4k Display - 32 inch or 40 inch?

[TechyGeek]

Hey Guys -

Black friday is almost here and I have a good feeling about snagging 4k display for around 300 bucks. Question is this - I'm using it for coding and some gaming.

Would you shoot for 32 inch or 40 inch, and VA or IPS?

 

[ElFenix]

i'm almost certain i'd have to move my head too much (and also be looking up too much) if i had a 40" screen on my desk. but i'm tempted to put a tv there and try it.

 

[TechyGeek]

Any more feedback?

 

[Tweak155]

I literally just replaced my 40" 4K last week with my new 32" 4K and knew right away it was the right move. 40" is too big to have close up without scaling, and the distance you'd need to sit it back from your face is too far to make the text readable without scaling. 32" is near perfect and I'm glad I swapped.

Your exact scenario answered (or should I say opinioned?)!!!

 

[repoman0]

I'd go 32. I bought a 32 inch 4k about a year ago and still think it's the perfect size for a monitor. I wouldn't want to go much larger at this point.

 

[nathanddrews]

We just picked up the 43" TCL 43S405 Roku 4K HDR TV for $349 for the bedroom. It's a 60Hz VA panel without local dimming, but the black uniformity is still very good. HDR isn't mind-blowing since it doesn't get super bright, but I tested Destiny 2 last night and it looked MUCH better than my SDR monitor. Due to the viewing angle of VA, you have to sit about 3-4 feet away to get uniform picture quality, but 4K60 444 looks great. 15ms input lag is decent as well! Built in Plex app among other 4K streaming apps. Gotta say that I'm really impressed. It's no OLED, but it's 1/10th the price!

 

[TechyGeek]

Thanks for the advice. 32 inch is a go. I have 78 inch 4k tv un78hu9000 for couch games. Looking at either lg 32 inch or aoc. Any more choices?

 

[Tweak155]

Thanks for the advice. 32 inch is a go. I have 78 inch 4k tv un78hu9000 for couch games. Looking at either lg 32 inch or aoc. Any more choices?

They have been reported to be the same panel. The AOC is cheaper typically, but I've seen both in person and if you care at all about aesthetics, I'd pay a little extra for the LG. Otherwise, they should be the same as far as visual quality.

 

[nOOky]

I recently had the same quandry and I went with the 32" LG and from 2-3 feet away it's great. 40" would be too large.

 

[guskline]

In your price range, OP, the 32" seems the best.

I went out on a limb and bought the 42.5" Acer ET430k monitor when Newegg had it for @$499.

I agree with posters about that size being BIG but with my 66 year old eyes my oh my is it gorgeous when playing Forza7 in 4k!

 

[TechyGeek]

Ok I see lg 32 inch for 388. Have a good feeling it will drop to 300ish in 3 weeks

 

[guskline]

TechyGeek, what gpu are you using?

 

[TechyGeek]

1080

 

[guskline]

You clearly have the gpu horsepower for 4k!

 

[bitcuration]

Definitely 40+ inch. For the same bang of bucks, an IPS 32" 4K now can get two IPS 43" 4K during the BF season.

 

[amenx]

Have 40" at about 20-24" away. Initially thought it would be too big, especially the vertical height which I could not get used to. To get around that, created a custom 21:9 res (3840x1620), and now feel its perfect. This is also about 25% less pixels, so easier to run on the GPU. Doubt I could go back to anything smaller.

 

[Tweak155]

Have 40" at about 20-24" away. Initially thought it would be too big, especially the vertical height which I could not get used to. To get around that, created a custom 21:9 res (3840x1620), and now feel its perfect. This is also about 25% less pixels, so easier to run on the GPU. Doubt I could go back to anything smaller.

Do you use any scaling?

 

[amenx]

Do you use any scaling?

No, 3840x1620 is 1:1 scaling, only the top and bottom cropped off.

 

[whm1974]

I would want the full 4K and I also would go for 43" instead

 

[mindless1]

I'd go with the 40" unless you have a very shallow desk. Sit where you normally would and put a piece of cardboard where the screen would be, that's 40" and marked to 32". See if you can comfortably move your eyes or feel like that would be a strain. Then again with 4K worth of pixels you can just move the work to wherever you want it, don't have to use the whole screen except full screen video and for that, bigger is better.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Yeah, I have a couple of 40" 4K UHD TVs I picked up around last year BF week. Got them for around $200 ea. They still work OK for me. Will not quite do 4K60 @ 444, it drops to 422 or 420.

I don't full-screen my web browser. It does let me keep a lot of Windows open, without overlapping them much.

 

[whm1974]

I'd go with the 40" unless you have a very shallow desk. Sit where you normally would and put a piece of cardboard where the screen would be, that's 40" and marked to 32". See if you can comfortably move your eyes or feel like that would be a strain. Then again with 4K worth of pixels you can just move the work to wherever you want it, don't have to use the whole screen except full screen video and for that, bigger is better.

I think the best use for 4K is a 40" to 43" display is using it for having four to six applications displayed at once without overlapping. Which is why I want a 4K display of that size.

 

[amenx]

I'd go with the 40" unless you have a very shallow desk. Sit where you normally would and put a piece of cardboard where the screen would be, that's 40" and marked to 32". See if you can comfortably move your eyes or feel like that would be a strain. Then again with 4K worth of pixels you can just move the work to wherever you want it, don't have to use the whole screen except full screen video and for that, bigger is better.

Even on a 40" the vertical height can be annoying, which is why I resorted to a custom res cropping the top/bottom off for easier viewing. Even with that, had to ditch the stand and wall mount it to where it was suspended just 1 cm above desktop.

 

[mindless1]

nvm

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I'm considering replacing my Samsung T240HD 24" 1920x1200 TV-as-monitor with something like the Samsung UN43MU6290 but I am not entirely sure how these modern 4K sets are handling computer signals over HDMI. I know on Vizio I can turn off overscan and see the entire computer desktop environment. The 4K TV I am looking at doesn't have a DVI/DP input and so how Samsung handles signals across HDMI that are no STB/Blu-ray/Video consoles is a mystery.

Hopefully by the end of the day I will be able to load a couple of 3840x2160 resolution test patters using the USB inputs, which according to the manual suggest are treated just like HDMI in how image processing is handled. I do not own a laptop, let alone capable of 4K60 to bring into Costco to test and I am not inclined to 'buy-and-try' in an abusive return scenario. The Samsung 4K TV by default projects a scanned image beyond the bezel and one has to go into picture settings to enable Screen Fit, but I do not know if this is turning off scaling or turning it on in order to see the entire image within the bezel boundaries.

By the way, I am not includes to 'buy-and-try' as I am one of those people that do not returned things if they are working, and Samsung does not market their TVs as computer-usable displays anymore. And I have no reason to own a 4K display at this size for any other reason.