Resolution : size

Associate
Joined
28 Aug 2014
Posts
177
Location
Lancs
Hi, I've been wondering for a while, what size monitors are best for different resolutions, do people use some kind of text resize apps for higher resolutions, TN/IPS/VA for some setups and so on.

Me for example, have been using my laptop's screen for 4 years until the screen died (15.6" 768p) and I bought a 24" 1080p. What a shocker :eek: letters were so small, had to change res to 768p (I know -.-) for them to be similar sized to the text on the original. I tried playing games on 1080p (unplayable, not enough grunt), but the movies look so awesome, and this is a TN panel, BenQ GL2460, makes me wonder how much of an improvement IPS or VA would make (I hear VA is kind of mix between TN-IPS). About games, I know I can change game res to 768p fullscreen while keeping 1080p desktop, but something just irks me about having different resolutions :D Maybe I could live with, probably. Is there any damage to anything while constantly changing output res?

Other thing, together with a new build which I've had to postpone till new nodes are out at least, I'm planning and 'oldie' build, aka Q6600-ish and best gpu I can put that will run games as old as DirectX7, probably something along the lines of GTX 580/HD6770 or smth with WinXP on it. What would you say would be best size for 1280x1024? 17"? 19"? For proper build I'd love a monitor I could keep for a decade, like a 1440p, but am afraid text will be even smaller even on a 27" :confused:

Other resolutions too, what do you consider proper size for a certain res?

I'd say 1080p 24" is smallest I could tolerate, seen 1080p with 21", can't imagine the text on that. 1440p maybe 27"-30", 24" like I have now, I try to envision having 1440p in there my head starts hurting :D Okay I'm just rambling now, I'll quit before it's too late :D

Share your stories about changing monitors, impressions of changes and stuff like that.
 
Last edited:
If you find text too small at 1080p/24" then you'll certainly find it too small at 1440p/27". In moving from 1200p/24" to 1440p/27" last year I noticed the text is very slightly smaller, but I can live with it personally.

Running a monitor at a resolution below it's native res completely wastes the potential of the monitor and will look worse than one designed for a lower native res. Later versions of windows - particularly 10 - will allow you to scale text size, meaning you can keep the best of both worlds (hi-res and readable text). I can't recall what capabilities Win XP had in that regard, but there must have been some form of scaling.
 
Im on a 24" 4k and its great, the pixel density is amazing and i can still read perfectly with no scaling.

quJkLKXh.jpg
 
Last edited:
Im on a 24" 4k and its great, the pixel density is amazing and i can still read perfectly with no scaling.

No scaling, are you sure?! Text is minuscule on a screen that size at 3840 x 2160. Imo you need 37-40" for that to be comfortable without any scaling used. In fact a 40" produces the same pixel pitch at 3840 x 2160 as a common 27" at 2560 x 1440
 
No scaling, are you sure?! Text is minuscule on a screen that size at 3840 x 2160. Imo you need 37-40" for that to be comfortable without any scaling used. In fact a 40" produces the same pixel pitch at 3840 x 2160 as a common 27" at 2560 x 1440

That photo has no scaling and im sat here now typing and reading the forum while sat back in my chair. The problem isnt the text size itself its the fact that it takes people time to adjust to the difference from what they are used to but once you adjust even text on a 1440p screen seems to large.
 
That photo has no scaling and im sat here now typing and reading the forum while sat back in my chair. The problem isnt the text size itself its the fact that it takes people time to adjust to the difference from what they are used to but once you adjust even text on a 1440p screen seems to large.

How close are you sitting to the screen, out of interest? I personally find ~32" UHD perfectly comfortable without scaling from 80cm, whereas for a 23.6" - 23.8" I'd have to sit a bit closer. And in fact I do prefer using scaling (150% usually) on such a screen. You're right that it is possible to adjust, though. I can still use such screens without scaling but I prefer not to - perhaps as I haven't given myself time to adjust. I do have strong eyesight though, I don't think it's really practical for most users unless they're sitting rather close.
 
How close are you sitting to the screen, out of interest? I personally find ~32" UHD perfectly comfortable without scaling from 80cm, whereas for a 23.6" - 23.8" I'd have to sit a bit closer. And in fact I do prefer using scaling (150% usually) on such a screen. You're right that it is possible to adjust, though. I can still use such screens without scaling but I prefer not to - perhaps as I haven't given myself time to adjust. I do have strong eyesight though, I don't think it's really practical for most users unless they're sitting rather close.

I sit about 2 feet from the monitor and my eyesight isnt the best. I have glasses but i dont use them really even without im still comfortable with it.
 
Hi, I've been wondering for a while, what size monitors are best for different resolutions, do people use some kind of text resize apps for higher resolutions, TN/IPS/VA for some setups and so on.

Me for example, have been using my laptop's screen for 4 years until the screen died (15.6" 768p) and I bought a 24" 1080p. What a shocker :eek: letters were so small, had to change res to 768p (I know -.-) for them to be similar sized to the text on the original. I tried playing games on 1080p (unplayable, not enough grunt), but the movies look so awesome, and this is a TN panel, BenQ GL2460, makes me wonder how much of an improvement IPS or VA would make (I hear VA is kind of mix between TN-IPS). About games, I know I can change game res to 768p fullscreen while keeping 1080p desktop, but something just irks me about having different resolutions :D Maybe I could live with, probably. Is there any damage to anything while constantly changing output res?

Other thing, together with a new build which I've had to postpone till new nodes are out at least, I'm planning and 'oldie' build, aka Q6600-ish and best gpu I can put that will run games as old as DirectX7, probably something along the lines of GTX 580/HD6770 or smth with WinXP on it. What would you say would be best size for 1280x1024? 17"? 19"? For proper build I'd love a monitor I could keep for a decade, like a 1440p, but am afraid text will be even smaller even on a 27" :confused:

Other resolutions too, what do you consider proper size for a certain res?

I'd say 1080p 24" is smallest I could tolerate, seen 1080p with 21", can't imagine the text on that. 1440p maybe 27"-30", 24" like I have now, I try to envision having 1440p in there my head starts hurting :D Okay I'm just rambling now, I'll quit before it's too late :D

Share your stories about changing monitors, impressions of changes and stuff like that.

You must have bad eyes!

I had 1080p on a 15.6" laptop and it was perfect imo :p

I wouldn't go higher than 27" at 1080p; I had a 27" for a while and I found it a pixellated mess :( Currently have a 34" 21:9 (same height as a 27") @ 3440x1440 and it's spot on :)
 
You must have bad eyes!

I had 1080p on a 15.6" laptop and it was perfect imo :p

I wouldn't go higher than 27" at 1080p; I had a 27" for a while and I found it a pixellated mess :( Currently have a 34" 21:9 (same height as a 27") @ 3440x1440 and it's spot on :)

They're fine :) 2nd day on 1080p, getting used to it bit by bit, I like the extra real estate 1080p has over 768p.
 
I recently splooged on 32"/2560x1440 and it's perfect for me. I could have got a smaller 4K monitor for less money but it doesn't interest me in the slightest.
 
I had a 27" 4K monitor a few months ago, the screen was annoyingly hazy when viewed on a white background and text was a pain to read without scaling, and that sitting 2 ft from the monitor.

Anything below 32", don't bother.
 
IMO

1920x1080 - Between 20" and 24"
2560x1440 - Between 24" and 28"
3840x2160 - Between 27" and 40"

Depending on how close you sit to the screen of course.

I find 27" UHD is excellent, but understand how 24" UHD would be a little too far.
40" UHD is only really okay if you move the screen right back.
 
Back
Top Bottom