this department. the one problem i have is the fact that part of the screen is chopped off on some older games that don't support widescreen resolutions.


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