I know what laptop the question is 17" wxga 1440X900 VS uxga 1920X1200

[bigguynail]

I am new to Autocad and I build homes as a general contractor. As I get older figured I better learn new skills.

 

Know that I will get a new workstation laptop with 17" screen driven by a dedicated 512Mb. to 1Gb. Quadro or Firepro graphics card.

 

The question I am trying to resolve is screen resolution most laptops of this class offer screens in WXGA. 1440X900 and UXGA. 1920X1200

 

Would I find the extra resolution of upgrading to 1920X1200 useful on a 17" screen?

 

How useful would it be?

 

Thank You

[ReMark]

I would get the laptop with the UXGA display and set it up to use 1280x1024 if you're doing CAD related work. Then after you day is through crank up the resolution to the max, pop in a DVD and enjoy the show. Oh, and it's your turn to bring the popcorn.

[hugha]

UXGA is not 1920X1200. 1920X1200 is WUXGA which should be run at full res 1920X1200 just like any other LCD display. Unlike CRTs, LCDs running at lower res give poor results because pixels are spread unevenly.

 

Might be an idea to first go try out 17" notebooks or screens at a store to check if you can work with WUXGA - some find the menus and text too small for constant use.

 

Most highend laptops will drive a large external screen as well as the one built into the laptop itself, possibly through a docking station.

 

HD 1080 is a newly emerging size:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vector_Video_Standards2.svg

[ReMark]

I would think that any menus, text, icons, etc. at 1280x1024 would be easily visible to most people with decent eyesight or who wear glasses.

[hugha]

SXGA (1280x1024) has a 5:4 aspect ratio

 

WXGA (1440x900) and WUXGA (1920x1200) both have a 16:10 aspect ratio.

 

If SXGA were selectable for screens of either resolution it would need to stretch to cover the wider screen (with consequent distortion) or leave an unused portion beside the active area.

 

It's similar to the problems faced fitting TV broadcasts to both old 4:3 and newer 16:9 receivers.

[bigguynail]

First Thank You

 

I have tried the 1440X900 17" screened laptops at the box stores just have never got to try a higher reselution screen on a 17" laptop. My old CF-50 Toughbook can run 1600X1200 and the icons and print are a bit small to look at all day especially to my eyes at that setting.

 

I will often use this laptop when drafting at my desk plugged into my current monitor that is a 24" LCD I run at 1920X1200 from my older desktop.

 

So what I get is I want to be able to run as high a resolution as I can comfortably view?

 

Once again thank you and I welcome any other input?

[ReMark]

Just because the monitor can display that resolution doesn't mean you have to run it that way. Right click on your Desktop pick Properties then Settings and using the slider bar set your screen resolution. Newer versions of Windows gives you the ability to preview what things will look like before it makes the change. Hey, if you don't like it 5 minutes later then change it again until you are happy.

[hugha]

You can certainly alter the LCD display mapping as suggested. This explains my reservations about doing so:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_resolution

 

It comes down to a battle between pixel size and your eyesight. If you move from a 24" screen to 17" keeping the same resolution then everything will be physically smaller by a factor of 0.7 - about the same reduction as when plotting an A3 drawing on an A4 sheet.

 

My limited experience with a 17" WUXGA laptop is that it the text is a little small for long sessions but its owner says it's just great as she can put a ton of stuff up at once. She also runs a separate larger screen with even more on it.

 

I'd consider the WXGA (as it is the better resolution for me - and it's going to be cheaper) so long as the laptop it comes in is capable of driving a large high resolution external screen directly via its own DVI port or via a docking station without any complaint from the graphics engine - even when playing games or watching a movie ...

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_resolution