can you change 17" screen resolution to match

[kazmac]

the 13.3" glossy screen resolution?

I was at the Apple store for almost an hour this morning jumping between anti-glare and glossy MBPs. To my shock, I thought the smaller real estate produced much sharper, easier to read text on a glossy screen, but I love the 17".

I know this sounds crazy, but is there a way to change screen resolution in the glossy 17" to come close to the 13.3"?

The 15" anti-glare on the way to me isn't going to work - I found the anti-glare harsh and honestly seeing the 15" and the 17" in the stores makes me push toward the 17". And I like the screen real estate of the 17" for light web design & Pixelmator & writing but would that become moot if the resolution were tweaked to so the text can be the size of the 13"?

I'm stunned that the anti-glare makes things harder to read for me as I had problems with the glossy 24" iMac.

I'm kind of at a loss with all the returns and such. So what do our experts think, can a 17" be modified to change the screen resolution to help the text appear at various sizes (I know you can change CSS settings in browsers)? Or should I just go with the 13.3" MBP?

Thanks everyone,

 

[Hellhammer]

Yes, 17" does support 1280x800 resolution (same as 13"s) so you can do that

Supported res: 1920 by 1200 (native), 1680 by 1050, 1280 by 800, 1152 by 720, 1024 by 640, and 800 by 500 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1280 by 1024 pixels at 5:4 aspect ratio; 1280 by 1024 pixels at 5:4 aspect ratio stretched; 1600 by 1200, 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio; 1600 by 1200, 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio stretched; 720 by 480 pixels at 3:2 aspect ratio; 720 by 480 pixels at 3:2 aspect ratio stretched

 

[Corrosive vinyl]

>System Preferences>Displays are the options for you.

 

[spinnerlys]

But know, that any resolution on a flat panel display that is not the native one, will look not crisp and may even be more hard to use.

While the 17" MBP has 1920 x 1200 as a native resolution, any other resolution will look not really that good, including 1280 x 800 (13" MB(P)).

1280 x 800 (= 1.024.000 pixel) viewed on a 1920 x 1200 (= 2.304.000 pixel) means that two (2.25) actual (native) pixels on the 17" screen will be used to display the 1280 x 800 resolution.

 

[kazmac]

Thanks for the prompt answers everyone. I'll use the tips here when I go back to Apple to exchange the 15".

I'm kind of annoyed about all this, but glad there are options.

Appreciate it!

 

[LedCop]

Yes, you can have the resolution of the 13" on a 17" but NO NO NO, you really wouldn't want to do that!

The resulting display would be the absolute worse of a 13", 15" and 17" at native resolution.

You can easily zoom into PDFs, documents, and websites so the text there can appear just as big (or bigger) than what you would see on a 13".

However, this isn't for everything; for example and you can't increase the size of the text that make up the menus.

 

[mbpjohnson]

I find the small text in menus annoying also it suggested in another thread that Tinker Tool my fix this but I have not tried it yet. Does anyone know if I can change the menu text size with Tinker Tool

thanks
Phil

 

[MrCheeto]

Um..you do realize that if you run your MacBook Pro at the same resolution as the 13" model you will ONLY have as much real-estate as the 13" model...right?

Basically you will get a Silly Putty 13" MacBook Pro that has been pressed against the newspaper funnies and stretched to 17". Enjoy the pixels!

 

[kazmac]

MrCheeto and LedCop: thanks makes sense. I'm a bit rusty on screen resolution/pixels but the idea of just making pdfs etc. larger sounds very sensible. Small menus:

I learned something very valuable from all these returns. I can no longer buy Apple computers online and need to test run the machines in store several times before I plunge. I appreciate the help and tips here, I guess as far as something like anti-glare vs. glossy I really can't rely on other folks' fine opinions, just have to be patient and trust my instincts and my peepers.

The right Mac is out there somewhere...I'll get it.

 

[sth]

15" with the standard screen (not hi-res) will give you the biggest fonts since it has the lowest pixel density of all MBP models.

 

[PygmySurfer]

15" with the standard screen (not hi-res) will give you the biggest fonts since it has the lowest pixel density of all MBP models.

Actually, doesn't higher pixel density produce better fonts? If so, the 17" MBP with 132 PPI would produce the best fonts, followed by the high res 15" with 128 PPI. Both trailing the iPhone with 163 PPI.

 

[mousouchop]

Actually, doesn't higher pixel density produce better fonts? If so, the 17" MBP with 132 PPI would produce the best fonts, followed by the high res 15" with 128 PPI. Both trailing the iPhone with 163 PPI.

Higher pixel density = smaller fonts. iPhone has a higher density, because it has a smaller screen, and needs smaller fonts.

Think on a pixels-to-inches scale. If a letter is 10x10 pixels on your screen-- and you have the choice between a screen with 100PPI and 200PPI, the screen with 100PPI will display the 10x10 character twice as big than the 200PPI screen.