[SOLVED] Are 4k monitors a good investment for the long run?

grieverInFlames

Honorable
Jan 7, 2015
16
0
10,510
Hello all and happy new year! I hope this message finds you well.

Recently I bought the following CPU & Motherboard combo:


Check this out on Newegg
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813144391

Check this out on Newegg:
Intel Core i7-11700K - Core i7 11th Gen Rocket Lake 8-Core 3.6 GHz LGA 1200 125W Intel UHD Graphics 750 Desktop Processor - BX8070811700K
https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i7-11700k-core-i7-11th-gen/p/N82E16819118233

In addition I have a the following GOU installed. I bought this one about a year and a half ago:

Check this out on Newegg:
MSI GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER 8GB GDDR6 PCI Express 3.0 x16 Video Card RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING X
https://www.newegg.com/msi-geforce-rtx-2060-super-rtx-2060-super-gaming-x/p/N82E16814137440

I also saw the the processor supports UHD displays which leads me to my writin this post. I was thinking on investing on 4k monitors this time around. But I’ve also seen other gaming monitors with NVIDIA G-Sync
My set up currently has 2 monitors 1920 x 1080 each. They’re from an old set up I used to have and now I want to upgrade.

So would be better to invest in a 4k monitor? Would it be a good investment for the long term usage? Thank you so much in advance for any input.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Solution
Whether or not 4K is worth it depends on a couple of things:
  • Whether or not you care about needing UI scaling. 32" 4K is where I'd argue is the minimum where 100% scaling is doable, but 125% scaling is comfortable. If you use UI scaling, you cut the usable area. Since it's the only example off the top of my head, if you go with a 27" 4K monitor and use 150% scaling, the usable area is about the same as 1440p at 100% scaling.
    • The plus side to having a smaller 4K monitor is you can reduce the resolution in games and you won't really notice a difference. I played games at 1440p on my 27" 4K monitor and I couldn't tell you if I was playing on 4K or 1440p.
    • On that note, unless the game was designed with 4K in mind, it won't...
If you are going to upgrade a monitor, I would look at the 4k offerings.
If this is for gaming, you will do ok. Particularly for games that are more visual than action oriented.
Perhaps some 4k settings need to be reduced.
With a 4k monitor, you can always run at reduced resolution if you want.

And, keep those two monitor as side monitors for email and performance monitors.
 
  • Like
Reactions: grieverInFlames
Whether or not 4K is worth it depends on a couple of things:
  • Whether or not you care about needing UI scaling. 32" 4K is where I'd argue is the minimum where 100% scaling is doable, but 125% scaling is comfortable. If you use UI scaling, you cut the usable area. Since it's the only example off the top of my head, if you go with a 27" 4K monitor and use 150% scaling, the usable area is about the same as 1440p at 100% scaling.
    • The plus side to having a smaller 4K monitor is you can reduce the resolution in games and you won't really notice a difference. I played games at 1440p on my 27" 4K monitor and I couldn't tell you if I was playing on 4K or 1440p.
    • On that note, unless the game was designed with 4K in mind, it won't look that much better at 4K.
  • If you care about having high refresh rates, 4K + high refresh rates are quite pricey. If money is no object, then by all means, get a monitor with both.
 
  • Like
Reactions: grieverInFlames
Solution

grieverInFlames

Honorable
Jan 7, 2015
16
0
10,510
If you are going to upgrade a monitor, I would look at the 4k offerings.
If this is for gaming, you will do ok. Particularly for games that are more visual than action oriented.
Perhaps some 4k settings need to be reduced.
With a 4k monitor, you can always run at reduced resolution if you want.

And, keep those two monitor as side monitors for email and performance monitors.
Thank you very much. I had a good feeling about going down the 4k route.
 

grieverInFlames

Honorable
Jan 7, 2015
16
0
10,510
Whether or not 4K is worth it depends on a couple of things:
  • Whether or not you care about needing UI scaling. 32" 4K is where I'd argue is the minimum where 100% scaling is doable, but 125% scaling is comfortable. If you use UI scaling, you cut the usable area. Since it's the only example off the top of my head, if you go with a 27" 4K monitor and use 150% scaling, the usable area is about the same as 1440p at 100% scaling.
    • The plus side to having a smaller 4K monitor is you can reduce the resolution in games and you won't really notice a difference. I played games at 1440p on my 27" 4K monitor and I couldn't tell you if I was playing on 4K or 1440p.
    • On that note, unless the game was designed with 4K in mind, it won't look that much better at 4K.
  • If you care about having high refresh rates, 4K + high refresh rates are quite pricey. If money is no object, then by all means, get a monitor with both.
Thank you. I'll keep that mind. I also want to look at the 4k curved monitors and see about the 32" option you mentioned. Again, many thanks :)
 

littlepaulio

Distinguished
Mar 25, 2012
14
0
18,520
Hello all and happy new year! I hope this message finds you well.

Recently I bought the following CPU & Motherboard combo:


Check this out on Newegg
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813144391

Check this out on Newegg:
Intel Core i7-11700K - Core i7 11th Gen Rocket Lake 8-Core 3.6 GHz LGA 1200 125W Intel UHD Graphics 750 Desktop Processor - BX8070811700K
https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i7-11700k-core-i7-11th-gen/p/N82E16819118233

In addition I have a the following GOU installed. I bought this one about a year and a half ago:

Check this out on Newegg:
MSI GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER 8GB GDDR6 PCI Express 3.0 x16 Video Card RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING X
https://www.newegg.com/msi-geforce-rtx-2060-super-rtx-2060-super-gaming-x/p/N82E16814137440

I also saw the the processor supports UHD displays which leads me to my writin this post. I was thinking on investing on 4k monitors this time around. But I’ve also seen other gaming monitors with NVIDIA G-Sync
My set up currently has 2 monitors 1920 x 1080 each. They’re from an old set up I used to have and now I want to upgrade.

So would be better to invest in a 4k monitor? Would it be a good investment for the long term usage? Thank you so much in advance for any input.
Depends on the games you're playing. I'm sure on your 1080p monitors with that card you have no issues with frame rates, but up that resolution to 4K and it could be a different story, especially if you want all the settings on high. The 2070 Super is a great card, but don't presume it will run everything at satisfactory frame rates at 4K.
If I was you I would try out an Ultra-Wide 3440 x 1440 monitor if you can. A 34" curved one is the perfect size and aspect ratio for almost all games imo, and I'm not alone.. And less demanding on your CPU/GPU
 
Just my two cents:
Size matters. After moving to 32 inch display I swear never going to anything smaller again. It's just night and day.
Resolution is just nice bonus. If you can afford 4K, why not. Monitor live much longer then GPUs are useful so even if your current card might not be able to fully utilize 4K it's not a problem. Sooner or later you will catch up with GPU.
 
  • Like
Reactions: grieverInFlames

grieverInFlames

Honorable
Jan 7, 2015
16
0
10,510
Just my two cents:
Size matters. After moving to 32 inch display I swear never going to anything smaller again. It's just night and day.
Resolution is just nice bonus. If you can afford 4K, why not. Monitor live much longer then GPUs are useful so even if your current card might not be able to fully utilize 4K it's not a problem. Sooner or later you will catch up with GPU.
I like your input, shooting straight to the point. Many thanks to all your input you have no idea how valuable its been. I'm definitely going for 4k and 32inch.