2k vs 4k ? whats more worth it?

[Jake458]

I have bought a 4k not too long ago but have been so busy I really have had no chance to use it. to be honoest it doesnt look that much different than regular HD. I do notice that that the 60hz frequency limit on 4k is kind of distracting on fast pace games. Which one would you guys prefer, me selling my 4k for a 2k or just sticking with 4k? btw I get 60 fps on most games because I overclocked my sli 980 tis

 

[alexkensit]

Hi,

With 4K, you just get more pixels, and hence smaller text and icons.
For most people, 1440p (2K) is more than adequate. Heck, for some like myself 1080p is awesome. All just depends on perspective. You have to think - what do you prefer? Higher framerates or higher resolution.
Alex Kensit

 

[Demorthus]

Hey OP. I can answer this question more specifically because I own a pair of 980s with custom water cooling. I recommend 1440p. ESPECIALLY if you spring for an Acer predator XB1 which is what I have. You get up 144hz (or 165hz with easy OC enabled), IPS display, and a gorgeous matte finished panel.

They key here is that 1440p is a sweetspot, your 980s will get great framerates without the need of anti-aliasing. I play BF4 (twitch shooter/tons of explosions,etc) and my settings are cranked except for anti-aliasing. At 1440p there's already enough pixels to the extent you don't need antialiasing because it's naturally removed.

4K is great if you want screen real-estate but bear in mind your games will suffer greatly unless you lower settings, now if you had a pair 1080s I'd say it'd rock both 4k or 1440p like a beast.

Sell your 4k panel, get this bad boy. I love it and know you will too- 1440p is also alot easier for scaling things like text, web browsers, etc.;

EDIT: I forgot to mention, most importantly this panel is also G-sync enabled so you won't get stutters or screen tearing for the moments you drop FPS quickly.

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-XB271HU-27-inch-Widescreen/dp/B0173PEX20/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463942660&sr=8-1&keywords=predator+xb1

 

[atomicWAR]

Hey OP. I can answer this question more specifically because I own a pair of 980s with custom water cooling. I recommend 1440p. ESPECIALLY if you spring for an Acer predator XB1 which is what I have. You get up 144hz (or 165hz with easy OC enabled), IPS display, and a gorgeous matte finished panel.

They key here is that 1440p is a sweetspot, your 980s will get great framerates without the need of anti-aliasing. I play BF4 (twitch shooter/tons of explosions,etc) and my settings are cranked except for anti-aliasing. At 1440p there's already enough pixels to the extent you don't need antialiasing because it's naturally removed.

4K is great if you want screen real-estate but bear in mind your games will suffer greatly unless you lower settings, now if you had a pair 1080s I'd say it'd rock both 4k or 1440p like a beast.

Sell your 4k panel, get this bad boy. I love it and know you will too- 1440p is also alot easier for scaling things like text, web browsers, etc.;

EDIT: I forgot to mention, most importantly this panel is also G-sync enabled so you won't get stutters or screen tearing for the moments you drop FPS quickly.

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-XB271HU-27-inch-Widescreen/dp/B0173PEX20/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463942660&sr=8-1&keywords=predator+xb1

Not sure I agree with you there. I also run a pair of 980's in SLI @ 4K. While I won't lie I miss FPS >60, I am in love with how crisp details look in games at 2160P. Especially when things are at a distance or small (like tree branches, grass, soldiers far away etc). I gave up on >60 FPS back when 1080P was brand spanking new because at the time, much like 4k now, you couldn't get a panel to do more. I lamented my old CRT monitors for a long time. Eventually though I was able to get things smooth enough at 60hz. First things first I had to get SLI running without any frame drops or at least very few. Second was I had to have my games set to not dip below 60FPS while using vsync. For me that was enough to mitigate the higher FPS i was use too. When I went 4k (via samsung UHD curved screen TV) I had the same debate in my head. Enough so I almost went with a sony set that allowed 120hz at 1080P though native panel was 4k. In the end I am glad I didn't. When I can render a game natively at 4k and compare it to 1080P or 1440P, it becomes painful to watch the lower resolution game play. I also had heard mention of Anti-Aliasing (AA for now on) becoming redundant at > 1440P. Even at 4K I need fairly heavy AA so not to have a jaggy mess on my object edges. Now I have seen 4K on smaller panels then mine (ie 55") and once you hit the 24" and above sizes, I find you need some AA. Though not as much as my 55" to keep things looking sharp and smooth on the edges of objects. I typically want 8x but 4x is "enough" I can handle it without being drawn out of game play cause every time i move every edge on screen creeps and crawels to the point I am jarred out of my gaming "experience". So yeah I don't think AA is quite done yet though my guess is once 8K or maybe even 16K becomes the standard, AA might well go the way of the dinosaur. Time will tell.

My point is this. As a gamer you need to decide what is more important to you. Frame rate, pixel density, panel size, etc. If you really can't stand your frame rate then yes I would step down to 1440P with 120-144hz. I never would have said <60 FPS was playable, until i got my new TV. Not that i hadn't tried before but in the past anything less then 60hz/fps and everything seemed to stutter. Now with my UN55JU7500 in FC Primal I can stand to vsync at 50hz. From my understanding the fast refresh rate the panel has makes the difference and I can now stand 50hz if I have too so I can also turn up the eye candy. Still not my first choice but I think you see my point. Now in a perfect world HD/UHD TV's would allow for >60hz as standard. Sadly they don't so i deal because I enjoy 47-60" panel game play and it is important to me. So I choose to lose some frames and play at 60hz. Question is what do you think you can "deal" with in a panel. Honestly it sounds like your mind is made up. If not just a point of reference about me as a gamer. I love twitch shooters (ie quake, doom, etc) something that higher FPS does help with accuracy yet when i research thoroughly and purchase wisely, I can find 60hz panels worth their salt in gaming. I won't lie though gaming at 60hz takes a little more research to find a panel that is smooth and responsive especially when using a HD/UHD TV as your gaming panel. For the record DOOM 2016 looks sick at 4K but its one if i want steady frames above 60hz i have to drop resolution to 1440P.

I hope some of this helps. I know your not using a large panel 4K TV like myself so some of my experience/argument might be moot to you but if your like me and like your lines crisp and resolution high...I would not rule out 4K yet. If not/ FPS are the more important thing then yes I would move down to 1440P with 120-144hz.

 

[zornyan]

as the guy above said, 4k is pretty immense, I can't go back to 1080/1440p anymore. it just looks...well old to me.

FYI benchmarks mean sh*t, honestly.

apparently my 980ti over clocked shouldn't get more than 40fps in gta v at 4k, yet I have a solid 60fps that never drops. wanna know the secret?

most places use tons of settings that are worthless, various kinds of msaa and subsampling that literally do nothing for a 4k image. I run MAX/ULTRA on gtav, crysis 3, doom etc and get a solid 60fps at 4k with one 980ti overclocked.

it's so damm worth it, especially games like witcher 3 with large scenery etc