1920x1080 on 15.6" FHD Dell

Hi guys I am thinking of buying a Dell Latitude E5520 with a 15.6" FHD screen (1920x1080) Wide View Anti-Glare LED-backlit with Premium Panel Guarantee.

Will this (1920x1080) be too much for a 15.6 inch screen? i have heard that the text is going to be smaller but is it that much of a difference?

The other option for the E5520 is a 15.6" HD screen (1366x768) Anti-Glare LED-backlit. I want a screen that will look nice when i watch movies and tv programs but i do surf the internet a lot and i would not like to strain my eyes by having to read small text. Please let me know which option would be better for my preferences, or any feedback would be very appreciated. Thanks

 

I personally like the extra screen real estate, but it really depends on your personal preference and ability to read small text. If you have the cash, I'd say go for it; if it's too small, just turn the DPI up. One warning though, once you go WUXGA (and enjoy it), you'll never go back so plan on always having to pay for the screen upgrade .

 

The 1366x768 screen on Dell Latitudes (like the XPS) is known to be worse than many similar screens on laptops from the past few years. I've seen all three Dell screens from 768 to 900 to 1080, and the 1366x768 clearly stood out as the worst in terms of image quality. If you're getting the E5520, I'd highly advise going for 1920x1080,

or ordering the E6520 with 1600x900,
or ordering the Thinkpad L520 with 1600x900.

 

1080p is defently NOT too much for a 15", I think this should be a standard from 15" upwards.
There are many advantages and still you can use DPI-scaling for some applications and for browsing and office you still can adjust the zoomlevel/font if you can't read it.
If you have bad eyes you might go for 900p, but don't go for HD, thats just not enough for a 15" notebook.

I can count pixels on this DPI ;(

 

1920x1080 on 15.6" will have very tiny text for sure. I had 1920x1200 on 15.4" in my M70, and while the extra space was great for large Visio drawings, browsing the internet was terrible. I ended up docking the system most of the time, and eventually it became my test box.

Generally, DPI scaling is useless as it's often not supported or results in pixelated graphics. I would not recommend a resolution this high unless there's a need (such as large Visio drawings).

Also, non-HD videos will look worse with higher resolutions. For 15", 1680x1050 or 1600x900 would be best. 1366x768 is terrible for anything larger than 13".

 

+1 for the 1080p display. You can always increase the DPI without sacrificing resolution to help alleviate small text.

 

I have an XPS 15 with a full HD screen. Text size is not an issue AT ALL. I'll tell you something that I figured out which works perfectly if you're worried about this, as I was before ordering mine:

1. Leave the DPI for Windows at 125% (default) and the resolution at 1920x1080.

2. Set the default zoom level for your browser (I use Google Chrome) to 120%.

And...DONE! Everything will be perfectly readable. My old laptop had a res of 1280x1024 as a frame of reference and I love my current setup. I saw that no one mentioned changing default browser zoom and it made all the difference. Also, in Microsoft Office applications I have changed the default zoom to 120% as well and its perfect. All webpages will open at 120% and you can browse normally without having to mess with anything or zooming in on every site manually.

This way, you get all the advantages that the 1080p screen provides and get perfectly readable text. If you ever need to make things bigger or smaller on the fly just press ctrl and +/- or pinch in/pinch out on the touch pad. Done and done.

 

Heck, you can just change the resolutions when you want something other than 1920x1080, it doesn't have to be on max resolutions 24/7.

I can't wait to have FHD again, but I will have the resolutions at 1600x900 most of the time.

 

Let's just say, once you try higher resolutions, you will find anything less not very satisfying.

 

1920x1200 should be mandatory on all screens 13" and up.

Flippin' consumerism

 

I'm talking to an agent right now, maybe they will have something in spare parts for me.