How to tell max resolution Dell N5010 laptop will push to monitor?

[windlesSpice]

I have a Dell N5010 laptop that is about 5 years old and has Intel HD Graphics. It is running Windows 7 Home Premium. The highest resolution it will display on the laptop screen is 1366x768. I would like to purchase a monitor so I can use the laptop like a desktop.

My question: is there anyway to tell what the max resolution my laptop will push to a HD monitor? I don't want to spend extra getting a 1080p monitor if my laptop is not capable of reaching that resolution. Also, if I did get a 1080p monitor and the laptop cannot push that resolution, will the monitor still be usable? As in, will the screen display correctly, just at a lower resolution, but with a correct display ratio?

I am a computer novice so I greatly appreciate any comments. Thank you very much.

 

[MrNeeds]

The resolution your laptop runs at now is not far off 1080p anyway, if you have a 1080p TV, just use the HDMI connector on the laptop and see if it works on your TV, if it does then you know for sure then that it will support 1080p. But just to give you some comparison, My processor is slower than yours, my RAM is the same as yours and my computer has dual 1080p screens attached to it.

I think you'll be fine.