New Monitor for Desktop - 4K or not?

[Simon96Taco]

I'm looking to get a new monitor for my desktop PC, and I don't know whether I want/need a 4K monitor or not.

I currently have an older 24" monitor, which I'll keep (if possible) as a secondary display.

I'd like to get a 27" or 28" monitor as the main, new one. It seems like there are tons 1080 27" monitors at around for just over $200 - example: http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/...3.aspx?http://

There are also some 28" 4K monitors available getting down around the $400 price point - example: http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/...10383477.aspx?

My system is an Intel i5-4670K @3.4 GHz with 8GB RAM and with Nvidia Geforce GTX 660 TI video card.

If I'm being honest, I mostly (80%) use my PC for browsing or watching online content like YouTube or a streaming hockey game with the rest (20%) being a mix of work (Word/Excel), gaming, occasional dabbling with Photoshop or whatever else might be interesting me at the time.

Based on my usage and system hardware, should I go for the 28" 4K, or would I be just as happy with a 1080p 27" monitor?

Thanks in advance!

[cral12]

Another option might be using a TV as a monitor. This computer genius talked about it on this Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools podcast about the requirements, etc.
I can't remember the specifics off hand, but you can listen here:
https://soundcloud.com/cool-tools/81-brad-templeton

[jaginla]

Look into 1440 @ 27 inches. 1080 @ 27 inches doesn't look too good, you can start to see the pixels a bit.

You don't need 4k.

[Simon96Taco]

Originally Posted by cral12

Another option might be using a TV as a monitor. This computer genius talked about it on this Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools podcast about the requirements, etc.
I can't remember the specifics off hand, but you can listen here:
https://soundcloud.com/cool-tools/81-brad-templeton

Interesting, thanks! I'm listening now....

[Simon96Taco]

Originally Posted by jaginla

Look into 1440 @ 27 inches. 1080 @ 27 inches doesn't look too good, you can start to see the pixels a bit.

You don't need 4k.

Looking now...the frustrating thing is it seems that the price jfor 1440 at 27inch is about the same as 4K.

[jaginla]

Originally Posted by Simon96Taco

Looking now...the frustrating thing is it seems that the price jfor 1440 at 27inch is about the same as 4K.

You have to look at the monitors other attributes, refresh rate, panel, response time. These all factor and a lot of cheap 4k monitors don't really compare to a good 1440.

If you game at all I don't reccomend using a TV, at least not for your main monitor. Refresh and response times are terrible.

You may have issues with the 660TI at 1440p on most games however. . . but it is very nice for browsing (when I made the switch from 24 to 27)

[SebC]

Gaming monitors and graphic work monitors have very different specs... so depending on what you do in Photoshop, you may want to consider prioritizing colour accuracy over speed and resolution.

[PsYcNeT]

^^That said, if you are willing to spend to the top-level (like $800+) you can have both!

Generally, I recommend going to http://www.tftcentral.co.uk every time you want to buy a monitor. They have a "Monitor Selector Tool" which works really well:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/selector.htm

[Nage Waza]

You don't have a 4K PC so I wouldn't stress it by going for 4K.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Nage Waza

You don't have a 4K PC so I wouldn't stress it by going for 4K.

Yeah, he'll need to update his video card.

As for TVs, some of them have pretty good response times and little blur.

http://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/motio...-response-time

[You Need a Thneed]

I use a 42" 4K TV as my monitor at work. Generally, I like the screen real estate. I do notice that the colour rendering isn't the greatest- it can't show fluorescent yellow, for example. It doesn't have auto on when the computer awakes from sleep either.