A lot of people seem to want 4k screens these days. My progressive bifocal wearing almost 60 years old eyes seem to prefer a smaller 1920x1080 resolution. I am curious if i am in the odd person out category of if other users have a similar preference. This is an issue for me because I need a new laptop but that discussion should probably go in a different thread.
So is it just my old eyes? What does everyone think?
As someone who has made the plunge…
On a laptop sized screen (even a 17 inch) 4k is tough - gorgeous, but tough on the eyes.
Even on a full desktop screen - I’m rocking 2 Dell 32" 4k monitors - it’s tough. Having all that screen real estate is really nice though.
The key is you have to properly set the display scaling and system font sizes.
In my OM virtual machine (KVM-Qemu) I’m using Global Display scaling 125% with 14 pt. fonts.
On my mint host machine: Display scaling at 100%, Fonts at 14 pt, and text scaling at 1.3
My favorite browser is vivaldi (think of it as the KDE of Browsers) and I can scale both the webpages AND the UI. Currently the UI is set at 140% So I can sit more than arm length away from the screen and see everything nice and easy.
And on my Dell Precision Laptop with a 4k screen it’s the same thing.
On my 'puter I use as a media PC (gave my “smart tv” a lobotamy) which is “only” 1080p I still have to play with fonts and display settings.
The TLDR of it all is that I’m effectively running a lower resolution everyplace. And it works great.
Would I pay extra for it on a laptop? No. Would I want to make sure that my laptop could power a 4k monitor/TV/Projector? Yes. But that’s because I also use my laptop to give presentations.
Hope this wall of text helps
Generally, you want the highest resolution you can get, but then use scaling to make it readable. This can become difficult when you have monitors of differing resolutions, and is the main reason I use Wayland on my company laptop.
The screen on this laptop (also a Dell Precision) is 3840x2400, and I have the scale set to 195%. My monitor (which is my own, not the company’s) is 1920x1080. On X11, I have to drop the resolution on the laptop screen to match the resolution of my external monitor; otherwise I have to scroll on the external monitor and everything is huge. Wayland can handle the different resolutions mostly seamlessly.
So deciding what to do probably depends on whether you’re using only the laptop screen or if you’re also using an external monitor with a different resolution. The 4K screen with scaling enabled definitely looks better than the 1920x1080 monitor, so you should scale it to a percentage that feels comfortable. If you’re only using the laptop monitor, you can use either X11 or Wayland for that. If you ever plan to plug the thing into another monitor that’s not the same resolution, go with Wayland.
I’m hoping Xlibre might fix this mess on X11, now that they’re actively improving it.
I have been wearing glasses since I was 10. I have weird eyesight. Glasses are required for anything more than an arm’s length away. But for everything closer, glasses are not needed if I don’t want to use them.
I tried progressive lenses and they are the worst. Nothing but consistent distortion and headaches. So I use lined bifocals. You know, old school like grandpa and grandma had. Adding to the weirdness, I have astigmatism in one eye that is completely different from the other one’s astigmatism. But unlike most people my age, I can see quite well in low light situations
For a monitor, both laptops are driving an ancient Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW that I rescued from a dumpster behind a thrift store due to the thrift store claiming it was a financial liability. Converted the DVI port over to HDMI, and it works just fine at 1920 x 1200, which is perfect. I think the owner gave it to the thrift store because it lacked an HDMI port.
I never connect either of my old laptops to my 4K television due to the resolution slowing them down to a crawl. Any movie file is accessed using SMB from the television’s networking app. The television’s VLC app deals with video and audio.
Do you have an actual computer store near you, such as Micro Center? They let potential customers freely browse around and compare what they have on display. If they don’t have an answer, the person will find someone in the back who does. Much more friendly than Best Buy and the other big box stores that try to sell everything.
Thanks to everyone who has replied so far. Giant walls of text gave me things i had not considered. Unfortunately, I live in a rural area and it is quite a drive to any Big Box stores although it might be worth it to swallow that bitter pill and take whole Saturday to investigate in person. I like the idea of having an hdmi port to plug into a big screen tv but in practice would probably not do this very often. I am also getting further bogged down in an Intel vs AMD comparrison and not sure which to choose in the end. Still, after years and years of buying refurbished ThinkPads, I want a brand new machine for maximum battery life. But I am not satisfied with the current crop of ThinkPads which has led to the quest for something different.
My opinion regarding the ThinkPad is the new models are lacking in quality when compared to the old models. The old ones were built to last. That was the problem. They lasted far too long.
Regarding battery life, I wish someone could explain to me why swapping out a battery can’t be as easy as on my old ASUS K55A. No tools required, not even a screwdriver. Slide sideways two retainer clips. Then slide out the battery from the tray. Slide in the new battery and slide sideways the two retainer clips until they lock. Total time: 30 seconds. All laptops should be that easy. I replaced it back in March because the old battery was still the first one from 2012 and down to 39% life, per the sensor. Given that a new battery was only $20 or so and how old batteries tend to expand once they get too close to dead, why risk it?
You said it! My oldest ThinkPad, a T420, has a changeable battery (including the cmos battery). This is why I want to move away from ThinkPads. And I absolutely agree, the older ones were better. However, for a daily driver, I want something that is lighter weight, like my X1 Carbon (that the battery is soldered in).
Given that you want “new” there goes my “be sure to check out govt and community college surplus property warehouses” advice…
Seriously, they ditch stuff because it goes out of warranty, not because it’s broken.
Displayport or hdmi - they make adapters. Besides that’s what your old computer is for. Wait for a sale at costco/sams and snag a wireless keyboard & mouse combo. Youtube and more from your recliner 
While I have a personal preference for AMD (and OM has a Zen spin…) be sure that the CPU has graphics. Then get one that also has a discrete gpu too. You can now run virtual machines with full gpu support 
i dont need 4k screen…
but i really could do with a 15 -16 inch screen
as much as i love my thinkpad L380 it only has a 13 inch screen and is a bit hard on the eyes