E6400 : WXGA+ (1440x900) on a 14" screen, is it too small?

I'm about to buy a E6400. I'd really like the LED display but it only comes in 1440x900 resolution. I have to admit I've never seen this resolution on a 14" screen.

I think 1440x900 is a popular resolution for a 17", right? But on a 14", I'm afraid it'll be too small.

I'll use my laptop almost only for programming (the text should therefore be clear) and for Internet browsing.

Any though?

 

As long as you have decent eyes, it should be great looking to you.

 

Well, I do have good eyes but I also want to keep them good!

Is there a website that compares resolutions, with pictures? Someone knows?

 

The sizes will vary depending on the monitor you are looking at it with now...so thats not really possible.

If you think the text is too small, you can raise it by increasing the DPI in windows. However, i think you will enjoy it as is.

 

1440x900 is perfectly fine on a 14.1" screen, I think the resolution could still go a bit higher. I actually miss the 1680x1050 I had on my 15.4" laptop. The pixels are even smaller in that screen than for 1440x900 on a 14.1", and I love it. (Ok so my credibility as someone who hates small pixels is gone.) Frankly I'm amazed that you think 1440x900 is a popular resolution for a 17", considering the resolution of my 15.4" I'd expect no less than 1920x1200.

 

palmboy5, thanks for your reply.

Well, I've just been to a big computer store (they don't have business laptop series though) and the guy told me 1440x900 was mainly for 17". Maybe he has no clue what he's talking about!

I also use 1680x1050 on my 20" Dell desktop monitor and I love it. But then again, I would like to see the result on a 14-15" screen!

 

Word of warning: I had a 1680x1050 screen in my 15.4" Dell for almost 5 years. When I first got it, I thought the screen was fine. Over this summer, though, I found that I would get annoying headaches after using it for several hours at a time. These headaches didn't occur when using my desktop at home. I tried the scaling on Vista, but that made most applications blurry and some unusable. For reference, XP isn't exactly a princess on scaling, either, as I tried that, also.

Anyway, a guy I work with had a Macbook with the 1440x900 15.4" screen. While the screen was better (bigger font), it still was rather small for my tastes. I ended up buying a 1280x800 screen off of eBay and replacing mine. Although, I really miss the high resolution in terms of space, my headaches have stopped completely.

Now, one important fact: My eyesight is terrible. I think when I first got the laptop, my eyes were 20/250. They are now 20/400 (reference: 20/20 is perfect). Although bad eyesight runs in my family, no one's has occurred as fast and as bad as mine, so i believe it is safe to say that some of it is from using the laptop.

Final thoughts: if you plan on using the laptop a lot (8+ hours a day), I would look around at different screens to make sure you buy something that won't aggravate you.

 

If you're using Windows XP, you can set DPI to 120 (from the normal 96), and moreover, go to Appearance and change "Font size" from Normal, to Extra large.

Doing the above will make 1440x900 on your 14" enjoyable (in terms of eyestrain, at least).

Btw, there is nothing specially small about 1440x900 on a 14" screen, it gives you the same pixel density as 1280x800 on a 12.1" screen, or 1024x600 on a 10" screen, and those two examples are very popular today.

 

I'd still like to see pictures of 14" screens, with different resolutions, taken by an external camera! I can't believe there are no website offering this.

 

These comparisons exist, but the trouble is to find them. On the left, Samsung R20 with 1280 x 800, On the right Zepto 6024W with 1440 x 900. Both are 14.1".

Anyway, back to the basic question: Is 14.1" WXGA+ readable? My eyes are well past their best-before date and they can handle it. The only tweak I do is to increase the minimum font size in Firefox to 11 or 12pt. I'm in the process of moving over from my Zepto to the E6400 and the display is by far the best feature of my new acquisition. Nice and bright with excellent contrast. It is much easier on my eyes than the Zepto, which I though hasd a good screen.

John