[Janaka Cooray]

I know many of you must use the native resolution of your LCDs BUT the Mac has a distinguished history of beautifully calibrated displays for proof reading... SO READ ON...


I got my Mac mini last week after years of using a PC. I'm using it with a high-spec CRT from my PC (19" iiyama vision master pro 454.)

OS X auto-detected the monitor and chose a resolution of 1152 x864. I'm quite impressed by the choice on technical grounds :-

1280 x 1024 is the 'recommended' resolution according to the manual - but this is simply based on the maximum discrete pixels that will fit into the displayable area given the dot-pitch of the monitor. 1280 x 1024 is a 5:4 aspect ratio display - and the monitor is actually a standard 4:3 aspect ratio - hence the chosen resolution is the best one for my display...

Now I don't know whether OS X knows all the above - or whether that resolution is flagged in the DDC2B plug-and-play information in the monitor and OS X simply picks it.

HOWEVER, whilst the display is beautifully and automatically calibrated, I reckon the basic design of OS X is for a higher resolution - I find myself awkwardly switching between windows (and trying to line them up so that i can see more than one) more than on my Windows box. I beleive Windows was possibly designed for lower resolutions.


So my wonderings are these:

Is there any recieved wisdom on a sweet-spot for screen resolution for OS X? Was it designed for any particular resolution? And what resolution are people actually using?


Participate in the poll - I'd like to know what you guys think about Mac displays

[liquidtrance123]

when i had my 21in dell CRT it was always 1600x1200/32bit/85hz. However since i got my 20in Cinema dislay its 1680x1050 which is about the same pixels count but widescreen

[nickw311]

1280x1024 on a 19" Dell UltraSharp LCD.

This resolution was automatically picked out by OS X when I started the computer.

[hudson1]

Originally posted by Janaka Cooray:

Is there any recieved wisdom on a sweet-spot for screen resolution for OS X? Was it designed for any particular resolution? And what resolution are people actually using?

There's really no right answer to your question other than to say that Apple's computers with built-in LCDs (PowerBooks and iMacs, at least) are basically all set up with a native resolution of 100 dpi. Many people would find that too high if not for the excellent sharpness in Apple's LCD displays. For me and my eMac with its lowly CRT display, I can't comfortably go beyond 90 dpi which works out to 1152 X 864 on its 16" (effective) screen.

For practical purposes, you generally have to run LCDs at their native resolution, unlike CRTs. Therefore, make sure you test drive an LCD screen to ensure that the resolution will work for you and your pair of eyes.

[discotronic]

iMac G5 17" running at native resolution of 1440x900.

[Luca Rescigno]

Yeah, you left out all the widescreen resolutions that so many Mac users have. The options should be:

800x600
1024x768
1152x768 (old TiBooks)
1152x864
1280x854 (newer TiBooks/AlBooks)
1280x960
1280x1024 (17" LCD)
1440x900 (17" widescreen)
1600x1024 (22" Cinema)
1600x1200
1680x1050 (20" Cinema)
1920x1200 (23" Cinema)
2560x1600 (30" Cinema)

That's 13 different options that probably cover over 90% of Mac users. Remove all the widescreen ones and it probably only applies to about half of Mac users, maybe just slightly more.

Of course, if you need to make room you could probably drop the 800x600, 2560x1600, and maybe the 1152x768 options.

EDIT: As for which resolution I would use with a 19" CRT... well, I just recently replaced a 19" CRT with a 17" LCD. Check to see what's available - you can use 1280x960, the 4:3 equivalent to 1280x1024, or you can try 1344x1008, a 4:3 aspect ratio that provides more pixels than 1280x1024. That new resolution was provided by Apple starting with 10.3.

[Jasoco]

I picked Other Higher because MINE is a 20" Cinema display.

1680x1050 (20" Cinema)

[mi5]

I am currently using an 12" iBook G4 1.2ghz and also connect it to a 17" LCD (LG L1750SQ 8ms), but I can only seem to get 1024 x 768...whereas I would like to get 1280 x 1024, which I believe is the native resolution of a 17" LCD.

Is 1024 x 768 the limit for my iBook (this is the maximum shown)? Does this mean I am stuck with viewing the less than optimal resolution (1024 768) on the 17" LCD?

If anyone could offer some help as to how I can change the resolution to the higher 1280 x 1024 so that it is nice and crisp on the 17" LCD, it would be most appreciated.

Cheers

[ajprice]

1280x1024 on a 17" Sony HMD-A220. Its a big monitor, a CRT for starters, with a 3" wide silver bezel around the screen! Next mac will probably have a flat screen.

[mjkearns]

1600x1200 on an Iiyama Vision Master Pro 454 19" CRT here. I can't run windows at anything higher than 1280x1024 and still be able to work happily on it, but my mini just looks lovely at the higher res, and no eye-strain.

[Gamoe]

I have my eMac's built in CRT running at it's max, 1280x960 @72 Hz. I just started playing around with the VGA adaptor, though, and I'm thinking of getting an LCD, as these are easier for the eyes. Any recommendations?

And it does seem to me that generally Mac users have their displays set up at a higher resolution than most PC users.