I'm thinking about investing in 4K display(s), talk me into/out of it.

[jasonthelamb]

I currently have two monitors, a 25" Ultrawide that is 2560x1080 and 22" that is 1920x1080, however it is always in portrait mode. I have them mounted using a VESA-based mount.

HOWEVER, I am looking to upgrade my monitors, and ideally I'd like to get three monitors - I am an avid gamer, so Fantasy Grounds isn't my only concern... but I do want the increased screen real estate of a 4k monitor (or monitors).

So, talk me into it - and maybe some suggestions? I was looking at Dell's 24" 4k option, but I'm not sold on it.

[kalnaren]

If you're gaming, you're going to run into two problems.

First, a 4k monitor (ideally a TN display for gaming) that has < 4ms of latency is going to cost a lot.

Second, are you running a GTX 980 or 1080? No? Then forget gaming in 4k. Sure, you can drop the resolution and lower the graphics quality.. but then what's the point in spending the money on a 4k display? Do yourself a solid and get a larger (> 27"), great quality 1440 instead.

This is of course just my opinion.

[jasonthelamb]

If my PC build means anything, kalnaren

i7-6700K
16 GB DDR4 RAM
1 TB SSD (FG sits on)
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1080 G1

[LordEntrails]

I've got a 4k on my laptop, and am not sold on it at all. Given that I don't really game on it, it's not a very good comparison.

I will note that your GTX 1080 will do good on a 4k, but what about your other monitors? You'll now be running 3 different monitors are different resolutions... you'll probably at the least want to run one of them off your onboard graphics.

Also, the games that you're playing, do they even have textures of a high enough quality to benefit from a 4k?

[kalnaren]

If you're running 3 monitors you'll need more than 1 GPU -ideally discreet, but only if you're gaming on them. I generally shut off my 2nd display while gaming.

As LordEntrails said, the 1080 will push a single 4k without much issue.

I'd still argue against the point of a 4k display unless you're going for a large one (greater than 30"). Otherwise 4k won't give you any advantage over 1440, and you'll need a microscope to read your desktop or deal with potentially terrible UI scaling.

There's other benefits to running 4k than textures (and believe it or not, one of the best looking games out there right now -Star Citizen (https://tweakers.net/ext/f/SidcAiahevjMLII3CkfrKRl1/full.jpg) [yes that's a 4k in-game screenshot]- hardly has any textures above 2k). One of the biggest is doing away with the need for anti-aliasing. Another, assuming a good quality monitor, is how crisp everything looks.

Having said that, I'm not convinced those aren't largely advantages you can get on a very good 1440p display at half the cost or less than a 4k one.

[Seya]

https://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16824009869

2k but it's a better monitor than the 4ks

Or you can go with this one.

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236717

[Ken L]

4k will be worth it when there's enough 4k media to justify it. Only a handful of IPs are going into 4k so I'd hold off until the market coalesces around it as a clear victor here. For now, 4k has just meant I can get tinier fonts for my marathon zen programming moments, and fit more on a single screen. Media-wise it mainly upscales 1080p video.

[LindseyFan]

More monitors are a better pixel value than a small 4k.

[giveup]

My 2 cents...

I went from an Eyefinity 24" 1200P to a cheap seiki? 39" 4k couple years ago and it definitely felt like a step backwards. At the moment however I'm running a 49" sceptre 4k TV and while not IN LOVE, it has its advantages. Using a 970, and I do game on it. Yes, I have to turn settings down to med/maybe high. I'm also not a FPS snob or competitive gamer. And personally think it still looks better than every gaming console that 99% of the known world is perfectly smitten with. SO, for my needs, a cheap 4K tv works well enough.

I would suggest, as a test, you try out some cheaper 4k TVs from a store with a liberal return policy FIRST. Basically use it as a proof of concept for how large you can go for your desk, viewing distance, space. Windows scaling sucks, IMO, so 4K on a small screen (less than 40") is just to hard on the eyes (for me at least). But larger screens in the 50-55 range really need a deep desk or wall mount setup. HOWEVER, if you have the space, it is tough to beat have the equivalent of 4 22" 1080P monitors for productivity. Of course, cheap TVs forced into monitor duty will have issues. Often with color, input lag, refresh rate supported, backlighting and some others. However, if you do your research, there are a few that are good enough for you to use it for a month and see if you like the concept. Then you can decide if it is good enough as is for the low $$ that you can live with it, or return it for a real gaming or 4K monitor.

HTH...

[Ferrin]

It depends on how big the screen is and how far you are away from it. 4K at 32" a couple feet away won't make much difference. At 55" to 70" across a room, it is glorious. Has to do with pixel density. Our eyes can't tell the difference from dense pixels, but spread em out and boom. Definitely do not get 4k at 24". Use the same money to get larger screens at 1620. Would be my advice.

[Springroll]

I have a two monitor ROG PG278QR (GSNYC) set-up (they're at 2560x1440) and to go 4k (with Fantasy Grounds in mind) would make the text even smaller :)
I also have a 1080 but have not to be honest tried gaming (I use both for FG and work though) using both monitors at the same time :)

So the short answer is: Can you afford it? Then why not, but I do not think that you really "need" a 4k monitor ;)

[Wookiee420]

i use a 50 inch 4k monitor and a 28 inch 1080p monitor. just scale the ui size and it works great....i just was out of town for 2 weeks and tried using my 17 inch laptop and gave me a headache trying to fit everything on screen

[Springroll]

i use a 50 inch 4k monitor and a 28 inch 1080p monitor. just scale the ui size and it works great....i just was out of town for 2 weeks and tried using my 17 inch laptop and gave me a headache trying to fit everything on screen
True but I find that you loose somewhat in the picture quality when you blow it up, but I'm using a UI scale of 125 myself