I know technically this isn't the place for this but there are a lot of you that probably know the answer without me digging aroud all over the net trying to figure it out or maybe you have a link that could point me in a direction.
My laptop video card has a max 2560 x 1600 resolution x 60 hz which is next to impossible to read on a 17" laptop. I mean yeah there are more pixels for each character which makes for sharper characters but still trying to squeeze more into 17" of space doesn't make it easier to read.
Because off all my various annoyances with tyring to use a DO dual display I'm considering getting an external display for my laptop. Not sure where it's going to sit but one issue at a time.
Like I said I have a 2560 x 1600 resolution what is sometimes called WQXGA which implies Wide QXGA but it's not wide. It's also known has QHD something about fitting four screens (quad) in 1 it's all making me a bit crazy. I also have a 16:10 ratio. This external screen process used to be much simpler we had VGA and then SVGA I think it was. I think I want to match my max resolution because that's what the video card outputs? Not that's I've seen displays with larger resolutions they tend to be smaller. Regardless even a somewhat high resolution like I have won't look as good on a bigger screen.
What monitor am I looking for? I started out thinking a 32" would be nice but they don't seem to be WQXGA. If i try to find a montior based on 2560 I seem to get all 8" displays lilke you would have on a tablet or I get a display that 2560 x 1440 instead of my 1600. How exactly do I find a compatible display? Do I base it on the ratio or the max resolution or do I start with a specific screen size?
2560 x 1600 doesn't seem to be common at the moment; probably because of the aspect ratio (1.6 vs 1.78). But if 1600 is just a maximum then presumably your laptop would be fine with 1440 as well.
if you are not looking for a mobile external monitor then 32" at 4K will fit 4 x 1080p windows on screen at 100% (native) resolution and is quite legible at a desk.
Having to read about all these technical details...just kill me now...comes down to this... My best resolution gives me a 16:10 and most monitors are 16:9 which is a similar problem to when you watch an old 4:3 show on a 16:9 TV there's a black space, or it's squatty or it's stretched. The way I read it there's really no way around the 16:10 issue if I want that 2560 x 1600 resolution.
I don't want to have to change the resolution back and forth depending on what I'm doing so my only option is to downgrade my resoution to 2560 x 1440 (W)QHD which my video hardware will output. Also turns out that QHD is almost by default a gaming monitor which shouldn't be an issue. That resolution seems to limit my screen size to 27" unless I go curved which I'm not sure if I'd like that plus the form factor would take up more space. The 4K displays are bigger screens but my video hardware won't support them.
27" is a 10" increase over the current my current screen. That's significant. Just for an fyi my biggest screen to date has been 2-24" FHD displays side-by-side. But the bezels were much bigger in those days and the displays much heavier.
I think I've sorted out the technical details. Ultimately it will come down to how it looks.
If you want to use the second monitor as its own separate display (and thus have two monitors simultaneously), there's no reason the two monitors have to have the same resolution. You can keep your laptop screen at 2560 x 1600 and run the external monitor at 2560 x 1440, no problem.
