Need Help Understanding 4K Monitors

[BKL]

I have a choice between a 4k monitor and a and a traditional 1920 x 1080.  I have not seen the 4k monitors in practice.  Cost is not an issue.  The issue I'm concerned with is will I be able to read, do work in Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint, etc. and easily see the materials.  From what I'm reading, it seems like the text on 4k could be a lot smaller.  If that's the case, I'd rather go with the traditional monitor. 

 

The monitor for both choices (4k or traditional) will be 24 inches.

 

So, am I correct to understand that the reading in basic applications with 4k will be a lot smaller and potentially harder to see at a normal sitting distance?  This montior will be primarily used for applications - I have another 34 inch monitor for gaming.

 

Thanks for your help!

[techguru]

sounds like you might be better off with a 2K monitor

4K doesn't scale properly in windows yet

so yea..unless your eyes are really good..it maybe not a good idea

I would look at some 2K monitors in your budget...

[techguru]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007617%20600012694%20600030985%20600012665%20600030979%20600030981%20600338145%20600107132%20600414455%20600439463%20600012686%20600030999%20600012679%20600031000%20600557225%20600031002

[m_tieu]

24 inches for 4k will be really small. If you set scaling to 200%, theoretically it should look the same size as 100% on the 1080p monitor. This will work for programs that support high DPI.

[guy-incognito]

You are right, a 4K monitor has smaller pixels, and therefor text in applications will appear much smaller compared to 1080p.

 

A 4K monitor at 24 inches would have 184 ppi (pixels per inch), while a 1080p monitor of the same size has 92 ppi. This results in a (potentially) much better overall image quality with great sharpness. But text will also be that much smaller...

 

That's why Windows has a built in scaling feature. For example, you can set scaling to 150%, and everything will appear with 1.5 times the size than it normally would. Text and images will stay perfectly sharp, so you still take advantage from the higher resolution display.

 

But there are also important drawbacks:

 

Important to note: Windows 7 ONLY supports 125% and 150% scaling. Windows 8 supports scaling to up to 200%.

 

Another caveat is: Not all applications support scaling properly. While everything native to Windows is not a problem, and Microsoft Office also works very well, there are a lot of third-party applications that are not optimized for scaling. It will work, but text and images in those apps will appear blurry. It's usable, but looks even worse than it would on a normal 1080p display.

[ShadowCaptain]

I have a choice between a 4k monitor and a and a traditional 1920 x 1080.  I have not seen the 4k monitors in practice.  Cost is not an issue.  The issue I'm concerned with is will I be able to read, do work in Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint, etc. and easily see the materials.  From what I'm reading, it seems like the text on 4k could be a lot smaller.  If that's the case, I'd rather go with the traditional monitor. 

 

The monitor for both choices (4k or traditional) will be 24 inches.

 

So, am I correct to understand that the reading in basic applications with 4k will be a lot smaller and potentially harder to see at a normal sitting distance?  This montior will be primarily used for applications - I have another 34 inch monitor for gaming.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

 

is a 1440p monitor not an option at 27"? or does it HAVE to be 24"

 

 

I think 4k is less necesarry at smaller sizes and still has scaling isues at 24", so would just go with 1080p

[Mnemosyune]

Maybe tell us why you are considering 4k vs 1080p. 4k gives you more space to work with and since the pixel density is high stuff looks sharp and clear. Downside as you mentioned would be the scaling. In my opinion you should buy 4k monitors that are larger than 27'' Since you are only considering 24'' for some reason try to find a 1440p one at that size. Though I think even 1440p would look nicer on a 27'' panel. 4k at 24'' is just too tiny. 

[raendeu]

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/347494-4kuhd-gaming-once-and-for-all-explained/