Large Screen Versus Small Screen

My Presario notebook has a nice, comfortable 17 inch screen, which is great for opening more than one window at a time, and being able to read everything. I tried a tiny netbook computer once and had trouble using the tiny keyboard, for one thing, and didn't like the itty-bitty monitor screen either.

Ease of use is essential for any computer system, in my opinion, so I think that for future purchases I will always stick with the larger screens when buying laptops. What about the rest of you? Big screen, little screen, or somewhere in the middle?

 

I'm ok with any screen size as long as I can see it. Granted, i'd be more comfortable to watch movies or do a few things on the nicest display and largest screen size possible, but for years I got by with development and doing most things that I needed to during travel on an overclocked netbook that became my desktop replacement for nearly 3 years. Currently, I'm using a 13.3" screen on an ultrabook while writing this to you, and it's a decent screen size for most of what I do during the day. I have another laptop with a 17" screen on it that I seldom use, because the media server with a 42" flat screen is sitting next to it. If I use the 17" one it's for graphics or film editing. The 13.3" and 15" ones are just fine for development and everything else, though. The netbook I used for several years as the travel system had only a 7" screen on it, but I could literally carry it anywhere to make up for that. I'm pretty laid back on screen sizes, but some people are very particular when it comes to having one and what they want.

 

I am happy with a 15 or 16 inch screen, but something bigger than that is too big for me. I like my laptop to be as thin and small as possible, so I can handle it more smoothly (my old laptop is so darn heavy!). Really big screens do put me off, I've seen PCs that have really huge screens, almost like a TV = TOTAL TURN OFF.

 

I am comfortable with my 13" screen laptop. It is not too big or too small, and transporting them is perfect for me. I used to have a 15 inches screen laptop and that thing was heavy. Anything smaller than 11 inches, I will have a hard time seeing.

 

It really depends on what I'm doing, if it's just coding or writing articles it doesn't really matter what the size of the screen is just as long as I can see what is written, but if it comes to editing images or video editing, the bigger monitor the better.

 

The screen of my HP Elite is 13 inches and I find it more comfortable against the 12inch screen of our home desktop. Just one inch difference makes for comfortability. Now that we are going to buy a replacement for our home desktop, we are thinking of a bigger screen like 17 or more maybe. My husband is fond of tinkering with the videos and I deem it better for video editing to have a larger screen.

By the way, my husband's office computer has a big screen and he prefers that over the smaller screen of our home desktop. He squints when the screen is small.

 

My brother in-law has a huge screen for his desktop, but I think it's due to poor eyesight more than anything else. I think he uses a 32 inch television for his computer monitor, which is really cool but takes a little getting used to as everything is so big to be that close to. It is probably a good gaming setup however. I have a TV set that same size but I keep it clear across the room, which is plenty close enough. I think if I ever buy a new laptop I will try to find one at least as large as my oldie but goodie, Presario. My husband doesn't like to wear his glasses, so he likes to enlarge everything on our 17 inch desktop monitor. I keep putting the settings back to 100% because he has every website popping right out of the screen at me.

 

The size of the screen alone is not the only factor, you have to take pixel density and resolution into account, and, the more important thing: viewing distance. You can comfortably watch a movie in your iPad by placing it at about your arms length, if you go to the movies and try to watch a film at your arms distance from that huge screen you are going to barely be able to see anything. Now that you mention gaming, another important aspect if the refresh rate that your monitor is capable of pulling out.

I think laptops with huge screens really hurt the concept of a portable computer.

 

I hadn't thought of that, fcuco. I guess there is a disadvantage to having a portable computer with a large screen. For one thing, it would be cumbersome to carry around, bulky and heavy as well. Something small that easily fits into a carrying case and can go comfortably in an overhead rack, or under your seat on an airplane, or that can go just about anywhere you care to take it, is much more appropriate. I will take that into consideration as well, when I go laptop hunting again in the future.

 

I'm only using the laptop for writing and updating spreadsheet data so I'm not looking for anything bigger than 14 inches screen right now. I'd like a 17-inch gaming laptop a few months from now, but by then, since that is not as portable as my current laptop, I'll need a netbook if I have to go out and work.

 

I have only ever had ONE 15.6" laptop and that was my very first Compaq, every since then I have been known to get behemoths (17" or higher) laptops.
This is mainly due to my site but also because I like a keyboard that is more like a standard desktop keyboard.