How can I find out what output resolutions a laptop computer supports?

I am looking for a new laptop, and it will be connected to an external monitor the majority of the time, presumably via HDMI. The monitor has native 1920x1080 resolution.

I'm not really concerned with the resolution of the screen on the laptop, so I'm mostly looking at machines with lower resolution (typically 1366x768) due to cost.

My old laptop was like this, and it was able to output at 1920x1080 (1080p), but is there a way to know that other machines will as well? Is this a function of the graphics card or chipset? My old machine had the normal, low-end onboard "Mobile Intel HD graphics", so does this mean that any machine with that will output at 1080p?

Solution 1:

Definitely reading the specs from the manufacturer is the best way. However, I can personally guarantee that any laptop that has an HDMI port will be able to output 1920x1080. Your performance at that resolution will vary depending on the graphics card.

Also, any laptop manufactured in the last several years will be able to output at that resolution, you may not be able to play games at high frame rates on everything but I don't think you'll have a resolution issue.

This isn't a really technical answer but without more technical information (model number, GPU series, HDMI spec, etc) it's hard to give a specific technical answer.

Solution 2:

You're correct in guessing this is a function of the video card. This gets complicated though . . .

For example, the Toshiba site for the S50 doesn't list much useful info.

It mentions it's got a GeForce GT 740M with Optimus, which implies that it's also got integrated graphics. If you do a bit of digging you can find that the base CPU (Intel® Core™ i3-3227U Processor) has an Intel HD 4000. That laptop also has VGA (which Toshiba seems to refer to as RGB) and an HDMI out.

I mention all this, because depending on the implementation, the GeForce may only work on the VGA port, and not the HDMI. See this question for more details.

In any case, both the HD4000 and the GT 740M will drive 1080P, and the HD4000 will do basic gaming okay.