15.6" Laptop Screen: 1080p vs 720p

[andper10]

I am planning to get a Dell Studio 15 - 1558 Laptop for college from the Dell Outlet (refurbished) section. I am wondering if anyone has any experience with 1080p vs 720p 15.6" laptop screens. I would like to get a 1080p screen, but I am wondering if I will be able to read text on web pages and in MS Word at 100% zoom. I would not be satisfied with the laptop if I couldn't. I currently have a 20" CRT @ 1280x1024 resolution (4:3 aspect ratio) and I can easily read text on webpages from 2-3 feet away.

Also, any thoughts on the build quality and ease of use of the Studio 15 - 1558?

I plan to get a laptop with these specs:
4GB DDR3 1333Mhz (2x2GB)
250, 320, or 500GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
Intel Core i3 or i5 CPU
9 Cell Battery
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD
2MP Webcam
DVD +/- RW burner
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Black Chainlink (Laptop Color)
Backlit Keyboard (?)

-Thanks in advance.

[glc]

Go to a big box store and find similar laptops and look at them yourself. That's about the best thing I can recommend.

I think that's a very good laptop.

[Planefreak]

I have a 16.4 sony vaio with 1080p. I have to say that I love the extra pixels and glad I upgraded but if you plan on sitting a little ways away you will probably find it difficult to read the text. I hardly ever have problem reading things but I do notice that when others use my laptop or I show them something they squint or have to lean in quite far.

I would say go with the 1080p but sometimes laptop cards have trouble downsizing the pixels to fit the screen.

Keep in mind on a your 20"crt you have about 131,000 pixels but with 1080 you are looking at just over 2 million. Also on the 20" your screen is probably around 12" x 16" while on the 15.6" laptop screen 13.5" x 7.8". This means the area of the CRT is 192 sq in and the laptop is 105 sq in. Just keep in mind that something on your CRT will be about 3 times as big.

[andper10]

Thanks to both of you for your input.

I couldn't find a 1080p laptop screen at Best Buy or Staples, but I will probably try Fry's &/or Walmart too.

@ Planefreak: I just wanted to point out that my current CRT resolution has 1,310,720 (~1.3 million) pixels (not 131,000) vs. 2,073,600 (~2.1 million) in a 1080p screen. I will go look up the exact screen dimensions though. That is a good idea to get an idea of how the sizes will compare.

[Planefreak]

Yes, you're right. I meant 1.3 million but typed 131,000 by accident.