Computer Monitor + Laptop Questions

[vMoPPy]

Hey guys! So, I have an almost brand new laptop which runs extremely well, and I have no need to buy a new computer, or get a desktop.
But my only complaint that I have is my laptops display, which is only 1366 x 768, and I would really like something better.
I have found some pretty decent 23" monitors for $199 with a 1920 x 1080 resolution.

Now, if I hook my laptop up to the monitor, will the display resolution on the monitor screen be 1920x1080, or will it remain at my laptops 1366x768 resolution?
I'm mainly doing this for games like WoW and Starcraft.

[glo]

It will display at the new monitor's resolution. Just keep in mind that your FPS will essentially be cut in half after a resolution jump like that, especially with a notebook card.

[vMoPPy]

Will it really effect my FPS that much? It doesn't seem like that much of a jump for a monitor display. (But then again, I don't know much when it comes to this. Which is why I'm here I guess haha.)
The graphics card in my laptop is an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330. I can run almost everything on ultra, and still get about 50 FPS.
And I will be upgrading to a new laptop for school in about six months, I'm also assuming that the better graphic card in that one will help? I'm thinking in the future here too. :P

[GStar]

Thats cos youre running at such small resolution, when you running 1902x1080 youre fps does drop

[ComputerNerd]

You are going from 1,049,088 to 2,073,600 pixels, a figure which is almost doubling, so yes I would be concerned about the potential extra work that will be placing on your GPU.
It is a big numbers difference when you look at it that way.
Some details on the hardware you have might help, but as I have seen the performance on any given hardware is not consistent with expectations.

[vMoPPy]

I just updated my laptop drivers, and can run at a higher resolution on my laptop, and on external displays. :P Solved my own technologically illiterate problem on my own!
Thanks for the help though!

[Ezzme]

The Asus VH238H is the best bang for your buck.

LED
1080p
23"
Speakers
HDMI
DVI
VGA

And an Audio Jack.

All this for only $179

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=ASus%20VH238H

[Optomash]

i went with this one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009255

[vMoPPy]

Ezzme, that's the exact one I was looking at. :P

[tyggyr]

More pixels do take more work, but there's an assumption people are making that those pixels are all of the work.

Really, it depends.

OP: Most modern laptops can drive a 1920x1080 screen just fine. You should be able to find a "supported resolutions" section in the advanced configuration of the graphics if you're really curious. Truth is, your fps may go down, but overall your experience will be a vast improvement over looking at 1366 resolution on a 14-15" screen. The monitor will be at a better position, probably better view overall. Even if you have to drop your WoW video settings a notch it'll be worth it.

In raids - especially 25-mans (eg LFR) - it's often help to play on "low" settings; just make sure you have "projected textures" enabled. My 6 year old rig runs dual 1920x1080 screens (1 with WoW on it) and it does "fine" on high (50fps in the world, about 30 in cities) but not ultra, but in raids it gets bogged down so I'll drop it for 25s.

I occasionally travel and have to play on a business laptop - yuck. The screen is horrible, besides being 13 or 14" compared to my 27" desktop, and the graphics aren't anything special (as I said, business laptop - and not a graphics business, either, this is a basic "this is a computer" laptop). It plays WoW just fine, just put it to low and live with the lower resolution. If your laptop was made in the last couple of years it can't be any worse.

If you can, buy from Costco. They have a no-questions-asked return policy for 90 days on electronics. Most retailers require there to be more than 4 or 5 stuck pixels before you can return a monitor, and some are stuck on some percentage. Well, a 1920x1080 monitor has basically two million pixels, and if even 1% of 1% of those are stuck you have 200. With Costco, if one pixel is stuck, or you just decide that you don't like the controls or something trivial, you can return it.