4K Monitor question

killroy67

killroy67

[H]ard|Gawd
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Oct 16, 2006
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Im thinking of getting aa 27in 4k LG monitor replacing my Dell 1440P. Im just wondering how my desktop windows and fonts will look, if it will be very small and such. Would I be able to use Windows scaling or just run the monitor in 1440p ??
 
killroy67 said:
Im thinking of getting aa 27in 4k LG monitor replacing my Dell 1440P. Im just wondering how my desktop windows and fonts will look, if it will be very small and such. Would I be able to use Windows scaling or just run the monitor in 1440p ??
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You won't want to run the monitor at 2560x1440. That would defeat the purpose of going with a 4K display in the first place. Yes, font scaling works but it will make somethings look a little weird and some applications don't handle that too well. Though, you can usually get away with 125% scaling which isn't too bad. If you need to go higher, it will usually work and newer versions of Windows and newer applications tend to handle this better than legacy OSes and application software. As far as I am concerned, it doesn't make sense to go 4K unless you are going to 32" or larger displays. Of course, someone will chime in and talk about how great a 27" 4K looks given the higher PPI. There is truth in that but I don't think that's worth the trade offs for everything else outside of gaming. For reference, I do have a 28" 4K display and a 43" 4K display.
 
killroy67 said:
Im thinking of getting aa 27in 4k LG monitor replacing my Dell 1440P. Im just wondering how my desktop windows and fonts will look, if it will be very small and such. Would I be able to use Windows scaling or just run the monitor in 1440p ??
Click to expand...
If you have a 4k TV on hand, it would be possible to have some idea how well scaling work or not on your desktop Application
 
LukeTbk said:
If you have a 4k TV on hand, it would be possible to have some idea how well scaling work or not on your desktop Application
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The TV is not a good analog for this. The fact is that text on a 40"+ TV will be much easier to read than it would be on a 27-28" 4K monitor.
 
Dan_D said:
You won't want to run the monitor at 2560x1440. That would defeat the purpose of going with a 4K display in the first place. Yes, font scaling works but it will make somethings look a little weird and some applications don't handle that too well. Though, you can usually get away with 125% scaling which isn't too bad. If you need to go higher, it will usually work and newer versions of Windows and newer applications tend to handle this better than legacy OSes and application software. As far as I am concerned, it doesn't make sense to go 4K unless you are going to 32" or larger displays. Of course, someone will chime in and talk about how great a 27" 4K looks given the higher PPI. There is truth in that but I don't think that's worth the trade offs for everything else outside of gaming. For reference, I do have a 28" 4K display and a 43" 4K display.
Click to expand...
I run my 28" 4K screen at the equivalent scaling of 1440p. I find this is a good compromise for desktop space and text rendering at this size. At 32" I would probably go for 125% instead.

It is a tradeoff for sharper image. I feel operating systems could use more granular options between 100 and 125% scaling because as the size of the screen goes up, without compensating with viewing distance things get too big and scaling becomes less useful. Finally when you reach large enough sizes scaling again becomes a must due to the increased viewing distance needed to not have it feel overwhelming.

For gaming I would prefer larger than 27-28" size at 4K.
 
Dan_D said:
You won't want to run the monitor at 2560x1440. That would defeat the purpose of going with a 4K display in the first place.
Click to expand...
My thinking was to run the desktop in 1440p while choosing 4k when in game settings. As far as the scaling goes, running it ay 125% will that affect when you are in game?
 
After gaming on a displays over 40", I won't go back to smaller displays. I also think 40" is roughly perfect for productivity. Of course, your monitor, chair, etc. have to be the right height to make that optimal. I think 34"-38" displays are good for that. Of course, things like that LG 49" ultra-wide screen would be great for productivity as well. That being said, I haven't tried one of those for myself as it would be less than ideal for gaming.
killroy67 said:
My thinking was to run the desktop in 1440p while choosing 4k when in game settings. As far as the scaling goes, running it ay 125% will that affect when you are in game?
Click to expand...
No, it won't impact games.
 
Dan_D said:
The TV is not a good analog for this. The fact is that text on a 40"+ TV will be much easier to read than it would be on a 27-28" 4K monitor.
Click to expand...
It give an idea if part of an (often old) application does not scale at all, while other part does creating potential issue, sitting distance does not make necessarily text higher to read on a tv (often tempted to scale at 300% on them)
 
Dan_D said:
You won't want to run the monitor at 2560x1440. That would defeat the purpose of going with a 4K display in the first place. Yes, font scaling works but it will make somethings look a little weird and some applications don't handle that too well. Though, you can usually get away with 125% scaling which isn't too bad. If you need to go higher, it will usually work and newer versions of Windows and newer applications tend to handle this better than legacy OSes and application software. As far as I am concerned, it doesn't make sense to go 4K unless you are going to 32" or larger displays. Of course, someone will chime in and talk about how great a 27" 4K looks given the higher PPI. There is truth in that but I don't think that's worth the trade offs for everything else outside of gaming. For reference, I do have a 28" 4K display and a 43" 4K display.
Click to expand...
Good advice. I've found scaling has gotten better in recent years and I rarely encounter problems. But still, it's easier just to run displays at their native resolution and scaling. 4K is overkill for a 28".
 
kasakka said:
I feel operating systems could use more granular options between 100 and 125% scaling because as the size of the screen goes up, without compensating with viewing distance things get too big and scaling becomes less useful.
Click to expand...
Windows 11 does allow you to set a custom display scale if you click on Scale to open a submenu instead of selecting from the drop down. Unintuitive interface...
1668477787958.png


1668477596263.png
 
I decided to give it a try, I tried setting my 1440p monitor to 1080p and the desktop and stuff looked fine. When in game setting I could still select 1440p for the resolution and it looked great. So I'll see what happens, worst case I'll just return it to BB.
 
grim4593 said:
Windows 11 does allow you to set a custom display scale if you click on Scale to open a submenu instead of selecting from the drop down. Unintuitive interface...
View attachment 526749

View attachment 526748
Click to expand...
Except it doesn't work right.
  • It applies to all monitors.
  • It cannot be changed on the fly and requires logging out and back in.
  • It scales text but picks the "closest" UI size. For e.g. 110% scale the UI would be scaled 100% but text 110%.
It's a legacy thing they have left in that IMO just does not work well.
 
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