Anyone have actual experience with laptop screen downgrade (performance)?

[adnel94]

Okay, I have a somewhat old laptop, but good enough for my needs (software engineering): Lenovo Y50-70 4k version, specs below:

 

• i7 4720HQ 2.6 GHz 
• Intel iGPU HD 4600
• nVidia 960M 4GB GDDR5
• 16GB DRR3 RAM
• Samsung EVO 860 500GB

The screen is kinda bad, but bearable for my needs (LTN156FL02-L01 model, TN, glossy, locked to 48Hz on all resolutions, famous mustard yellows on this model)

I use it mainly for work, and often to watch videos and play some casual games, but I never actually play on 4k (max 1080p, my GPU and CPU can't handle it and at 15.6" I don't mind)

Considering that I basically have no benefits of 4k (windows is scaled at 175% so I basically get very close to the 1080p space, just sharper), would downgrading to a 1080p panel benefit me performance wise?

 

From my research, the pros and cons would be:

Pros:

• Better battery life 
• Can use at 100% scaling, so don't have to worry about software supporting scaling anymore
• Get rid of mustard yellow (specific for my case)
• Get matte (which is subjectively better, specific for my case) 
• 60Hz (specific for my case, hopefully it's not locked in BIOS or similar, since my screen is 48Hz on all resolutions)
• Lighter load on the CPU/GPU for software that I run in windowed <=1080p but doesn't support resolution scaling thus is only <= 25% of the screen (e.g. Brawhalla, and my laptop struggles to have playable framerate on >1080p the resolution)

Cons

• Losing the sharper image because of greater pixel density

Pros gained simply by switching to 1080p mode on the current 4k panel:

• Somewhat better battery life (according to a Dutch site that did a comparison like this, also Linus covered this in a video where he got minimal battery increase )
• Can use at 100% scaling

Cons gained simply by switching to 1080p mode on the current 4k panel:

• Blurry text and icons, which are bugging me since I stare at text (code) most of the day

Now, I additionally use an external monitor at home (HP E272Q, 2560x1440 at 60Hz scaled at 100%). So when at home, my laptop has to handle 2 screens.

 

I found a panel that should work for my device (Aliexpress link) but at $62 for TN again, I'm conflicted on whether it's worth switching to it, so I'm wondering whether anyone ever did any kind of general OS performance comparison, or other aspects that could make the downgrade desirable.

 

Basically, I'm looking for something that I've missed; one last pro as the cherry on the top to convince me that it's worth the hassle.

 

 

[Brooksie359]

Seems like alot of work tbh. I really don't see the point. You can always just use 1080p on the 4k display. Also at laptop size screen your pixel density is already super high even with 1080p. I have always though 4k to be kinda stupid on a 15inch laptop.