Fonts on mediocre resolution screen

English Multimedia
1

Hi!

I got a new computer at work, on which I installed Leap 42.2 (thought it’d save me the trouble of upgrading in a month!). The computer came with a 24" screen with a mediocre resolution (1900x1200, not that I’m really into HD stuff, but it got used to my 13" screen laptop with a 1900x1080 resolution).

I find that the fonts displayed on the screen are very pixelated and difficult to read, especially in monospace font. Right now, my only hope to save my poor eyes is to make all the fonts muuuch larger, which is not ideal. The size of the text is indeed not the matter, just its readability.

I read on the net about stuff like subpixel rendering and a thing called infinality, but no official package provides that. I tried to mangle with “Fonts” in Yast, changing almost blindly things obscurely named (like “hintering”??), but without much success.

I think it’s time to acknowledge my limits. Could somebody be so kind as to guide me through the jungle of fonts, if there is a solution to my problem? (Maybe there’s none and I should just accept that my screen is not very good…).

Cheers!

2

Which desktop environment?

3

Oh yes sorry! I’m using KDE.

4

There’s a couple of things you can play around with:

  • Anti-aliasing and it’s options, in Systemsettings - Fonts
  • The DPI setting, same place.
5

Thanks, didn’t know there was extra options for the fonts in the anti-aliasing conf panel. Well, I played around at lot, but finally settled for increased DPI with increased font size… But man, what a waste of space…

I can’t really decide if I’ve been spoiled by my laptop screen or if this screen has a very low resolution, but it’s going to be painful to work with that (at least at first).

6

Actually, I found what was unsettling me: Noto font is too sharp, this is fine with my laptop screen, but not on this desktop screen. I changed all the fonts for the Ubuntu family (which is a bit thicker) and my eyes are much better now. I’m also trying this solution, but not sure whether with success or not:
https://forums.opensuse.org/showthread.php/520645-What-is-currently-the-best-correct-way-to-get-subpixel-rendering-on-openSUSE-Tumbleweed

7

Also try manual setting of the DPI ( AFAIK possible in KDE, have no access now, but IIRC my wife’s laptop is set to 110 ).

8

how is 1900x1200 a mediocre resolution, that’s more then full HD did you want 2k,
fyi for a 24’’ 16:9 screen the native resolution is 1920:1080 a higher resolution makes for unwanted artifacts
what graphic card and driver are you using?

9

Well, depends on the size of the screen… Going from a 13" 1900x1080 to a 24" 1900x1200, you notice the change in resolution! But yes, I hesitated with the word “mediocre”, “medium” would be more accurate (?) but somehow felt weird (not a native here, sorry…). What I meant is that I can clearly see the pixels, from my desk chair. For example, the Breeze logo for restart (basically a thin circle) is very pixelated on this screen.

I need to check the ratio of the screen yes (will do on Monday). The screen seemed larger than my laptop’s screen so 1900x1200 made sense, but maybe I should try 1900x1080.

Overall, playing around with DPI, font size and anti-aliasing options, as well as changing Noto font for Ubuntu font made things much nicer for me: I can now work with my new computer without sore eyes ! :wink:

Sorry, forgot to answer the question: I’m using Intel HD from a i7 core with Mesa, but the situation is the same if I connect the screen to the Nvidia card with nouveau.

10

Be sure you have the right resolution set Things do not auto magically change

11

How is full HD medium or mediocre?
again 24’’ native resolution is 1080:920, it’s what looks best at 24’‘, if you want more you’ll need to use a custom dpi
both noveou and the default intel driver with sxa acceleration have issues with plasma 5
if that’s an optimus laptop install bumblebee, if it’s a desktop install nvidia’s propitiatory driver or use uxa acceleration for intel
nvidia’s config app that comes with the propiatory driver can be used to setup your system, be sure your monitor supports the resolution you want, most 24’’ are capped at full HD are you sure your monitor is 2k?

12

Well, Full HD means “native in at least 1900x1080”, i.e. able to display 1080p nativally. In an era where most laptops with a 13" to 15" screen are indeed full HD (or higher), getting back to a Full HD 24" screen feels uncomfortable. I never said the resolution was bad for a 24", it’s just that this the lowest resolution I had to deal with since a while, that’s all I’m saying…

Sorry if I misused some adjective, describing my feeling in the thread title wasn’t the right way either. :?

Anyhow, I just checked and the screen native resolution is indeed 1900x1200, so no problem here.

Also, as I mentionned before, changing Noto for the slightly thicker Ubuntu did the trick for me (I still really feels weird after the week-end on my laptop, but this is due to the screen itself… I admitted it earlier: I’ve been spoiled by my laptop…).