Laptop connected to 1080p TV - Help

[vskatusa]

Hi,

I feel a laptop with the right configuration will be the best bet for an HTPC.

However, I have a question.

My sharp TV is a FULL HD 1080p (1920x1060) 32 inch.

I want to connect the laptop to my TV using ONLY hdmi (with video + sound).

To get full 1920x1080 display in my sharp TV do I need to buy

(1) A laptop whose display is 1920x1080 (FULL HD)?
OR
(2) A laptop which has a display resolution : 1600 x 900 and with ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3650 graphics card will suffice?

In other words, is the display in the sharp TV a function of the laptop display or laptop's graphics card?

[rbelisle]

Function of the graphics card. You need the card to be able to 'drive' the TV with the proper resolution. If your card can't support the resolution, then the TV can't display it.

[whurlston]

You would need a laptop whose graphics card will display 1920x1080. Note that although the laptop specs may say 1600x900, that is the native resolution of the laptop's screen, not the capability of the card. When connected to another monitor (like using the HDMI output), the 3650 should be able to drive full 1920x1080.

[vskatusa]

oK

Will this sony's graphics card do 1080p - It uses ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3650 - How to determine if this graphics card can do 1080p?

[whurlston]

Yeah, you should be good.

[vskatusa]

Thanks.

Will the below configuration have enough "juice" to play blue-ray?


VGN-FW390 Configure-to-Order
VGN-FW390
Customization Details

* None
* LCD 16.4" (XBRITE-ECO™)
* QuickBooks Simple Start
* 160 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [5400 rpm]
* Windows Live OneCare 90-Day Trial
* Microsoft® Works
* Standard Battery
* No Fresh Start™
* WLAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth® technology
* ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3650 with 512MB vRAM
* No Engraving
* Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T6400 (2.20GHz)
* None
* Blu-ray Disc™ Read Only Drive
* Titanium Gray
* Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit
* 2 GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 1GBx2)

[whurlston]

Yes. With the 3650, most of the decoding will be done by the video card so your CPU usage will be <50% (depending on the decoders used).

[vskatusa]

Thanks - just ordered one