What Is My Screen Resolution? Screen & System Info

Your display and system details, detected live in your browser. Resize the window and the values update instantly.

What These Values Mean

Screen resolution is the total pixel count of your physical display, measured as width × height. 1920×1080 means 1920 pixels across and 1080 tall — approximately two million pixels total.

Window size is the space your browser is currently using. It's always smaller than screen resolution because it excludes the OS taskbar, browser toolbar, and tab bar. This changes as you resize the browser window.

Device pixel ratio (DPR) shows how many physical pixels represent one CSS pixel. Standard screens have DPR 1. Retina and HiDPI screens have DPR 2 — each CSS pixel is drawn using four physical pixels, producing sharper text and images.

Colour depth is how many bits represent each pixel's colour. 24-bit gives 16.7 million colours. 32-bit adds an alpha transparency channel. Both are standard on modern displays.

How to Check and Change Your Screen Resolution

On Windows: Settings → System → Display → Display resolution. The option marked "Recommended" is your monitor's native resolution, which gives the sharpest image.

On macOS: System Settings → Displays. Select "Default for Display" for native resolution, or choose a scaled option if you need larger text.

On a phone or tablet, resolution is fixed at the panel's native spec and not adjustable through settings.

What Your Results Mean

Screen resolution matches your expected setting: Your display is running at the resolution set in your OS, and the reading is accurate.

Resolution is lower than the monitor's native spec: Your OS may be set to a lower resolution, or display scaling is active. Check Settings → System → Display on Windows.

Device pixel ratio is 1: Standard display — one CSS pixel equals one physical pixel.

Device pixel ratio is 2: Retina or HiDPI display. Images and UI are rendered at double pixel density for sharpness.

Device pixel ratio between 1 and 2 (like 1.25 or 1.5): Windows display scaling is active. The OS scales up the interface to make text larger, producing a non-round pixel ratio.

Colour depth is 16 or lower: Unusual on modern hardware. Your display adapter may be in a compatibility mode. Check display adapter settings in Device Manager.

Common Problems and Fixes

Resolution lower than the monitor's native spec

Open display settings and set the resolution to your monitor's native value — typically 1920×1080 for Full HD, 2560×1440 for 1440p, or 3840×2160 for 4K. Scaling changes how large things appear without changing the underlying resolution.

Device pixel ratio is an unexpected number

This is controlled by your display scaling percentage. On Windows: Settings → System → Display → Scale and layout. 100% = DPR 1, 125% = 1.25, 150% = 1.5, 200% = 2.

Values change when browser moves to another monitor

Each monitor can have different resolution, DPR, and colour depth. The browser reports values for whichever screen it's currently on. Values update as you move the window between displays.

Viewport size looks wrong for your resolution

The viewport is the browser content area — it excludes the taskbar, browser toolbar, and scrollbars. It will always be smaller than your screen resolution by the amount those elements take up.

Why This Test Matters

For web developers, the device pixel ratio explains why images look sharp on one screen and blurry on another. An image designed for DPR 1 displayed on a DPR 2 screen is stretched to double size, losing sharpness. Knowing the DPR of target devices means serving the correctly sized image.

The viewport size is what CSS media queries respond to — not the screen resolution. Developers checking responsive breakpoints need this number, not the physical display size. This test shows exactly what the browser reports, removing guesswork.

Why Your Screen Looks Blurry or Wrong

If text looks soft or everything seems slightly off, the cause is usually one of three things, none of which mean the display is broken.

The most common is running a non-native resolution. Every LCD and OLED panel has one exact resolution it's built for, and setting anything else forces it to interpolate, which softens text. Set it back to the resolution marked "(Recommended)" in Windows 11 24H2 at Settings → System → Display → Display resolution, or on macOS Sequoia at System Settings → Displays → "Default for display." The second cause is display scaling: on a high-resolution screen, Windows enlarges text and icons (commonly 150%), and some older apps blur when scaled — adjust the scale in the same Display panel. The third is a cable or port limit: an older HDMI cable or port may not carry your panel's full resolution and refresh rate together, so a DisplayPort or certified high-speed HDMI connection can be what's needed to drive a 1440p or 4K screen sharply.

Resolution vs Scaling vs Refresh Rate

These three settings get tangled together but do different jobs. Resolution is how many pixels the screen shows — more pixels, sharper image, as long as it's the native value. Scaling is how big Windows or macOS draws text and icons on top of that resolution, so you keep sharpness without everything becoming tiny on a dense panel. Refresh rate is how often the screen redraws per second, which affects motion smoothness, not sharpness. A perfect picture means all three are right: native resolution, a comfortable scale, and the panel's full refresh rate.

How to Get the Sharpest Picture

Use the native (Recommended) resolution. It's the single biggest factor in image sharpness.
Set a comfortable scale, not a lower resolution. If things are too small, raise scaling rather than dropping resolution — you keep the crispness.
Use a capable cable. DisplayPort or certified high-speed HDMI to carry full resolution and refresh together.
Match the OS refresh-rate setting. Confirm the panel is running at its rated rate, not a fallback 60Hz.
Update the graphics driver. It can unlock resolutions and fix scaling quirks.
Re-check the readout here. This page shows the resolution and pixel ratio your browser is actually getting, confirming the change worked.

Choosing a Resolution for Your Screen Size

The right resolution depends on how big the screen is and how far away you sit, because what really matters is pixel density. On a 24-inch monitor, 1080p looks crisp; stretch that same 1080p across a 32-inch screen and individual pixels become visible and text softens, which is why larger monitors benefit from 1440p or 4K. Laptops pack high resolutions into small panels, so they lean on scaling to keep text readable. The practical rule is simple: always run the native resolution your panel was built for, then adjust scaling for comfort. Dropping to a lower resolution to make things bigger trades away the sharpness you paid for — raising the scaling percentage achieves the same size while keeping the image crisp.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is screen resolution?

The number of pixels on your display, expressed as width × height. 1920×1080 means 1920 pixels across and 1080 tall. Higher resolution = more pixels = sharper image (at the same screen size).

What is device pixel ratio?

The ratio of physical pixels to CSS pixels. At DPR 1, one CSS pixel = one physical pixel. At DPR 2 (Retina), one CSS pixel = four physical pixels, producing much sharper rendering.

Why is my viewport size smaller than my screen resolution?

The browser viewport excludes the OS taskbar, browser toolbar, tab bar, and scrollbars. The viewport is the area available to web content, not the full physical display.

Does display scaling change my screen resolution?

No. Scaling changes how large content appears without changing the pixel count. What changes is the device pixel ratio — a 150% scale on a 1920×1080 screen doesn't change the resolution but sets DPR to 1.5.

What colour depth should my screen show?

24 or 32 bits is standard and correct on modern hardware. 16-bit or lower is unusual and may indicate a driver or compatibility issue worth investigating.

Why do values change when I move the browser to another monitor?

Each display can have different resolution, DPR, and refresh rate. The browser reads values for the screen it's currently on, so numbers update as you move the window.

Why is my screen blurry after changing resolution?

You're almost certainly running a non-native resolution, which forces the panel to interpolate and softens text. Set the resolution back to the one marked Recommended in your display settings. If text is too small at native resolution, increase scaling instead of lowering the resolution.

What is the difference between 1080p, 1440p and 4K?

They describe how many pixels the screen shows: 1080p is 1920×1080, 1440p is 2560×1440, and 4K is 3840×2160. More pixels mean a sharper image at the same size, but only when the display runs at its own native resolution and your cable and GPU can drive it.