15.6" screen and 1366x768 resolution ok, and thoughts?

TheRyanGuyDude

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Dec 19, 2013
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Hi, I'm getting a laptop for my sister and she wants to do light gaming. The laptop needs to be a touch screen and have a backlit keyboard. I've found a laptop that I think is perfect, but I have one concern: the resolution is only 1366x768 with a 15.6" screen.

How noticeable will pixelation be with this resolution? Just in general use, such as using Firefox, etc? I'm assuming 15.6" isn't designed natively for 1366x768, so wouldn't the picture have to be stretched across the screen, causing noticable pixelation?

My own laptop is 1920x1080 with roughly a 17" glossy screen and it's fine with me. I'm not sure what size screen my sister's previous laptop was (before it broke), but all things considered, do you think the average consumer would be unsatisfied with a 15.6" screen w/ a 1366x768 max native resolution?

The laptop is $1,100, with the following specs:

GPU: Radeon 8850M

CPU: Intel Core i5-3230M Processor (2.60 GHz, up to 3.20GHz)

RAM: 8GB

HDD: 1TB

Honestly, with the touch functionality and backlit keyboard, as well as the aforementioned specs, this deal seems exceptional. It's just the resolution that worries me. The laptop series is Samsung Ativ Series Book 6, btw.

Thanks.

TL;DR

Found good laptop, but low resolution of 1366x768 on good 15.6" screen worries me. Should I be?



 

TheRyanGuyDude

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Dec 19, 2013
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@KevinAr18

I've read that the touch capabilities add about $200 to the price.

I'm almost certain I won't be able to go 17". Would 15.6" 1920x1080, or 1600x900 be okay?

@Scout: What do you mean by dedicated video memory? The 8850m video card is discrete and doesn't share with RAM. It's not like the 8850g (assuming such a card exists) which would share VRAM with the RAM.

I've done pretty extensive research on the video card and CPU in particular, and they're seriously the best I've seen of every single listing (over 200 laptops) in the $950 - $1150 price range. Still, like the previous poster said, screen is disappointing. I'll aim for a higher resolution. Screen inches will have to stay the same I think.
 

TheRyanGuyDude

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Dec 19, 2013
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My maximum budget is $1,150, and I want the laptop to be a normal notebook with no such tablet conversion capabilities (already have a tablet and the function would probably add a lot to the price). Also needs to be good for gaming.

I have an old laptop that's 15.4" with a resolution of 1280x800 and honestly it looks fine. I don't understand why people criticize the low resolution of 1366x768 so much. When do you think you'd actually notice a difference?
 

TheRyanGuyDude

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Dec 19, 2013
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15.6" is the standard laptop screen size. 17" is stricly for expensive large gaming laptops.

It's the resolution I worry about. Do you think I will notice some pixelation with the 1366x768 resolution, stretched out on this 15.6" screen? Or will the screen look crystal clear? Obviously this low resolution would be even worse on a 17" screen, but since this screen is only 15.6" will the HD 1366x768 resolution look fine?
 

TheRyanGuyDude

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Dec 19, 2013
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I was considering getting the Samsung Ultrabook, but doesn't it have a very small screen of 13". You'd think that with such a small screen the 1920x1080 resolution would just go to waste.

Also, with you getting a 1080p 17" for around $1,000, did it perhaps have integrated video? I've checked on eBay for laptops around that price that have 1080p resolution and they all integrated video. Also, another thing to consider is that I am using Australian sites (Australian buyers on eBay) as I am Australia, so we a price inflation of probably around 10% - 20% (rough estimate).

An example of such a laptop: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Toshiba-P70-17-3-4th-Gen-i7-4700MQ-3-4Ghz-FULL-HD-1920x1080-Backlit-Laptop-/161130829654?pt=AU_comp_laptop&hash=item2584255756