M1530 gaming 1650x1050 vs 720p

[rohizz]

Hey guys,

I have a Dell M1530 with a C2D 2.0 ghz and 8600m GT with 3gb RAM.

I opted for the 1650x1050 screen, and though it is perfect for school/office work, I feel as if my set up cannot run games with native resolution without lowering the settings. And I would prefer eye candy. Playing at non-native res looks dreadful.

Also, I feel as if I might have gotten a lower-end screen because the density or something feels off to me. It's not as "smooth" of a screen as I've seen with Penryn MBP's, or even my old dead Acer with a 1280x800 screen.

Now what I want to ask is, would getting an 18.5 in 1366x768 monitor, which will probably have better pixel density, and brightness, etc., allow my system to display a better looking picture, via jacking up settings, AA, etc.?

--EDIT--
Games I primarily play: TF2, Civ4, MW2, Torchlight
Games I will play soon: DA:O, Oblivion, HL2, League of Legends
--------

Basically with current computer:
15.4 in 1680x1050 screen
or
18.5 in 1366x768 screen

I would be using the 1366 primarily for gaming, and the laptop monitor for office work. The battery only lasts 20 minutes so this has basically become a desktop anyway.

btw, if it matters, i have a 26" 720p Olevia TV, but with my desk, I don't want that screen in my face, and I'd rather save it for my 360 in another location.

Thanks all for reading! I appreciate your help!

 

[rohizz]

Hey guys, I just wanted to get some opinions on what would ultimately give a "nicer" image. I know it's subjective but, I feel as if smaller res+bigger screen might look better with some AA and eye candy with the given hardware.

 

[happy medium]

My vote is for the 18.5" screen. I just can't imagine playing on a 15 inch monitor.

 

[rohizz]

Thanks for the input. Come to think of it, it's not all that great, and when I got a chance to use a 24" 1080p TV/Monitor, it was a much better experience, eye-strain wise, but I did have to lessen the graphics, and I don't know if its worth it...bad textures and ugly smoke/shadows.

 

[A_Dying_Wren]

Er... you should easily be playing at least Civ4, Oblivion, DA:O, Lol and Torchlight at native res and high settings. Neither of those games are in the least graphically challenging (not 100% sure on torchlight). Depending on your fps demands you should be able to squeeze in TF2 and HL2 at native. I've run a fair few of those games on my 9700m GT which is a 8600m GT with higher clocks (that I've overclocked further).

But yea, I'd recommend a nice 1366*768 monitor if you want to jack up the image quality somewhat. I have a 22" myself at 1680*1050 but I often have to lower the res. I honestly don't notice after a while that the image is slightly fuzzy. To each their own I guess.