1440p vs 4k for software development

MikeyNick

Reputable
Jul 29, 2014
2
0
4,510
I made the realization today that the Apple thunderbolt display that my company got me for work has no way to adjust the brightness when in Windows via bootcamp. This led to some immediate anger in that a thousand dollar display seems to lack the most obvious of display settings outside of OSX...

So, I'm thinking of passing this on to someone else and ordering a new screen, but I'm a bit torn on what to get... I just picked up the ASUS PB278Q 27" IPS 1440p display for my home setup, which is mainly for gaming. I am really enjoying this display, and it's my first IPS display and I love the color reproduction. However, another big aspect of going with that screen was the fact that I was going to be gaming, and 4k requires a lot more GPU power and the affordable ones only run at 30Hz.

For work, on the other hand, I won't be gaming or watching movies, so color reproduction and refresh rate are less of a concern for me. If I go with a 1440p display, it'll be the ASUS. If I go with a 4k display, it'll either be the Samsung U28D590D or the Dell P2815Q

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-28-Inch-Definition-Monitor-U28D590D/dp/B00IEZGWI2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1406668700&sr=1-1&keywords=samsung+4k+monitor

http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Monitor-P2815Q-years-warranty/dp/B00I0H9T5C/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1406668738&sr=1-1&keywords=dell+4k+monitor

Based on the reviews, I think I'd probably go with the Samsung if I do get one of these. But, I wanted some other opinions. Has anyone been using a 4k display for anything other than cinema/gaming? can they comment on whether the extra real estate was worth the sacrifice to refresh rate and color reproduction?

Another thing to keep in mind is that I'll be using this with a Mac Book Pro Retina (2013)
 
A 28" 4k display will result in smaller text and images than a 28" 1440P display will since most text and images are defined to be X*Y pixels rather than X*Y inches.

For non-graphics oriented software development I question the usefulness of the extra real estate since its generally more useful to have more lines on the screen(4K will get you that), but being wider doesn't help much if at all. Since you already have this hooked into a MBP i assume you are already running as dual screens, in which case my suggestion would be to find a screen that you can rotate into portrait mode, SOOOOO many more lines of code fit on a screen that way! I run dual screens at work and we are moving shortly and I have already arranged to get my new spot setup with 1 screen landscape for schematic work and one portrait for code work.
 
Since you already have one 1440p screen there, why not grab a second one, that way when you game your still using one at 1440p (don't need the horsepower for a 4k) but when your working you have dual 1440p monitors.

I guess the main problem with what I am proposing is that you need a lot of desk space and you will either have one monitor off to the side so your gaming screen is directly ahead, or your going to have to turn your head while gaming.

Out of the two 4k screens you linked the Samsung seems to have much better ratings, kinda sucks that they are both limited to 30Hz though, makes any future gaming with them sort of out of the question.

I currently use a thunderbolt screen at work and have a Korean 1440p at home along side a 19" 900p screen. I have found that to be enough screen real estate in the past for work and play (also a developer).
 

danco5074

Honorable
Feb 6, 2014
115
0
10,710
Do not get a 4k at 30Hz. The support for 4k also isn't very high atm either. See top comment on this thread: http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/comments/2bhpgi/monitor_dell_p2815q_28_4k_w3_year_warranty_for/


Currently, it is much easier to obtain 1440p. I own a QNIX 2710 Pixel Perfect IPS, and the thing is amazing. My monitor had no backlight bleed and 0 dead pixels IPS @1440p for ~$200 less than the PB278Q. Still if I had to go any other monitor, that ASUS would be the one.
 

MikeyNick

Reputable
Jul 29, 2014
2
0
4,510
Jak, I didn't see that article but I finally stumbled on a similar one. Waiting on some updates to finish and then I will give that solution a go. Still, hunter315 had a good point there about portrait mode. A lot of time I do prefer landscape because we do most of our development in IDEs and it's useful to have space for the other views, but there are times when I fullscreen the text editor to see more code, at which point portrait could be nice.

burdenbound, the 1440p ASUS screen is at home, this question is for deciding on a screen at my office. Someone on my team still lacks a new screen, so I could potentially pass down my thunderbolt display to them so that I can order something new. So, in the end, the setup will be my mac book pro next to whatever single monitor I have. I won't have two standalone monitors, just the mbp screen and one standalone.

danco, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the samsung support 60Hz using displayport 1.2 via MST? As for the price, they started with a thunderbolt display so i'm pretty sure i can talk them into just about anything cheaper. I had been looking into QNIX for my home setup but decided on ASUS because 1) It's a name I trust, 2) I heard that the power bricks for the korean models were just that... huge bricks, and 3) many more position adjustments available (e.g. height, tilt, swivel, pivot).

If the boot camp support software solution works, I'll have to give some more consideration. If I go with another monitor, I'll need to order a USB hub and a separate charging cable, since these were both built into the thunderbolt display. I'd also have to plug/unplug two thunderbolt cables (one for the new display, one for ethernet adapter) and a usb hub every morning/evening. First world problems...
 

danco5074

Honorable
Feb 6, 2014
115
0
10,710


Looks like the samsung can support 60Hz with display port. Seems to be a good buy.
 

Datcu Alexandru

Honorable
Mar 19, 2013
131
0
10,710
Let's put it this way if you can read the text on a 28 inch 4k screen it will be way better. 4 1080 programs or 2 1080 and one streched program on top very good for audio/video editing. Or 2 big displays split in two for one work program and documentation/browser.
 

taylorhuston

Distinguished
Jul 26, 2007
48
0
18,530
As a coder that uses his monitors in portrait orientation a lot I can offer 2 things I have learned.

1: I wouldn't go more then 24" for portrait orientation. 24" is already pretty tall when you rotate it, 27" would just be awkward I would think. An Asus 27" moniter, in portrait, would be just a little over 25" tall. To put that in perspective, that's about as tall as a 46" Vizio tv is. When you're sitting less then 2 feet from it, that's a lot of cranking your neck up and down.

2: If you do end up getting a 24" and using it in portrait, look for a 1920x1200 if you can. I know this isn't easy, as that resolution was never very popular for all but the power users, so it's on the rare and expensive side. But my monitors are 1920x1080, and they do look a little skinny when in portrait. 120 pixels wider doesn't sound like a lot, but that's more then an extra 10%, and I think would go a long way.

That being said, a nice 27" 1440p monitor in landscape is plenty of real estate vertically, and I think the option of being able to comfortably have two (or less comfortably but doable three) source documents open side by side far outweighs an extra 500 pixels of vertical real estate, that again you're just going to have to drank your neck up and down to see all of anyways.