Gaming at 1080p on a 4k monitor

[CladHail]

So I want to invest in a 980 and a 4k monitor (Acer XB280hk), though to achieve some relatively playable framerates (40+) in modern games I will need 2 980s. Would the screen scale and look like a 28" 1080p display or not? Would this be a good temporary solution until I can afford a second 980 to play maxed out at 4k with?

 

[delellod123]

it will scale to 1920 x 1080p

 

[-Lone-]

If you go down on a 4k display, you'd have to tweak the scaling feature a bit to fit the screen. But it should work, although I always tend to stick with the native resolution so I get the least amount of problems. How long until you get the 2nd 980 after you get the 1st one?

 

[delellod123]

the panel is 3840 x 2160 divided in half is 1920x1080. Am i missing something?

 

[-Lone-]

the panel is 3840 x 2160 divided in half is 1920x1080. Am i missing something?

Actually it's 4 times more than 1080p, in pixels anyways.

 

[CladHail]

If you go down on a 4k display, you'd have to tweak the scaling feature a bit to fit the screen. But it should work, although I always tend to stick with the native resolution so I get the least amount of problems. How long until you get the 2nd 980 after you get the 1st one?

6 months to a year

 

[delellod123]

yes, pixel density is twice as wide and twice as high, but that isn't really relevant here, the point is that his monitor's resolution is divisible, so it should scale without tweaking. Just select the 1920x1080 on his list of resolutions. What would he/she need to tweak?

 

[-Lone-]

Actually I've done that before so I had to tweak, and this is from experience and also from the 4k threads I've been to. Any resolution that is not 3840 x 2160 will have the "picture" that's on your screen cut off by the edges. If you set it down to 1920 x 1080p or 4096 x 2160, the picture that's on the monitor will be bigger than the frame of the monitor.

 

[delellod123]

i think you are getting confused with 4096x2160 and 3840x2160. I agree, on a true 4k monitor, 4096pixels wide, would need to be tweaked, but 3840 should be fine. His monitor would just display 4 pixels as if they were 1.

 

[-Lone-]

Are you even on a 4k monitor/TV right now? Because I am, I think you're misunderstanding what I'm trying to say.

 

[delellod123]

I'm at work right now, waiting for an upload to complete. On a Mac Pro. 1440p monitor. At home, I use 1080p. If you are using a 4k monitor, just change your resolution real quick to see it scales perfectly? It takes 2 seconds?

Are we even still talking about the same thing here? Here are some examples of what i am trying to say. These seem like answers to the OP's question.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1796395
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2342998/monitor-running-1080p.html
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2353894

 

[-Lone-]

Yeah, I just did, I'll give you a long example of what will happen. When you set the native resolution(3840 x 2160) out of it's native resolution, I'll use a normal windows background for example. It will cut off the windows icon, chrome, etc, how much will be cut off will depend on the size of your display. I just switched from 3840 x 2160 to 4096 x 2160, everything was cut off on the edges, my first row of apps on the left side, my gadgets on the top right corner, my time and date at the bottom right corner, so did the entire toolbar at the bottom. This will also happen at 1920 x 1080, this is "live", right now, not some articles from months ago.

 

[delellod123]

I think you are getting a little off track. This questing is regarding gaming. Not sure why you are referencing 4096px here, the monitor in question is 3840px? The OP is referring to a 1:1 ratio. Regardless of how old the forum is, they are correct and answer the OP's question. You had also mentioned that forums reinforced your statement. Didn't you?

Hopefully someone chimes in here at some point. I think we need a third party

 

[-Lone-]

I guess it is impossible for someone to understand when a 4k display is not in front of them. He wants to know if it will scale from a 4k monitor down to 1080p, will it be the same as on a native 1080p monitor. It may scale "fine" as one of your links put it from other answers, but not perfect like a native 1080p display. And obviously you are completely not understand why I mention 4096 x 2160, I'm trying to tell him that on a 4k display, if you go out of 3830 x 2160, so it will be the same result as 1920 x 1080, the edges will be cut off. So no, the scaling won't be "perfect", you'd have to tweak the scaling option in Nvidia/AMD settings to fit the 1080p picture onto the 4k display correctly.

 

[-Lone-]

But to truly answer the creator's question, yes it will scale to 1080p when you are on a 4k display, but you will have to tweak the settings to fit the picture, unless you wanna guess where the "X" or "minimize button" is when you are browsing the web on Chrome or using steam, you'll have to tweak the settings to fit the picture. And so yes, this could be your temporary solution for now and you won't have problems seeing the edges once you tweak it until you get a 2nd 980 and be able to run 4k at a stable level.