Is 720p REALLY that bad?

[cleb]

I've been browsing through the general forum lately as a time passer and noticed that whenever it comes up that somebody has a 720p monitor it's followed by "upgrade your monitor" or "you're only playing at console resolutions dude might as well xbone", ect. I get that 1080p gaming is a better experience and all but does it ruin an experience so much that you should budget for a better monitor instead of just building a better computer? I'm only really asking because i'm curious if the 720p hate I see could just be a sort of hit on consoles more than a statement of experience difference. 

[givingtnt]

on a 21" screen its more than enough

 

viewed from coutch distance on something like a 32" tv its more than enough

 

having 1080p + on coutch distance with 32" is like having 5k at phone distance (stupid z5)

[TomvanWijnen]

Nah, it's fine. It's just not as good as 1080p.

[Goodman2265]

I hate 720p

 

My eyes can notice suddle difference and stuff like that

My eye doctor said I'm the first person he had who can tell very minor differences between resolutions that most people cant see

[AresKrieger]

Nope, It's all about viewing distance and pixel density, I have both a 768 and 1080p 32 inch tv and from 6ft away (where the 1080 sits in my room) it would be hard to tell the difference

[Grrizz]

720p really isn't nice IMO, I would take 1080p with lower settings over 720p with the settings turned up. The jump from 720p to 1080p is pretty substantial IMO stepping up from 1080p isn't as much of a change (until your screen gets much bigger than your average computer screen).

I remember back in the late 90s/early 2000s going to 1600x1200 (kind of the non-widescreen equivalent of 1080p) when 1280x1024 was standard and being blown away by the improvement (and that would have been on a 17" or 19" screen, cant remember now ).

[Techicolors]

the diagram is probably off in some respects

[iamdarkbowser]

Well in my opinion with how I use monitors it is EXTREMELY bad because I have a 27in monitor right in front of my face and this one is 1080p and it still looks horrible, I will be buying a 1440p monitor soonly.

[lxyfutures]

Well in my opinion with how I use monitors it is EXTREMELY bad because I have a 27in monitor right in front of my face and this one is 1080p and it still looks horrible, I will be buying a 1440p monitor soonly.

Good choice, good choice. 27 inch and 1440P looks greeeeaaaat!!!

[cleb]

720p really isn't nice IMO, I would take 1080p with lower settings over 720p with the settings turned up. The jump from 720p to 1080p is pretty substantial IMO stepping up from 1080p isn't as much of a change (until your screen gets much bigger than your average computer screen).

I remember back in the late 90s/early 2000s going to 1600x1200 (kind of the non-widescreen equivalent of 1080p) when 1280x1024 was standard and being blown away by the improvement (and that would have been on a 17" or 19" screen, cant remember now ).

 

 

I hate 720p

 

My eyes can notice suddle difference and stuff like that

My eye doctor said I'm the first person he had who can tell very minor differences between resolutions that most people cant see

 

 

on a 21" screen its more than enough

 

viewed from coutch distance on something like a 32" tv its more than enough

 

having 1080p + on coutch distance with 32" is like having 5k at phone distance (stupid z5)

 

 

Well in my opinion with how I use monitors it is EXTREMELY bad because I have a 27in monitor right in front of my face and this one is 1080p and it still looks horrible, I will be buying a 1440p monitor soonly.

Personally I feel that it's just a personal choice and that some people just like to give others a hard time about it. Some people might just really need the clarity and density. I have a 1600x900 monitor (somewhere between) and I feel the resolution works fine. I'd rather spend money on a new card just so I can run games better (or at all) than a new monitor any time soon.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

All depends on your monitor size. 720P, 1080P, refers to how many pixels horizontal and vertical on the display. If you keep increasing the display size, the number of pixels isn't going to increase, what's going to increase is the size of each individual pixel. 

[theereal]

It looks bad, and this Is coming from someone who plays consoles aswell, If you play a game at 720p without AA you'll see how shitty It Is....

[Majestic]

 

the diagram is probably off in some respects

 

Well for monitors you're talking 1-2 ft. maximum. So the diagram is irrelevant since it's really vague in that area.

 

@cleb, yes it is. With 720p there is no way you can have a gameplay experience that is without substantial jaggies. You also lack detail and if the game isn't designed for console the UI is mostly unintelligible.

[Vivilacqua1]

I used to use 720p. Then I switched to 1080 and can't go back.

[Grrizz]

Personally I feel that it's just a personal choice and that some people just like to give others a hard time about it. Some people might just really need the clarity and density. I have a 1600x900 monitor (somewhere between) and I feel the resolution works fine. I'd rather spend money on a new card just so I can run games better (or at all) than a new monitor any time soon.

You always have to match hardware, if your stuck on a GT210 or something the yes getting a better graphics card will me much more benificial than getting a 1080p screen but these days even an entry level gaming card can handle 1080p so as long as you have a basic gaming setup I definitly feel the investment in a 1080p screen is worth it (particularly with how cheap they are these days).

[cleb]

You always have to match hardware, if your stuck on a GT210 or something the yes getting a better graphics card will me much more benificial than getting a 1080p screen but these days even an entry level gaming card can handle 1080p so as long as you have a basic gaming setup I definitly feel the investment in a 1080p screen is worth it.

That's a fair point. 

[MrIceCremeLollipop]

Its amazing to me try living with 600p, or 480p.

[Miguel Batista]

Depends on the game and distance. In battlefront for instance, you loose a lot of detail on the xbone because 720p is nlt enough to capture every detail the game has to offer. Witcher 3 is probably similar. My laptop is 768p and I can tell the difference to my 1440p screen in games where I set the same graphic details.

[GangstaRas]

You always have to match hardware, if your stuck on a GT210 or something the yes getting a better graphics card will me much more benificial than getting a 1080p screen but these days even an entry level gaming card can handle 1080p so as long as you have a basic gaming setup I definitly feel the investment in a 1080p screen is worth it (particularly with how cheap they are these days).

 

I would then argue about the pixel density and the performance to run higher resolutions. A 1600x900 monitor pretty much sells at 19.5 inches whilst the highest pixel density monitor you can get for 1080p is 21.5 inches. I don't particularly know how much of a visual difference there is with the upgrade of 94 PPI vs 102 PPI but I know 85 PPI (my 15 inch CRT monitor) to 106 PPI (my 1600x900 laptop at 17.3 inches) is only a slight bump up in clearness so I'm expecting negligible differences from 94 to 102 PPI. Because of this, he would've unnecessarily increased his processing requirements by 44% due to 44% more pixels. Would the performance trade-off be worth it in his case for the hardware he invested in? No it wouldn't, his system would have a lot more value for the money if he stays where he is and just upgrades. 1440p and 4k now would be better upgrade choices in his case where image clarity is concerned

[SansVarnic]

Anything smaller than 20 inches a 720p is fine larger than 20 1080p is better.

[TacticlTwinkie]

Depends on the screen size and distance from your eyes. There is nothing wrong with 720p, but depending on screen size, view distance, and how much pixel density bugs you, it can be a nusence. At normal tv viewing distance, I have no issue with 720p most of the time. I couldn't tell it apart from 1080p unless it was side by side. At normal computer monitor distance, I don't like it, as I like big screens with high pixel density. I love my 27" 1440p screen. It's my personal sweet spot.

[Grrizz]

I would then argue about the pixel density and the performance to run higher resolutions. A 1600x900 monitor pretty much sells at 19.5 inches whilst the highest pixel density monitor you can get for 1080p is 21.5 inches. I don't particularly know how much of a visual difference there is with the upgrade of 94 PPI vs 102 PPI but I know 85 PPI (my 15 inch CRT monitor) to 106 PPI (my 1600x900 laptop at 17.3 inches) is only a slight bump up in clearness so I'm expecting negligible differences from 94 to 102 PPI. Because of this, he would've unnecessarily increased his processing requirements by 44% due to 44% more pixels. Would the performance trade-off be worth it in his case for the hardware he invested in? No it wouldn't, his system would have a lot more value for the money if he stays where he is and just upgrades. 1440p and 4k now would be better upgrade choices in his case where image clarity is concerned

But the OP is about 720p vs 1080p so even at 20" you are going from ~73ppi to ~110ppi which is quite substantial and that's when you are talking about what is by todays standards a small monitor.

[SIGSEGV]

No, it's decent, but it's the minimum I can realistically deal with for regular use.

[thekeemo]

Its fine under 15"

[cragger89]

If you yourself do not feel limited by it, then it is fine.