What's the difference between Screen resolution and dpi

[jeff]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

I am struggling with the best options for the LCD screen on my Dell laptop
which has a NVIDIA GeForce2 Go video card.

The ideal resolution setting for this video card and screen is apparently
1600 x 1200, but that makes things too small for me. So I learned about the
dpi setting in Display Properties\Settings\Advanced screen. However since
this magnifies things for the same resolution, I am not sure why that is
better than just using a lower resolution or even what the difference
between the 2 options is.

Can someone enlighten me?

Thanks.


--

Jeff Stevens
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam
jeff@stevens.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Jeff wrote:
> I am struggling with the best options for the LCD screen on my Dell
> laptop which has a NVIDIA GeForce2 Go video card.
>
> The ideal resolution setting for this video card and screen is
> apparently 1600 x 1200, but that makes things too small for me. So I
> learned about the dpi setting in Display Properties\Settings\Advanced
> screen. However since this magnifies things for the same resolution,
> I am not sure why that is better than just using a lower resolution
> or even what the difference between the 2 options is.
>
> Can someone enlighten me?

You still have more screen resolution, your icons are just enlarged for
easier viewing.

LCD panels are "tuned" for a certain number of dots to be on the screen, so
if you have less or a refresh rate that is not "equal to the resolution" for
that particular monitor - things may look grainy/fuzzy.

Although your icons are now larger - I guarantee you can still fit more of
them on the screen at the higher resolution than you could a normal size
icon selection and a lower resolution. However, the truth of the matter is
that things won't look right unless you go the native resolution of the LCD
monitor - although you can tweak it some.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Jeff wrote:
> The ideal resolution setting for this video card and screen is apparently
> 1600 x 1200, but that makes things too small for me.

Yes, it would for most people, I imagine. These numbers don't sound
right for a laptop, unless Dell has come up with a 19" monitor on
theirs. The ideal resolution for an LCD would be the so-called "native
resolution". Where did you get the 1600 x 1200 numbers?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

"bxf" <bill@topman.net> wrote in message
news:1123672321.511351.8740@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> Jeff wrote:
>> The ideal resolution setting for this video card and screen is apparently
>> 1600 x 1200, but that makes things too small for me.
>
> Yes, it would for most people, I imagine. These numbers don't sound
> right for a laptop, unless Dell has come up with a 19" monitor on
> theirs. The ideal resolution for an LCD would be the so-called "native
> resolution". Where did you get the 1600 x 1200 numbers?
>
The 1600 X 1200 sounds more like the maximum resolution.
--
Ron Sommer

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Shenan Stanley wrote:
> Jeff wrote:
> > The ideal resolution setting for this video card and screen is
> > apparently 1600 x 1200, but that makes things too small for me.
>
> bxf wrote:
> > Yes, it would for most people, I imagine. These numbers don't sound
> > right for a laptop, unless Dell has come up with a 19" monitor on
> > theirs. The ideal resolution for an LCD would be the so-called "native
> > resolution". Where did you get the 1600 x 1200 numbers?
>
> Several laptops have native resolutions of 1600+ --> just worked on one
> yesterday that was 1920+..
> The widescreen laptops and desktop replacement laptops are popular.

The 4:3 proportions of 1600 x 1200 preclude widescreen monitors. I
really find it difficult to imagine a 17" screen (assuming it's even
that) "forced" to resolution that produces such small characters, etc.

What was the size of yesterday's 1920+ monitor, and how far from (or
rather, close to) the screen did you have to keep your eyes?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Jeff wrote:
> The ideal resolution setting for this video card and screen is
> apparently 1600 x 1200, but that makes things too small for me.

bxf wrote:
> Yes, it would for most people, I imagine. These numbers don't sound
> right for a laptop, unless Dell has come up with a 19" monitor on
> theirs. The ideal resolution for an LCD would be the so-called "native
> resolution". Where did you get the 1600 x 1200 numbers?

Several laptops have native resolutions of 1600+ --> just worked on one
yesterday that was 1920+..
The widescreen laptops and desktop replacement laptops are popular.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

 

[jeff]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

bxf wrote:
> Jeff wrote:
>> The ideal resolution setting for this video card and screen is
>> apparently 1600 x 1200, but that makes things too small for me.
>
> Yes, it would for most people, I imagine. These numbers don't sound
> right for a laptop, unless Dell has come up with a 19" monitor on
> theirs. The ideal resolution for an LCD would be the so-called "native
> resolution". Where did you get the 1600 x 1200 numbers?

I just assumed it was because that was the maximum resolution of the
graphics card that came with it and in that resolution the letters are
crystal clear.

It is a standard Dell Inspiron 8100 with a standard size LCD screen (not
wide type). How does one find out what the native resolution for the screen
is?

Jeff

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Jeff wrote:
> The ideal resolution setting for this video card and screen is
> apparently 1600 x 1200, but that makes things too small for me.

bxf wrote:
> Yes, it would for most people, I imagine. These numbers don't sound
> right for a laptop, unless Dell has come up with a 19" monitor on
> theirs. The ideal resolution for an LCD would be the so-called
> "native resolution". Where did you get the 1600 x 1200 numbers?

Jeff wrote:
> I just assumed it was because that was the maximum resolution of the
> graphics card that came with it and in that resolution the letters are
> crystal clear.
>
> It is a standard Dell Inspiron 8100 with a standard size LCD screen
> (not wide type). How does one find out what the native resolution
> for the screen is?

Why do people fear asking questions from those who actual provide support
for the products they purchased? heh

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kb/en/document?dn=1050200&c=us&l=en&cs=19&s=dhs#3

Look at your manual/receipt/etc - which screen did you get?
Compare to table above.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

 

[jeff]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

"Shenan Stanley" <newshelper@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:unsS%23ddnFHA.3960@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
> Jeff wrote:
>> I just assumed it was because that was the maximum resolution of the
>> graphics card that came with it and in that resolution the letters are
>> crystal clear.
>>
>> It is a standard Dell Inspiron 8100 with a standard size LCD screen
>> (not wide type). How does one find out what the native resolution
>> for the screen is?
>
> Why do people fear asking questions from those who actual provide support
> for the products they purchased? heh

Mostly because they do not know where to do it <grin>

> http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kb/en/document?dn=1050200&c=us&l=en&cs=19&s=dhs#3
>
> Look at your manual/receipt/etc - which screen did you get?

Long gone!

> Compare to table above.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

Jeff

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

In article <u75dOVWnFHA.860@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl>, jeff@naol.com says...
> I am struggling with the best options for the LCD screen on my Dell laptop
> which has a NVIDIA GeForce2 Go video card.
>
> The ideal resolution setting for this video card and screen is apparently
> 1600 x 1200, but that makes things too small for me. So I learned about the
> dpi setting in Display Properties\Settings\Advanced screen. However since
> this magnifies things for the same resolution, I am not sure why that is
> better than just using a lower resolution or even what the difference
> between the 2 options is.
>
> Can someone enlighten me?

Resolution is the max pixel size of the screen: 1024 x 768 means
absolute pixels in either direction.

DPI is Dots Per Inch - and many screens present your text as 72DPI or
96DPI. So if your screen is a fixed size, 96DPI means more text in the
same past as if you had been running 72DPI.

If you can run in multiples of resolution you may find that your image
is almost as clear as at it's highest resolution.

If 1600x1200 is max, try 1280x1024 and see if that looks better. If not,
try 1024x768, but keep the DPI at 96 if you can.

--

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