4K monitors are officially here.
Actually, 4K monitors have been here for a little while, but they’ve only recently become affordable enough for average people to buy them.
4K monitors are still super expensive, but they’re almost within reach of people like you and me.
When 4K monitors were first released way back in mid-2013, they cost about $3,500. Today, you can find 28-inch 4K Monitors for under $600.
That’s more than most people are willing to pay for an average monitor. But 4K monitors are not your average monitor.
Should you invest in a new 4K monitor? Here are the top 4 most important things to consider about 4K monitors:
4) It’s double the standard HD resolution
4K monitors are also known as UltraHD monitors. Apparently, the industry thinks 4K is a more marketable name, so 4K is becoming the standard name.
4K shouldn’t be confused with QuadHD. QuadHD is 2560×1440, and it’s so named because it’s approximately “4 times” 720p HD resolution.
4K, on the other hand, is called 4K because it’s a resolution of close to 4,000 pixels. It doubles standard HD resolutions of 1920×1080 to 3840×2160.
Any way you look at it, 4K is a lot of pixels. That means more space on your screen and amazingly high resolutions.
Next time you’re at a Best Buy or computer hardware retailer, see if they have a 4K monitor on display. It’s an amazing difference and for some PC geeks, it may be a life changing experience.
3) You can game in 4K if you have the right video cards
Two of the biggest fans of 4K are Nvidia and AMD. Why? Because you need to buy expensive video cards to game at 4K resolutions.
Gaming at 4K looks incredible. Almost all of today’s popular PC games support 4K. That means you’ll have lots of different ways to try out your 4K monitor until TV networks finally start releasing 4K videos.
If you want to game at 4K, Nvidia recommends buying two GTX 780s and running them in SLI. That’s about $1100 worth of video cards. Expect a similar price tag if you’re using AMD video cards.
Of course, if you spend that amount, you can expect to enjoy stable framerates, maxed settings, and 4K resolutions in many popular games. For PC gaming aficionados, that’s an experience worth paying $1100 for.
That being said, it’s currently impossible for any single video card to run 4K resolutions at higher than 60 frames per second with all settings maxed out. It’s just not possible with today’s technology.
2) How to compare 4K monitors
Here are a few things to consider before you buy a 4K monitor:
-Your budget: 4K displays range from $600 to $4,000. If you’re on a tight budget, your display is going to look worse than people who can afford the higher-end stuff.
-Refresh rate: Before you buy a cheap 4K monitor, check the refresh. Some manufacturers use 30Hz refresh rates –which is unacceptable for PC gaming. Choose 60Hz or, if you want to push your premium video cards to the limit, choose 120Hz.
-Pixel density: Pixel density varies widely across 4K monitors. 4K monitors typically have a higher pixel density (PPI) than HD monitors – which is good. Pixel density ranges from 80 to about 200.
If you’re buying a 30 inch 4K monitor, the PPI will be lower than if you were to buy a smaller – say 24 inch – 4K monitor.
1) They’re going to get cheaper
4K monitors were $3,500 about one year ago.
Today, they’re a fraction of that cost.
4K monitors are going to get cheaper and cheaper as technology grows. So if you don’t want to spend $600 on a monitor today, then it may only cost $300 by this time next year.
By this time next year, there will be more YouTube videos available in 4K. It will also be easier to game in 4K and your cable provider may even offer 4K channels.
The point is: you don’t have to rush into this decision. Because 4K monitors are going to be around for a while.
