Jump to content

Buying a 2K monitor or 4K?

PaulGG
By PaulGG
in Displays
 Share
Go to solution Solved by PaulGG,

0. 3840×2160 is a 4K resolution because it is ~4000 (4K) pixels horizontally, likewise 1920×1080 is a 2K resolution since it is ~2000 pixels horizontally, and 2560×1440 is a 2.5K resolution. Just something to keep in mind. 1440p is not a 2K resolution.

 

1. 3840×2160 is like a 2×2 grid of 1080p monitors, so you gain quadruple screen real estate in theory, but this is only if you leave scaling at 100%. In practice, you will probably not gain that much screen real estate. If you could imagine a 24" monitor being divided into 4 quadrants, and shrinking your 1080p screen and everything displayed on it into one quadrant of that monitor, you will be able to fit much more stuff but of course all of your applications and text would be extremely tiny. You would need to have applications be scaled up to a readable size, like the same size they'd be on a 24" 1080p monitor. Since a 4K monitor has many more pixels, everything would be sharper, but applications would still take up the same amount of space on the screen if you scaled everything all the way up to 200%. A 1440p 24" monitor at 100% is about as low as most people are comfortable without any scaling, so if you got a 4K monitor you'd probably have to scale everything up to a similar size anyway, so the amount of screen real estate gained on a 4K vs 1440p monitor is pretty much equivalent, unless it's a very large (32"+) 4K monitor which you may not need to use scaling on.

 

2. Yes, you can lower games to 1920×1080 resolution on a 1440p or 4K monitor and it will still fill up the screen without any black bars etc.

 

3. Whether everything is tiny or not depends on your scaling settings, which are adjustable to however you like. You can make things tiny if you want, but Windows 10 scaling will allow you to make everything the same size as it would be on a 1080p monitor, or a size inbetween if you want.

 

4. Scaling is ok. Most programs scale fine but there are some exceptions, such as Origin.

 

5. No, the field of view in most games (including League) will be the same on any 16:9 display, regardless of resolution. Since 1080p, 1440p, and 4K are all 16:9 ratios, the actual image will be exactly the same, it will just be rendered with finer detail.

Thanks for this. I'll probably go with a Quad HD monitor more than likely one of the ASUS ones I've been looking at.

Posted

Hi,


I'm looking for a new monitor to replace my current old samsung (i have 2 1080p monitors and I'm replacing my old LCD). I've been looking all over trying to find videos comparing 1440p vs 2160p screen real estate and other such things but have not found any. These are the questions I need answered:


  1. How much more screen real estate will I get from 1080p to 2160p (4K) vs 1080p to 1440p (2K)?
  2. I don't plan on currently running games at 1440p or 2160p. Will I still be able to play all my games in 1080p on BOTH resolutions without having to change my actual system resolution or doing any other funky crap?
  3. Is a 24 inch 4K monitor too small? By that I mean will there just be so many pixels that everything is simply so tiny. Would even 28 inch be good?
  4. How good is scaling on a 4K monitor now with Windows 10?
  5. (sort of a silly question) Does playing League of Legends on a 4k monitor give me an advantage? (seeing more)

With one of these monitors I am aiming to be quite productive (video editing, photoshop) while still being able to play games on the side. Please let me know which is the best option for my needs (I'm fine with 60hz).


Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

 

Hi,

I'm looking for a new monitor to replace my current old samsung (i have 2 1080p monitors and I'm replacing my old LCD). I've been looking all over trying to find videos comparing 1440p vs 2160p screen real estate and other such things but have not found any. These are the questions I need answered:

  1. How much more screen real estate will I get from 1080p to 2160p (4K) vs 1080p to 1440p (2K)?
  2. I don't plan on currently running games at 1440p or 2160p. Will I still be able to play all my games in 1080p on BOTH resolutions without having to change my actual system resolution or doing any other funky crap?
  3. Is a 24 inch 4K monitor too small? By that I mean will there just be so many pixels that everything is simply so tiny. Would even 28 inch be good?
  4. How good is scaling on a 4K monitor now with Windows 10?
  5. (sort of a silly question) Does playing League of Legends on a 4k monitor give me an advantage? (seeing more)

With one of these monitors I am aiming to be quite productive (video editing, photoshop) while still being able to play games on the side. Please let me know which is the best option for my needs (I'm fine with 60hz).

 

What is your Budget?

[CPU-i5 4690k] [MB-Asus Maximus VII Hero] [GPU-Asus Matirx 980ti] [Ram-8GB Corsair Vengeance ram] [ Cooling-Corsair H100i/ 3 Noctua NF-P12 for intake] [sSD/HDD-120GB evo/ 1TB WB Caviar blue] [Case-NZXT H440] [Dell U3415W]

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009C3M7H0/?tag=pcpapi-20

Would be my choice, also what is your current gpu.

[CPU-i5 4690k] [MB-Asus Maximus VII Hero] [GPU-Asus Matirx 980ti] [Ram-8GB Corsair Vengeance ram] [ Cooling-Corsair H100i/ 3 Noctua NF-P12 for intake] [sSD/HDD-120GB evo/ 1TB WB Caviar blue] [Case-NZXT H440] [Dell U3415W]

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

What is your specs?  

Intel Core i7 4770k @ 3.5ghz Turbo 4.2ghz
16 GB RAM (HyperX Furry DDR3)
64 Bit
Asus Z87 Pro V Edition
GTX 770 Classified 4GB
Kingston HyperX 240GB SSD (Boot + Some Games)
Corsair 1000i PSU (really fucking overkill)
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Hi,

I'm looking for a new monitor to replace my current old samsung (i have 2 1080p monitors and I'm replacing my old LCD). I've been looking all over trying to find videos comparing 1440p vs 2160p screen real estate and other such things but have not found any. These are the questions I need answered:

  • How much more screen real estate will I get from 1080p to 2160p (4K) vs 1080p to 1440p (2K)?
  • I don't plan on currently running games at 1440p or 2160p. Will I still be able to play all my games in 1080p on BOTH resolutions without having to change my actual system resolution or doing any other funky crap?
  • Is a 24 inch 4K monitor too small? By that I mean will there just be so many pixels that everything is simply so tiny. Would even 28 inch be good?
  • How good is scaling on a 4K monitor now with Windows 10?
  • (sort of a silly question) Does playing League of Legends on a 4k monitor give me an advantage? (seeing more)
With one of these monitors I am aiming to be quite productive (video editing, photoshop) while still being able to play games on the side. Please let me know which is the best option for my needs (I'm fine with 60hz).

 

 

0. 3840×2160 is a 4K resolution because it is ~4000 (4K) pixels horizontally, likewise 1920×1080 is a 2K resolution since it is ~2000 pixels horizontally, and 2560×1440 is a 2.5K resolution. Just something to keep in mind. 1440p is not a 2K resolution.

 

1. 3840×2160 is like a 2×2 grid of 1080p monitors, so you gain quadruple screen real estate in theory, but this is only if you leave scaling at 100%. In practice, you will probably not gain that much screen real estate. If you could imagine a 24" monitor being divided into 4 quadrants, and shrinking your 1080p screen and everything displayed on it into one quadrant of that monitor, you will be able to fit much more stuff but of course all of your applications and text would be extremely tiny. You would need to have applications be scaled up to a readable size, like the same size they'd be on a 24" 1080p monitor. Since a 4K monitor has many more pixels, everything would be sharper, but applications would still take up the same amount of space on the screen if you scaled everything all the way up to 200%. A 1440p 24" monitor at 100% is about as low as most people are comfortable without any scaling, so if you got a 4K monitor you'd probably have to scale everything up to a similar size anyway, so the amount of screen real estate gained on a 4K vs 1440p monitor is pretty much equivalent, unless it's a very large (32"+) 4K monitor which you may not need to use scaling on.

 

2. Yes, you can lower games to 1920×1080 resolution on a 1440p or 4K monitor and it will still fill up the screen without any black bars etc.

 

3. Whether everything is tiny or not depends on your scaling settings, which are adjustable to however you like. You can make things tiny if you want, but Windows 10 scaling will allow you to make everything the same size as it would be on a 1080p monitor, or a size inbetween if you want.

 

4. Scaling is ok. Most programs scale fine but there are some exceptions, such as Origin.

 

5. No, the field of view in most games (including League) will be the same on any 16:9 display, regardless of resolution. Since 1080p, 1440p, and 4K are all 16:9 ratios, the actual image will be exactly the same, it will just be rendered with finer detail.

Forum Rules   |   Guide to Display Cables / Adapters

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
  • Solution

0. 3840×2160 is a 4K resolution because it is ~4000 (4K) pixels horizontally, likewise 1920×1080 is a 2K resolution since it is ~2000 pixels horizontally, and 2560×1440 is a 2.5K resolution. Just something to keep in mind. 1440p is not a 2K resolution.

 

1. 3840×2160 is like a 2×2 grid of 1080p monitors, so you gain quadruple screen real estate in theory, but this is only if you leave scaling at 100%. In practice, you will probably not gain that much screen real estate. If you could imagine a 24" monitor being divided into 4 quadrants, and shrinking your 1080p screen and everything displayed on it into one quadrant of that monitor, you will be able to fit much more stuff but of course all of your applications and text would be extremely tiny. You would need to have applications be scaled up to a readable size, like the same size they'd be on a 24" 1080p monitor. Since a 4K monitor has many more pixels, everything would be sharper, but applications would still take up the same amount of space on the screen if you scaled everything all the way up to 200%. A 1440p 24" monitor at 100% is about as low as most people are comfortable without any scaling, so if you got a 4K monitor you'd probably have to scale everything up to a similar size anyway, so the amount of screen real estate gained on a 4K vs 1440p monitor is pretty much equivalent, unless it's a very large (32"+) 4K monitor which you may not need to use scaling on.

 

2. Yes, you can lower games to 1920×1080 resolution on a 1440p or 4K monitor and it will still fill up the screen without any black bars etc.

 

3. Whether everything is tiny or not depends on your scaling settings, which are adjustable to however you like. You can make things tiny if you want, but Windows 10 scaling will allow you to make everything the same size as it would be on a 1080p monitor, or a size inbetween if you want.

 

4. Scaling is ok. Most programs scale fine but there are some exceptions, such as Origin.

 

5. No, the field of view in most games (including League) will be the same on any 16:9 display, regardless of resolution. Since 1080p, 1440p, and 4K are all 16:9 ratios, the actual image will be exactly the same, it will just be rendered with finer detail.

Thanks for this. I'll probably go with a Quad HD monitor more than likely one of the ASUS ones I've been looking at.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Intel Core i7 4770k @ 3.5ghz Turbo 4.2ghz

16 GB RAM (HyperX Furry DDR3)

64 Bit

Asus Z87 Pro V Edition

GTX 770 Classified 4GB

Kingston HyperX 240GB SSD (Boot + Some Games)

Corsair 1000i PSU (really fucking overkill)

kan i borrow 200 watts
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

500px-Digital_video_resolutions_VCD_to_4

 

As for size, 30" minimum

Just joined the forum? Read this:

A Quick Guide To Get Started

 

Need Help Doing Something? Read this:

Guides & Tutorials Catalog

 

Need a New SSD? Read this:

Droidbot's SATA3 SSD Tier List

 

Need a New PSU? Read this:

PSU Tier List

 

In the mood for some memes? Look at these:

Linus Memes

 

Want to know my PC Specs and Peripherals?

Spoiler

CPU - Intel Xeon E5 2609 v3     Motherboard - ASRock X99 Extreme3      RAM - 16gb HyperX Fury DDR4      GPU - EVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 SC      

Case - Inwin 103       Storage - HyperX Savage 240gb SSD      PSU - 550W Enermax NAXN      Display(s) - 2x Lenovo L27i-28, Dell 24"      Cooling - Corsair H100i Platinum     Keyboard - Corsair K95 Platinum MX Speed      Mouse - Logitech G900      Sound - Audio Technica ATH-M50x     Operating System - Windows 10 Pro

Join the LTT F@H Team!

You can help scientists studying Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and many cancers by simply running a piece of software on your computer.

Start now: Folding@Home Install Guide and Links

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Gtx 770 is way too slow to handle 4k Gaming with high settings. Even a 980ti cant handle it with decent frames.

CPU i7 6700k MB  MSI Z170A Pro Carbon GPU Zotac GTX980Ti amp!extreme RAM 16GB DDR4 Corsair Vengeance 3k CASE Corsair 760T PSU Corsair RM750i MOUSE Logitech G9x KB Logitech G910 HS Sennheiser GSP 500 SC Asus Xonar 7.1 MONITOR Acer Predator xb270hu Storage 1x1TB + 2x500GB Samsung 7200U/m - 2x500GB SSD Samsung 850EVO

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Have a 27" 1440p display and a 40" 4K display.

 

In terms of screen space / resolution. 40" is barely large enough to use 4K resolution with no scaling and even so I prefer 125 or 150% zoom. 24" or 28" will be wayy to small and you'll end up running so much scaling it'll negate any added screen real estate. 

 

IMO 1080p is perfect for a 24" display with no scaling and 1440p on a 27" 

 

As for gaming, it;'s really important for a monitor to have low input lag and low ghosting (these are 2 different measures of performance but often get misconstrued together). My 40" 4K display suffers from high ghosting. So it's perfectly fine for an internet browing monitor but gaming is really bad on it. If you purchase a "gaming grade" monitor then you shouldn't have any of these issues. And right now gaming grade monitors aren't 4K.

 

So IMO, since gaming is important, buy a 27" 1440p display. My personal recommendation is this monitor http://www.ebay.com/itm/CrossOver-2795QHD-2560x1440-LG-AH-IPS-Non-Glare-27-Monitor-/221708397727?hash=item339ed9ac9f:g:10kAAOSwBahVd8kT overclocked to 96 or 120hz.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

  1. How much more screen real estate will I get from 1080p to 2160p (4K) vs 1080p to 1440p (2K)? By size, it depends how big screens you get. By pixels, 4K=1080p*(2160/1080)^2=4 times the pixels, 1440p=1080p*(1440/1080)^2=1.78 times the pixels.

  2. I don't plan on currently running games at 1440p or 2160p. Will I still be able to play all my games in 1080p on BOTH resolutions without having to change my actual system resolution or doing any other funky crap? Yes. Looks better on 4k though.

Is a 24 inch 4K monitor too small? By that I mean will there just be so many pixels that everything is simply so tiny. Would even 28 inch be good?t Depends on the pixel density your eyes can pick up and the distance from your screen, but 24 is way too small for anyone I know on 4k.

How good is scaling on a 4K monitor now with Windows 10?

(sort of a silly question) Does playing League of Legends on a 4k monitor give me an advantage? (seeing more) No the aspect ratio is the same (16:9) for all three, so the only difference is the reduction in fps froma  higher resoultion (though you said you game at 1080p anyway right?)

If you make a post contradicting mine that doesn't directly address my claims, or cites 'facts' without evidence, I'm probably not going to bother responding to it, because you probably didn't bother reading my post properly, and because life is too short. It doesn't mean I don't have an answer for you. It means I'm not dignifying you with a response. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

500px-Digital_video_resolutions_VCD_to_4

As for size, 30" minimum

can I point out that 2k on this graph is not 1440p

AMD (and proud) r7 1700 4ghz- 

also (1600) 

asus rog crosshairs vi hero x370-

MSI 980ti G6 1506mhz slix2 -

h110 pull - acer xb270hu 1440p -

 corsair 750D - corsair 16gb 2933

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Get this, you won't have 4k scaling issues when playing at 1080p and it's a great monitor. I love mine. http://www.macmall.com/p/9132151?dpno=13519700&source=zwb12166

That is a myth.

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/278610-display-technology-faqmythbuster/

Forum Rules   |   Guide to Display Cables / Adapters

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

can I point out that 2k on this graph is not 1440p

 

That's 2048 x 1152, a weird resolution.  I only know of a couple of monitors that have that native res, and I have one of them  :lol:

2500k | Z68-UD3H-B3 | GTX 570 Classified + Accelero Xtreme III | MX 200 250GB + Seagate 500GB | R4 | Seasonic 660W Plattinum | 8GB G Skill | Acer K272HUL + 2 x Dell P2417H, Rosewill dual mount, HP 22bw | Mackie CR3, ATH-M50X | DAS Keyboard | Mobile: X1 Carbon, Nexus 6P, LG G3, Samsung S5, Nexus 7 (2013)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

That's 2048 x 1152, a weird resolution.  I only know of a couple of monitors that have that native res, and I have one of them  :lol:

Yup... Whoever made that chart doesn't understand the whole concept of those names anyway, so it makes sense why they got the chart wrong :P 2K/4K etc. are categories, not specific resolutions.

Forum Rules   |   Guide to Display Cables / Adapters

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing Displays

×