Are there any limitations when gaming on 16:10 screens?

Introduction

Many modern laptops feature 16:10 aspect ratio displays (e.g. 2560×1600). In the 2010s, however, 16:9 (e.g. 1920×1080 or 2560×1440) was almost universally the norm.

For desktop, office and web use, 16:10 offers noticeably more vertical space, which reduces scrolling and makes spreadsheets and text editors easier to navigate.

In gaming, however, there is an additional factor to consider: the field of view. We'd like to explain this in detail in this article.

Aspect ratio vs. FOV

The FOV (field of view) describes the visible portion of the game screen - put simply, how much of the game world to the left, right, top and bottom is visible at any one time.

The chosen aspect ratio plays an important role here. Many older game engines - some of which still power modern games - use a fixed vertical FOV. The vertical field of view then remains constant regardless of the aspect ratio, whilst the horizontal field of view expands as the width increases. In this scenario, 16:9 displays slightly more of the action at the left and right edges of the screen than 16:10.

Other engines rely on a fixed horizontal FOV or hybrid approaches, where the developer intervenes specifically to avoid FOV advantages. In competitive shooters in particular, it is common practice to adapt wider or taller formats (such as 21:9 ultrawide) by cropping the image or adding bars or additional HUD elements.

In short: there is no single, perfect aspect ratio - but depending on the title and level of play, it is reasonable to make manual adjustments to optimize the FOV.

Examples

Many current games support 16:10 directly and seamlessly – particularly single-player titles or less competitive games. Classic eSports shooters, which place great emphasis on FOV consistency, are more critical in this regard.

Examples:

Correct scaling with all three graphics card manufacturers

We tested how Intel, NVIDIA and AMD graphics perform at non-native resolutions on 16:10 displays using the latest laptop models and drivers.

Summary table:

As you can see, all three graphics card manufacturers are capable of correctly displaying resolutions with different aspect ratios.

• Example: By default, 16:9 resolutions are not stretched to fit 16:10 displays, but are instead displayed with black bars.
• The previous problem, where everything was 'stretched vertically' (aspect ratio fail), is a thing of the past - unless you deliberately set it that way.
• The scaling setting always applies globally: all displays connected to the same GPU (built-in panel, external monitors) use the same scaling mode.
• In each game, only the resolution matters; whether it is displayed with black bars or stretched is determined by the setting in the driver.

Special edge case with AMD graphics:

We have observed a minor limitation with AMD: whilst correct scaling with the aspect ratio preserved is enabled by default, some intermediate resolutions may be missing.

• On a 2560×1600 panel, 2560×1440 (16:9 with 1:1 pixel mapping) was not available as an option, whereas 1,920 × 1,080 was.
• After switching to NVIDIA (via the MUX switch), 2560×1440 became selectable with NVIDIA. The limitation was therefore down to the AMD driver.

In practice, however, this is of little consequence for our devices, as we currently do not offer any models with a dedicated AMD GPU, and competitive shooters should run via the NVIDIA GPU anyway - either directly via the MUX switch on the internal panel or via an external monitor connected to an NVIDIA output. For these setups, the behaviour of the AMD driver is irrelevant, as the AMD graphics unit is no longer responsible for image output.

Where can I find these settings?

The following screenshots show the scaling settings in a scenario where the laptop screen or an external monitor is connected to the NVIDIA graphics card. The connected screen has a 16:10 aspect ratio.

NVIDIA Control Panel:

NVIDIA App:

Notes:

As you can see above, the preferred scaling can be set in both the NVIDIA Control Panel and the modern NVIDIA App. The recommended 'Aspect Ratio' mode (meaning: correct aspect ratio) is set by default. If, on the other hand, you were to select "Full-screen", a 16:9 resolution set within the game would be "stretched" to 16:10 - we would advise against this.

Intel offers similar settings in the Intel Graphics Control Center (see screenshot).

Recommendation

For everyday use, we recommend making full use of the benefits of the 16:10 format. In desktop use, with Office applications and in most single-player games, the additional vertical space is very welcome.

When it comes to competitive gaming, we recommend first connecting the built-in display directly to the NVIDIA GPU via the MUX switch, or connecting an external monitor to a port that is physically connected to the NVIDIA GPU. This ensures higher performance and lower latency. See also:

• In which XMG laptops can NVIDIA Optimus be disabled?

Of the three graphics card manufacturers, NVIDIA also offers the most comprehensive scaling options here, meaning you can easily set a 16:9 resolution on a 16:10 screen without the image becoming distorted or pixels appearing blurry. A typical example is a display with 2560×1600 pixels: if you set the resolution to 2560×1440 in the game, the width remains the same, with only narrow black bars appearing at the top and bottom. Games whose FOV logic is designed for 16:9 then make optimal use of this space: the vertical field of view remains exactly the same, but the image gains width on the left and right. As a result, the visible playing area corresponds exactly to what a native 16:9 monitor would display - just within the black bars on the 16:10 panel.

Final assessment

16:10 is now the established standard for high-performance laptop displays - and the most sensible choice for productive use as well as for the vast majority of games.

Particularly in the high-end segment - that is, for laptop panels with high colour gamut coverage, high refresh rates or modern technologies such as OLED and Mini-LED - new 16:9 panels are hardly being developed at all. (In the sector of external desktop monitors designed for gaming – i.e. with a refresh rate of at least 144 Hz – 16:9, however, remains the dominant form factor.)

The often-discussed 16:9 FOV issue primarily affects older or traditionally designed engines, where the aspect ratio is fixed to the vertical resolution.

Modern shooters generally offer flexible FOV sliders, allowing the field of view to be easily adjusted to suit personal preferences. Here, for example, is a video from Battlefield 6 comparing FOV values of 85 and 120:

Furthermore, not every playstyle always requires the maximum possible FOV setting: those who tend to fight from a distance often benefit from a slightly smaller FOV, as this makes distant enemies appear larger on screen.

If, however, someone still prefers the classic 16:9 layout in certain games, this is easily achievable: simply select a 16:9 resolution in-game – the driver will automatically scale the image with black bars.

For everyone else, we'd wager that the distinction between 16:9 and 16:10 hardly matters anymore in everyday gaming. Modern games, up-to-date engines and the latest drivers ensure that both formats work seamlessly - with the added benefit that 16:10 simply offers a generally more favourable representation of screen real estate in everyday use.