Dell Studio 15 LCD panel

okay so i ordered a 15.6" studio 15 with a LCD panel 1080p (1920x1080). i wanna switch to 720p (1280x720) because i think it's a waste of money, especially if i don't need it (i'll be using it for homework, college, and occasional video games/movies).
1. what are the advantages of 1080p vs. lower resolutions?
2.how would the screen look compared to lower resolutions?
3.how much battery power would it consume, compared to lower resolutions?
4.would it have any other effects on your eyes, compared to lower resolutions?
thanks.

 

Well if you havent seen a 1080p 15.6" in person, you really shouldn't have ordered it. It strictly a personal preference. I have a 15.4'' 1920x1200 myself. I love having 2 word docs @100% side by side. But for some people the text can be had to read, although if you are using vista, icon/font sizes can be easily adjusted.

Give it a couple of days, if you don't like it, sent it back.

 

1. With 1080p, you have more lines vertically and horizontally, meaning more desktop space. You would be able to fit more windows on screen completely than on lower resolution screens.

2. The screen would show images at much sharper clarity. Text size will be smaller as those are rendered at a set pixel height and width. Web pages would be a lot smaller looking, but you will be able to see much more.

3. Battery power consumption is the same. It's the backlight that drains the battery.

4. If you have bad eyesight, then I don't suggest getting 1080p. Lower resolutions have much larger things in general. Text, icons, images, menus will all be easier to read on lower resolution screens.

 

thanks. i'm still waiting for it to come + suffering from buyer's remorse/regret. two more questions:
1. it's not the high resolution that eats up all the power, but the backlight right? if so, can't i just adjust it so that it's not as bright, for example lowering the brightness level?
2. i think i'm gonna like it because i like to see everything all in one place, even though it's small because my eyesight's alright. would lowering the brightness level of the backlight hurt my eyes? or would it be better than having the maximum brightness level of the backlight on?

 

Yes, you can adjust the brightness easily. The setting you want depends on how much backlight you need to see comfortably, and how much battery power you want to save.

And yes, the resolution has nothing to do with power use. 50% brightness at 1280x720 will use exactly as much power as 50% brightness at 1920x1080.

 

i still feel it's a waste of money because people that have the 1080p screen tend to also have some kind of bluray disc, or whatever you call it, to watch movies and stuff. i don't think i'm ever gonna use it, although i like how the 1080p screen makes everything seem smaller and fit into one place. any thoughts on this? thx.

 

You should pick your display resolution based on what you want to use it for, not whether or not you have a Blu-Ray player. I prefer higher resolutions for the reason you just said; I like being able to fit a lot of stuff on my screen. If that's not important to you, get a lower resolution screen.

 

hmm okay, but it's still not convincing. i've heard people say that higher resolution = more battery consumption because the high resolution makes the laptop do more work and therefore, drains away more power.

 

That will be minimal. And if it does consume more power, it will be from the GPU processing more pixels, not the display itself. The only part of the display that affects battery life is the backlight.

 

I have blur-ray, but how many timer have I used it? Less than 5, my model was the only configure available in my location. Do I use my WUXGA screen for movie watching? I'd say 5% of the time if not less.

I use it mainly for university assignments, note taking, browsing, IM, and alittle gaming.

 

This may be true. On the other hand, because the screen has more space to dispaly all your apps, there is less need to overlap windows on top of each other. Less overlap, less redraw is needed when you move from app/window to app/window. Overall, don't think there is more power draw either way that a typical user can detect.

 

kk thanks!