1080p, also known as Full HD or FHD (full high definition), is a ubiquitous display resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Resolution explains how many pixels a display has in width x height format, and the more pixels, the sharper the image looks.
Many of today's PC monitors (opens in new tab), gaming laptops and TVs come in 1080p resolution. And for gaming or a modern computing experience, this is the lowest resolution considered acceptable. While gaming at higher resolutions of 1440p (opens in new tab) or 4K (opens in new tab) offer more realistic experiences, they require a powerful graphics card (opens in new tab), so gaming at 1080p is still prevalent among today's mainstream gamers.
Don't be fooled when you hear the term "high definition" or HD (opens in new tab) without "F" or the word "Full" in front of it. Plain old HD resolution is lower (and, therefore, less sharp) at 1280 x 720 pixels or, in the case of most PCs, 1366 x 768. Neither FHD nor HD is particularly sharp by today's standards with 1440p and 4K getting increasingly popular, but they're considered high definition because they're better than old-fashioned Standard Definition (SD), which is typically 640 x 480.
Common Monitor Resolutions
| 5K | 5120 x 2880 |
| 4K | 3840 x 2160 (typical monitor resolution); 4096 x 2160 (official cinema resolution) |
| Ultra HD (UHD) | 3840 x 2160 |
| QHD aka WQHD aka 1440p | 2560 x 1440 |
| 2K | 2560 x 1440 (typical monitor resolution); 2048 x 1080 (official cinema resolution) |
| WUXGA | 1920 x 1200 |
| 1080p aka Full HD aka FHD | 1920 x 1080 |
| HD aka 720p | 1280 x 720 |
This article is part of the Tom's Hardware Glossary (opens in new tab).
Further reading:
- How to Choose a PC Monitor (opens in new tab)
- Best Gaming Monitors (opens in new tab)
- Best 4K Gaming Monitors (opens in new tab)
