4K gaming monitors

[Brand86]

Hi all. Next year I'm going to get the new Xbox Scorpio and was planning to buy a new 4K TV alongside it. But, many people say gaming monitors are the way to go. But the main benefit of Scorpio is it's 4K capabilities - so only really worth it with a 4K display output.

My questions are:

- do 4K gaming monitors exist?!
- if so, what are the current best options? I heard Benq was good but can't find a 4K option

Thanks!

 

[Silent_Scone]

In the PC scene they do, yes. Personally I think 4K is a bit of a stretch for gaming still. You still need to spend 3,000+ on the system for it to remotely be a pleasant experience. It's a lot of pixels to drive. The sweet spot currently is 3440x 21:9 aspect if you ask me...

As far as using it for Scorpio, I couldn't think of anything worse than using 4K at 30fps. I'd wait till the console actually drops before making a decision.

 

[Brand86]

Well Scorpio is designed to render natively / upscale to 4K and I'll definitely be getting one - so my question is TV or monitor and then which model?
My main concern with a monitor though is that due to the typically smaller screen size, you can't appreciate the 4K output as clearly as on a big 55" > TV but I could be wrong...
I will definitely wait to buy as you suggest, just wanted to do some preliminary research on the subject.
Thanks for your help

 

[andybond]

I have one of these http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/compu...-ultra-hd-4k-28-led-monitor-10132570-pdt.html and its fantastic ! BF1 looks great !

 

[Brand86]

That could work! Is 28" the largest size you can get a 4k monitor then as I can't seem to find anything larger?
I only have a small media PC which also has HDMI output so could plug both in nicely and down size the size of my games room (which sounds like I'll have to eventually if we have a nipper at some point!)

 

[Brand86]

This one seems pretty good too?
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/compu...prz-ultra-hd-28-led-monitor-10142193-pdt.html

 

[Darren S]

In the PC scene they do, yes. Personally I think 4K is a bit of a stretch for gaming still. You still need to spend 3,000+ on the system for it to remotely be a pleasant experience. It's a lot of pixels to drive. The sweet spot currently is 3440x 21:9 aspect if you ask me...

As far as using it for Scorpio, I couldn't think of anything worse than using 4K at 30fps. I'd wait till the console actually drops before making a decision.

Totally agree with Mike's comments (@Silent_Scone) about gaming with 4K currently being a bit of a stretch. I have a 27" Asus G-Sync monitor that has a default resolution of 2160x1440 - a step down from 4K. With the GTX1080 onboard, there are a couple of games that get giddy through GeForce Experience and attempt to upscale themselves to 4K. The result is dodgy looking in-game text that doesn't display clearly and the GPU now having to do a shed-load more work for little gain. The game might look a bit prettier, but for the hit in performance? No thanks.

By far a much more rewarding experience is to pair a decent monitor, with the removal of V-Sync (be it using G-Sync or FreeSync) - then viewed in at least 144hz. It's smoothness and clarity is something to behold - really one of those 'feck - that looks good' moments you have when playing a game. The downside to obtaining this level of "WOW" is that a 1080 can cost circa £600, then the G-Sync monitor like mine will add a further £550 to that. You can see how £1,100+ has already made a big dent in the budget mentioned above.

I'd like to be impressed by the claims of 4K gaming on the likes of Scorpio - but it will definitely be one of those 'I'll believe it when I see it' things. If what @Silent_Scone says that 4K would only be achievable @ 30fps - then I wouldn't even waste the money on a 4K TV to support it.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Ignoring the "hardware isn't good enough yet" argument, because you can always go and buy 4x 1080s and I imagine they'd chew through anything today at 4K.

HOWEVER. Until they release a 4K 120hz panel, it won't be 'gaming' to me.

 

[Darren S]

Ignoring the "hardware isn't good enough yet" argument, because you can always go and buy 4x 1080s and I imagine they'd chew through anything today at 4K.

HOWEVER. Until they release a 4K 120hz panel, it won't be 'gaming' to me.

Four 1080s wouldn't do you much cop as nVidia has thrown in the quad-SLi towel. Unless however, you were an API hack/rewrite genius and wanted to force the cards to work together. Probably not worth all that outlay though!

 

[SharkyUK]

Scorpio is currently aiming for native 4K games at a solid 30fps. Unless Microsoft are able to get AMD to come up with something spectacularly performant for peanuts then 4K is still a generation or two away for the mainstream. Increasing shader complexity means that GPUs have to do an insane amount of processing these days to deliver the visuals we've become accustomed to.

 

[BoatNonce]

4k60 looks fooking beautiful on a big TV. Probably a waste of time on a smaller monitor.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that... But I've tried 4K60 on a computer, and it's unwatchable compared to QHD @ 120hz+

Very pretty when nothing's moving though I'll give it that!

 

[Daz...]

Scorpio is currently aiming for native 4K games at a solid 30fps. Unless Microsoft are able to get AMD to come up with something spectacularly performant for peanuts then 4K is still a generation or two away for the mainstream. Increasing shader complexity means that GPUs have to do an insane amount of processing these days to deliver the visuals we've become accustomed to.

That sounds a lot like the current crop of consoles saying that they'll do 1080p @ 60fps. Can't do 1080p in most games!

 

[andybond]

That could work! Is 28" the largest size you can get a 4k monitor then as I can't seem to find anything larger?

You can get bigger

40 inch ? http://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/BDM4065UC_00/brilliance-led-backlit-lcd-display

32 is a popular size as well. Just look for quick response times <30ms ..

 

[Wilkeh]

This one seems pretty good too?
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/compu...prz-ultra-hd-28-led-monitor-10142193-pdt.html

That's a G-Sync monitor mate designed to be paired with Nvidia GPU's. No good for you unfortunately

I'd be looking more in the region of this - https://www.overclockers.co.uk/phil...led-monitor-black-5yr-warranty-mo-02b-ph.html

However you're probably better off with a TV over a monitor if it's for the living room.

 

[SharkyUK]

LG are announcing a new range of 4K and HDR monitors at CES in January....

 

[Brand86]

Cool thanks for the suggestions.
As the Scorpio isn't even out until next year, I am happy to wait before committing - might wait to see what those new LG ones are like. I do like using TVs though so still not fully sure if I'll make the switch to consoles

 

[Toypop]

FWIW I read these new LG screens are IPS and I prefer IPS panels for monitors (my Rog Swift G-Sync is IPS) but for playing console type games I much prefer playing on a VA panel TV. I have my 4K TV connected to my PC and prefer it for pretty much any game other than Warcraft or Overwatch which I use with the mouse/monitor.

The contrast levels and deep blacks absolutely destroy my IPS panel and I made sure I got a TV with decent latency levels in game mode.

Also FWIW on my 1080 I can run 4K 60fps Ultra on some games but on others that are more demanding I just lock to 30. I have no trouble playing PS4 games at 30 and my PC is better as it is a solid 30 instead of dropping below at times.

Unless I am playing competitive online fps it is no competition - the VA panel TV wins every time.

 

[Silent_Scone]

f**k locking anything to 30, I'd upgrade.

 

[Toypop]

f**k locking anything to 30, I'd upgrade.

Sadly in many titles a Titan or the upcoming Ti won't make 60 anymore viable. Hell so many PC ports these days are such utter crap that I have to turn down some details on my 1440p screen!

I did have SLI from donkeys years ago right up to and including the 980ti but I ripped that crap out and put in a single 1080 as I was so sick of the BS with it.

Had to chuckle when I read the notes on the NVIDIA driver that was released yesterday - a number of games were having the usual solution to poor performance......disabling SLI lmao! Feck having a £500 card spinning in the wind doing jack! I'm so done with that!

So yeah if you can't stomach 30 then I agree that UHD is a bit of a stretch at the moment.

Funnily enough I did have a 21:9 monitor as you described and it was amazing. I feel the industry made a mistake going for UHD 16:9 instead of 3440 ultra wide. Alas I got rid of that monitor due to the usual story - s**t support from developers. For every game like Witcher 3 that just blew you away, there were 10 games that didn't work properly. Can't win. No better in console land. I've played a couple of good PS4 Pro optimisations but most attempts are shambling disasters!

 

[Silent_Scone]

That's exactly why I went back to the Z35. 2560x1080 and 144hz in 21:9 is fine for me. I mainly play shooters

 

[SharkyUK]

That's exactly why I went back to the Z35. 2560x1080 and 144hz in 21:9 is fine for me. I mainly play shooters

I can't believe the price jump on these... pfft

 

[Silent_Scone]

Yeah it's mad. I've not paid for mine yet, though lol. V12 yo.

 

[Darren S]

I can't believe the price jump on these... pfft 😧

Even my ROG PG278Q is over £100 more expensive than last year. Glad i got it when I did!

 

[Brand86]

FWIW I read these new LG screens are IPS and I prefer IPS panels for monitors (my Rog Swift G-Sync is IPS) but for playing console type games I much prefer playing on a VA panel TV. I have my 4K TV connected to my PC and prefer it for pretty much any game other than Warcraft or Overwatch which I use with the mouse/monitor.

The contrast levels and deep blacks absolutely destroy my IPS panel and I made sure I got a TV with decent latency levels in game mode.

Also FWIW on my 1080 I can run 4K 60fps Ultra on some games but on others that are more demanding I just lock to 30. I have no trouble playing PS4 games at 30 and my PC is better as it is a solid 30 instead of dropping below at times.

Unless I am playing competitive online fps it is no competition - the VA panel TV wins every time.

Good insight. Thanks mate