15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) pros and cons

I'm thinking of getting an Inspiron 1520 with the WSXGA+ option and I was wondering what people thought of this display because I've noticed not too many people have that option. I'll be using it for school and watching video/ listening to music. Is it overkill?, Does it have less battery life than lower resolutions? I've also heard of problems with graininess on the XGA+ so is that a decent alternative? Also is the glossy screen a problem when you're outdoors?

One last question, if I decide on say a WXGA(1280x800) will I be able to output 1680x1050 to a 22" monitor? Thanks for any feedback.

 

the max output capabilities to an external monitor depend on the GFX, not on the laptop screen
when the GFX manages to output 1680 x 1050, you're fine

 

go for WXGA.

 

Once you have tried 1680x1050 you don't want to go back. Things do get smaller on the screen, but unless you have problems with your eyes the increased resolution simply gives you more room for windows on your desktop. You could have two word documents side by side ect.

Just my 5 cents..

 

get the 1680, i got it,and i went back to my 1280 17" lcd and i went EWWW, it just looked so big and u can see teh pixels lol.

 

get the 1680, i got it,and i went back to my 1280 17" lcd and i went EWWW, it just looked so big and u can see teh pixels lol.

 

I went WSXGA+ not even knowing anything about the resolution. I hope I like it...

 

Not to bother anyone but I got WSXGA+ by Dell's mistake... The inspiron came a week ago, and I was thinking to keep it to see if I could feel comfortable with that resolution, but unfortunately, everything is indeed very small !! I just called them to have replace it ...because I originally ordered WXGA...

 

Yah I ordered the WSXGA because the rep said if I was maxing out the other specs I might as well max out the resolution.

So I hope I like it as well.

 

its overkill. unless you're editing photo's or video, you don't need it, and it will eat up your batter.
go for 1440x900 instead.

 

Regardless of the LCD panel you choose, the nVidia 8600 series can support 1680x1050 on your external monitor. In fact, you should be able to drive up to 2048x1536 at 85Hz on an external analog monitor, according to nVidia's web page here:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_8600_8500_tech_specs.html

If it has a DVI output, you can drive up to 2560x1600 on a digital monitor with a DVI port.

"Two dual-link DVI outputs for digital flat panel display resolutions up to 2560x1600
One dual-link DVI outputs for digital flat panel display resolutions up to 2560x1600
One single-link DVI outputs for digital flat panel display resolutions up to 1920x1200
Dual integrated 400MHz RAMDACs for analog display resolutions up to and including 2048x1536 at 85Hz
Integrated HDTV encoder provides analog TV-output (Component/Composite/S-Video) up to 1080i resolution
NVIDIA nView® multi-display technology capability
10-bit display processing"

 

I agree with "theTorch", on a 15.4" screen 1680x1050 is madness! i have a 20" dell 207wfp with a native res of 1680x1050, for me that is perfect! not to small, not too big, just rite. On a 15.4" i would say 1440x900 is probably the best resolution!

 

I got this on mine and I feel it is well worth it. I can fit so much more on the screen. It does make everything smaller but I can still read everything fine.

 

But wait, none of the new dells have DVI ports! is this a bad thing, or is the classic d-sub still able to keep up?

 

Doh, you are right. I dont know. I know what the card itself is capable of driving, but that is all. I would guess that it the 2048x1536 is safe, since that is analog.

 

Yeh, guess so ahh well it will still support my external monitor, so im happy

 

Go for the 1680*1050 option, you won't be disappointed, I love my screen at that resolution, everything is so smooth, nothing is too small.

 

When I get my WSXGA+ display and I find the resolution makes everything look to small, I can always lower the resolution, right?

 

Yes, but: If you don't set the native resolution (1680x1050) everything will get a bit blurred.
A better way is to change the DPI value and/or use the zoom function provided by Windows Vista.
You'll get used to this.

 

To the guy that said it wastes battery life. The difference in battery life from say 1440x900 to 1680x1050 is not even noticeable.

 

It's not just the fact that it is not even noticeable:

There is absolutely no difference! :lol:

 

I plan to do some digital painting with my good ol' Wacom tablet, so I feel the highest resolution possible would be nice for me. I saw an $1800 ASUS at BB with a 15.4" WSXGA+ screen, and it looked fantastic. As long as I don't get the defective screen, all will be good.

 

I was very skeptical WSXGA+ initially. So i went to bestbuy and saw the WSXGA+ on Asus G1S and really liked it. I doubt i will be getting a laptop without WSXGA+ in the near future. But it all really depends on the person, so go check out other resolutions and see which one u like the most.

 

Is there anywhere I can see screenshots of different resolutions side by side?

 

Here is a pretty good picture of an Inspiron 1520's WSXGA+ Screen.

http://www.notebookreview.com/picture.asp?f=24897

You can see exactly the default sizes of the icons, and toolbars.

And yes, you can adjust them and make them bigger, as big as you want, and no, there isnt any noticable blurring when you do so.

Of course, there are artifacts in this picture that keep you from seeing the smallest details, you cant see how clear the text actually is.. but thats just because of the way the picture was taken, and the resolution of the photograph not being nearly as high as the screen itself.

 

sorry I don't have anything to compare it to ATR90 but I have done the best I can to show the size of the text and icons at WSXGA+

Warning: Very Large Images (>3.5 MB)
Text with scale:
http://www.starky.chemainusscouting.com/scale.jpg

Desktop for icon size:
http://www.starky.chemainusscouting.com/Desktop.jpg

 

Thanks for posting the pics, guys! They're great! You can really tell how small everything is just by looking at how many windows can fit in the task bar. It looks really nice. I don't think I will have trouble reading text. Maybe when I turn 70, I'll get a new notebook with lower resolution. At 17, I don't think I should have a problem.

Thanks again for the pics!

 

I am glad I went with WSXGA+ as well.

 

if you get wsxga+ and like it for a while, but then want to lower the resolution, will it still look okay?

 

Eyerything will get a bit blurred.
The best way is to change the DPI value and use the zoom function that Windows Vista provides because there will be no blurring.

 

I ordered the 1440x900 because I didn't want to pay $50 and I didn't feel comfortable with that DPI. The 1440x900 15.4" will already be a bigger dpi than my 1680x1050 22".

 

How close to the 20" dell screen are you sitting, and how close would you be to the 15.4" of a laptop? Because you sit very close to the screen things doesnt look small on a WSXGA+ laptop.

You can even get WUXGA (1920x1200) on some 15.4" laptops from HP and IBM. - if I were to use a laptop with that resolution, I think I would just increase font sizes in vista.

 

Are you saying you have a hard time with 1680x1050 on your 22" LCD?
22" would stretch the pixels out quite a bit.

Even 1280x1024 would be a higher DPI on 15.4" than 1680x1050 on 22"

 

i am using the 15.4" 1520, and 1680*1050 res, and persoanilly, anything lower than this res would not be enough for me, i am a coder and i need the extra vertical space. And 1680 is good for gaming, because of the screen size, you do NOT need AA, because there are enough pixels to be clear.

 

Go Wsxga+ Owners!

 

Thats an often overlooked fact. Anti Aliasing is mostly needed to make up for the lower res screens.

 

Man I'm tempted to revise my order for the WSXGA. I just worry about my eyesight. Wearing glasses doesn't help things out. Any of you with glasses have issues with the 1680 res?

 

i wear contacts or glasses sometimes, i am nearsighted. If i do not wear glasses/contacts my vision sucks, and i even have trouble seeing 1280 on a 17". But no, 1680 is fine, you will get used to it. Now when i go to my 17" 1280*1024, it looks like low res to me now, lol i cant stand it, its ugly. 1680 looks very good imo.

 

Damn it.. that wasn't the answer I was looking for lol.

 

For seeing the text with glasses, I don't think my father(who has horrible eyesight without glasses) had that much of an issue when he was reading something off my screen. If it is too small you can always increase the DPI in windows.

I went back to the old computer to transfer some files, and the resolution on that screen is 1024*768 on a 19" screen, It was horrible I could see each individual pixel. But I miss the great colour reproduction of the CRT compared to my screen on my laptop.

 

+1

I have the 1680 res on my dell 8600 Inspiron, and I can't imagine going back to 1280.

 

Wondering if anyone could post a screenshot of resolution reduced to 1280×800? Maybe on showing some office stuff and another some gaming.

 

I'd have to agree. I have 1680 x 1050 on my Inspiron 8600, and I just can't stand lower resolutions. I feel like I can get work done faster since it gives me more room to work with.

 

i wear glasses
and i have a dell inspiron 9100 with a 15.4" screen and a 1920x1200 reso
i have no problem whatsoever with it

 

Now THAT'S resolution!

 

I originally had WSXGA+ on the 1520 and then returned because the screen was so poor. Then I ordered a Vostro with 1440 x 900 but they sent me 1680x1050 by mistake! I was so furious but this time around the screen quality was top notch so I kept it and now I love WSXGA+. All in all I think 1680 x 1050 is great but it needs a good display, the lower the res, the less high quality of a display I can live with.