On a laptop with UHD/QHD/4K hi-res display, will I have scaling issues?
November 5, 2015 1:42 PM Subscribe
I've been reading about new laptops with very high resolution such as 3200x1800, 3840x2160, etc. It sounds amazing for my programming, it's a big plus to view more code on the screen at a time. But I've heard that the ultra-high resolution will make it difficult to even read the text, without scaling, which some say is problematic even in Windows 10 (and especially with an auxiliary monitor). Can someone advise who has firsthand experience with this? Should I wait until UHD/4K technology (and Windows) matures a bit more, before shooting for such high res?
Most of the sources I read said to absolutely use only Windows 10 with this 3000+ level of resolution, because the scaling works a lot better than in 8.1. But even in Windows 10, people described scaling issues with older apps (and even with some apps within Windows, such as in Control Panel). It appears the majority of software doesn't properly handle scaling. Fortunately for me, Visual Studio is one app which is said to handle it well. So one question would be, how badly does this (older apps scaling) issue impact one's ability to use the system? Does it just look a little grainy/blurry, or does it become a real pain to function with that environment?
Another problem people are discussing is when multiple displays are connected. They say Windows 10 does allow different scaling for each monitor, but that there are still some issues related to this. And most or all of issues are software-related (Windows 10, drivers, etc.) not related to the hardware itself.
One post I read said that even with a 30-inch or greater display, the 3200x1600 resolution would be too small to read text without being scaled, basically zoomed up. Even icons could be too small to work with.
Other than viewing lots of code, another reason I want 3200x1600 (or greater) resolution is because I want to buy ahead of the curve. I rarely buy new, but this time I want to get the most souped-up ultramodern powerhouse of a laptop that I can. And I'm not considering desktops, only 15.6" (or maybe 17") laptops. Nothing below 15.6".
Sorry I can't provide links for all these discussion boards and articles... I breezed through dozens of them in the past week, reading and absorbing, but this post distills the jist of what I found out. Was hoping that the smarties on MeFi will be able to help me navigate this tricky decision. UHD sounds wonderful but I want to be careful I don't drop a lot of money until I know what I'm getting myself into.
Most of the sources I read said to absolutely use only Windows 10 with this 3000+ level of resolution, because the scaling works a lot better than in 8.1. But even in Windows 10, people described scaling issues with older apps (and even with some apps within Windows, such as in Control Panel). It appears the majority of software doesn't properly handle scaling. Fortunately for me, Visual Studio is one app which is said to handle it well. So one question would be, how badly does this (older apps scaling) issue impact one's ability to use the system? Does it just look a little grainy/blurry, or does it become a real pain to function with that environment?
Another problem people are discussing is when multiple displays are connected. They say Windows 10 does allow different scaling for each monitor, but that there are still some issues related to this. And most or all of issues are software-related (Windows 10, drivers, etc.) not related to the hardware itself.
One post I read said that even with a 30-inch or greater display, the 3200x1600 resolution would be too small to read text without being scaled, basically zoomed up. Even icons could be too small to work with.
Other than viewing lots of code, another reason I want 3200x1600 (or greater) resolution is because I want to buy ahead of the curve. I rarely buy new, but this time I want to get the most souped-up ultramodern powerhouse of a laptop that I can. And I'm not considering desktops, only 15.6" (or maybe 17") laptops. Nothing below 15.6".
Sorry I can't provide links for all these discussion boards and articles... I breezed through dozens of them in the past week, reading and absorbing, but this post distills the jist of what I found out. Was hoping that the smarties on MeFi will be able to help me navigate this tricky decision. UHD sounds wonderful but I want to be careful I don't drop a lot of money until I know what I'm getting myself into.
I have a retina macbook pro, with the 2880x1800 display. Windows 8/8.1 was a janky mess where i'd occasionally get broken menus or tiny text. Windows 10 has almost entirely fixed this. The only issues i have are occasional blurry scaling of apps that would force themselves to run in 1:1... and REALLY oddly, parts of windows itself getting stuck like that if i plug or unplug a second monitor. The scaling still doesn't play nice with multiple displays that have different scaling settings. You often have to reboot to get it right.
It's close enough to OK now that i don't really notice anymore. It was definitely BROKEN broken with 8/8.1. You can tell microsoft has been putting some muscle behind this because they want it to work good and look good on their surface pro/surface book.
Seeing how it is now, i'd buy and just assume it'll be patched to improve even more. There were issues with win10 at launch that i'm not having anymore, for instance.(i was also having issues with scaling COMING ON FOR NO REASON on my desktop that just has a 2560x1440 27in display, windows was randomly acting like it was a tiny laptop display with that resolution or something. But that seems to be... ok now?)
posted by emptythought at 2:36 PM on November 5, 2015
It's close enough to OK now that i don't really notice anymore. It was definitely BROKEN broken with 8/8.1. You can tell microsoft has been putting some muscle behind this because they want it to work good and look good on their surface pro/surface book.
Seeing how it is now, i'd buy and just assume it'll be patched to improve even more. There were issues with win10 at launch that i'm not having anymore, for instance.(i was also having issues with scaling COMING ON FOR NO REASON on my desktop that just has a 2560x1440 27in display, windows was randomly acting like it was a tiny laptop display with that resolution or something. But that seems to be... ok now?)
posted by emptythought at 2:36 PM on November 5, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
I did have a scaling problem with Adobe CS6 apps where I had to implement a workaround. The workaround was fine.
I use two 24" 1900x1200 monitors connected to the Surface and dock, and sometimes they're off a bit if I dock and undock, but they're otherwise fine.
posted by cnc at 2:10 PM on November 5, 2015