Cheapest 4K option?

[Kaido]

Picking up that cheap 4K Seiki 50" TV to use as a spreadsheet display at work (lots of cells, high resolution needed, 24/7 usage). Looking for the cheapest 4K GPU option to drive it (it takes 4K over HDMI). Intel's 4th-gen Core chips support 4K, but those aren't out until the end of the year, so it looks like I'm stuck buying a gaming card. Based on the PCPer 4K shootout, the 2GB Nvidia 680GTX looks like the lowest-cost option:

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Frame-Rating-High-End-GPUs-Benchmarked-4K-Resolutions

I'd rather not have a high-wattage GPU running 24/7 just to display Excel, but if that's the only option right now, then that's the only option. Newegg has the 2GB eVGA 680GTX for $489:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130768

Is that my best bet? And does the eVGA model support 4K output over HDMI? (having a hard time verifying that - PCPer says the Nvidia reference model does)

 

[96Firebird]

You should be able to go as low as a GTX 650Ti for 4K over HDMI. According to Nvidia's website, the 650Ti should be able to do 4096x2160 over a single HDMI connection:

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-650ti/specifications

Cheapest 650Ti on Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127725

 

[adairusmc]

The HIS 7750 video card I just picked up for my HTPC says it supports 4k right on the box, and according to this review it can display 4k resolutions through HDMI right now -

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5541/amd-radeon-hd-7750-radeon-hd-7770-ghz-edition-review/9


The card that I have, FWIW - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161403

 

[frowertr]

According to Nvidia's spec sheet on the 680, it shows it only goes up to 1600. Is 2560 x 1600 really 4K?

 

[bystander36]

According to Nvidia's spec sheet on the 680, it shows it only goes up to 1600. Is 2560 x 1600 really 4K?

The Pcper review used 680's to test it, and it worked. Nvidia's site is outdated on some cards.

 

[Kaido]

The Pcper review used 680's to test it, and it worked. Nvidia's site is outdated on some cards.

Yeah, that's been my trouble - the manuals, manufacturer's websites, and product pages are all out-of-date. People are getting 4K output, but it's hard to find concrete information.

 

[Kaido]

According to Nvidia's spec sheet on the 680, it shows it only goes up to 1600. Is 2560 x 1600 really 4K?

That's over DL-DVI. 4K is 3840 x 2160; WQHD is 2650 x 1600.

We have a 30" 2560 x 1600 right now, but I need room for more cells and a larger viewing area, so the cheap Seiki is coming along at just the right time:

http://www.amazon.com/Seiki-Digital-.../dp/B00BXF7I9M

Groupon has it for $1199...iirc that's less than we paid for the 30" when we originally bought it. It's a simple application - basically just a visual project status tracker for a shop floor area using Excel - so it doesn't need any kind of high-horsepower card, and it's used for multiple shifts throughout the day, so it's basically just going to sit there and run non-stop. Sort of a higher-tech dry-erase board, haha (with VNC capabilities!). I'd really like to go with integrated graphics (we've been using Intel NUC's successfully), but those aren't getting the 4K chip updates until the holiday season this year.

 

[lilrayray69]

the 7850 2GB (which I got for around $160) I have says it supports 4k, and even 16k by 16k resolutions? What is that - 6 monitors?

I had no idea anyone even sold a 4K TV at the moment, and honestly like $1500 or whatever that I'm seeing isn't bad.

I didn't know HDMI could support 4K either. go figure

 

[Kaido]

the 7850 2GB (which I got for around $160) I have says it supports 4k, and even 16k by 16k resolutions? What is that - 6 monitors?

I had no idea anyone even sold a 4K TV at the moment, and honestly like $1500 or whatever that I'm seeing isn't bad.

I didn't know HDMI could support 4K either. go figure

Yeah there are a few, as well as projectors - but they are all very expensive, like $5,000 to $25,000 on up. So having a 4K set this cheap is huge. Of course, it's basically a knock-off brand, so don't expect a long life or great color accuracy, but hey, it's a $1200 4K set, not much to complain about!

The only limitation I'm aware of with HDMI currently is a 30Hz max refresh rate on version 1.4. So if you're into 120Hz gaming, you'll want to look elsewhere, but for basic desktop use or movies or whatever, it looks pretty nice for a budget set. And since this is a cheapo set, it doesn't have any fancy connectors like DisplayPort, so we're kind of stuck with what's available right now, until a newer HDMI spec is released.

 

[Phynaz]

Intel's 4th-gen Core chips support 4K, but those aren't out until the end of the year, so it looks like I'm stuck buying a gaming card.

Haswell is out in June.

 

[AdamK47]

Nvidia is aware of the 30hz limitation on 4K displays. According to this post they are working on a solution and will have a fix soon.

https://forums.geforce.com/default/...round/2-monitor-gaming-/post/3796149/#3796149

 

[96Firebird]

Nvidia is aware of the 30hz limitation on 4K displays. According to this post they are working on a solution and will have a fix soon.

https://forums.geforce.com/default/...round/2-monitor-gaming-/post/3796149/#3796149

I thought 4K @ 30Hz was a limitation of HDMI 1.4? Not to mention the TV in question can only support that.

 

[lagokc]

I thought 4K @ 30Hz was a limitation of HDMI 1.4? Not to mention the TV in question can only support that.

*crossed fingers for nVidia announcing an nVidia branded HDTV that can do 4k@120hz with some kind of overclocked displayport connector.*

Ok yeah not likely as you'd need 4 Titans to drive it.

 

[Kaido]

Haswell is out in June.

Ah, right, I was reading an older article.

Would really prefer something small like an Intel NUC + single cable to power these.