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How big do you like your laptop screen?

Screen size for coding?

  • 12" and lower

  • 13"

  • 14"

  • 15"

  • 16"

  • 17" and higher

Results are only viewable after voting.
J

jsedlak

Senior member
As a programmer, how big do you like your laptop screen?

I realize that different companies offer different resolutions for various sizes. Assume average offerings for each choice. For instance a 15" screen could be 1920 horizontal and >= 1080 vertical. A 14" screen would be in the 1440x900 range. Assume 1920x1200 or higher for 16 and higher. Assume low resolution offerings for 13 and below.

Uses: Working while traveling and/or commuting. Not a primary work machine.
 
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I hope a laptop isn't your primary development machine, I would go crazy if I was forced to do all my work on a laptop. Besides that, it's about screen resolution for me, the higher the better, screen size not so much.
 
Updated the original post to reflect uses; this is not a primary machine. In general, I agree about resolution, but there should be a trade off point where screen size (and laptop size / weight) comes in to play.
 
Well then I guess I would say it doesn't really matter for me. I've got an Inspiron 1525 with a 15.4" @ 1440x900 that I got from work that I use when I'm on the road, but my workload on the road is quite a bit different from when I'm in my office or at home working where I have access to desktop machines.

I usually only work with RoR on my laptop for coding, but I use Linux on it so I've got tons of virtual desktop space to manage my windows. Anything else I do on my laptop would be for systems support and not a lot of programming.
 
For portability, 13". If I am using a laptop as my main machine and it's not meant to be carried around *everyday*, 15"+.

I currently have a 15.4" 1200x800 and while the resolution is a bit low at times, I feel that increasing it by too much would make text too small.
 
I have a lappy I use for working from the gazebo on hot days, and it's 17" with decent resolution. It feels very cramped compared to my office but I make a conscious decision to work around it.

For me it's all about pixels and screen real estate. I have one 24" monitor now, and I would like to get a second one.
 
Well your poll question simply says 'Screen size for coding?' so I can see if some people get confused... even though you do say Laptop in the title and in the first line of the post 😛
 
I like my laptop screen size to be about 12" or maybe 13". Resolution of 1400x1050 at least. It's meant to be very portable and still give me space to work.

For coding, I like my 24" with 1920x1200 resolution.


If the laptop was the primary computer AND no external monitor and..

If the laptop was NOT meant to move around, I'd get the biggest screen possible and the highest resolution possible.

If the laptop have to be moved daily, I'd go with my Thinkpad with a 15" and 1600x1200 resolution IPS screen.
 
well the problem is that people comes here and votes without reading the thread. Everyone likes polls.

I think that 12'' is fine. (1366x768 or higher resolution)
it's very portable but readable and has a high enough resolution.
Lower is not good.

Maybe 13'' is better if you want to see lots of text at the same time.

Higher means less portability, not good.
 
Crusty said:
Well your poll question simply says 'Screen size for coding?' so I can see if some people get confused... even though you do say Laptop in the title and in the first line of the post 😛
Click to expand...

Okay... who codes on a 12" monitor (non-laptop) ?
 
jsedlak said:
Ah, the good ol' days.

I can't believe that 17"+ is winning. You guys do realize we are discussing laptop screen sizes, right?
Click to expand...

What's so unusual? My lappy is 17" and plenty portable. I wouldn't want anything smaller.
 
At home when I am messing around with my Android apps, I use my laptop that is 14" and 1280x800.

If I used that all day every day at work it would drive me crazy.
 
programming isn't the need for large display; its usually the DB/mapping tools (sql server, xml/xsd/uml/mappers) that need huge display. i could easily use two or three 30" resolution all day long.
 
Any laptop with a screen larger than 15" should not be considered a laptop...

I use a Thinkpad T500, the resolution on the 15" screen on it is considerably higher than my 2006 Toshiba 17" laptop.
 
Schadenfroh said:
Any laptop with a screen larger than 15" should not be considered a laptop...

I use a Thinkpad T500, the resolution on the 15" screen on it is considerably higher than my 2006 Toshiba 17" laptop.
Click to expand...

Really? I would say that units with 17" screens qualify as laptops, however they don't qualify as notebooks. I'm sitting here with my Toshiba 17" on my lap, and it thinks it's a laptop.
 
I can't imagine developing without at least 2x 1680x1050 monitors. Absolute minimum for me to be productive.
 
My favorite was my old IBM T43 with a 14.1" SXGA+ screen (1400x1050). I'm really not a fan of the move to widescreen laptops nowadays.
 
My favorite was my old IBM T43 with a 14.1" SXGA+ screen (1400x1050). I'm really not a fan of the move to widescreen laptops nowadays.
 
I like dual 19 inch or larger. That's really nice for copying and pasting between 2 word documents.

Oh! Oh! Laptop screens! Ok, as big as I can get. I use them just like towers.
 
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