Why do people complain when a bigger monitor doesnt have higher res?

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chrcoluk

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jul 7, 2008
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My current 19" is 1280x1024, I deliberatly chose this over a 17" 1280x1024 because I wanted readable text (even now it can seem too small) and bigger viewing area for movies etc.

I am awaiting a 2209WA 22" WS monitor, again for the better movie viewing experience and that I will be able to use things like sidebar in windows without taking up my traditional workspace. If the resolution was higher eg. 1900x1200 everything would be way too small and text hard to read. I do also occasionally game and 1280x1024 does not feel blocky at all, in fact sometimes I game at lower res in older games and 800x600 is also fine, the only problem been coming from it not been a native res rather than been a lower resolution. I just wish 24" existed that had the same res as the 2209WA, would have very readable text then. :)
 
Just crank up the text size. Copied from somewhere else:

Using Large Fonts
Open the Start menu by clicking on the Start button or by pressing the Windows logo key (located between the Ctrl and Alt keys) - or Ctrl + Esc
Click on Control Panel or press the letter C on the keyboard.
Double click on Display or press the D key repeatedly until Display is highlighted and then press Enter. This should bring up the Display properties box.
Click on the Appearance tab or press Control + Tab until the Appearance tab is at the front.
Under Font size click on the drop down menu to change it to large or extra large. Alternatively press Alt + F on the keyboard and then use the up and down arrows to select the font size followed by Enter. You may need to press Enter or click OK again to return to Windows. (See Fig 2)

I do that on my rig at home because of my poor eyesight, I still get the crispness of the high resolution, but when I want to sit back I can still read.
 
I have tried that before, it can make text look badly aligned as the rest of the windows surrounding the text doesnt increase with it.

--edit--

just tried it now, seems it doesnt affect text inside web pages etc. Just the text on the menu and toolbars.
 
There's nothing that says you can't drop the DPI settings on your larger monitor in order to get the larger, more readable text.

I prefer a higher resolution on a bigger monitor. The reason is this: I'm more productive with more pixels. Running at a higher resolution allows me to either have bigger windows or more of them and still have it all readable, i.e. not shrunk down to 5 pixels high. Or, from another angle, if I'm going to have a bigger monitor, I'm going to be paying for it, and if I'm paying for it, then I want more pixels to go along with it. Or, "why do 15.4" laptop screens have the same native resolution as 12" laptop screens?!"
 
chrcoluk said:
I have tried that before, it can make text look badly aligned as the rest of the windows surrounding the text doesnt increase with it.

--edit--

just tried it now, seems it doesnt affect text inside web pages etc. Just the text on the menu and toolbars.
Click to expand...
If you're using Firefox, Ctrl-MouseScroll will adjust the font size for you.
 
Text is most comfortable at the following customary resolutions per given size:

(16:10 Aspect)
17: 1280 x 800
19: 1440 x 900
22: 1680 x 1050
24: 1920 x 1200
30: 2560 x 1600

Now it has been argued that at 24", a 1080P or equivalent resolution is a bit small. I have mild nearsightedness and while I don't think that of my HP w2408H, I can see where they're coming from. In this instance the newer 25.5 and 26" screens may be more well suited. It's really all about DPI.
 
I hear you. However, I don't think big low-resolution monitors are the right solution to your problem.

Let's step away from monitors and think about printers. Does anyone complain that the move from 300dpi to 600dpi, and eventually to 1200dpi makes things too hard to read? No, higher resolution makes things easier to read because everything becomes more refined (but stays at the same size). This is how things should work for monitors as well.

Of course, I fully recognize that this is not how things currently work in Windows, and saying that this is a Windows problem does not really help you much. Your best bets are: (1) adjust font settings, (2) sit closer to the monitor, and (3) get a Hanns-G HG-281DPB monitor (27.5", 1920x1200) which has about the same pixel pitch as a 24" 1680x1050 monitor.

P.S. I am one of those people who complain about low-resolution monitors.
 
People complain about anything and everything, so you just need to find what works for you. I am using a Dell 2709W which has the lowest dot pitch of any computer monitor and I love it, because it is so easy to read. Hi res is better if your vision can handle it, but mine can't.

Dave
 
It just occurred to me that maybe you can buy a 30" 720p HDTV and use that as your computer monitor?
 
chklin said:
It just occurred to me that maybe you can buy a 30" 720p HDTV and use that as your computer monitor?
Click to expand...
the 30" or 32" HDTV's that are 720P are actually 1366x768 native, a decent resolution for part time computing or htpc duties imho. I have one right next to me as a matter of fact, it's being used with my "desktop htpc".
 
I never had an issue with my Dell 2407 (which I'm still using as a 2nd monitor) however I must admit that since I got the 1080p 40'' LCD I've become quite accustomed to the large text. I can see how that's something you would want to have...but I don't think I could ever have a main display with a lower res than 1080p, the screen real estate is too important.
 
Last edited:
gmkmay said:
I never had an issue with my Dell 2407 (which I'm still using as a 2nd monitor) however I must admit that since I got the 1080p 40'' LCD I've become quite accustomed to the large text. I can see how that's something you would want to have...but I don't think I could ever have a main display with a lower res than 1080p, the screen real estate is too important.
Click to expand...

sounds perfect :)
 
SJetski71 said:
the 30" or 32" HDTV's that are 720P are actually 1366x768 native, a decent resolution for part time computing or htpc duties imho. I have one right next to me as a matter of fact, it's being used with my "desktop htpc".
Click to expand...

yep I been thinking about tv's since they have lower native res. You know what panel types tend to be used in tv's surely not TN?
 
Samsungs are PVA and Panasonic and LG are IPS. I am not sure about Sony, but I think they are PVA as well.

Dave
 
I kinda agree with you. I come from the school of thought that as you get bigger TVs or monitors you should be sitting slightly further away from them, especially if I'm spending a lot of time infront of it. Sitting too close to large screens screws with my brain though, I think its something about staring at a large 2D display opposed to looking at stuff which truely has depth to it.
 
I ａｇｒｅｅ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｙｏｕ　１００％ on first part，but　２４　ｉｎｃｈ　ｆｏｒ 1920x1200 is too small for me, so I got a 25.5 which is perfect size. I suggest get a 25.5.
 
Opera browser is best at enlarging pages. I have key shortcuts to quickly increase webpages size.

Personally I also prefer larger pixels, so I have 25.5" 1920x1200. But every person is different so I see no problem whenn someone actually likes 22" 1920x1200 :)
 
All you low-res guys would love my 37" 720P "monitor". =) I'm looking to upgrade to something with a similar size, but 1080P. I'm really hoping that they'll release HDTVs that actually support 120Hz PC input (as opposed to just having 120Hz panels and internal processing) soon.

GTX285 at 1360x768? Crysis is my bitch.
 
sskk said:
I ａｇｒｅｅ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｙｏｕ　１００％ on first part，but　２４　ｉｎｃｈ　ｆｏｒ 1920x1200 is too small for me, so I got a 25.5 which is perfect size. I suggest get a 25.5.
Click to expand...

i love my dell 23' @ 1920 x 1080, is a perfect size and i can read it clearly! heck my Dell inspiron 9100 laptop has 15' screen and is 1920 x 1200, now that is dam small!
 
MrGuvernment said:
! heck my Dell inspiron 9100 laptop has 15' screen and is 1920 x 1200, now that is dam small!
Click to expand...
at least its an LCD with crisp edges...
Occasionally I set my dual 19"er CRT's (18" viewable) to 1920x1440 as they are square ratio, to accommodate extra long PS layer palettes, and, there you go hunting for blurry UI text...
 
MrGuvernment said:
i love my dell 23' @ 1920 x 1080, is a perfect size and i can read it clearly! heck my Dell inspiron 9100 laptop has 15' screen and is 1920 x 1200, now that is dam small!
Click to expand...

A 15-foot screen at 1920x1200! Talk about large pixels!
 
This stuff confuses me a lot. What would be easier to read text on 1680 x 1050 on a 22-inch screen or 1600 x 900 on a 20-inch screen? I adjusted windows 7 to medium settings or something on my 1280 x 1024 and it is much more readable than the default tiny text.
 
Yes i agree, i am getting a 1920x1200 27" because that res on a 24 inch makes the text unreadable
 
People are confusing issues here. It's not just about the size of the monitor and the resolution. You have to include the viewing distance as well. My eyes are about 2' from my 24" 1920x1200 monitor, and it's just perfect. If it were a 27" monitor at that resolution, I would see the limitations of the resolution from 2' away and would have to move back about 6", which would result in all the text looking the same size as on my 24" at 2' away.

My guess is that the last few posters are too far away from their monitor for its size and native resolution. It would be akin to buying a 30" 2560x1600 monitor and sitting 3' from it. That monitor is made to be 1-2' away because of its insanely high resolution. Another example would be getting a 42" 1080p TV as the monitor. Yes, the text would be large, but you'd have to sit about 4.5' away from it because of the size of its pixels. At that distance, text would be no more readable than on my 24" at 2' away.
 
Of course distance is crucial.
But high density monitors force us to start having a sloppy posture after some time, bending in order to view to small UI text..
And as I grow older I much more appreciate sitting properly at a greater distance,viewing larger screens of lower resolution than having to be squashed onto a high res monitor for hours..
 
People bitch about my 1920x1200 17" Laptop screen being too small. The higher the resolution the better! Everything gets clearer and sharper the higher res you go. All icons and text sizes can be adjusted for comfort. I don't get the low res big monitor crowd. From my experience, the people doing that just don't know how to properly adjust their UI. I can't wait till my smart phones have a res of 1920x1200!
 
Also in Firefox, you can force the minimum font size to be larger, but the setting is a bit buried. In Tools > Options > Content, click the "Advanced..." button across from "Default Font", and you will find the "Minimum font size" setting. Most web pages handle this pretty well, but some do not due to poor design decisions.
 
lawless2142 said:
Text is most comfortable at the following customary resolutions per given size:

(16:10 Aspect)
17: 1280 x 800
19: 1440 x 900
22: 1680 x 1050
24: 1920 x 1200
30: 2560 x 1600

Now it has been argued that at 24", a 1080P or equivalent resolution is a bit small. I have mild nearsightedness and while I don't think that of my HP w2408H, I can see where they're coming from. In this instance the newer 25.5 and 26" screens may be more well suited. It's really all about DPI.
Click to expand...

Text is roughly the same size on my 30" monitor as it is on my 20" monitors.
 
Lower pixels per inch (ppi) = larger text:

27" 1920x1200 = 83.9 ppi
19" 1280x1024 = 86.3 ppi
25.5" 1920x1200 = 87.1 ppi
17" 1280x800 = 88.8 ppi
19" 1440x900 = 89.4 ppi
22" 1680x1050 = 90.1 ppi
20" 1600x900 = 91.8 ppi
24" 1920x1080 = 91.8 ppi
24" 1920x1200 = 94.3 ppi
20.1" 1680x1050 = 98.4 ppi
30" 2560x1600 = 101.0 ppi
27" 2560x1440 = 108.8 ppi

Pixel Size Calculator

To the OP: you may want to seriously consider the Dell 2709W. Its text is even larger than your old 19" 1280x1024.
 
evilsofa said:
Lower pixels per inch (ppi) = larger text:

27" 1920x1200 = 83.9 ppi
19" 1280x1024 = 86.3 ppi
25.5" 1920x1200 = 87.1 ppi
17" 1280x800 = 88.8 ppi
19" 1440x900 = 89.4 ppi
22" 1680x1050 = 90.1 ppi
20" 1600x900 = 91.8 ppi
24" 1920x1080 = 91.8 ppi
24" 1920x1200 = 94.3 ppi
20.1" 1680x1050 = 98.4 ppi
30" 2560x1600 = 101.0 ppi
27" 2560x1440 = 108.8 ppi

Pixel Size Calculator

To the OP: you may want to seriously consider the Dell 2709W. Its text is even larger than your old 19" 1280x1024.
Click to expand...

Ok, it wasn't exactly the same, but close. I don't have the best eye sight but I can see equally well on all of my monitors.
 
depends on your eye site I guess. I am one of those people who get angry and crappy resolutions.

I am dieing for a 17" 1600X1200 and 20" 1920x1200 and 25" 2560x1600.

At work I have my 21"crt running at 2048x1536 and its like having 4 monitors in 1.
 
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