1440p native vs 1440p upscaled to 4K

[Mindless7333]

Hi guys, I was recently looking at upgrading from my 1080p monitor and was wondering whether to get a 1440p one or 4K. I have a GTX 1080 but even then I've looked at benchmarks and it still won't be able to handle AAA games at 4K with playable framerates (60+). For that reason I was looking at 1440p monitors, but as an example on ebuyer the acer predator 4K monitor is £10 cheaper than the 1440p version!

Would a 4K monitor running at a 1440p resolution look worse than a 1440p monitor at native resolution? (And, while I'm here, is 1440p going to provide a good and worthwhile improvement or should I save my cash and stick to 1080p?)

Also if anyone has any good display recommendations that would be appreciated too!

 

[TechyInAZ]

4k at 1440P will always look worse than native 1440P. It's unfortunate, but that's the way it is.

BTW...The GTX 1080 is a very capable 4k card. You should get 60fps at 4k no problem, but obviously at high settings and not at ultra.

 

[burdenbound]

I would not recommend 1440p with a 4k monitor. If you need to drop the resolution, back down to 1080p. Since 4k is exactly 4 times the resolution as 1080p your picture will not look distorted.

 

[Mindless7333]

Thanks a lot for your help! Hmm so I guess it's 1440p@120 Ultra vs 4K@60ish High (depending on game). How much better would the quality be? Do you think 4K is worth?

 

[burdenbound]

Thanks a lot for your help! Hmm so I guess it's 1440p@120 Ultra vs 4K@60ish High (depending on game). How much better would the quality be? Do you think 4K is worth?

I would say 4k is worth it if you get a 32"+ sized monitor. The sweet spot for 1440p is 27" and so 4k @ 27-28" you probably won't see much difference IMO.

 

[Mindless7333]

I completely forgot to mention I was looking at 27inch monitors as I prefer smaller ones - I sit very close to the screen and like to be able to see as much of the screen as possible for competitive gaming (to be honest if there was a 24inch one I'd buy that, I'm happy with my current 24 inch). Perhaps I should save some cash and get a cheaper 1440p one, I do enjoy my 144hz monitor being as smooth as it is! I was just worrying that 4k would be way better quality because that's important to me too but if there isn't much difference then my choice seems clearer - plus I just read that with a monitor that small 4K has some bad scaling issues.

Thanks for your help

 

[burdenbound]

I completely forgot to mention I was looking at 27inch monitors as I prefer smaller ones - I sit very close to the screen and like to be able to see as much of the screen as possible for competitive gaming (to be honest if there was a 24inch one I'd buy that, I'm happy with my current 24 inch). Perhaps I should save some cash and get a cheaper 1440p one, I do enjoy my 144hz monitor being as smooth as it is! I was just worrying that 4k would be way better quality because that's important to me too but if there isn't much difference then my choice seems clearer - plus I just read that with a monitor that small 4K has some bad scaling issues.

Thanks for your help

As someone with a 27" 1440p monitor, you will not have to mess with scaling.