Advantages/Disadvantages of going with the hi-res 1440x900 display?

Looks like Dell is going to finally let me return my faulty unit and rebuild another from scratch.

Was wondering how people felt about the 1440 display vs. the 1280.

 

I love my 1440x900... I personally haven't found any disadvantages...

 

I like my 1440 x900 display. Clarity and brightness offset the slightly smaller pixels. I think it is a good compromise.

John

 

Some people have poor eye sight and needs everything big, so they get the lower resolution model.
If you have a good eye sight and want a larger work area (closets to 1280x1024) than 1440x900 is what you need.

Some options are available to have everything big without having a blurry screen if it is an issue.
1- Increase the DPI and font size in Windows Vista/7
2- Return the system while you can and ask for a lower resolution screen.

Personally, I have no problem with 1440x900, in fact I really enjoy my 1440x900 screen, and I find the perfect size for a 14inch wide screen. In my opinion, if you have trouble to see with 1440x900 then you should see an optometrist to get your eye check.

 

I had a laptop with a 1280x800 14 inch screen before I got the E6400 with the 1440x900 screen and I definitely like the increased screen space and clarity. I find everything (fonts etc) to be the right size on the 1440x900. 1280x800 made everything look too big.

Unless you have a reason to go with the 1280x800, get the 1440x900.

 

1440x900 on a 14-15.4" screen is the ultimate sweet spot.

1650x1080 on a 17" is perfect.

1280x800 is a wee bit too big and chunky.

 

Looking at the numbers:

'Traditional' aspect ratio = 4:3 = 1.33
Wide View E6400 14.1" diag = 12x7.5" = 8:5 = 1.60 (= 1440x900)
Wide View E6500 15.4" diag = ?x?" = 8:5 = 1.60 (= 1440x900)
Wide Screen aspect ratio = 16:9 = 1.78

1440x900 at 96dpi (normal) = 15x9.38"
1440x900 at 120dpi = 12x7.5"

I have the 14.1" E6400 1440x900. The screen measures 12x7.5". Notice that the 120dpi setting results in a 1-to-1 match to screen size... full-size, not compressed. I prefer this. I tried to live with 96dpi (normal) but got tired of the visual struggle... it's sharp but small.

I do not know the 15.4" E6500 screen dimensions, but I suspect I would find 1440x900 at 96dpi to be the sweet spot on the E6500.

I recommend the 1440x900 with the option to adjust the dpi scaling.

GK

 

ah.... the only disadvantage i get is i am not satisfied anymore on the regular 1280 x 800 on my other laptops

 

I'll second that.. after using this loaded up my old laptop the other day (15.4" with 1280x900) and I was surprised about how bad it looked compared to this

 

Only major disadvantage of the high res display is if you're running an OS that doesn't support scaling very well. If this is the case, then you'll be better served by a lower res LCD.

I run WUXGA on a 15.4" screen, and find it to be ideal with Vista, since you can simply adjust everything nicely so that its the same 'size' as it would be on a lower resolution screen, just with greater resolution and clarity. The reduction in aliasing reduces eyestrain and improves overall usability.

I really don't understand why people keep trotting out the 'text will be too small to read' argument. Maybe that was applicable under some old version of Windows, or in some text editor or word processor that doesn't adapt very well to high-dpi screens. The IE8 web browser has eliminated all of the web browsing issues that were inherent with the small, high-res screens trying to render low-dpi web content as well.