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Question of the Day: What's the most interesting small town you've visited in South Africa?
Laptop Screen Resolution:
- Thread starter kapovski
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The_Techie
Resident Techie
VanZan
Senior Member
HP put different hardware configurations together under the same model number. Each family (e.g. Compac 6320) have a HP designation of 7 alpha-numeric code that identifies the various generic configurations. Within each of these configurations you also have various options which is further designated by a #(three digit code). The newer HP notebooks have a utility that gives you all of that info.
Anyway - the point is that depending on the particular screen specification as well as the graphics card, the same model (but different configurations) could actually have a wide range of max. resolution options.
VanZan
Senior Member
If your model only have the XGA screen then you can't. It is a hardware limitation. Have to upgrade the screen and/or GPU. Sorry? :-(
acidrain
Executive Member
Got the same gfx card and i work in 1280x1024.
Lap is a Lenovo R52 tho.
Lap is a Lenovo R52 tho.
spacemuis
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The max res on a laptop screen is a function of the physical screen - the actual physical number of pixels horizontally and vertically (you can see them if you peer closely), aka the "native resolution".
LCD displays are fundamentally different from CRT displays in that the logical pixels (as per the selected display resolution) aren't "smeared" across the physical pixels.
First of all you can't go to a higher display res than the native res (unless you want a scrolling desktop), and if you go to a lower res than native you either get blank areas to the tops or side, or you get a blurry mess.
Windows uses a technology called ClearType to improve the display of fonts on the blocky LCD pixels. Like the linked article says, it's turned off by default on XP and makes a big difference if turned on. To do this, right-click on your desktop background, choose "Properties", goto Appearance tab, click on Effects button. Then choose Cleartype under "Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts.
This is all academic and more than what you wanted to hear. Most likely if your windows display settings only allow you to go to 1024x768, then that is the native resolution of your screen. Sorry also from me :-(
The 1400x1050 is the "widescreen" format, which is not in the same ratio of width:height as the traditional CRT display which is 4:3. So you would have had a choice of regular 4:3 display (XGA, 1024x768) or the widescreen model (1400x1050). Sounds like you chose the XGA model.
Yes it is annoying that most places that sell notebooks don't make this distinction clear - and most buyers are unaware of this as well.
LCD displays are fundamentally different from CRT displays in that the logical pixels (as per the selected display resolution) aren't "smeared" across the physical pixels.
First of all you can't go to a higher display res than the native res (unless you want a scrolling desktop), and if you go to a lower res than native you either get blank areas to the tops or side, or you get a blurry mess.
Windows uses a technology called ClearType to improve the display of fonts on the blocky LCD pixels. Like the linked article says, it's turned off by default on XP and makes a big difference if turned on. To do this, right-click on your desktop background, choose "Properties", goto Appearance tab, click on Effects button. Then choose Cleartype under "Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts.
This is all academic and more than what you wanted to hear. Most likely if your windows display settings only allow you to go to 1024x768, then that is the native resolution of your screen. Sorry also from me :-(
The 1400x1050 is the "widescreen" format, which is not in the same ratio of width:height as the traditional CRT display which is 4:3. So you would have had a choice of regular 4:3 display (XGA, 1024x768) or the widescreen model (1400x1050). Sounds like you chose the XGA model.
Yes it is annoying that most places that sell notebooks don't make this distinction clear - and most buyers are unaware of this as well.
spacemuis
Well-Known Member
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I was quoted about R4500 recently for an oldish HP notebook (15.4" widescreen at 1680x1050) so I doubt that's going to be a good way to go for you... If you need the additional real estate you've got the following options I can see:
1) sell the notebook and buy a higher res model
2) get an external LCD screen and set it up to extend your desktop onto the external screen - then you can run some apps on the laptop's screen and others on the external one. Be careful that the same distinctions apply for external LCD's!! Not all 17" screens are equal - the native resolution is equally important!
3) get an external LCD (with a higher native res) and use it as your primary display for your deskbound work that requires the higher res, and the notebook for mobile work...
Hope this helps...