1280x800 too small on 14 inch screen?

Hi, I'm intersted in buying a dell xps m140/630m

The problem is that it has a 14 inch screen with 1280 x 800 resolution (it would have been fine if it was 1024 x 768)

My main usage of the laptop would to be program, text editing, word processing (lots of them)

so I was wondering if it's going to be hard on the eyes for my usage? (i'm pretty sure things are going to be tiny even if i make the windows theme fonts extra large)


the thing is...i really like this laptop, but the huge resolution is turning me off (as I HAVE TO HAVE comfort in terms of viewing... i will be spending a lot of time in front of it programming)
is there perhaps some sort of solution?

thanks

 

its pretty much the same as 1024x768 but wider

 

1280 x 800 is WXGA, XGA is 1024 x768. you're talking about 32 more pixels on the vertical and the horizontal is identical to XGA plus some extra space.

calling it a "huge resolution" is hyperbole

 

i've never owned a laptop before so i don't know much.

do you mean it's about the same?


p.s.: in addition, i've seen some that are 1280x768 wide screen ones...i never knew 1280x800 existed on 14 inches until i saw this dell...

 

Yes they are roughly the same.

 

I think it's fine. My previous laptop (Dell Latitude C600) was 1400x1050 at 14.1" IIRC. Wife complained about the font being too small but I found it ok or just got used to it.

That said, I just bought another budget laptop (B130) with 15" screen. It's the same price with the 14" B130 depends on which day you find the deal. So if the model you want has these options, I'd see if similar deals could be found.

One thing though, I do think 800 is a bit short for word processing. Using a Powerbook at work (15", 1280x854) and B130 at home, I miss the 1050 vertical res sometimes.

 

Hi, I just got my XPS M140, and I think the 1280 x 800 is perfect. The screen is nice and bright and the size and everything is just right. You don't have to worry about things being to small, you can always adjust the resolution to somthing lower. So the resolution is nothing to worry about.

 

very comforting to hear.
thanks, cheers!

:dell:

 

I second that... though you cannot really see 2 webpages side by side without horizontally scrolling (but not by that much), it's the perfect size. This comming from a 17" WUXGA 1920x1200 on a XPS Gen 2 and a 1280x800 WXGA on a 12.1" widescreen 700m.

 

If you're anywhere near a comp usa or a circuit city, they both have HP DV1000 series laptops on display. They're 14" models with that resolution, I was actually checking one out today, seemed good to me.

 

i actually thought about it for a long time (compaq is cheaper too); however, I read many many reviews saying that the compaq quality sucks (screen flex, cheap keyboard), but the review of m140 says it's quite well built


edit: when i say compaq, i mean compaq v2000. the dv1000 i heard was alright, but it's quite a bit more expensive then the dell (if i go for the same warrantee options)

 

Well, I wasn't saying it to consider the dv1000 INSTEAD of the m140, I was just saying you could check it out to see how 1280x800 looks on a 14" screen.

 

just one last question. what's the next resolution after 1280 x 800 that you can turn it down to (without screwing up the ratio so that the screen is either stretched/compressed some way)

thanks.

 

i dont think there is a lower resolution that you can turn down to without going to 4:3. it goes 1280x800, 1154x864, 1024x768, then 800x600.

 

Yea... the aspect ratio gets screwed up. But I do believe there are programs that allow you to customize the resolution. So with basic math you could calculate the same ratio as 1280 x 800 then chose a screen resolution that is lower then that but still has the asame aspect ratio. Otherwise you will have black lines on the size of your screen. But like I said earlier, 1280 x 800 is like the perfect resolution for a 14" widescreen, any smaller or bigger wouldn't be good (for my use).