laptop displays 15.6"; 4k or 1080, led backlit or matte?

[killaDZA]

There are 3 laptops that are basically the same price. Ive read a bit about it and most seem to think 4k is a waste on a 15.6" display, and mention problems with scaling also. 

 

Here are the 3 displays, all have a gtx 1060 6gb.

• 15.6" IPS Anti-Glare LED-Backlit FHD (1920 x 1080) Display

or

• 15.6" IPS Anti-Glare LED-Backlit 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) Display

or 

• 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) Matte Display

my question is, if they are all the same price, could I buy the 4k and just run it in 1080 most of the time except if there were times I wanted to utilize the 4k? I dont really know much about displays, and ive had a really tough time finding the actual display models that are used in the laptops Im looking at besides little snippets like the 3 i put above. Anyway, any advice would be appreciated.

 

P.S. what does LED-backlit mean? is that good or bad? is the 3rd option not backlit?

[Mooshi]

4k on laptops always felt pointless to me. The smaller screen size, battery draining and having to mess with scaling options in Window for if you wanna do 1080p seems way too much of a hassel. 

 

1080p on a 15-17" screen will still look nice, not be much of a drain and give you actual frames when gaming.

[Uptivuptiz]

I would say you go for the one of the two 1080p screens as driving windows in native 4k can take alot away in terms of battery life. And if you run windows at 1080p on the 4k screen you will get weird scaling issues and the likes. And a LED backlid screen just means that it isnt a fancy screen tech used for the display (such as OLED and and stuff).

 

[tikker]

Yes you can switch between 4k resolution and 1080p, although in my opinion 4k is awesome, on laptops it is too much. It's a waste of battery power and native 4k on such a small screen would be pretty much unusable without scaling. With a 1060 you're not going to do much gaming at 4k, so unless you consume the occasional 4k content, I would just go with the 1080p.

[EG!]

1 hour ago, killaDZA said:

There are 3 laptops that are basically the same price. Ive read a bit about it and most seem to think 4k is a waste on a 15.6" display, and mention problems with scaling also. 

Here are the 3 displays, all have a gtx 1060 6gb.

question is, if they are all the same price, could I buy the 4k and just run it in 1080 most of the time except if there were times I wanted to utilize the 4k? I dont really know much about displays, and ive had a really tough time finding the actual display models that are used in the laptops Im looking at besides little snippets like the 3 i put above. Anyway, any advice would be appreciated.

 

I have a 15.6" 4k display and for watching Netflix, Youtube and playing games like Factorio, Terraria and other not so graphically demanding games it is awesome. Scaling from Windows itself is great but some websites are terribly made and I gotta zoom in. 

I scale down to 1080 for demanding games like AC: Origins and Shasow of War and it works fine too.

If the price is right I don't know why you shouldn't opt for a 4k display, when you need more battery life set it to 1080p and it will consume less power but who games without plugging in their laptop.

 

[killaDZA]

Thanks all, super helpful. So, to be clear, even if I am running a 4k display in 1080, it will consume more battery than a native 1080 display?

 

Also, since this one doesnt specify IPS, does that mean it is probably TN? Its an ASUS ROG GL503VM, if that helps. 

• 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) Matte Display

[lieder1987]

5 hours ago, killaDZA said:

Also, since this one doesnt specify IPS, does that mean it is probably TN? Its an ASUS ROG GL503VM, if that helps. 

• 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) Matte Display

Amazon says "IPS type panel" in their description.

 

https://www.amazon.com/GL503VM-DB74-Gaming-Laptop-i7-7700HQ-Keyboard/dp/B076D95JW7