I'm about to buy a new laptop mostly for netflix and gog games. I was wondering if a laptop with 1080p is too much for these games or is 1366x768 more than sufficient?

The lesser resolution will probably do just fine, but I've got a 1366 x 768 laptop that I'm supposed to use for studying and other everyday purposes but rarely do because the resolution limits how much stuff I can have in view at once; having a .pdf document and Word open side-by-side, for instance, requires some creativity.

Unless you are restricted by a tight budget, I'd recommend going for Full HD just for the sake of sanity.

Depends on the screen size, your eyes, your personal tolerance for jagged edges, the graphics card, and the games you intend to play. Too many factors to give a simple yes/no answer I'm afraid. More information might help; otherwise I'd just recommend to try out some of the games on laptops you have access to through friends, and see what works for you.

i'd go 1080p especially if you can connect to a full-hd tv :)

Thanks for the replies. I'll be playing games like simple indie games, but also Alan Wake, Still Life, Syberia etc. The budget, is sort to speak unlimited if it is really necessary. ;)

Doesn't 1080p distort the games? Or am I still playing 800x600 with for example gobliins?

I would say yes since you plan on using your laptop for more than just games. I have watched movies from Netflix on an HD screen and a 1366x768, and there is a difference on quite a few shows. Same thing with PC games. If you plan on playing any games that are newer then you might as well get the better screen and be happier for it in the long run.

If you can stand a lower resolution your GPU will have less work to do. That may allow you to get by with a cheaper model or extend the useful life of a more expensive one.

Older games still run at their native resolution, like 800x600, but stretched to the monitors native resolution, so it will look distorted no matter which way you go. But really high resolutions like 1080p actually make it slightly less noticeable, especially if you can apply a bilinear filter.

if a game runs in non 16:9 res it will be displayed with "black bars" on left and right sides

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even if the monitor is 1080p you can set it to whatever resolution you want, even 800x600. Usually, fullscreen games will set the resolution they prefer/you set in game options on startup

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btw, i have a 1080p laptop

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keep in mind that to smoothly run games in 1920x1080 res you'll need good graphics hardware as well :) as i said above i think this is uncorrect -- my 1080p monitor won't distort 4:3 fullscreen apps -- it will display them with black bars on both sides

I bought a laptop several years back with the aim of playing some games on it off and on. I went for full HD and I have to say that I am glad that I did. Most games that support the higher resolution I'll try to play on 1920x1080 or I'll change it to 1600x900 for performance reasons. I have only one regret : that I didn't go for a 17'' screen. I know that the laptop will be quite a bit heavier but it would have been worth it (mostly because when viewing a pdf, with the 2 pages on one screen option, is just a tad too small to read comfortably)

my laptop is 17'' but i will usually connect it to my 27'' full-hd tv for an amazing gaming experience ;)

The integrated graphics chip of my laptop can do 1080p if I connect it to my monitor or a TV or something, even though the screen on the machine itself is only 1366 x 768. Just because the screen can't do high resolutions doesn't mean that the hardware underneath can't.

that's true indeed -- anyway we don't know if he has a tv to connect to (or if he wants to do so) -- if he plans to play on laptop directly (as many people do) i still recommend the 1080p screen

Yes, 100%. People talk about gaming but the fact is that for extending reading one needs the better resolution. 720p will strain your eyes after hours of surfing because the text is so pixilated. Students in particular should never use 720p for more than a few hours at a time.

If you truly and genuinely can stick to doing nothing but gaming then 720p will work. But despite their best intentions many people who say they are going to do that don't and then wind up regretting their purchase.

Go for 1080p. I almost buy a 720p tv/monitor and the gaming was fine. Looked nice, less system load, etc... But, as the Chemistry student I am, when it came to reading pdf's and spending hours and hours (and hours) in front of excel and word, the 1080p monitor marked the difference.
So, unless you are a very casual user with a low PC, go for the 1080p.