Possible to swap display for a lower native resolution?

[lsemel]

I want to switch to a Macbook Pro and get rid of my Thinkpad, but the 1440x900 native resolution makes everything too small for me to be comfortable using. I've already tried all the possible OS and software settings, to no avail. Is it possible to mod a MBP and swap out the screen it comes with and replace it with a screen at a lower native resolution, like 1280x800? I've seen threads on swapping to a higher resolution, but nothing on a lower resolution.

 

[alphaod]

I want to switch to a Macbook Pro and get rid of my Thinkpad, but the 1440x900 native resolution makes everything too small for me to be comfortable using. I've already tried all the possible OS and software settings, to no avail. Is it possible to mod a MBP and swap out the screen it comes with and replace it with a screen at a lower native resolution, like 1280x800? I've seen threads on swapping to a higher resolution, but nothing on a lower resolution.

I can see where you're coming from; have you tried just using it with the resolution lowered? I know it looks weird sometimes, but you can get used to it.

 

[eXan]

I feel your pain... my eyesight is bad so I sit like 60 cm away from the screen of my MacBook (same dpi as MBP) to be able to read text (No, I don't have glasses... yet)

I doubt such "upgrade" would be realistically possible though

 

[lsemel]

Lowered resolution

have you tried just using it with the resolution lowered? I know it looks weird sometimes, but you can get used to it.

I tried that, but the screen was awfully blurry since it's at a non-native resolution. I also tried all the possible software settings -- adjusting font sizes in the operating system, adjusting the browser font sizes, playing with the resolution scaling settings from the command line, etc. For me, and a lot of other people, to use a computer comfortably everything on the screen has to be big, but still sharp.

This thread talks about a mod to increase the resolution, so I figure someone has to know how to mod it to decrease it: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/207751/

And on this thread (older, from 2006), someone identifies the exact Samsung screen used, and when you click through to the place that sells them, there's a 15.4" 1280x800 screen. https://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-230455.html So I wonder if it's possible to just buy the alternate screen and replace it.

 

[rapty]

Best bet is to buy a external monitor and hook it up, I have the 17-inch hi res I get bad red eye after a while of graphic designing, dropping down a few resolutions doesn't really help as you said it needs to be sharp.

I wouldn't bother about the mod unless your doing alot of mobile work, glasses don't seem to help me my eyes are still red!

 

[iHerzeleid]

What about making the icons bigger.. making the dock larger and making the text font on your browser bigger also?

would that help?

 

[lsemel]

I tried all the software settings possible, such as increasing the icon size, increasing font sizes in the browser and in different apps, and messing with the undocumented resolution independence feature that's accessible from the command line. The high resolution, combined with the Mac-style anti-aliased font rendering (as opposed to Windows uglier but easier to read pixel rendering), just make everything too hard to see. I ended up ordering a widescreen ThinkPad at 1280x800 for my next laptop, but hope that Apple will come out with resolution independence in the next year or so. That will solve all the problems of everything being too small, and then I can replace it with a MBP. I will probably only be able to use a Mac for my desktop until then.