Hello everybody, I am a college student who is going to taking data analytics and programming courses for the next few semesters. I recently switched from a 2014 macbook pro to a MSI GS63 stealth. Great investment, love this laptop for my schoolwork. I'm wanting to get a whole new setup to help make my homework sessions more productive and enjoyable. My current plan is to put my laptop up on a stand, have a mech keyboard and mouse, and get a monitor which will be next to my laptop. The monitor will be my main screen while my laptop is a secondary screen that can have my research pages on it.
My GS63 has a GTX1060 with 6gb of ram in it, which I've read can support 4k. I know gaming at 4k is dumb because of the lower response time, but I would say 75% of this monitor's use would be for homework assignments and other things of that nature. I've heard that more resolution is better for productivity, but is there a diminishing return effect to that statement? For example: the jump from 1080p to 1440p may be massive, but the jump from 1440p to 4k isn't that much? I do plan on playing my Xbox on it (I know, pc is wayyy better for gaming but I've played console all my life) but I wouldn't factor that into my purchasing decisions unless 4k gaming on an Xbox is absolutely horrendous, but I've read from many places that it is not.
Now, I have a few concerns but everywhere I look talks about monitors and graphics cards and their gaming potential. I'm looking for more of a productivity setup. Can my GTX1060 support 4k for everyday use? I heard scaling is a concern for running 4k setups, I don't want extremely small text on my monitor for obvious reasons. Also, is 4k kind of pointless if I am sitting about 2 feet from my monitor? Would 1440p be a better option, since the higher response time will make things move smoother? Everywhere I look has 4k and 1440p monitors at around the same price point for similar values, is there a tradeoff for going either direction besides response time or resolution?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Keep in mind, I am a college student. I'm not taking out massive loans and staying on campus, I have a place that I pay bills for. So a $1500 ultrawide 1440p monitor would be great, but I am looking to spend about $500ish dollars on it. I have been looking at this monitor, but are there any drawbacks to this type of monitor I'm not aware of? I am semi tech-literate, but not as much as I would like to be, so pleaseeee don't go into the super nitty gritty details. Last note, what the hell is an IPS panel and why do some people love it and others don't?
