Resolution Scaling and refresh rate

[Amazerashi]

Hi guys.

I've been thinking about buying a laptop with a 1440p Display. It comes with a 1070. Now the main thing I want to know is can I drop the resolution down to 1080p while playing games and have the resolution run smoothly like regular 1080p? 

And second question. 

The display comes with a 120Hz refresh rate. If I drop to 1080p, will it still have the same effective refresh rate? 

[anybodykek]

4 minutes ago, Amazerashi said:

Hi guys.

I've been thinking about buying a laptop with a 1440p Display. It comes with a 1070. Now the main thing I want to know is can I drop the resolution down to 1080p while playing games and have the resolution run smoothly like regular 1080p? 

And second question. 

The display comes with a 120Hz refresh rate. If I drop to 1080p, will it still have the same effective refresh rate? 

Yep. Upscales look ugly as crap imo, but if you don't mind it then it's fine. Why do you need to downscale your games? A GTX 1070 is a very capable card...

[Amazerashi]

10 hours ago, anybodykek said:

Yep. Upscales look ugly as crap imo, but if you don't mind it then it's fine. Why do you need to downscale your games? A GTX 1070 is a very capable card...

Well the thing is at the moment the 1070 is a real great card. It handles things perfectly at 1080p and similarly at 1440p. Though there are instances that the 1070 can't max out all settings and still get that 60fps mark. I realize at the moment 1440p would be fine but a little while down the line and things probably won't be so smooth. But the 1070 will likely be running 1080p for a long time. That's why I'd like the ability to scale but still get decent performance. I watched a review of the laptop I'm looking to get on YouTube. And on that the reviewer said the games don't look much different on 1080p and the native 1440p. That's why it makes me wonder how much would it really make a difference on a 17 inch panel? Or even a 15 inch panel. If it really does create such issues I'll likely opt for the GTX 1080 model. The only issue is I'm concerned for temperatures and power supply deficiencies at 230W for that version. Making the 1070 model that perfect middle. Just for reference the laptop I'm talking about is the Aorus X7 V6. 

 

Also, if I just hook up the laptop to my 1080p TV via HDMI it should output at 1080p just fine then right? 

[treeroy]

Yes you can change the resolution no problem. I've got a 1440p144hz monitor and did that with lots of games. It doesn't always look great but it does work.

1 hour ago, Amazerashi said:

Well the thing is at the moment the 1070 is a real great card. It handles things perfectly at 1080p and similarly at 1440p. Though there are instances that the 1070 can't max out all settings and still get that 60fps mark. I realize at the moment 1440p would be fine but a little while down the line and things probably won't be so smooth. But the 1070 will likely be running 1080p for a long time. That's why I'd like the ability to scale but still get decent performance. I watched a review of the laptop I'm looking to get on YouTube. And on that the reviewer said the games don't look much different on 1080p and the native 1440p. That's why it makes me wonder how much would it really make a difference on a 17 inch panel? Or even a 15 inch panel. If it really does create such issues I'll likely opt for the GTX 1080 model. The only issue is I'm concerned for temperatures and power supply deficiencies at 230W for that version. Making the 1070 model that perfect middle. Just for reference the laptop I'm talking about is the Aorus X7 V6. 

 

Also, if I just hook up the laptop to my 1080p TV via HDMI it should output at 1080p just fine then right? 

You are quite right you aren't gonna be doing 144fps 1440p on a 1070 in most new games.

Personally I wouldn't buy a 1440p laptop, as there are problems with scaling on Windows. Having to zoom or enlarge everything isn't fun and it doesn't work well. I personally can't see the difference between 1080p and 1440p on a screen under 22" so on a laptop it'd be wasted for me. It's more taxing on your processing and if you're not even gonna use it in games then I really don't see the point.

[Amazerashi]

15 minutes ago, treeroy said:

Yes you can change the resolution no problem. I've got a 1440p144hz monitor and did that with lots of games. It doesn't always look great but it does work.

You are quite right you aren't gonna be doing 144fps 1440p on a 1070 in most new games.

Personally I wouldn't buy a 1440p laptop, as there are problems with scaling on Windows. Having to zoom or enlarge everything isn't fun and it doesn't work well. I personally can't see the difference between 1080p and 1440p on a screen under 22" so on a laptop it'd be wasted for me. It's more taxing on your processing and if you're not even gonna use it in games then I really don't see the point.

I do agree that scaling is an issue when it comes to 1440p, but the issue here is with the current state of the laptop Market and the product lines available. I feel that a for a GTX 1070 or above, a 60hz refresh rate is a waste of power especially at 1080p. If there were laptops out there with a higher refresh rate at 1080p I'd sure go for them. But the only panel type currently available that hits that sweet spot is the 1440p 120 hz panel on the Aorus and a few other Clevos. The new Alienware 15 offers a 120hz 1080p panel but that's a TN panel which I really wouldn't prefer. I think I'd be willing to make that trade off for scaling at 1440p for all the performance I'd get out of it. I could definitely game at 1440p for now with a 1070 but in the future, 1080p will definitely be the sweet spot for the card. That's why if the GTX 1080 version of the laptop meets the right performance and build standards, I'll go for that since that will be a 1440p master for some time to come. It's true there's not much of a difference when it comes to noticing resolution at a 17 inch screen size, but I don't want to under power the performance either. Though if scaling to 1080p is possible and not too bad to work with the 1070 option may not be so bad either. But for now it's probably best to wait and see how the panel market evolves in the next few months before making a final decision. For now I just wanted to get some info on the whole scaling ordeal. 

[treeroy]

53 minutes ago, Amazerashi said:

I do agree that scaling is an issue when it comes to 1440p, but the issue here is with the current state of the laptop Market and the product lines available. I feel that a for a GTX 1070 or above, a 60hz refresh rate is a waste of power especially at 1080p. If there were laptops out there with a higher refresh rate at 1080p I'd sure go for them. But the only panel type currently available that hits that sweet spot is the 1440p 120 hz panel on the Aorus and a few other Clevos. The new Alienware 15 offers a 120hz 1080p panel but that's a TN panel which I really wouldn't prefer. I think I'd be willing to make that trade off for scaling at 1440p for all the performance I'd get out of it. I could definitely game at 1440p for now with a 1070 but in the future, 1080p will definitely be the sweet spot for the card. That's why if the GTX 1080 version of the laptop meets the right performance and build standards, I'll go for that since that will be a 1440p master for some time to come. It's true there's not much of a difference when it comes to noticing resolution at a 17 inch screen size, but I don't want to under power the performance either. Though if scaling to 1080p is possible and not too bad to work with the 1070 option may not be so bad either. But for now it's probably best to wait and see how the panel market evolves in the next few months before making a final decision. For now I just wanted to get some info on the whole scaling ordeal. 

Well OK yeah with regard to scaling - you can use a 1440p screen as an effective 1080p screen in all games, with no real drawbacks.

I think the best thing to do though, if you're spending a lot of money on a machine that ultimately can't be upgraded or have parts replaced, is to actually go in to a store and look at laptops with 1440p screens and see what you think. Ideally if you have a friend with one you can see how the scaling works in games.