What Resolution Should I Use

Screen resolution: The ultimate guide

(Prototype credit: Pexels)

Screen resolution is crucial for designers, photographers and artists. When yous're working on digital creations, your monitor is 1 of the most important tools you own since it shows you what's happening while you work as well as the final result.

The screen resolution of your monitor can have a huge affect on how your work is displayed, and on how comfortably you tin can work without straining your eyes, then it'south important to know what screen resolution your monitor has, and what screen resolution to choose when y'all're upgrading your kit.

If your screen resolution is too high, icons and texts may appear too small and your hardware may exist put under additional strain as the monitor struggles to striking the loftier resolutions. But if your screen resolution is set too low, information technology can result in poor image quality that takes upward too much workspace and tin besides impairment the results of your work.

In this guide, we'll explicate why screen resolution is so important for designers and how information technology can affect your results, how to check the screen resolution of your current monitor, and how to buy the all-time monitor for your needs

See our guide to monitor calibration if y'all want to optimise your monitor'southward performance, and if you're thinking of upgrading your monitor, check out our guides to the best ultrawide monitor and the best 4k monitors. If you want to skip to purchasing a better computer, see our guide to the best laptops for photo editing.

In the meantime, read on to acquire everything you need to know about screen resolution.

What is screen resolution?

screen resolution: how to calibrate your monitor — (Epitome credit: Future)

What do we mean when nosotros talk almost screen resolution? The monitor that's connected to your PC – or congenital into your laptop – displays images using pixels, which are substantially pocket-size squares of light that alter colour. Computer screens are made up of thousands of pixels. By changing the colours of those pixels in certain patterns, screens can testify images, photos, text and all kinds of graphics.

The numbers that we apply when we talk near screen resolution are the number of pixels a screen can show horizontally and vertically. A screen that has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 (a popular resolution often known as 1080p or Total HD), can display 1,080 pixels vertically, and ane,920 pixels horizontally.

The higher the number of pixels a screen can show, the sharper and more detailed the image quality. But, the number of pixels that a screen can evidence isn't the only factor involved when it comes to epitome quality. There's also pixel density. Monitors come in all kinds of sizes, equally well as resolutions. You'll frequently find monitors of different sizes that have the aforementioned number of pixels, for instance a 24-inch monitor and a 32-inch monitor both with a screen resolution of 1920 10 1080. The image quality on the smaller monitor can often look sharper and more vivid because of its pixel density. This is measured in PPI (Pixels Per Inch). The smaller screen will accept a higher number of pixels per inch than the larger screen.

The higher the PPI, the better the paradigm quality, and then while information technology might be tempting to choose the largest screen possible, if yous're looking for the best image quality, consider getting a smaller monitor with a higher resolution rather than a larger monitor with a lower resolution.

Native screen resolution

It'south worth bearing in mind that the screen resolution that your monitor advertises isn't the only resolution it can brandish. The published resolution is known as the native resolution of the screen and is the resolution that looks best on the display. You can change the resolution of the screen, although y'all can only change it to a lower resolution than the native resolution, non higher.

For case, if you lot buy a 4K (also known as an Ultra Loftier Definition) screen, with a resolution of 3840 x 2160, and y'all find the resolution is also high, you lot can set your PC, Mac or laptop to display at a lower resolution, for instance 1920 x 1080.

How to check screen resolution

If yous want to check the native resolution of your monitor or laptop screen, the process is pretty easy, although information technology differs depending on whether y'all employ a Windows machine or a Mac or MacBook.

How to check your screen resolution (Windows)

01. Open the display settings

If you use Windows on your PC or laptop, you can check the screen resolution (and alter it) by correct-clicking on an empty space on the desktop and clicking 'Brandish settings'.

In the window that opens, y'all'll see 'Display resolution' with the current resolution listed underneath. If it says '(Recommended)' next to the resolution, that means it's the native resolution for your display and the one that will probably look the best.

02. Change the screen resolution

If y'all want to change the screen resolution, click the downward arrow next to the resolution. This will bear witness a list of all the other display resolutions your screen can handle. Click one, and the resolution volition be applied – temporarily at least.

Because changing the resolution to something that your screen doesn't back up can cause problems, Windows will bear witness y'all what the resolution looks like and enquire you if yous want to proceed information technology. If you do, click 'Keep changes'. Otherwise, click 'Revert' to change the resolution dorsum to what information technology was before. You tin also cull to practice nothing, and after 15 seconds your device volition revert to the previous resolution. This is useful if you accidentally cull a resolution that your brandish can't handle, leading to it displaying a blank screen. Simply wait 15 seconds, and the sometime resolution will come back.

How to check your screen resolution (Mac)

01. Observe your screen resolution

The easiest fashion to find the display resolution on your Mac or MacBook is to click the Apple icon in the summit left-manus corner of the screen. On the menu that appears, select 'About This Mac'. A window volition popular upward, and at the acme you'll see 'Displays.' Click at that place, and you'll see the size and resolution of your screen.

02. Modify the brandish resolution

To change the brandish resolution on your Mac's screen, click on 'Displays Preferences' in the lesser right-paw corner of the open window. In the new window that pops upward, select 'Scaled' next to where it says 'Resolution'. Choose the resolution based on whether you lot want larger text or more infinite.

What screen resolution should I utilise?

So, what screen resolution should you go for? The answer to that question varies depending on the sort of work you lot'll exist doing and what kind of automobile you'll be working on.

Let's start with the kind of work. If you're a graphic artist or 3D modeller, then the minimum resolution you should opt for is 1360 x 768. However, if you tin can, we recommend going for 1920 x 1080. That extra resolution will give you a bigger sheet to work on, and it will better the epitome quality.

For people working with circuitous 3D models, such every bit architects, animators or game developers, going in a higher place 1920 x 1080 can begin to put a real strain on your machine's GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). If y'all want to get for a higher resolution, brand certain your hardware tin can handle it, otherwise you may find your PC performs very slowly when trying to render at those high resolutions.

For video editors, nosotros recommend 1920 x 1080 equally a minimum. This is because 1080p is the standard high-definition resolution for videos, so if you're working with 1080p video, you lot'll want a screen that can display that natively. If y'all work with 4K video, and then go for a screen resolution of 3840 10 2160 since this volition let you lot to play back 4K footage natively.

For photographers, we'd recommend going for the highest resolution you tin can beget. Still images don't crave as much graphical grunt to display on high-resolution screens, and most photographs are taken at well higher up 1080p resolutions. For case, a camera that takes 21-megapixel photos is really capturing images at 5,104 10 4,092 resolution. Even a 4K monitor won't display that natively, only the higher the resolution of the screen, the ameliorate (and more accurately) your photos will appear.

The all-time laptop screen resolution

The resolutions we mention above utilize to standard widescreen monitors with a xvi:9 aspect ratio. Yet, some devices accept different aspect ratios – and therefore different display resolutions.

For case, the fifteen-inch MacBook Pro has a 2,880 x 1,800 resolution screen. That makes it a lot sharper than a standard 1080p display. Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop 3 has a xv-inch brandish with a 3:ii aspect ratio and 2,496 x one,664 resolution. Over again, that makes it a better display than a standard 1080p screen, though not quite as abrupt as the screen on the MacBook Pro.

Other splendid laptops with high screen resolutions recommended for digital creatives include the Surface Volume 2 (with a 3,240 x ii,160 resolution), the Huawei MateBook X Pro (with a 3,000 x two,080 resolution) and the beautiful Dell XPS 15 , which comes with either a ii,560 ten i,080 screen, or a 3,840 x ii,160 brandish.

Check out our pick of the best laptops for graphic design for more great laptops with high-resolution screens.

Read more than:

The best monitors for photo editing in 2020
Image formats in CGI: Everything you demand to know
The best digital art software for creatives in 2020

Matt has been a engineering announcer for well over a decade, writing for publications such as T3, MacFormat and Artistic Bloq. He'due south a senior editor of TechRadar, Artistic Bloq'due south sister site, where he can be institute writing near and reviewing laptops, computers, monitors and more. He often writes for Creative Bloq, helping creatives find their perfect laptop or PC.