Monitor for text editing at work: 4K at 60Hz or 1440p at 120Hz?

[javipas]

I'm considering the purchase of a new display. My current screen is an HP LP2465, a nice 1.920x1.200 @60Hz model that is a little bit old now. I don't play games that much and in fact I would not invest a lot in a new GPU (maybe a little update, but not more that $200 on the GPU alone), so 4K (UHD) gaming is not my goal.

I write in tech blogs for a living and my workflow usually makes me have two browser windows side by side. That's the reason I'm not sure 4k is really the way to go. I would probably use a smaller resolution to enjoy better pixel density on my windows desktop machine (like Retina MacBooks), because 2160p could be uneasy to my eyes (I have 20/20 sight afaik).

I'm thinking that maybe a nice 1440p@120Hz (maybe through overclocking, the QNIX QX2710 seem to have received good critics) panel could be a good option for me, but i don't know if this kind of device would be better for my day to day routine.

What I'm looking for is the best possible definition when working mostly with text and with browsers. I'm sure I could take advantage of the 4K, but maybe I would be more confortable with a 1440p display. Any ideas on this?

Thanks!

 

[KaRLiToS]

A 28" 4k monitor will be deadly for your eyes if your primary use is intented to be text editing.

Even 27" 1440p monitors have small fonts.

I suggest the QNIX QX320QHD 32" which is 1440p.

 

[Flapdrol1337]

Why do you want a high refreshrate for text editing?

 

[BSim500]

I write in tech blogs for a living and my workflow usually makes me have two browser windows side by side. That's the reason I'm not sure 4k is really the way to go. I would probably use a smaller resolution to enjoy better pixel density on my windows desktop machine (like Retina MacBooks), because 2160p could be uneasy to my eyes (I have 20/20 sight afaik).

What I'm looking for is the best possible definition when working mostly with text and with browsers.

Maybe I'm reading the first bold bit wrong, but if you plan to use a lower resolution than your monitor's native, you aren't going to get the best definition on any display due to the need for scaling... (And what's the point of 120Hz displays for text editing?) If you plan on 2x web browsers side by side and you don't want tiny text, what about one of those 29" 2560x1080 ultra-wide monitors (or 32" 2560x1440)?

Pixel ratio's are something like:-
23" 1920x1080 95.78dpi
24" 1920x1080 91.79dpi
27" 1920x1080 81.59dpi

24" 1920x1200 94.34dpi <- Your LP2465

29" 2560x1080 102.91dpi <- 2nd nearest

24" 2560x1440 122.38dpi
27" 2560x1440 108.79dpi
32" 2560x1440 91.79dpi <- Nearest

24" 3840x2160 170.88dpi
27" 3840x2160 151.79dpi
28" 3840x2160 146.47dpi
32" 3840x2160 128.16dpi

 

[javipas]

@karlitos thanks for the suggestion, I've got pretty good eyesight (and pretend to continue having it) and in fact I've got no problems with my current setup, but I feel I could go further on the dpi.

@Flapdrol1337 exactly, I wasn't sure about the higher refresh rate, I guess it only makes sense for gaming.

@BSim500 Correct me if I'm wrong but for example on a 15'' Retina MacBook you get a native resolution of 2880x1800, but you normally use "scaled resolutions" (1920x1200, 1680x1050, 1280x800, 1024x640) according to Apple tech specs. The native resolution downscales, and everything is sharper, more well-defined because of that native resolution, right?

I guess using a smaller resolution on a 4K monitor would allow me to enjoy this kind of benefit, but I'm not sure about it...

 

[KaRLiToS]

By the way its PPI, not DPI.

PPI = Pixel per Inch
DPI = Dots per Inch

DPI : DPI specifically refers to how many dots of ink will print per inch. The higher the number, the sharper the image will be. Most ink jet printers today are capable of printing 1200 to 4800 dpi; this means great results for images with 200-300 ppi.

PPI: Pixels per inch (PPI) (or pixels per centimeter (PPCM)) is a measurement of the pixel density (resolution) of devices in various contexts: typically computer displays, image scanners, and digital camera image sensors. It is defined as the horizontal or vertical density (for square pixels) as those are the same but the density on along the diagonal is lower. Square pixels are the norm (otherwise those densities would be different).

 

[RussianSensation]

2 browser windows side by side?

I would take a 34" LG for that:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00JR6...&amp;pi=SX200_QL40

I can view 3 pages of a word document horizontally on my 37" screen. I would take a larger screen over small screen with many pixels any day for what you are doing. The LG strikes a great balance of screen size and resolution.

 

[guskline]

I'm considering the purchase of a new display. My current screen is an HP LP2465, a nice 1.920x1.200 @60Hz model that is a little bit old now. I don't play games that much and in fact I would not invest a lot in a new GPU (maybe a little update, but not more that $200 on the GPU alone), so 4K (UHD) gaming is not my goal.

I write in tech blogs for a living and my workflow usually makes me have two browser windows side by side. That's the reason I'm not sure 4k is really the way to go. I would probably use a smaller resolution to enjoy better pixel density on my windows desktop machine (like Retina MacBooks), because 2160p could be uneasy to my eyes (I have 20/20 sight afaik).

I'm thinking that maybe a nice 1440p@120Hz (maybe through overclocking, the QNIX QX2710 seem to have received good critics) panel could be a good option for me, but i don't know if this kind of device would be better for my day to day routine.

What I'm looking for is the best possible definition when working mostly with text and with browsers. I'm sure I could take advantage of the 4K, but maybe I would be more confortable with a 1440p display. Any ideas on this?

Thanks!

What's your budget?

 

[BSim500]

By the way its PPI, not DPI.

PPI = Pixel per Inch
DPI = Dots per Inch

Yeah sorry, typo.

@BSim500 Correct me if I'm wrong but for example on a 15'' Retina MacBook you get a native resolution of 2880x1800, but you normally use "scaled resolutions" (1920x1200, 1680x1050, 1280x800, 1024x640) according to Apple tech specs. The native resolution downscales, and everything is sharper, more well-defined because of that native resolution, right?

Downscaling doesn't make anything sharper. If the native res of the screen is 2880x1800, you should use that res in the GFX driver for highest quality text. The "scaling resolutions" thing on the Apple specs is what the computer can accept to scale up from (eg, if you have old game that supports 1440x900). If you read page 36 of your current LP2465 manual, you'll see a similar list of resolution presets the monitor can accept as valid input signals and will rescale up. Native resolution will always give the best quality though.

 

[KaRLiToS]

Yeah sorry, typo.

Don't worry mate, I wasn't even sure myself until I did some researches. I just learn what DPI actually means. (It is more related to printing )

 

[javipas]

I had not considered 21:9 displays but I'm starting to think they could be a good match for my needs. I can't help but think a UHD display would be a better future investment, but I'm not sure about that.

What would be the point for getting a 4K then? Productivity should be enhanced there as well, right? I mean, what would you say are pros and cons of the LG 34'' (maybe 29'' with my budget) and some 4K 60 Hz display (like the Samsung LU28D590DS, currently at 499&#8364; in amazon.es)?

There's not a final budget, but I'd like to spend no more than 500 &#8364;

@BSim500, thank you for clarifying that

 

[KaRLiToS]

I had not considered 21:9 displays but I'm starting to think they could be a good match for my needs. I can't help but think a UHD display would be a better future investment, but I'm not sure about that.

What would be the point for getting a 4K then? Productivity should be enhanced there as well, right? I mean, what would you say are pros and cons of the LG 34'' (maybe 29'' with my budget) and some 4K 60 Hz display (like the Samsung LU28D590DS, currently at 499€ in amazon.es)?

There's not a final budget, but I'd like to spend no more than 500 €

@BSim500, thank you for clarifying that

I have the Samsung U28D590D and unless you use font size scaling (which doesn't always work quite well because it is not native) you will have eye strains trying to read the text on a 4k monitor that small.

I primarily use it for gaming.

 

[guskline]

VERY pleased with my BenQ BL3200PT.

 

[javipas]

Thanks Karlitos, (are you spanish= ) Have you tried smaller resolutions on normal Windows work sessions? How do you use your browser of a word processor, for example, you still use them with the UHD resolution?

@guskline nice monitor indeed. I'm wondering how it shows fonts.

Just to clarify, I'd like to get similar quality to the one text gets on a Retina screen. I still haven't seen that on a PC display, and I wonder if this is achievable. What should I look for?

 

[Cerb]

If you get 4K over 1080P at the same size, set scaling to 200%, and you're done. It won't be perfect in every application, in that some will need to do bitmap scaling. But, +100% increments look the best, for that.

There seem to be many good IPS 1440p panels about, so that's what I'd get, for a single monitor.

That said, any reason you don't want two monitors, instead?

 

[KaRLiToS]

Have you tried smaller resolutions on normal Windows work sessions? How do you use your browser of a word processor, for example, you still use them with the UHD resolution?

To be honest, I mostly use it at 1440p because I have a resolution of 8044x1440 (with bezel compensation) . My desktop was composed initially by 3 x CrossOver 27Q Led-P (1440p monitors from Korean) and I swapped the middle one with the Samsung U28D590D for several reasons (such as issues with newer cards with the DisplayPort output and I also wanted to try 4k.).

And to be fair, the 4k scales down to 1440p pretty well.

Here is a screenshot of my actual desktop.

Thanks Karlitos, (are you spanish= )

No, my real name is Karl and most of my friends call me Karlitos or Karlo(s) as nickname. (I'm from Québec)

 

[Dribble]

Why not just buy a second 1920p display and use that with the first one? Cheap, gives you plenty of space. As for which one, well readable text is a different to both what gaming and photographic monitors can give you. The reviews are rubbish for that sort of thing - you don't need amazing colours or fast response, you want clear text. I still have an ancient HP 1810, which despite having a response time of 50ms (yes really!) has clearer text then any other monitor I have access too.

Hence I can't recommend anything, other then go to a shop and look at different screens, see which one you think works best. It doesn't need to be expensive.

 

[bystander36]

The text editing font size is going to depend on the application you use. If the app is well designed with zoom and scaling, it would not be a problem with 4k, but if it isn't, I definitely would not go 4k.

 

[kasakka]

4K with scaling in use might be your best choice. While scaling is not perfect, it works ok depending on what software you use. That said, you could save a bunch of money by just getting another 1920x1200 screen to go with your current one. Lots of desktop space with that.

I read text and code all day (web developer) and use 2x1080p screens at work and 1x1440p at home and for working they're about the same - the higher res of the single 27" compensates quite nicely for the two displays.

 

[javipas]

@karlitos wow, that's a really big desktop I don't need that much, but it's good to know 4K scales well to 1440p. (btw nice nickname, Karl)

@Cerb I've tried to have a couple of displays working (I had an old 20'') and I couldn't get myself used to the situation. Looking back and forth is a little bit weird for me, and it didn't work out. One "big", good monitor with enough resolution would be perfect. Hence this question about possible options.

@Dribble same thing about the dual monitor solution... not for me and it's difficult that a shop over here (and I'm in Madrid) would have several options for that specific scenario.

@bystander: I'm a Chrome heavy user and newer versions do text rendering finally better than older ones. I work from a browser (I publish online, so several CMSs involved), so it would be important that 4K scaled to 1440p would work really nice. Otherwise, I guess it would be better to get a native 1440p display.

@kasakka: do you really think so? From what I've been reading, getting a native 1440p would be probably better. The dual monitor setup doesn't work for me, but thanks for the idea

I've been trying to look for more options, and besides de 21:9 displays (like the LG 34UM95 or something smaller) I've read a not very old review of the Planar PXL2790MW, and it seems really nice. Do someone know that one?

BenQ BL3200PT seems also recommended on several sites. Any ideas on these?

 

[SolMiester]

I have the Samsung U28D590D and unless you use font size scaling (which doesn't always work quite well because it is not native) you will have eye strains trying to read the text on a 4k monitor that small.

I primarily use it for gaming.

+1, I cant use my 28" UHD at 4k!..the text is murder!

 

[King4x4]

A couple of months ago I had the same setup as Karl (the Samsung u28 and two koreans) and it fits my needs perfectly.
However, had a friend come in recenetly and literally steal the u28 (he forked the cash) and so was let out in the rain and substituted a normal Qnix.
Had the upgrade itch and got a good deal on one of the new Qnix 32in 1440 monitors that shares the same MVA panel as the Benq 32in.... Sufficie it to say that I just ordered two more monitors to replace my eyefinity setup.
You can't go wrong with 32in and 1440. The u28 is much sharper in games but for everything else the 32 is a keeper.

 

[javipas]

Thanks King4x4, 32'' is a little too big for me and my current office setup I think, and from everything I've read here and there a good 27'' 1440p glossy monitor seems the right choice.

Now I've got to decide which one. Options (that I know of):

1. Planar PXL2790MW
2. Iiyama Prolite XB2779QS
3. Crossover 27QW
4. ASUS PA279 (a little expensive, not glossy afaik)
5. Eizo EV2736W
6. Viewsonic VP2770

Ideas? Any other suggestions?

 

[PrincessFrosty]

Overclocking IPS panels is dumb, they don't have the pixel response time to give accurate colours and picture quality at 120hz, there's a reason these aren't sold on the market as 120hz panels.

 

[Qwertilot]

One place to get an impression as to whether 4k scaled might be worth it vs straight 1440 would be anywhere with the new retina iMac vs the old one or a thunderbolt display.

While that is of course 5k resolution scaling back to 1440 and probably better scaling in the operating system/software it should give a fair impression.
(Generally usable 5k panels still seem to be a while off mind.).