Is a 24-inch monitor too small for 4K?

Matt Payne

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Its subjective, but I say yes. I have a 1980x1200 monitor @ 27 inch. When I go back to the well to purchase a new monitor I am definitely not going smaller. I would really like 30 inches or more. However prices dictate the 28inches is more in my budget until they come down.
 

Gee Bee

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I would suspect so, given there is a significant difference between 1080p and 1440p.
Same should apply here.
I'm sticking with 1440p, until the getting cheaper 4k monitors have better contrast and faster refresh rates. Hopefully by the time i'm ready to purchase they will be cheaper still.

A 27" is ideal for me in 1440p and suspect this will be the same with 4k.

 

HowFarToAsgaard

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Iv never seen a 4K screen below 55 inch but i think it comes down to the quality of the screen when it comes to something that small. But what ever ya do dont pay attention to those 1080p trolls and there home made study graphs. I dont know why but there are people who think that 1080p is the most the eye can see. but then there amazed at how good the pixel density is on there iPhone. 1080p fanboys wheres the point in it?
 


I've never heard anyone say 1080p is the most the eye can see at like 25", but on a 10" tablet screen there's really not a noticeable difference. It's all about the relation of PPI to viewing range.

I wouldn't go 1440p at 27", I'd rather have 1440p at 24-25" or the pixel density isn't much better than my 1080p screen right now. 4K would be great at 27" though.
 

onmybikedrunk

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I own the Dell up2414q (4K) and an Apple Thunderbolt Display (1440p) sitting right next to each other as I type this. As far as size, there is a VERY minor difference between the two. Besides, smaller size, higher pixel density. There are a ton of 4K 60Hz monitors coming out now at the 27-28" size but they are all TN panels which wasn't acceptable for me. TN panels have a much higher response time though... The Dell is IPS and 99% AdobeRGB (if that matters to you) for only $200 more. Newegg has a 10% off Dell coupon and is advertising it at $1070ish I think.

It all comes down to personal preference. This is my first Ultrasharp and I am VERY impressed of its quality. Scaling can be an issue, but that all depends on what OS you're on and whether you are a gamer. I run a dual-boot Mac with Bootcamp and Windows 4K scaling options aren't that great. In OS X 10.9.3 is going to enable their "Retina" scaling options which I'm very excited for (as well as MST support). My main tasks are all focused around design and gaming comes in second or third, so for me it's not a big deal. That being said, I do all my gaming on my 1440p. So yeah, personal preference. From a professional standpoint, well worth the money.
 

onmybikedrunk

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If you're into gaming don't go over 1440p. 4K is not quite there yet... Even 2 Titan Blacks in SLI with Battlefield 4 on Ultra 4X MSAA was pushing less than 55 fps. Digital Storm reviewed this... Google it.
 

Linkdrive

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There is a massive difference in quality between 1440p and 4k. But honestly, until both games and video cards mature enough to make 4k gaming truly viable, your best bet is to simply downsample a 4k resolution. That way, if you need to go below 4k, the image doesn't blur.
 

Linkdrive

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Yes, screen size is important. A 26 inch screen @ 3840x2160 ( 170 pixels per square inch ) will look significantly better than a 26 inch screen @ 2560x1440 ( 113 pixels per square inch ).
 


In a manner of speaking.
A 27" inch screen for $500 will be worse quality than a 24" $500 screen.
The expectation is that you pay more the larger a screen gets, so larger screens are priced higher at the same quality. In order for a larger screen to increase in quality, the price generally increases proportionately.

However, the best screens are generally large screens for extreme amounts of money, since it's not worthwhile to market an enthusiast grade $2000 screen at a small size.

What Linkdrive said is also correct.
Resolutions look more detailed on smaller screens. In order to increase detail on a larger screen, a high resolution must be used, further increasing cost.

Simpler version:

TN panel decreases cost and decreases quality.
IPS panel increases cost and increases quality.

Large screen increases cost and leaves quality the same, or;
Large screen leaves cost the same and decreases quality.

High refresh rate has the potential to increase quality when paired with a strong video card, and increases price.

Response time is almost meaningless since companies can play with the numbers however they want anyway.

High resolution increases quality and increases cost, or;
High resolution trades clarity for color accuracy if the cost does not increase.
 

Nicholas24

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Uh-huh. Linkdrive, what I'm referring to is... Does a 24-inch screen @ 3840x2160 with a PPI of 185+ have the same, if not higher quality than a 31 inch screen @3840x2160 with a PPI of 140?
 

Linkdrive

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Perceptually, the 24 inch 4k screen will have a higher image quality because more pixels are packed in a smaller area.
 

Doramius

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I think what you're trying to get at is pixel density effect.

If you stare at a large pixel printed picture from 1'-ft. away, you might notice the individual pixels. If you look at it from 10'-ft. away, the picture seems clearer....but the pixels are all the same.

So the 24" monitor has smaller pixels and would "look" more defined. The 27" would not be as defined, unless you stood further away from it. Overall, the "quality" is the same, as they share the same resolution. It's your distance away from the screen that determines defined the image is.

It's perception of the image. If you're planning on putting a 27" monitor in the same place you had a 24" monitor when you're sitting at your desk, you might feel the image is not as defined, when they both share the same resolution. Again the quality would be the same, but you're feeling much closer since the pixels are larger.

Outside of that, the only thing that would affect the image is the quality of the parts used to make the monitor. get a cheap $50 27" monitor from China, and you might prefer a $200 19" high quality built monitor. And the 19" might last longer than 6 months.

 

Nicholas24

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Ok. Well, I just noticed something recently. I'm using a 1080p monitor (currently), when I tried scaling up the text and UI as the words looked pint-sized, immediately everything became enlarged but VERY, VERY blurry.