Bootcamp on retina Mac...display settings..Win 7 vs Win 8

[Mike Boreham]

I have been using Windows 7 and 8.1 in Parallels VMs without problem, but as an experiment I set up a Windows 7 Bootcamp partition on a 13inch retina MBP.

All worked smoothly, but I was unable to find a combination of screen resolution and dpi scaling and clearview text where the text was "clean" and sharp.

Also text size seemed all over the place between different apps and the system screens. (too big in one and too small in another).

Definitely not as good as in Parallels for these aspects.

After a few days I decided the benefits did not outweigh the problems and wiped it.

I have since read somewhere that Windows 8.1 displays more cleanly and sharper on a Bootcamp retina mac than Windows 7.

Anyone confirm or add to this?

Thanks

 

[saturnotaku]

I have since read somewhere that Windows 8.1 displays more cleanly and sharper on a Bootcamp retina mac than Windows 7.

That's because Windows 7 does not support HiDPI (the feature necessary to scale ultra-high-resolution displays properly) where Windows 8.1 does.

 

[Mike Boreham]

That's because Windows 7 does not support HiDPI (the feature necessary to scale ultra-high-resolution displays properly) where Windows 8.1 does.

Ah yes, thanks I remember HiDPI being mentioned now.

So is Windows 8.1 all good in Bootcamp? text size in system fonts and apps, sharpness, etc

I might have another go.

 

[Steveatesh]

Ah yes, thanks I remember HiDPI being mentioned now.

So is Windows 8.1 all good in Bootcamp? text size in system fonts and apps, sharpness, etc

I might have another go.

I have a similar issue. I made a Bootcamp with Windows 8.1 then installed Parallels using the Bootcamp partition Windows as the source for the Parallels VM.

Whilst Windows 8.1 itself is ok in Bootcamp, some of the programs I had wanted to use don't scale very week at all. For example the menus, or toolbars, or control panels are too small or unusable.

Apparently it depends upon whether the programmers have followed the Microsoft guides when programming the software. Some of mine works well (Minitab, MS Office, Quickbooks for example) whilst others are problematic (PaintshopPro X6, FaceFilter for example which are just as bad in Parallels.

It looks like some software vendors are going to have to bring out new versions to cope with the trend towards HiDPI monitors.

If you find a solution I'd be delighted to know, I loved PSPro but it's difficult to use on the RiMac due to the lack of scaling.