Is a 17" LCD at 1024x768 the same as a 19" LCD at 1280x1024?

Question

I like the 1024x768, but am thinking of going to a 19". Would the 1280x1024 resolution make everything a lot smaller?

Answer 1

I'd say 1280x1024 on a 19" would appear smaller with more viewable area.

Answer 2

The 19" at 1280 by 1024 will have a slightly higher pixel-per-inch, making text and icons slightly smaller than a 17" at 1024 by 768.


The big difference is that the 19" at 1280 by 1024 will be a lot crisper than a 17" at 1024 by 768.

Both 19" and 17" have a native resolution of 1280 by 1024. So a 17" running at 1024 by 768 has to scale the image up to 1280 by 1024. So each pixel of the image wants to occupy 1.25 pixels horizontally and 1.33 pixels vertically. This is obviously not possible so the image gets blurred and distorted when it is expanded to fill the screen.

This is why all LCDs should be run at the native resolution, and then the DPI setting altered in the Display properties to make the text an acceptable size.

Answer 3

You know what....that is a damn good question. i think 17" versus 19" at those resolutions things would be just a tiny tad bigger on the 19" simply becasue of the 2 inch difference.