Ultra-Wide or 4k?

[jslowik]

Hey guys, I'm kind of conflicted, so I'm hoping some of you might have a bit of input for me.

 

I'm currently doing my due diligence on a new monitor. After finding a lot of pros for both Ultra-Wide (21:9) monitors, and 4k monitors I find myself torn between them.

 

The vast majority of my computer time is spent working on developing software and other web stuff, so we're talking various IDEs and editors. Then the obvious stuff like web browsing and YouTube. I do game, but at the moment I'm content with playing those at 1920x1080 while I wait on purchasing myself a 1080.

 

Anyway, does anyone have an opinion on which setup they'd favor given my use case? I'm leaning ultra-wide right now, but I tend to keep my monitors for a minimum of 5-7 years so I'm not sure if 4k will really be the wave of the future.

 

Thanks for your time and consideration!

[Mauricio G. B.]

get a "4k" ultrawide a 3860x1440, basically you get an inbetween that is really good for working and nice for gaming, 4K gaming is still pretty stupid even a single 1080 cant handle 60fps locked on AAA titles, yet so yea

[mikat]

for developing software, you'll want atleast 2 monitors from my experience
most people have 1 vertical monitor and 1 horizontal, and i'd recommend either 3440x1440 or 2x 2560x1440

[LordLeewee]

i was tempted by a curved ultrawide, ended up going 28" 4k and its amazing, so 4k gets my vote

[vong]

1 hour ago, jslowik said:

-snip-

Ultrawide all day anyday. You cannot go back to 16:9 once you've use a 21:9 monitor.

[VZX]

One thing that I have been re-iterating over-and-over about 4k is : The text is probably going  to be too small for a computer where you sit about 20"~28" away from your display.

 

The current 4K displays out there are mostly in the size of 28"~30", which makes the DPI is 50% denser than the current one you see in 1920x1080@22" or 2560x1440@26~27".

 

A good size for 4k is about 38"~41", but then again you need to sit further away from your display, unless you are fine with seeing only small portion of your display or you don't mind to swivel your neck a lot.

 

Then there's alternative of DPI scaling. 

DPI scaling is okay, but then defeat the purpose of having higher resolution for extra real estate in the first place. Especially when you opt for 150% DPI scaling. That makes a 4k have a screen real estate of 2560x1440 monitor.

 

I found UltraWide 3440x1440@34" to be the optimum resolution/size for a long time.

the text size is still pleasant to the eyes, there's no bezel obstructing your view like a dual monitor setup. And it takes less horizontal space than dual monitor setup.

[jslowik]

@VZX @vong Thanks so much guys!

 

On the topic of ultra-wide. Do you guys have a preference between curved and flat?

[VZX]

1 hour ago, jslowik said:

@VZX @vong Thanks so much guys!

 

On the topic of ultra-wide. Do you guys have a preference between curved and flat?

I'm using a curved one. 

TBH, I don't feel the display is actually curved at all or add more immersion when sitting right in front of it. Mind you that I never actually use a non-curved ultra wide of the same size before.

If there's some price cut I can get by not opting non-curved, I'd have probably done that. Alas DELL U3415W only have 1 variant.

[vong]

2 hours ago, jslowik said:

@VZX @vong Thanks so much guys!

 

On the topic of ultra-wide. Do you guys have a preference between curved and flat?

I''m using an Asus PG348Q. It has a subtle curve but I can't really compare it to a flat screen.

[jb600]

I completely disagree with people saying a 1080 can't handle 4k gaming @ 60fpz....

 

If you run the game with AA on, AF on etc which aren't even necessary at 4k (but yet are on in almost all benchmarks) then yeah you'll have issues as these are killers for FPS. Also, if you're a nut who needs to have everything at MAX settings then ok it might not be for you. I turn off AA, AF, etc and if needed, make slight tweaks to things like lighting, shadows, maybe tone down some other effects and you could easily manage 4k.