Windows 7 DPI scaling, how good is it?

Hello!
Thinking of buying either a 1280x800 or a high res 1680x1050 15.4" screen on a Lenovo T500 laptop (feels like this is a common problem since all laptops are getting higher and higher resolutions). When I'm at home I need 1280x800 since I'm a bit away from the screen but for example on a train 1680x1050 would be better since I then would be closer to the screen.

So my question, how good is the DPI scaling in Windows 7? Can I by using the scaling function (not XP style scaling) be able to make the 1680x1050 screen look like a 1280x800 screen just when needed?

Regards

In a sense, yes, but practically no. LCD's display best when they are set to native resolution, and the DPI will increase the font size, so try it and see.

Thanks for you reply. I'm asking since I can't try myself, I don't have a high res screen nor Windows 7... But you're saying that it woun't work optimal? As I understood it 96 DPI is the normal setting, so why does it work better in 96 DPI?

Regards