Widescreen Pros and Cons

[crow610]

Hi all!
I am in the process of getting a laptop for the first time and was wondering if the widescreen (looking at the Dell D620) would be good for me. Other then all the normal things that people do on laptops like internet, email, games...etc... I will also be doing a lot of programming (mostly in the Visual Studio environment). For all you programmers out there, do you prefer widescreen or the traditional laptop displays for the purposes that I have mentioned?

 

[6000SUX]

Originally posted by: crow610
Hi all!
I am in the process of getting a laptop for the first time and was wondering if the widescreen (looking at the Dell D620) would be good for me. Other then all the normal things that people do on laptops like internet, email, games...etc... I will also be doing a lot of programming (mostly in the Visual Studio environment). For all you programmers out there, do you prefer widescreen or the traditional laptop displays for the purposes that I have mentioned?

Traditional, by far. You can get more lines of code on the screen. You can also see vertically more of a web page if you are into web design. I don't use an environment where the extra space at the side would be useful, and I can't think of one.

 

[Leafblighter]

who cares about what you're doing... .just the simple fact of being able to have a webpage open with AIM on the same screen at the same time or the dozen other uses of having multiple windows visible at once more than warrants the widescreen. they're really not any bigger than the typical laptop, at least the difference in size is not an issue at all when compared to the benefits. you'll also be able to watch dvds without huge nasty black bars (if there are any they'll be smaller and much much more of the screen can actually be used to *gasp* watch the movie).

just grab the widescreen, you'll love it more and more the longer you have it

 

[6000SUX]

Originally posted by: Leafblighter
who cares about what you're doing... .just the simple fact of being able to have a webpage open with AIM on the same screen at the same time or the dozen other uses of having multiple windows visible at once more than warrants the widescreen. they're really not any bigger than the typical laptop, at least the difference in size is not an issue at all when compared to the benefits. you'll also be able to watch dvds without huge nasty black bars (if there are any they'll be smaller and much much more of the screen can actually be used to *gasp* watch the movie).

just grab the widescreen, you'll love it more and more the longer you have it

It makes sense for watching movies, but most people have TVs for that. I can't remember the last time I watched a movie on a laptop, and the OP didn't mention he'd be doing that. He did mention doing work. There also aren't too many uses for having a super-skinny window open beside your work, but it is definitely true for programming and other document-creation activities that the screen space would be better distributed in a traditional aspect ratio.

 

[Throwmeabone]

Widescreen is great for anything with tool palettes on the side like Photoshop or Powerpoint. I can't think of any benefit of standard ratio.

 

[pkme2]

I plan to get a 2405 for my video rig. I'm running 3 LCDs for my video editing. one for video playback, 2 for video editing desktop. The 2405 will replace 2 LCDs. The separator between the 2 LCDs is getting to be old hat, and a wide screen will make my job easier. Here one positive vote for wide screen.

 

[crow610]

Arg. Decisions decisions. But it seems almost hard to find a decent laptop that is not widescreen. I am willing to pay around 1400 and prefer 14" and under 5lbs. Any suggestions?

 

[6000SUX]

Originally posted by: pkme2
I plan to get a 2405 for my video rig. I'm running 3 LCDs for my video editing. one for video playback, 2 for video editing desktop. The 2405 will replace 2 LCDs. The separator between the 2 LCDs is getting to be old hat, and a wide screen will make my job easier. Here one positive vote for wide screen.

That's not a good argument. The OP wants to know what laptop screen aspect ratio would be best for his activities, largely programming. A widescreen aspect ratio makes a lot more sense for a large panel, where you can run higher resolutions and actually make use of the space. You can't do this on a smaller notebook.

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: crow610
Hi all!
I am in the process of getting a laptop for the first time and was wondering if the widescreen (looking at the Dell D620) would be good for me. Other then all the normal things that people do on laptops like internet, email, games...etc... I will also be doing a lot of programming (mostly in the Visual Studio environment). For all you programmers out there, do you prefer widescreen or the traditional laptop displays for the purposes that I have mentioned?

Honestly as a programmer who's used laptops for the past 5 years, I find having a widescreen setup not as important as having an additional monitor (LCD/CRT). If you have a decent external monitor then the aspect ratio on the laptop becomes less important unless you plan on being mobile while programming. In that case, I still find that the widescreen aspect ratio isn't as important as the vertical resolution. I prefer seeing more lines of code rather than having a wide display.

 

[imported_Shakespeare]

I'll second Throwmeabone. I use a widescreen and for the apps with palettes (Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc.) I like it alot. Still Visual Studio and the Excel Macro Editor are nice widescreen too. Widescreen is also nice to put IM windows and Netmetting open on the side, out of the way.

Still 6000sux has a point with verticle resolution versus total screen resolution.

My $.02 is go with the widescreen.

Check Six,
Shakespeare

 

[Accord99]

For programming, the aspect ratio isn't as important as the resolution. In this respect the D620 is a major disappointment since previous D6x0 series laptops with the 14.1" 4:3 screen offerred the SXGA+ screen, 1400x1050. The new D620 best screen is only WXGA+, 1440x900. So for only 40 additional pixels in width, you lose 150 pixels in height. If you like the 14.1" form factor, I would rather go with IBM's T60 series which still offer a SXGA+ screen on their 14.1" models.

 

[Tiamat]

Widescreen by far.

Typing up a paper in word, while having Excel open next to it is extremely helpful. Having A-Z columns in Excel is necessary for me at 100% zoom.

Photoshop benefits since you can have a 4:3 picture and the toolbars dont get in the way.

Movies on the go benefit

Games benefit

...

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
Widescreen by far.

Typing up a paper in word, while having Excel open next to it is extremely helpful. Having A-Z columns in Excel is necessary for me at 100% zoom.

Photoshop benefits since you can have a 4:3 picture and the toolbars dont get in the way.

Movies on the go benefit

Games benefit

...

:thumbsup: And for travelling as well - a wide screen opens better on an airplane seat tray.

 

[6000SUX]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
Widescreen by far.

Typing up a paper in word, while having Excel open next to it is extremely helpful. Having A-Z columns in Excel is necessary for me at 100% zoom.

Photoshop benefits since you can have a 4:3 picture and the toolbars dont get in the way.

Movies on the go benefit

Games benefit

...

Unfortunately, you can't usefully do that on anything but a huge screen. In addition, most people DON'T need to do that. In the special case of someone needing to view wide spreadsheets, it may make sense to get a wide-screen. I could see the benefit for accounting majors.

With respect to photo editing, there is no benefit. Many photos are taken in portrait orientation, and most are not taken at 4:3 aspect ratio. You must own an Olympus 4/3 camera, but if you do you're in the minority. And I suppose you never crop. 😉 The toolbars don't get in the way, and you can never view a whole image at full size anyway.

You've obviously never tried to really open a Word document on half of a 15.4" screen and actually use it. I have. It's unusable at that size; the text is too small. The OP is looking at the Dell D620, an even smaller machine IIRC. That means he's interested in portability.

 

[6000SUX]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan

Originally posted by: crow610
Hi all!
I am in the process of getting a laptop for the first time and was wondering if the widescreen (looking at the Dell D620) would be good for me. Other then all the normal things that people do on laptops like internet, email, games...etc... I will also be doing a lot of programming (mostly in the Visual Studio environment). For all you programmers out there, do you prefer widescreen or the traditional laptop displays for the purposes that I have mentioned?

Honestly as a programmer who's used laptops for the past 5 years, I find having a widescreen setup not as important as having an additional monitor (LCD/CRT). If you have a decent external monitor then the aspect ratio on the laptop becomes less important unless you plan on being mobile while programming. In that case, I still find that the widescreen aspect ratio isn't as important as the vertical resolution. I prefer seeing more lines of code rather than having a wide display.

Good points, all. Vertical resolution is super-important, and so are the fonts you use.

 

[pcmodem]

Originally posted by: crow610
Hi all!
I am in the process of getting a laptop for the first time and was wondering if the widescreen (looking at the Dell D620) would be good for me. Other then all the normal things that people do on laptops like internet, email, games...etc... I will also be doing a lot of programming (mostly in the Visual Studio environment). For all you programmers out there, do you prefer widescreen or the traditional laptop displays for the purposes that I have mentioned?

As I actually have a D620, can answer that it does work well for many tasks.

However, if you will mostly be using it to edit code... a more vertical screen would better serve you since you'll need to be able to see more lines of output.

That said, the D620 is a decathlete. It can do many things well, I'm glad to have purchased the machine. However, only you can decide if it's right for your needs.


Best wishes,
PCM

 

[crow610]

Thank you all for your help. I may get the D620 however I was just reading on the new Asus W7J coming out the end of the month. Nice laptop for a reasonable price!