Not all screens are made the same and a poor quality screen can be a deciding factor. After all, you’ll be watching it for long periods of time, and unfortunately, understanding acronyms, classifications, and seemingly absurd numbers can be confusing.
Laptop screen size, a determining factor
The first thing to consider when buying a laptop is its screen size, as the size of the entire computer depends on it. Screen size is measured in inches and is measured diagonally from corner to corner; generally the most common sizes in laptop screens are 17.3 “the largest, increasing to 15.4” as the most standardized size, then we have smaller categories like 13.3 “and even less.
The size of the screen will depend on the overall size of the equipment and its weight, as well as the internal hardware it mounts. So, a 17.3 inch laptop may be too big and too heavy for many users, but those looking for a gaming laptop will appreciate a larger screen and the fact that being a larger laptop it can. integrate more powerful hardware counting with better cooling. system.
On the contrary, users who constantly need to transport their laptops from one place to another will appreciate the smaller screens which, although they are more uncomfortable to work with, will make the equipment much smaller, more manageable and more. lightweight.
Screen resolution
Screens are made up of thousands and thousands of pixels, which are basically the little dots we see on screens that show different colors to make up the images we see. The higher the resolution (which is measured in number of horizontal pixels by vertical pixels, as 1920 x 1080 means it has 1920 pixels on the horizontal line and 1080 on the vertical) the more pixels the screen will have. which in turn means more work for the graphics card in the laptop, which while it can give us better definition of the display, can drastically reduce performance.
Currently, we hardly find any laptops that don’t offer at least Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution, although many models already have 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels) displays. A 4K display will provide higher definition but will also put a lot more work on the GPU, so we don’t recommend a 4K display on a laptop that doesn’t have a dedicated GPU. Also keep in mind that very high resolution on a very small screen can make texts appear too small.
Types of panels
When we talk about a laptop screen, we can find a wide variety of panels just like the ones we see in desktop PC monitors. Each type has its pros and cons, which we have talked about at length in other articles but which we summarize below:
- TN (Twisted Neumatic): This is the oldest type, and they are the simplest and cheapest to make, which is why in laptops they are usually built into inexpensive models. They generally have very poor viewing angles and imprecise color reproduction, but their response time makes them ideal for gaming.
- IPS (in-plane switching): these panels solve all the problems of TNs, with excellent viewing angles and good color reproduction, but they are slower in response time and more expensive to manufacture.
- OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode): All screens have LED backlighting which allows users to view images. With traditional LED panels, the backlight illuminates all pixels, resulting in blurry colors or blacks appearing gray; With OLED displays, each pixel may or may not be lit individually, resulting in better color reproduction and blacks which are actually black, but the downside is that these panels are very expensive and burn out.
- VA (vertical alignment): It’s a type of panel that in laptops has been relegated to the background and there are hardly any models that wear it. These panels allow for high refresh rates and we can find them in some gaming laptops.
Brightness and refresh rate
The brightness of the screen can have a significant impact on its usability. Use a free area portátil o en una zona con mucha iluminación ambiental puede resultar en que veas la pantalla demasiado oscura o incluso descolorida, por lo que el que tenga un brillo elevado es algo que debes considerar especialmente si pretendes utilizar el portátil fuera de tu House.
Screen brightness is typically measured in nights or cd / m2, and to keep it simple, just remember that the higher this value, the brighter the screen will be. A recommended value for a laptop screen is that it should never be less than 250 nits, while if you intend to use the laptop outdoors, we recommend that you research values of 350 nits or more.
Finally, another aspect to consider when choosing a screen for your next laptop is its refresh rate. If you are a gamer you will already know what we are talking about, but for those who are not, this frequency is the number of times the screen is updated every second and is measured in Hertz; the refresh rate is related to the smoothness of the image (especially in motion, so this is very important in games) and the value considered standard is 60 Hz (in fact, you will rarely find less screens) .
If you’re intending to use the laptop for work, those standard 60Hz are worth more than enough, but if you’re intending to acquire a gaming laptop, we recommend that you evaluate rates. refresh rate of 144Hz or even higher, but always keeping in mind that when it comes to gaming, a higher refresh rate will require a more powerful graphics card to match the FPS rate.
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