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4k or 1440p for 27 inch monitor? USE CASE: media consumption, programming, reading, light gaming

0xD3ADBEEF

Hi guys, I am seeking your advice concerning a new monitor purchase. My only experience with monitors are a couple 22" - 24" monitors that I've worked with or owned, so you may understand that I am kinda out of my league here. My use case for the now monitor will be mostly media consumption, reading, programming, and maybe a little gaming; however, I wouldn't call myself a gamer.

My question is: Is 4K on 27inch monitor worth it, or should I go for a maxed out 1440p monitor? I should probably disclose that I am typing this on a 14inch laptop with 1080p screen, and I am comfortably using it with 100% scaling while being 50-60 cm away from the screen on average. So, back to the point: Is 4K on 27 inch worth it? 

 

Thank you for your advice in advance.

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What are the specs of your computer? I'd personally go with 1440p, as it's easy to run compared to 4K, and at 27" the PPI is higher than 1080p at 23". 

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6 minutes ago, 0xD3ADBEEF said:

Hi guys, I am seeking your advice concerning a new monitor purchase. My only experience with monitors are a couple 22" - 24" monitors that I've worked with or owned, so you may understand that I am kinda out of my league here. My use case for the now monitor will be mostly media consumption, reading, programming, and maybe a little gaming; however, I wouldn't call myself a gamer.

My question is: Is 4K on 27inch monitor worth it, or should I go for a maxed out 1440p monitor? I should probably disclose that I am typing this on a 14inch laptop with 1080p screen, and I am comfortably using it with 100% scaling while being 50-60 cm away from the screen on average. So, back to the point: Is 4K on 27 inch worth it? 

 

Thank you for your advice in advance.

4k tends to force you to use windows scaling as it's too high of a resolution for 27 inch displays unless you are really up close and you aren't.

 

So I do advice you to just get a nice 1440p display.

 

As a recommendation since you aren't a big gamer or anything I recommend the asus Proart 27 inch 1440p one (they have 2 versions one with usb c for display in and one without get whichever you want). It has terrific colour reproduction out of the box and if you do game it is 75hz which is a nice bump over 60.

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15 minutes ago, Slottr said:

Can you even run games well at 1440, let alone 4k?

I've stated that I am a very light gamer, if even gamer at all, and when I get to play something, it's usually Factorio. That's why I mentioned it last.

The main reason I am buying it is because I wanna more screen real estate for text (documents, source code, schematics), and to be able to fit two windows side by side and comfortably use them.

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8 minutes ago, 0xD3ADBEEF said:

I've stated that I am a very light gamer, if even gamer at all, and when I get to play something, it's usually Factorio. That's why I mentioned it last.

The main reason I am buying it is because I wanna more screen real estate for text (documents, source code, schematics), and to be able to fit two windows side by side and comfortably use them.

Right, but it's still a factor.

 

Go with what the other two said - You'll probably find 4k a bad experience.

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What are your requirements other than the resolution and size?

Do you need a specific connector?

What is your budget and currency?

Is there any preference between VA or IPS?

Where do you live?

If someone did not use reason to reach their conclusion in the first place, you cannot use reason to convince them otherwise.

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Slottr: A very minor one, and since my old T420 can handle pretty much all the games I play, I think that my new P1 will handle them fine even in higher resolutions.

 

Stahlmann:

Matt surface, nice colors and as little backlight bleeding as possible, and that is pretty much it for specific requirements.

No, I don't.

CZK. I didn't set a specific budget, however, I don't want to spend more than is necessary. I am not a professional photo or video editor and don't intend to be any time soon, so there's that.

IPS.

Bohemia.

 

I've been thinking about getting BenQ PD2700Q. Are there better similarly priced monitors? 

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Normally the Gigabyte M27Q would by my suggestion but it has a non-standard BGR subpixel layout, which results in a little worse text clarity than other 27" monitors. Since you do programming and a lot of reading that might be an issue for you.

 

The LG 27GL850-B is a nice alternative that doesn't have this issue.

 

If you want to go 4K depending on the size i can recommend the Gigabyte M28U for a 28" screen or the Gigabyte FI32U for a 32" screen.

If someone did not use reason to reach their conclusion in the first place, you cannot use reason to convince them otherwise.

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So, back to the original question: Is 4K on 27-28" monitor worth it? Will I be able to see the difference from ~60cm distance, or will everything just be stupidly small, and I'll have to use scaling?

/edit: And if the answer is yes (I am going to have to use scaling), is the added sharpness of the picture visible and therefore beneficial?

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I've been running triple 4k 27" IPS 60Hz for over 4 years. It's way too small.

I was a 4k whore but when my 4k OLED broke (60 Hz because using HDMI 2.0) i started using a 240 Hz 1440p as my main and it's so fast. Even at 144 Hz. I only do browsing, Excel, VMWare, and everything is faster. i swear. 60 Hz is garbage. 120 Hz is good enough.

Sure i'd like 4k but because 43" 120 Hz 4k displays are so expensive, i recommend 16:9 or 21:9 1440p 120 Hz. You can get 34" for $400 USD.

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There is a noticeable difference in sharpness when going to 4K.

 

I upgraded from a 27GN850 (27" 1440p) to a 27GN950 (27" 4K, otherwise the same monitor) and there was a big difference for me. In both gaming and desktop use.

 

But you will have to use scaling (125% in my case was the best option), otherwise the GUI it will be way too small.

If someone did not use reason to reach their conclusion in the first place, you cannot use reason to convince them otherwise.

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On 10/6/2021 at 5:52 AM, Stahlmann said:

There is a noticeable difference in sharpness when going to 4K.

 

I upgraded from a 27GN850 (27" 1440p) to a 27GN950 (27" 4K, otherwise the same monitor) and there was a big difference for me. In both gaming and desktop use.

 

But you will have to use scaling (125% in my case was the best option), otherwise the GUI it will be way too small.

This.  I'm using 125% on my 40" (I could go without, but it's a personal preference)...so scaling will probably have to be used.  But yes, when it comes to reading/programming, you can pretty much read any study/experiment done on font rendering, and they will all show that a higher resolution like 4k will generate less eyestrain than identical sized text rendered in a lower resolution.

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Well, I currently have 2 laptops with screen sizes of 14" and 15.6". Both displays have 1080p resolution and I don't use scaling on either, and 27" 4K is roughly 4x 14" 1080p screens shaped into 2x2 rectangle. That's why I ask if the higher resolution would be beneficial.

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20 minutes ago, 0xD3ADBEEF said:

Well, I currently have 2 laptops with screen sizes of 14" and 15.6". Both displays have 1080p resolution and I don't use scaling on either, and 27" 4K is roughly 4x 14" 1080p screens shaped into 2x2 rectangle. That's why I ask if the higher resolution would be beneficial.

Even with 125% or 150% scaling you will have significantly more screen space on the 4K monitor. So yes, it will be beneficial. Plus the text sharpness will be way better.

If someone did not use reason to reach their conclusion in the first place, you cannot use reason to convince them otherwise.

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57 minutes ago, 0xD3ADBEEF said:

Well, I currently have 2 laptops with screen sizes of 14" and 15.6". Both displays have 1080p resolution and I don't use scaling on either, and 27" 4K is roughly 4x 14" 1080p screens shaped into 2x2 rectangle. That's why I ask if the higher resolution would be beneficial.

no scaling on 4k 27inch, it was small at first, got used to it.

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That's pretty much been my experience with 4k in general....after 5 minutes, you feel that your entire life up until then has been a lie.

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Well, text, especially in Serif typeface, on 22" FullHD monitors looks blurry to me from standard viewing distance (60-70 cm for me), and 1440p 27" is just + ~10 ppi. Would it make a difference or should I go for the 4K option?

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Since you didn't say "competitive gaming" or "primarily gaming" on your uses for it, I'd say bite the bullet and just go 4k.

 

You either regret the refresh rates, the HDR capabilities, or the resolution (user specific).  And for me, the first thing that determines quality of experience is resolution.  Price shouldn't be that different, imho.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Alright, guys. In the end, I went with the 4K option, Dell S2721QS in particular. It turns out that 125% scaling is perfect for me at this size. Thank you for all your advices.

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