First, a little about the theory. Screen resolution may vary depending on the device you are using. Some users mistakenly believe that screen size and monitor screen resolution are the same thing. For example, the screen size and its maximum resolution are 1600 x 1200, and the user can set the resolution, for example, 800 x 600. Naturally, the image on the screen will be formed according to the principle that was set by the user himself. As a result, it turns out that screen size and resolution are slightly different concepts. In order to achieve the perfect picture, you need to set the maximum resolution that your monitor supports and then the image will be of the highest quality.
What screen resolutions are there?
Today there are a huge number of monitors and the same number of resolutions. It should be noted that all these devices have different aspect ratios, for example: 4:3, 5:4, 16:9, 16:10 and many others. Widescreen devices with an aspect ratio of 21:9 are in great demand. It's simply not practical to use such devices today, since they are best suited for watching movies shot using the CinemaScope standard. This is directly related to the fact that if you set a different resolution on such a monitor, for example, FullHD (1920 x 1080p), then wide black bars will remain at the edges of the monitor.
As for the resolution of monitors themselves, they are divided among themselves, as you might guess, by aspect ratio. The following are highlighted: For aspect ratio 4:3 -1024x768, 1280x1024, 1600x1200, 1920x1440, 2048x1536. For 16:9 aspect ratio: 1366x768, 1600x900, 1920x1080, 2048x1152, 2560x1440, 3840x2160. For 16:10 aspect ratio: 1280x800, 1440x900, 1600x1024, 1680x1050, 1920x1200, 2560x1600, 3840x2400. The most popular resolutions today are: 1920x1080, 1280x1024, 1366x768.
It is worth noting that the higher the screen resolution, the better the image itself will be, but it can be very small and some owners of such devices will have to change it to a smaller one in order to see anything on the monitor. As a result, of course, everyone can see immediately before purchasing a device in a store what kind of image will be on it and whether it suits them.
To make it as comfortable as possible for the eyes, you need to know how to change the screen resolution of a personal computer or laptop monitor.
Screen resolution is an indicator that determines the clarity of the display of all icons, pictures, that is, graphics in general. It is important to determine what will be best for the monitor.
The recommended one is always indicated in the device instructions. You can also view it on the Internet; to do this, you only need to determine the screen size (number of inches diagonally).
Changing an extension using built-in OS features
The higher the resolution, the better the clarity of the display. For example, a 22-inch display will have a standard resolution of 1680*1050, which is optimal and maximum for this screen.
All available sizes are available in the settings; it is advisable to choose the largest one offered.
Follow the instructions to change the image resolution of your display:
- Go to the operating system desktop. Right-click on it and select screen options, as shown in the figure below;
- In the window that opens, you can adjust the size of text, icons and other system elements in real time. You can also adjust the screen orientation. To go to the selection tab, enter the word “resolution” at the top in the search bar;
- Select “change screen resolution”;
- Click on the drop-down list as shown in the figure and select the standard recommended one. Save the new settings.
Important! It happens that the recommended resolution is higher than the display. That is, the size of the final image does not correspond to the screen size, so some elements of the desktop may disappear from the user's field of view. Adjusting your monitor will resolve this issue. In the selection options, choose not the recommended one, but the one that fully displays all the elements of the desktop. At the same time, all graphics must be clear.
Several common types of expansion and corresponding display sizes:
- 1024*768 – perfect for screens of 15 or 17 inches. In a display with a resolution of 1024*768 pixels, the color depth is 16 bits;
- 1280*1024 – intended for displays whose size is 19 inches;
- Types of monitors measuring 24 inches most accurately convey the image at a resolution of 1920*1080. All displays with these parameters are FullHD.
Adjusting the screen refresh rate
The higher the display refresh rate, the correspondingly better the image quality. That is why, in addition to size, it is necessary to pay attention to this parameter.
To change the refresh rate follow the instructions:
- Go to the control panel. In the search bar, enter “Screen” (without quotes);
- In the proposed search result, select the item that is responsible for the screen refresh rate, as shown in the figure;
- Set the refresh rate to the highest possible. This will eliminate possible periodic flickering of the monitor.
NVIDIA Software
How to find out the right resolution for your display? This can be done on the official website of the manufacturer or in the instructions that come with the device.
On the boxes of monitors and laptops from Samsung there is information on how to set the correct resolution and what to do if the real one does not match the declared one.
Using a special program that is preinstalled on all computers equipped with an Nvidia family video card, you can also adjust the resolution of the user's monitor.
Follow instructions:
- Open the main Nvidia graphics settings window by right-clicking on the desktop, as shown in the figure;
- In the window that opens, adjust all the necessary settings;
Main window of the utility
To make your computer screen settings as comfortable as possible for your eyes, you need to know how to change the screen resolution of your personal computer or laptop monitor.
Screen resolution is an indicator that determines the clarity of the display of all icons, pictures, that is, graphics in general. It is important to determine what will be best for the monitor.
Changing an extension using built-in OS features
The higher the resolution, the better the clarity of the display. For example, a 22-inch display will have a standard resolution of 1680*1050, which is optimal and maximum for this screen.
All available sizes are available in the settings; it is advisable to choose the largest one offered.
Follow the instructions to change the image resolution of your display:
- Go to the operating system desktop. Right-click on it and select screen options, as shown in the figure below;
- In the window that opens, you can adjust the size of text, icons and other system elements in real time. You can also adjust the screen orientation. To go to the selection tab, enter the word “resolution” at the top in the search bar;
- Select “change screen resolution”;
- Click on the drop-down list as shown in the figure and select the standard recommended one. Save the new settings.
Important! It happens that the recommended resolution is higher than the display. That is, the size of the final image does not correspond to the screen size, so some elements of the desktop may disappear from the user's field of view. Adjusting your monitor will resolve this issue. In the selection options, choose not the recommended one, but the one that fully displays all the elements of the desktop. At the same time, all graphics must be clear.
Several common types of expansion and corresponding display sizes:
- 1024*768 – perfect for screens of 15 or 17 inches. In a display with a resolution of 1024*768 pixels, the color depth is 16 bits;
- 1280*1024 – intended for displays whose size is 19 inches;
- Types of monitors measuring 24 inches most accurately convey the image at a resolution of 1920*1080. All displays with these parameters are FullHD.
Adjusting the screen refresh rate
The higher the display refresh rate, the correspondingly better the image quality. That is why, in addition to size, it is necessary to pay attention to this parameter.
To change the refresh rate follow the instructions:
- Go to the control panel. In the search bar, enter “Screen” (without quotes);
- In the proposed search result, select the item that is responsible for the screen refresh rate, as shown in the figure;
- Set the refresh rate to the highest possible. This will eliminate possible periodic flickering of the monitor.
NVIDIA Software
How to find out the right resolution for your display? This can be done on the official website of the manufacturer or in the instructions that come with the device.
On the boxes of monitors and laptops from Samsung there is information on how to set the correct resolution and what to do if the real one does not match the declared one.
Using a special program that is preinstalled on all computers equipped with an Nvidia family video card, you can also adjust the resolution of the user's monitor.
Follow instructions:
- Open the main Nvidia graphics settings window by right-clicking on the desktop, as shown in the figure;
When purchasing a new monitor for your system unit, consultants at any electronics store may ask you what screen resolution you prefer for the monitor. For those to whom such a question may seem like something from the Chinese literacy section, let’s break it down. So.
What is screen resolution?
Let's start with what the image that we see on the monitor is. Any picture is assembled from special points - pixels. To somehow understand what we are talking about, let’s draw an analogy with embroidery. From monotonous crosses of different colors, the result is some kind of picture or pattern. So here, pixels are like crosses on embroidery, only they are much smaller and tightly pressed against each other, so there is no feeling that the image consists of individual dots, but looks whole. In addition, they are able to take on different colors as required by the situation. Thanks to this, we watch movies, pictures, switch different windows and instantly see the corresponding changes on the monitor.
Pixels - nowhere without them
Pixels can be square or in some cases rectangular. There was even a wave of replacement of the beloved square monitors with more elongated ones, which sometimes stretched the images too much. But more on that later.
It is the number of these same pixels per unit length, or in other words their density, that determines the resolution of monitor screens.
Screen Resolution Options
The main parameters of monitor resolution are height and width. So, if you go to the control panel on your computer and go to the screen settings section, you can go to this window (this particular window is for users of the Windows 7 operating system), which you will see in the photo below.
IN in this case The monitor has a set maximum resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. What does it mean? This means that the width from the left to the right sides of the monitor is 1366 pixels, and from top to bottom - 768. This is the optimal monitor, given as an example, in which information from the screen will be transmitted as clearly and conveniently as possible for a person with normal, normal vision .
We also see that the monitor can be set to another, lower resolution. By reducing the width to 1024 pixels, for example, images can be made to appear more stretched. That is, in fact, the physical number of pixels that determines the resolution of the monitor screen does not change, it remains the same, but the display of images will be the same as it would be with a different resolution.
The most popular screen formats
The shape of pixels was mentioned above, so let’s look at this issue in more detail.
Previously, and we are talking about a hundred years since the appearance of the first films, all monitors of the first models of televisions and computers had a 4:3 format. Even when there were no televisions yet, silent films were shot in this format. What do these numbers mean? This is the aspect ratio of the display element, one might say the ratios of the height and width of the monitor. So, the dimensions can be as follows: 16:12 = 4x4:3x4, 40:30 = 4x10:3x10. Analogue TVs for the most part have this particular format and, accordingly, analogue TV shows are also “fitted” to fit the 4:3 frame. This also includes the 5:4 format. It is also more “square”, and is used in the production of computer monitors. But gradually the new 16:9 format burst into life, which gave rise to a new image size, and the screen resolution of a wide-format monitor appeared, constantly being modernized and changing in parameters.
Widescreen broadcasting: convenient or profitable?
The new trend was advertised for its convenience. So, a person should perceive information better on the sides of the monitor than on the top and bottom. But we must not miss the point that large-format production is possible. Yes, yes, if you take 4:3 and 16:9 monitors, which have equal diagonals, it turns out that their area is different. A 4:3 screen will have more room to work with than a 16:9 screen, but will require fewer production resources than a square one. Many opinions have been expressed both for and against widescreen monitors, and both have their pros and cons. For those people who began their acquaintance with computers in the days of the 4:3 format, wide screens are inconvenient and require a lot of time to adapt to it.
Thus, when working in office programs such as Microsoft Word at the same scale, 5:4 monitors will be able to display more lines than their widescreen counterparts. You do not need to constantly move up and down the sheet to find some information, you can see the entire sheet, and at the same time slightly lose the readability of the text. Wide monitors stretch the "square" image, causing round things to become oval, stretching the faces and bodies of the characters on the screen. Fortunately, they are working on all the problems. So, on a 5:4 monitor you can view a widescreen movie, only black margins will be added at the top and bottom so as not to cut off part of the image. Similarly, on a wide monitor, you can make sure that the picture has its original parameters and does not spread across the entire screen area. In computer games, developers add the ability to support different formats, etc. But it is still important that the wide format is primarily beneficial for the manufacturer, and it is constantly being imposed on us, reducing the production of square screens. “Do you want a 5:4 monitor? But this is unfashionable, no one buys these anymore!” Of course, he doesn’t buy it, because everyone is chasing fashion, not really thinking about convenience. And the funny thing is that 4:3, 5:4 screens cost less than widescreen monitor models, which use less material to manufacture, and which, logically, should cost less. But let's get back to the question
Problems in choosing the optimal resolution
The fact is that the abundance of manufacturers who decide for themselves which expansion is best for them puts the consumer in a difficult position. There are more than three dozen different video standards that have different resolutions and different aspect ratios. Let's say the XGA video standard has a resolution of 1024 × 768 (786k) or 640 × 480 (307k), with an aspect ratio of 4:3, while the VGA standard has four valid resolutions (640 × 480, 640 × 350, 320 × 200, 720 × 400 ) with appropriate aspect ratios (4:3, 64:35, 16:10, 9:5). The WHUXGA video standard has by far the largest number of pixels at 7680×4800 (36864k) and is widescreen at 16:10. But how to choose exactly the one that will suit a particular user?
What to consider when choosing a monitor resolution
The maximum resolution of the monitor screen is often optimal for working on a computer. It can be manually changed to one of those available in the list of resolution settings.
Since the issue of screen resolution is relevant for both TVs and computers, which are fundamentally different devices (although a TV can be connected to a PC as a monitor), we will consider the optimal parameters separately for both types of devices.
TV: ease of viewing
The standard definition monopolist in its field for some time has always had an aspect ratio of 4:3, and only relatively recently has the 16:9 ratio begun to appear, which is positioned as a high-definition image - digital television. We are now exactly at the stage when the transition from one standard to another is taking place, and how long this process will drag on is completely unclear. Some countries have long switched to a new, more convenient and high-quality digital format, but in domestic spaces this can be expected for a long time. Therefore, you can buy a newfangled widescreen TV, almost all models of which provide a function for adjusting the resolution of monitor screens. After carefully studying the instructions, the user will be able to decide for himself how to view a square picture on a rectangular monitor - stretch it to fill the entire monitor, or add a black frame on the sides to preserve the proportions of the original image.
PC monitor - a dilemma for gamers
If a gamer chooses a monitor, then he must first familiarize himself with the requirements for the preferred game/games, and then, based on this data, summarize which monitor screen resolutions are best suited for this. It’s impossible to say unequivocally “this model is ideal for all games in the world.”
View news in Odnoklassniki - is it worth bothering with choosing a resolution?
If you use a PC to work in office programs or simply to view mail, news feeds on social networks, etc., you need to choose solely based on personal experience or consult with an experienced user who can explain to you all the points of interest.
This also includes the screen resolution of the laptop monitor. It is likely that for its transportation it will be more convenient (purely physically) for it to be rectangular and compact, so as to fit into a backpack or bag. On a rectangular monitor, it is convenient to open two windows at once, when a 4:3 or 5:4 monitor gives you more space to view and work on one document.
And knowledge of the subtleties in its choice will help you choose the right model correctly. We should start with their types. Today there are 3 types of monitors. CRT, LCD and LED.
To calculate the monitor diagonal, you can use the monitor diagonal calculator in inches and centimeters.
CRT or cathode ray tube is a long-obsolete technology used in monitors. CRT monitors are already an antiquity that has passed into retirement. Unless someone still has these “pot-bellied” monsters with a convex screen. Then, of course, they removed the belly and bulge and continued to produce CRTs, but with a flat screen.
LCD (liquid crystal display) - liquid crystal monitors, thin and flat, replaced electron beam ones. Most users have this type. This monitor uses fluorescent lamps. The image quality is better, power consumption is less.
LED (light-emitting diode) is a modern type of LCD monitor. The technology is based on light-emitting diodes. As a result, the colors are more saturated and the picture is of better quality.
To calculate the TV diagonal, you can use the TV diagonal calculator in inches and centimeters.
Monitor size specifications.
This is the size, or more correctly, the diagonal of the screen, which is measured in inches and can have any value. In the days of CRT monitors, 17 inches was considered a good diagonal. With the advent of LCD, monitors began to increase in size and became wide-format, and the diagonal exceeded 20, and then 30 inches. Optimally, for desktop use you need 23-24 inches, but if your needs are larger, there are also huge screens of 27 or 32 inches. The larger the diagonal, the higher the resolution you can set.
Monitor resolution as its characteristic.
Resolution is the number of pixels (dots) horizontally and vertically. For example, in a resolution of 1024*768, the first number is the number of horizontal pixels, and the second number is vertical. As a rule, the higher the resolution, the better the quality of the image on the screen. Separately, it is worth highlighting such monitor characteristics as screen aspect ratio. Initially, all monitors were in 4:3 format, that is, the screen was almost square. With the advent of wide screen monitors, formats such as 16:9 and 16:10 appeared. Of course, there are others, but these are considered the most common. The wide format allows you to contemplate the screen more comfortably, thanks to greater visibility and expanded space.
Monitor characteristics - matrix.
The last important image characteristic when choosing a monitor is its matrix, which is responsible for the behavior of liquid crystals and their role in image formation.
To calculate the laptop screen size, you can use the laptop screen size calculator in inches and centimeters.
It makes no sense to go into the details of each matrix, but we can distinguish 3 main types:
1. TN (TN+Film - Twisted Nematic). A cheap and outdated type, the downside of which was poor visibility of the picture from different angles.
2. IPS (In Plane Switch). This type is more expensive and has a longer response time compared to TN, but this is compensated by an excellent picture and no problems with viewing angles.
3. PVA/MVA (VA). This matrix appeared later and is something between the first two types. The price of such a matrix is correspondingly cheaper than IPS.
