2K Monitor vs 4K

Oliver Pohlmann

Oliver Pohlmann

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Hi guys,

I'm currently using my old 1080p 24" Dell U2414 Ultrasharp monitor but want to upgrade to a 27" version.

I'm debating between the newish Dell U2717D (2570 x 1440) and the brand new Dell U2718Q (3840 x 2160).
The price difference is £450 vs £560.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01CFTU5GW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ZcraAbRBSZAZ7
Vs
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07439KLK5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_zdraAbA0DZ4W9

I had always presumed I would punt for a 4k display come upgrade time, but I'm reading mixed opinions. Some forums say 4k is overkill on a 27" display. Plus there are scaling issues on Windows and Adobe. Coupled with this, the reviews on Amazon for that 4k monitor are poor. Others are saying there's a reason Apple make a 4k and 5k iMac screen in 27", so it obviously works well for creatives.

My question is, will I regret not going for a 4k monitor? Or is the highly-rated 2k version (which still has double the pixel count of my current display) more than enough?
 
The only way to find out is to find somewhere that has both where you can see for yourself.
 
Oliver Pohlmann said:
Hi guys,

I'm currently using my old 1080p 24" Dell U2414 Ultrasharp monitor but want to upgrade to a 27" version.

I'm debating between the newish Dell U2717D (2570 x 1440) and the brand new Dell U2718Q (3840 x 2160).
The price difference is £450 vs £560.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01CFTU5GW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ZcraAbRBSZAZ7
Vs
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07439KLK5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_zdraAbA0DZ4W9

I had always presumed I would punt for a 4k display come upgrade time, but I'm reading mixed opinions. Some forums say 4k is overkill on a 27" display. Plus there are scaling issues on Windows and Adobe. Coupled with this, the reviews on Amazon for that 4k monitor are poor. Others are saying there's a reason Apple make a 4k and 5k iMac screen in 27", so it obviously works well for creatives.

My question is, will I regret not going for a 4k monitor? Or is the highly-rated 2k version (which still has double the pixel count of my current display) more than enough?
Click to expand...

At standard viewing distance, I believe the human eye can't differentiate between displays once you reach 120PPI anyway.
 
Best to look at the pixel density if scaling is an issue:

24" 1920*1080 PPI: 92
27" 2560*1440 PPI: 108
27" 3840*2160 PPI: 163

Going for the 1440p screen is going to feel very similar to what you have now, without scaling buttons and text will be slightly smaller and the extra real estate is then used for more of your workflow on the screen.
I recently bought a 4k 15.6" laptop which has a PPI of 280, without scaling the buttons in adobe software are tiny and without knowing where things are can be a struggle, for the first week I was getting headaches but photographs look fantastic on it. I would quite happily upgrade my 27" screens to 4k if I was buying new now, but I don't use scaling.
 
I went straight from a 1080 to 4K and have no regrets. I initially was going for a 2570 screen but after lots of research and reading reviews on what was available decided to jump to 4K.

Scaling in Photoshop is a slight problem with text and the toolbar icons quite small. I'm running Windows 7 and I believe that Windows 10 is better. I don't have any problems with Lightroom or anything else though.

Having said that mine is a 31.5 inch BenQ so whether that makes a difference to scaling compared with a 27inch I couldn't say. Pics look great on it. Would never go back to 1080. Pricey, but some neat touches on it and is hardware calibrated instead of modifying the graphics card output. I did have to replace my graphics card to drive it at full res as mine was a bit out of date.
 
Just check your graphics card can handle 4k, my dell Xps 15 from 4 yrs ago can only handle 1440p, a proper PC will prob manage 4k
 
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