1680x1050 resolution
1680 × 1050
WSXGA+ · 8:5 · 1,764,000 pixels · 1.76 megapixels · Legacy
What 1680x1050 is
A 16:10 monitor size, typically 22 inches, from the period when 16:10 and 16:9 were still competing.
The numbers
| Width | 1,680 px |
| Height | 1,050 px |
| Aspect ratio | 8:5 |
| Total pixels | 1,764,000 |
| Megapixels | 1.76 MP |
| Compared with 1080p | 0.85× the pixels |
| Compared with 4K UHD | 0.21× the pixels |
What 1680x1050 costs to move and to store
A frame is width × height × three bytes of colour, before any compression touches it. At 1680 × 1050 that is 5.29 MB per frame, and video is frames per second:
| Frame rate | Uncompressed | An hour of it |
|---|---|---|
| 24 fps | 127 MB/s | 0.46 TB |
| 30 fps | 159 MB/s | 0.57 TB |
| 60 fps | 318 MB/s | 1.14 TB |
| 120 fps | 635 MB/s | 2.29 TB |
Nobody ships that. It is the number codecs exist to get away from — a streamed 1680x1050 feed runs at a few tens of megabits, which is a compression ratio of several hundred to one, and it is why a still frame from a stream looks worse than a photograph of the same scene.
How close you have to sit for 1680x1050 to be worth it
The eye resolves about one arcminute of detail. Past a certain distance the pixels merge whatever the panel does, and a higher resolution stops being visible rather than stopping being better. That distance is the pixel pitch divided by the tangent of one arcminute:
| Screen | Pixels merge beyond |
|---|---|
| 13.3 in monitor or laptop | 0.59 m (1.9 ft) |
| 15.6 in monitor or laptop | 0.69 m (2.3 ft) |
| 24 in monitor or laptop | 1.06 m (3.5 ft) |
| 27 in monitor or laptop | 1.19 m (3.9 ft) |
| 32 in monitor or laptop | 1.41 m (4.6 ft) |
| 43 in television | 1.9 m (6.2 ft) |
| 55 in television | 2.42 m (8 ft) |
| 65 in television | 2.86 m (9.4 ft) |
| 75 in television | 3.31 m (10.8 ft) |
Sitting further back than the figure for your screen, 1680x1050 and the next resolution down look the same. That is the whole argument about 4K televisions in ordinary living rooms: the resolution is real and the seating position usually is not close enough to show it.
Pixel density at common screen sizes
A resolution on its own says nothing about sharpness — the same 1680x1050 panel is dense on a laptop and coarse on a television. Density is the diagonal in pixels divided by the diagonal in inches.
| Diagonal | Pixel density | |
|---|---|---|
| 13.3 in | 149 PPI | Sharp |
| 15.6 in | 127 PPI | Comfortable at native size |
| 24 in | 83 PPI | Coarse — individual pixels are visible at desk distance |
| 27 in | 73 PPI | Coarse — individual pixels are visible at desk distance |
| 32 in | 62 PPI | Coarse — individual pixels are visible at desk distance |
Other legacy resolutions
| Resolution | Name | Ratio | Megapixels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 640×480 | VGA | 4:3 | 0.31 MP |
| 800×600 | SVGA | 4:3 | 0.48 MP |
| 1024×768 | XGA | 4:3 | 0.79 MP |
| 1280×1024 | SXGA | 5:4 | 1.31 MP |
| 1600×1200 | UXGA | 4:3 | 1.92 MP |
Closest in total pixels
- 1600×1200 — UXGA
- 1920×1080 — Full HD (1080p)
- 1600×900 — HD+
- 2048×1080 — DCI 2K
- 1280×1024 — SXGA
- 1440×900 — WXGA+
- 1920×1200 — WUXGA
- 1366×768 — HD (laptop)
Frequently asked questions
What is the aspect ratio of 1680x1050?
8:5.
How many pixels is 1680x1050?
1,764,000 pixels, or 1.76 megapixels.
Is 1680x1050 higher resolution than 1080p?
1680x1050 has 85% of the pixels of a 1920×1080 frame.
What size screen suits 1680x1050?
Pixel density is what decides that. 149 PPI at 13.3 in, 127 PPI at 15.6 in, 83 PPI at 24 in, 73 PPI at 27 in, 62 PPI at 32 in. Below roughly 110 PPI text starts to look coarse; above about 200 the operating system will usually scale the interface rather than render it at native size.