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Windows 7 DPI scaling: my 7 is bigger than your 7

You may not know it, but you are very likely to be using a high dots-per-inch (DPI) display today, especially if you use a laptop smaller than 15-inches. The fact is, if you use Windows XP, or even Windows Vista, you are actually not getting the most out of your monitor. If you have to squint or lower the resolution then you know what I’m talking about.

Starting with Windows 7, you will not have to worry about this issue. Building on top of the improvements already made to support high DPIs in Windows Vista, Windows 7 is set to make changing DPIs as intuitive and as “safe” as changing resolutions. Just to take it one step further, Windows 7 will even choose the most appropriate DPI for you when you install.

You know how high DPIs look in Windows Vista, so how does it look in Windows 7? Well I’ve compiled this set of screenshots again to show you exactly that.

96 DPI (100%)

120 DPI (125%)

144 DPI (150%)

192 DPI (200%)

As you can see, the support for high DPIs in Windows 7 is pretty remarkable. Common issues with high DPI - clipped text, layout issues, pixelated bitmaps and incorrect font sizes have been addressed very well. In fact, the system is so advanced now you can even change DPIs just by logging out and back in, whereas you had to restart before. Personally, I’m convinced I will be using the non-default DPI of 120dpi (125%) when 7 ships. I’ll let you judge for yourself.