Playing 4k on 1080p monitor

[Zhanadil]

I recently bought a new computer to play games and I noticed that usually games try to set them to 4k resolution, even though I have 1080p monitor, so I immediately started wondering if playing 4k at 1080p is better than 1080p on 1080p if your videocard is good enough or if there will be no visual difference at all.

 

[harrisjb78]

There will be no visual difference, the monitor can only show 1080 resolution.

 

[13thmonkey]

the only difference will it be being a lot slower.

 

[atomicWAR]

some folks think it can sharpen the textures of things like grass, especially in the distance. Personally the difference is so small and high levels of AA at 1080P do a better job of this plus the fact 4K kills your frame rate more then the AA does. Your better off at 1080P running 4-8x AA or so.

 

[Wulffz]

It's just a difference in scaling. On a 1080p monitor there will be no quality improvements at all.

 

[dei6360]

This might be a personal opinion but I can tell a difference. Running 4k on a 1080p is exactly what made me decide to buy a 4k monitor. Yes the difference was minimal but it was enough to notice on the 1080p. I suggest anyone who is wondering if a 4k monitor for gaming is for them to try this. It will run games close to the same FPS as a 4k monitor so you will be able to see if 4k gaming works for you before spending the money on a new monitor

 

[Zhanadil]

So in Nvidia Geforce Experience CS:GO settings I found that it actually improves the quality. For some reason I couldn't upload the picture, but here is the quote: "The game will be rendered at a high resolution then scaled to your monitor's native resolution to enhance image quality."

 

[harrisjb78]

Dei I'm sorry but I have to disagree. A 1080 monitor can not physically show more than 1080.

 

[13thmonkey]

Dei I'm sorry but I have to disagree. A 1080 monitor can not physically show more than 1080.

you can do it through DSR