Windows Zoom or Saving Eyes

[imusorka]

Having used my new laptop for a day, my eyes hurt a lot. This is thanks to 1920x1080 on 15". Even the 150% zoom in W7 does not save me as text is not crisp enough, whereas some soft disregards the setting altogether. I have tried other resolution/zoom combinations and none seem to be adequate. Any suggestions? Is W8 any better in this regard?

 

[ViRGE]

Is W8 any better in this regard?

Metro apps are fine, but desktop applications are no better than Windows 7. Windows desktop DPI management is just slightly better than atrocious.

 

[imusorka]

Seems like it was a bad idea to go for a FHD panel on a 15" laptop. I'm curious as to how others are coping. Almost all new laptops are coming out with 1920x1080 native resolution.

 

[CSMR]

Having used my new laptop for a day, my eyes hurt a lot. This is thanks to 1920x1080 on 15". Even the 150% zoom in W7 does not save me as text is not crisp enough, whereas some soft disregards the setting altogether. I have tried other resolution/zoom combinations and none seem to be adequate. Any suggestions? Is W8 any better in this regard?

- Why is text not crisp enough. At 1920*1080 on a 15" screen at 150%, text should be extremely crisp.

 

[CSMR]

I have been using high res screens and >100% scaling for years. Since Vista it has worked well on Windows, and since about 2008 its rare for applications to have problems with the setting. To get crisp text in windows, you REQUIRE a high res screen and >100% scaling.

 

[imusorka]

Have you used 15 inch screens too? This is the main point. High resolution on a small screen makes text almost illegible. You would need to squint, which is a sure way to blindness. As ViRGE said above, Windows DPI management is awful, which is probably why everything (not just text) appears fuzzy. Thanks for the XP style scaling hint though. Shame it only works up to 125%.

 

[CSMR]

Have you used 15 inch screens too? This is the main point. High resolution on a small screen makes text almost illegible. You would need to squint, which is a sure way to blindness. As ViRGE said above, Windows DPI management is awful, which is probably why everything (not just text) appears fuzzy. Thanks for the XP style scaling hint though. Shame it only works up to 125%.

Where are you getting fuzzy text? In what applications?

At 150% you should be getting exceptionally crisp text.

 

[Super56K]

Have you used 15 inch screens too? This is the main point. High resolution on a small screen makes text almost illegible. You would need to squint, which is a sure way to blindness. As ViRGE said above, Windows DPI management is awful, which is probably why everything (not just text) appears fuzzy. Thanks for the XP style scaling hint though. Shame it only works up to 125%.

1080p on a 15" screen isn't illegible at all. I use it on my 15" laptop, 125% dpi, Windows 7. The thing is, the first week or so it's going to look small but you have to give time for your eyes to adjust to the higher resolution. Once I got accustomed to the change I fell in love with how crisp everything was compared to the awful 768p screen I used previously. It definitely wasn't fuzzy/hazy at any point. If your screen isn't sharp at 1080p you may have other problems.

Have you re-adjusted your clear text settings? Calibrated the display?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Do laptop screens have scalers in them? Try setting your display resolution to something smaller? (Quarter res?)

 

[imusorka]

CSMR, you are right. The reason it is fuzzy is precisely because XP style scaling is not supported at 150%.

Super56K, I've just set it to 125% with XP style on. Adjusting ClearType hasn't changed anything. I'll try to get used to it but immediately the eye strain is huge. Although it's not IPS, I do have the best TN panel you can get. It has been calibrated too.

VirtualLarry, I'm looking for a solution that will allow me to keep the native resolution. Otherwise, getting a 1080p screen and going lower defeats the purpose.

 

[CSMR]

Basically some applications only support one particular dpi setting.

XP style scaling allows them to operate at that dpi setting, which in your case is too small.
Vista/Win7/Win9 style scaling scales them up, but there is fussiness.

The solution is to avoid these badly written applications if possible.

 

[imusorka]

Astounding that Skype is one of those applications.

I'm back to hazy 150% as my eyes couldn't take any more of 125% after just an hour of work.

 

[CSMR]

OK I've verified that Skype scales badly on my system.

What you can do:
For individual apps which scale badly but which you need to use:
Go to compatibility settings in the .exe file, and check "disable display scaling on high DPI settings".

For a global setting, use "Win XP style scaling". I am not sure why you are not getting this option. It is not the default but should be available at 150%, under "custom sizing options". It is there on Win8 but I'm sure it was there too in Win7.

 

[imusorka]

XP style scaling is indeed available in W7 but visually it does not work at 150% when comparing it to say 125%, which seems to be the threshold for this feature. Thank you all for trying to help me out. Guess, I'll just have to get used to all of this somehow and not ruin my eyes in the process.