Is 1600x900 on 17.3" bad?

[AtomicKitty]

Okay well hello everyone. First off this is going to be my first laptop so I honestly don't know much about anything and I could really use all the help I can get. I've decided on two laptops that I think are pretty good, but I posted a similar question on another forum asking which of the two would be better suited to my needs and they weren't much help. They really only told me that the resolution was bad and showed me another laptop at 1080p for $150 more. But I really don't mind having to scroll a bit more or not being able to fit more content on a page, that's really the only downside anyone said would happen with 1600x900 on a 17.3" screen.

I had chosen between the HP Pavilion Intel Core i3 and HP Pavilion AMD A8 and only wanted to know which would be better for what I would be doing. They both have a 4GB Memory and a 750GB Hard Drive. They're both under $399.99 too, which is really my budget. Again this is my first laptop so I don't need something too fancy or over the top. I'll pretty much only be using it for like browsing the web, occasional social networking, maybe (and I mean maybe) Netflix/Youtube. Nothing major like gaming, I have my Xbox for that haha.

I just want to know if it seems like a good deal and an overall good laptop for what I need. I'm planning on getting it in a couple of days and just want to make sure I didn't blow $400 on nothing. Again, I've never owned a laptop, let alone a computer, so I don't know what's good or bad or just plain okay. I can post the specs if you need me to, so just ask. Sorry for the long post but I would really appreciate all your feedback, thank you!

 

[photonboy]

1600x900 is quite acceptable.

My dad has a 17" with 1600x900. You should also be able to go into a store and look at one but they are far, far from being "bad".

More content:
You can actually adjust the scaling of ANY resolution to suit your exact wishes:

1) Set resolution to the MAXIMUM (should be default value).

2) Set DPI Scaling in Windows (between 0% and 20%. You're probably fine as is). From resolution link on Desktop..

3) Web browser:
a) overall scaling pre-set (i.e. Firefox NoSquint addon set to 140%. I'm guessing as I have a 2560x1440 set to 180%), and
b) CTRL+Scroll (each page should be remembered)

(Probably other addons for IE or Chrome but I use Firefox. More pixels just means sharper text, but it's also interesting to note that people often complain about TOO HIGH of a resolution causing the text and page content to be too small.)

Other:
I'm not sure which CPU/APU is better. There are probably Pros and Cons to each. For example, I would suspect a better GRAPHICS component for the APU than in the Intel CPU's iGPU.

If the AMD APU is a 4-core CPU, and the Intel is 2-core then then Intel would be better at some tasks but the AMD APU at others (weaker per core but more of them).

I don't want to confuse as either setup is likely great, though most store dealers don't have my expertise. I don't always answer quickly but you can PM me if you have any questions. Cheers.

(USER COMMMENTS/quality is right at the top of my list of things to check for. Plus Warranty data, local returnability.. even fan noise. )