15 inch vs 14 inch laptop

Hey y'all, I'm deciding whether I should get a 14 inch (1080p) or 15.6 inch laptop (1080p).

I've owned a 14 inch asus vivobook with a 1080p display, but the scaling is too weird on Ubuntu, PopOS, and all the other non-kde distros. Scaling at 100% is too small, and 200% is too big, so I am forced to use kde distros on it with 150% scaling.

I've heard that Thinkpads have good linux support in general, but does this issue still persist on the 14 inch 1080p Thinkpads? If so, would picking a 15.6 inch model fix that?

Looking at the Thinkpad L14, E14, and L15, to be specific.

Edit: accidentally put 125% instead of 150% oops!

Edit 2: Thanks, everyone! It seems the general consensus here with 14 inch 1080p laptops is to either scale the fonts or use a de that supports fractional scaling (kde, deepin, gnome + experimental features or xrandr). The numpad, typing on the 'left,' and the extra weight that comes with 15.6 laptops is totally up to preference :)

Edit 3: Similar thread on r/thinkpad for those wondering as well: https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/o8r2qa/how_good_is_the_linux_display_scaling_on_14_inch/

Written by Kasper 16 March 2021 12:20

One laptop is not the other. They are all different in size, thickness and weight. There are so many different types of laptops that it is sometimes difficult to orientate yourself. Especially if you don't know which size best suits what you want to do with the laptop. On this page you can read which inch format suits your usage situation.

Which inch size suits you depends on several factors. To make a good decision, it's useful to ask yourself the following questions:

• Is a large screen important or rather a smaller screen?
• Do I take my laptop with me a lot or do I mainly work at a fixed location?

10-inch laptops are the smallest sized laptops. That makes them ideal for on the road, because these laptops weigh less than a kilogram. Working out notes or watching a YouTube video on the go is great on these laptops. However, if you want to use programs that require sharp images or powerful hardware, then you don't want a 10-inch laptop. In that case it is smart to buy a larger and more powerful laptop.

Just like their little 10-inch brothers, 11-inch laptops are especially useful if you travel a lot. This size laptops is also lightweight and therefore ideal for use in, for example, the train. In terms of hardware, these laptops are not high-flyers, just like the 10-inch variants, so photo editing or more demanding tasks are not reserved for the 11-inch laptops. Checking your Facebook timeline, surfing the web or watching your favorite YouTube channel, these laptops are going great.

Do you do more with your laptop than home-garden-and-kitchen use and you also travel a lot, then you end up with for example 12-inch laptops. The powerful hardware ensures that you also perform heavier tasks on the laptop. Think of photo or video editing or sketching ideas on a touchscreen. Just like the smaller laptops, a 12-inch laptop is handy to take to, for example, college or your work.

From 13-inch laptops you can speak of a fully-fledged notebook with sufficient screen space. This format is convenient to take with you and use on the road, but also to place on location and work there. There are 13-inch laptops from simple versions to luxury models with powerful hardware. Whether you use it for e-mailing, watching films or doing graphic work: there is a 13-inch laptop for everyone.

The screen of 14-inch laptops is slightly larger than an A4. Handy for traveling and at the same time certainly suitable for use at your desk. A 14-inch is the size for you when you find 13-inch too small and 15-inch laptops too colossal. What do you use them for? For photo and video editing, watching movies or simply getting rid of your inbox. As with the 13-inch models, there is always a 14-inch that meets your requirements.

15-inch laptops are the most popular laptop format. Unlike smaller laptops, they are more difficult to carry, but at a fixed location you have a much larger screen to work on. These laptops are suitable for the simplest or most demanding tasks. So whether you watch or make videos, are a gamer or perhaps want to explore virtual reality, with a 15-inch laptop you are in the right place for every task.

The largest format laptops. If you want to use the laptop primarily in one place and you want a screen as large as possible, a 17-inch is for you. The large screen makes these notebooks ideal for working with 2 windows next to each other. Do you want to play your favorite games or watch a movie on a screen as large as possible, even then a 17-inch format is what you want. Just not exactly easy to take with you.

Did this help you?

Despite all the (virtual) ink we spend on hip 11- and 13-inch laptops, the bulk of laptops sold are still in the midsize category. For most consumers, that means a 15.6-inch display, but we consider any laptop with a 14-, 15-, or 16-inch screen to be part of that midsize category. These are the laptops you're most likely going to find sitting on an office desk, in a den, or in a dorm room. We've even seen our fair share of them wedged into airplane seats and in coffee shops, as awkward as that always looks.

If you're set on a midsize laptop, one piece of advice we've offered for the past couple of years is to consider a 14-inch system rather than a more common 15-inch one. While you're trading away a little bit of screen size (but not any screen resolution), we've consistently found that 14-inch midsize laptops offer better overall industrial design, specifically because the standard laptop keyboard fits much better in a 14-inch chassis than a 15-inch one, leaving much less dead space on either side. And, by shaving off a little size and weight, these 14-inch models are easier to carry around--which is important, as we've seen many commuters struggling under the weight of oversize laptops.

Though they make up only a small percentage of the laptops we review, we've put together a handy list of some of the better 14-inch laptops from the past several months. Note that the latest Intel Sandy Bridgeversions of these (or similar) systems are still a ways out, especially as this week's widely reported Sandy Bridge design problemsare likely to delay second-gen Core i-series laptops even further. But for general interest computing, these current models will be more than fine, and you shouldn't worry about waiting if you have an immediate need for a new laptop.