Questions about Display Resolution - MBP 13'

[BigMcGuire]

See attachment. 2017 MBP 13' - I'm constantly going back and forth between the 1440x900 default for display and the 1680x1050 (more space). I like the extra room but I find text a bit more readable with the 1440x900.

Was curious what others are doing. At 32 years old and incredibly nearsighted (wearing glasses all the time) I find reading text at 1680x1050 doable, but 1440x900 is definitely easier.

Second question: I did a bit of forum reading on the resolution differences. Using 1440x900 is harder on resources so to get a slightly higher FPS in games, 1680x1050 is better? Or do I have that backwards?

I've been playing Starcraft II in 2560 by 1600 thinking this is what the laptop wants. Actually very playable at this resolution (40fps+). I guess I'll set that to 1680x1050.

Any info about resolution, readability, FPS in games welcome. Thanks!

 

[redheeler]

Scaled - 1280 x 800

Not a scaled resolution, it's the native resolution for the panel Apple uses. Was the default for the Late 2012 - 2015 models (used to be called Best for Retina instead of Default for Display when default actually meant native), and hence what I used when I had a 13" Late 2013.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Not a scaled resolution, it's the native resolution for the panel Apple uses. Was the default for the Late 2012 - 2015 models (used to be called Best for Retina instead of Default for Display when default actually meant native), and hence what I used when I had a 13" Late 2013.

I have to admit to being confused. So, for the 2016-2018 MBP 13' Apple says the native resolution is 2560-by-1600 https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/ --- but "native" resolution is really 1280x800? I was reading how 1440x900 doubles the pixels or something like that hence the higher resource usage but better quality text/pictures.

 

[redheeler]

I have to admit to being confused. So, for the 2016-2018 MBP 13' the native resolution is 2560-by-1600 https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/ --- but "native" resolution is 1280x800?

The UI is given a 1280x800 grid for sizing windows, UI elements, text, images, etc., but everything on the screen is rendered at twice the width and height. So 1280x800 HiDPI is effectively 2560x1600, which you will notice if you ever take a full-screen screenshot at that resolution and examine the dimensions of the screenshot.