Is the resolution on a 14.1" SXGA+ too small?

[Vasant56]

I'm thinking of picking up a T42 2373-3UU, but I'm afraid the resolution could be too small, will it be difficult to see? Would I be better off getting a 15" model instead?

Thanks

 

[Abhi]

I have a t41 with the SVGA+ screen. I find it absolutely comfortable to use...

 

[Abhi]

Oh and btw, you re getting an excellent laptop

 

[Confused]

I have had a 14.1" screen running at 1400x1050, and I loved it. I've now got a 15" screen running at 1600x1200 and I love it even more.

I would never go back to any screen that has a lower resolution.


Confused

 

[Vasant56]

So you would take a 15" over a 14"?

What if the 15" had the same resolution as the 14"?

 

[eLiu]

Originally posted by: Vasant56
So you would take a 15" over a 14"?

What if the 15" had the same resolution as the 14"?

I have the 15" with 1400x1050...I have a friend that owns the 14" w/same resolution. Personally, I prefer the bigger screen...but then again, my main monitor is a Dell 2001FP...lol.

 

[Vasant56]

Which if the following models would you recommend?

2379-DXU
2373-JXU

 

[eLiu]

Personally, I'd get former...that 60gb, 7200rpm drive is nice. If you want the 5400rpm verison, I'd try to find one with an 80gb capacity.

 

[rainypickles]

Originally posted by: Confused
I have had a 14.1" screen running at 1400x1050, and I loved it. I've now got a 15" screen running at 1600x1200 and I love it even more.

I would never go back to any screen that has a lower resolution.
Confused

does 1600x1200 on a 15inch lcd look like 1600x1200 on a 17inch CRT?

 

[WackyDan]

I miss my 14" 1400x1050 T41P. I now have a 15" 1600x1200 T42p (thankfully work bought).... I really prefer the 14" as I fly weekly on business. Also, I found I prefer the 14" @1400x1050 as my eyes have a harder time with the 15", though I find I'm getting used to it....

If you are young.... then no biggy, but I'm in my 30's and I'm told by my doctor that I'm close to needing reading glasses... hence the 15" resolution being a bit too high for me.

 

[vegetation]

Folks, get the highest resolution offered, if you can afford it. You can scale all fonts and window properties. There seems to be a terrible miconception that one must only use the default window settings, and only small fonts and icons is a thing you must live with on a high resolution screen. Simply not true. This would be akin to saying one should never buy a 1200dpi printer since the fonts will be too small compared to a 600dpi one. Obviously, the printer has scaled the font out to normal size on the higher resolution choice, yielding sharper finer text as a result. Windows don't scale anything out automatically, but you can manually set it all up within a few minutes.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: rainypickles
does 1600x1200 on a 15inch lcd look like 1600x1200 on a 17inch CRT?

No. Because you naturally tend to sit closer to a laptop screen than a desktop monitor, since you're using the keyboard on the laptop.

WSXGA+ is a great size on 15.4 (something bigx1050, not mine, but I want one!), so I would think SXGA would look absolutely fine on a 14.1"

 

[Conroy9]

You can't get a good answer by asking whether a resolution is too small for someone else... their eyes are different from yours. You should go to look at the screen of a random laptop to get an idea of how comfortable it is for you.


Regarding the font scaling, there are a lot of poorly written programs which do not scale their dialog boxes/windows properly, and end up with things in the wrong places or even hidden because they're drawn outside of an unresizable window.

 

[zensafari]

Originally posted by: Conroy9
You can't get a good answer by asking whether a resolution is too small for someone else... their eyes are different from yours. You should go to look at the screen of a random laptop to get an idea of how comfortable it is for you.

Thats exactly what I did. I went to circuit city and best buy and looked at standard 14.1" and 15" screens with XGA (low-res). That's when I decided that I absolutely had to have a hi-res screen. In addition, SXGA+ screens have a wider viewing angle and sharper colors. Take a test drive at a store and see for yourself.

 

[rainypickles]

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie

Originally posted by: rainypickles
does 1600x1200 on a 15inch lcd look like 1600x1200 on a 17inch CRT?

No. Because you naturally tend to sit closer to a laptop screen than a desktop monitor, since you're using the keyboard on the laptop.

if you were sitting at the same distance, would it be the same?

 

[vegetation]

Regarding the font scaling, there are a lot of poorly written programs which do not scale their dialog boxes/windows properly, and end up with things in the wrong places or even hidden because they're drawn outside of an unresizable window.

Sure, if you still use programs from early win95 or win 3.1 days. Otherwise, I have never experienced this issue with modern versions.