In this article we have compared 1080p vs 4K Gaming in detail
Having a high-resolution image while playing games will have its own experience. 4K is said to be the next standard in image resolution size. It doubles from 1920 x 1080p to 3840 x 2160p. This will have a clearer picture than 1080. This would mean that we will need an upgrade over the monitor, more importantly, a graphic card to enjoy the 4K content. Though there are various options for 4K-ready hardware, not many games support this resolution. Moreover, 1080p hardware costs considerably less than a 4K setup.
How is Gaming at 1080p?
Even today, most monitors widely used among gaming communities are that of 1080p. Especially for more competitive titles that require quick response over glossy visuals. The primary concern in gaming is the FPS, response time, and refresh rates. 1080p monitors are easier to drive higher frame rates on. This makes it the perfect choice for smooth gameplay.
A monitor’s resolution is the maximum number of pixels it has. 4K gaming will put an extra strain on your gaming monitor. For competitive gamers and esports professionals, 1080 will make up for its smoothness and responsiveness.
Presently, the market is flooded with a sea of affordable 1080p monitors. They come with a variety of different specifications that help tailor them to your specific needs. Furthermore, with the release of high-end 1440p and 4k monitors, the overall market price for 1080p monitors has dropped significantly.
Gaming At 4K
Gaming on a 4K monitoring is outstanding. Its intense color and stunning visual experience will be captivating. 4K monitors have four times the pixel count as a 1080p monitor. This implies a great picture quality.
1080p vs 4K Gaming Monitor: The Difference
Choosing a new gaming monitor is never easy. It is costly and with so many different options available it is difficult to choose the best one. To understand if 4K is worth it, we will need to go through the key differences between 1080p vs 4K Gaming. Let us understand it one by one.
Screen Size:
Generally, 21.5” – 27” monitors are used while playing a game at 1080p. Anything bigger than this will reduce the pixel density. If you are looking for a 4K gaming, 27” and above is the one to choose.
In-Game Visuals:
While the RTX 2060 GPU graphic card is powerful, it is still not strong enough to take on challenges by 4K. This should give you a clear-cut indication of the difference between 1080p and 4K.
If 1080p is Full HD, 4K is Ultra HD. Ultra is always better for picture quality. As you can see from our video of RTX 2060 GPU, the shadows don’t look great when graphics are set too low. Even so, it still displays great colour quality and image clarity.
Long Term / Future Proof:
Excellent refresh rates and response times are essential specifications in gaming. A 1080p monitor is still a great buy in this. Since the price drops in the recent times of 4K monitors, it is a good investment for single-player story-based gaming.
4K being relatively new, this technology is here to stay for quite some time. You will not have to worry about upgrading your monitors anytime soon. Though there are 5K monitors in the market, we don’t have the hardware that supports it yet.
Hardware Requirements:
Most decent graphics cards nowadays can run games at 1080p over 60 FPS in most AAA games. But, if you wish to play AAA games in 4K resolution, you will need higher performance GPUs. RTX 3080, for example. The computational power that is required to run 4K efficiently is much higher than what 1080p requires. Anything less than an RTX 3070 isn’t going to be worth the investment.
Compatibility Issues:
Much like graphics cards, almost any decent monitor in the market today is guaranteed to run in 1080p. Most games presently support 1080p. In case you wish to get a 4K monitor, you may not play all your games in 4K. Most old games upscale the quality instead of showing in true 4K quality. This being said, almost all your modern AAA games tiles will support 4K.
Price
A decent 1080p monitor costs less than $200. Prices will vary though depending on the monitor’s features.
While 4K monitors have drastically dropped in price from over $600 (and even up to $1000) down to around $300 – $500 these days. They are still expensive compared to 1080p monitors. That is without considering advanced features such as refresh rate, adaptive sync technology, or response times.
So is the 4K Monitor Worth It?
For professional purposes and everyday use, 4K monitors are worth it. When it comes to PC gaming, we don’t recommend them. The 4K UHD resolution is very demanding. The improvement in image quality over the 1440p display will not have a performance hit.
For console gaming, 4K monitors make more sense as most games are intended to run at locked 30FPS or 60FPS at 4K, depending on the title.
There’s a lot of jargon when it comes to picking out monitors. Just what are response times, refresh rates, FreeSync, G-Sync, and IPS and TN technologies? Keep reading.
Response time:
Response time represents how quickly the monitor can go from gray to gray. This is calculated and tested by the manufacturer. It’s recommended to have a five ms response time or lower to help prevent ghosting.
Having a monitor with a high response time could lead to image ghosting issues. This will again be another hurdle. More the lower the response time, the more expensive the cost will be.
Refresh rate:
The refresh rate of a monitor is the number of times an image displayed needs to be regenerated in a second to prevent flicker when viewed by the human eye. If an image is regenerated 120 times to a 120Hz monitor, it will be an excellent viewing experience. Failing which, there will be stuttering and possible screen tear as the monitor and GPU become out of sync.
FreeSync and G-Sync
These are systems developed by AMD and NVIDIA, respectively, that offer smoother gameplay. It helps to prevent what is known as “screen tearing”. It also reduces input lag. When an image is being displayed, the monitor and graphic card communicate with one another. They adapt to refresh rate to keep the on-screen image in sync with what is rendered. If the monitor card is above the graphic card, it causes the screen to tear.
An ideal monitor for gamers would need to have
- The chosen resolution,
- Screen size,
- 120Hz or higher refresh rate, with two ms or lower response time.
- Either FreeSync or G-Sync support.
While AMD GPUs support FreeSync and NVIDIA GPUs work with G-Sync. NVIDIA has begun certifying specific FreeSync monitors to work with its GPUs, which we’ve listed.
Conclusion on 1080p vs 4K Gaming:
Going for a 4K is surely a good choice if you are planning to have a future-proof monitor. Having said that, aiming for 1080p will be sufficient for many years to come. Since most games are supporting 1080p you can even save yourself some money.
Is 4K really better than 1080p for gaming?
4k video is a substantial step up from 1080p, with four times the resolution of 1080p.
On a screen, 4k video contains more than 8 million pixels compared to 2 million pixels for 1080p. The visuals of 4K gaming are better and more vibrant and crisp in comparison to 1080p. However, 1080p is still the standard. It is the optimum for gaming.
1080p vs 4K Gaming: The biggest differences:
With nearly four times as many pixels, you’ll notice significantly better details on a 4K TV. You’ll need a large enough TV to see the difference in sitting distance. In the battle of 4K vs 1080p resolution, the 4K TV has a clear advantage.
