Usage: Windows 8.1 and Gaming Performance
Now that Windows 8 is going out the door and Windows 8.1 is the focus (AMD's latest driver won't even support Windows 8) we can see what exactly the Windows experience is like when using a 4K monitor. Of course, with a resolution of 3840×2160 and a 28-in screen size, we are talking about some serious pixel density which offers some big benefits as well as some problems to be solved.
First, I don't think there will be very many people capable of using a 4K, 28-in monitor at standard viewing distances with standard 100% scaling. The pixels are just too small and the icons and text are just too tiny to really be readable. Instead, expect to take advantage of Windows improved scaling with 8.1.
There is a downside to using 150% or 200% scaling of course – you don't get as much extra "real estate" as you might have expected originally on your monitor. Instead, you get slightly better real estate compared to a 2560×1440 monitor but with a sharper image, more defined text. Sharper images (when browsing the Internet) though will depend on proper implementation of higher DPI source.
There is little that can beat the screen real estate of a single 28-in 4K monitor. Just look at how much browser space you get with two snapped IE windows!
Click to Enlarge any of the images on this page
But it isn't all roses. Still today some applications don't handle the Windows 8.1 scaling correctly and Google Chrome is one such example. Compare the text clarity of the image below with IE on the right and Chrome on the left.
Here it is zoomed in a bit.
Chrome just isn't conforming to the default windows scaling rate (which we had set to 150% in this example) and as a result you get "fuzzy" text.
And some applications just freak out when Windows scaling is enabled. Check out Fraps for example.
Those examples aside, most other programs did quite well in my time with the ASUS PB287Q. I did include a set of four images below that will show you the desktop of our Windows 8.1 test machine under all four default scaling settings: 100%, 125%, 150% and 200%.
Windows 8.1 100% Scaling
Windows 8.1 125% Scaling
Windows 8.1 150% Scaling
Windows 8.1 200% Scaling
Animation of icon size changes in all four scaling modes
Not everything scales (Steam is an example of that) but most applications will work just fine with an adjusted Windows 8.1 system in my experiences.
Gaming Performance – Be Prepared
If you are a gamer that is used to cranking up your image quality settings without doing a lot of research, which has been quite common with the power of GPUs on 1080p screen in the past few years, then you need to adjust your expectations. Gaming at 4K is hard on GPU hardware and you are going to need some beefy cards to make it happen.
This article isn't meant to be a review of 4K gaming exactly but I wanted to showcase a few instances of performance so you know what to expected moving forward. Below I have included results from Crysis 3, Metro: Last Light and Battlefield 4 with a single GeForce GTX 780 Ti and a pair of them in SLI. Hopefully this give you an idea of what gaming at 3840×2160 is really like.
Battlefield 4 is actually the easiest on our hardware, able to run at about 46 FPS with GTX 780 Ti cards in SLI. Crysis 3 was able to high 47 FPS though we had to back down from the Very High preset to the High preset. Metro: Last Light at Very High couldn't break the 40 FPS mark.
Keep in mind that this is with more than $1200 worth of graphics hardware. If you only have a single GTX 780 Ti or a single Radeon R9 290X/290, then be prepared to scale back those settings if you want to hit the 3840×2160 resolution. You could of course run at 1920×1080 or 2560×1440 or particularly demanding games like these…but…really?
“The ASUS monitor, on the
“The ASUS monitor, on the left just has a level of flexibility that the Samsung option cannot offer”
It is your other left 🙂 Great review though…
Thanks, fixed!
Thanks, fixed!
now cram this into a 24″ 🙂
now cram this into a 24″ 🙂
Why would you want to? I
Why would you want to? I already think 28-in might be too small to really take advantage of this kind of pixel count.
I couldn’t agree more. I have
I couldn’t agree more. I have a 27 inch 1440P that I need to increase font sizes on to be comfortable. I have 20/20 vision in both eyes and I’m only 33 years old. I actually really like the look of the 32inch 1440P Benq just came out with but it’s a little slow for gaming. (TFTCentral)
I’m planning on using a Vizio P Series 50 Inch 4k as my primary computer monitor when it comes out. Assuming it supports Chroma Subsampling (4:4:4.) At 50 inches it would have almost the same PPI as a current 24 inch 1080p monitor.
For more info on Chroma Subsampling reference:
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1381724/official-4-4-4-chroma-subsampling-thread/330
I find the Dell UP2414Q
I find the Dell UP2414Q perfectly usable at normal distances with no scaling.
Will these SST 4k monitors
Will these SST 4k monitors ever come in larger sizes like 34-36″?
I agree with Ryan on this. A
I agree with Ryan on this. A 28″ 4K monitor is about the minimum size IMO without employing scaling / pixel doubling. 32″ is probably a bit more comfortable at native 3840×2160 but 24″ is likely unusable.
If you really want a 24″ 4K monitor then the Dell UP2414Q has been out for some time and has a better quality IPS display that will do 60Hz at 3840×2160. I’ve seen it for a low as ~$850 USD. I would have bought one myself but IMO it was too small overall and too small for the then MSRP of about ~$1300. Its also MST at 60Hz using the older UHD scales and I have heard some people stating that the two halves of the MST aren’t always in sync (this causes rips / tearing down the center of the screen).
I wouldn’t touch anything smaller then 28″ for 4K desktop use personally. I wish they would make 32″ or larger TN 4K displays for about ~$1000 USD or so.
Here’s the Chrome High DPI
Here’s the Chrome High DPI fix:
Go to chrome://flags and find the “HiDPI Support Windows” then set to enabled. Save, restart Chrome. Close Chrome again, and go to its properties. Go to the compatibility tab, and select “Disable display scaling on High DPI settings.” Apply, open up Chrome again, and voila, Chrome works just fine.
Why doesn’t Google enable this by default? No idea. But it’s frustrating because if you don’t know the option is there, there’s no way to find out about it. And it’s not exactly easy to enable.
I’ll give this a shot.
But
I'll give this a shot.
But you're right, it's beyond annoying that somehow this wasn't better integrated.
I’ve used it on a 32″ Dell 4K
I’ve used it on a 32″ Dell 4K monitor we got in at work. It definitely improves things a lot in terms of clarity. It still doesn’t look as good as IE does with scaling on, but it’s better.
I could not find the setting
I could not find the setting you mentioned.
I only found “Force high DPI mode Chrome OS”.
One of my colleagues
One of my colleagues discovered this this morning. They removed the setting with the latest version of Chrome. You now need to enter a registry change to enable High DPI mode. Honestly, at this point my feeling is Google wants to make it as difficult to enable as possible in an effort to make Windows look bad, but keep the code in there so as High DPI screen proliferate they can flip the switch once they start looking out of step.
Anyway, here’s a link to the changes that need to be made. I haven’t had the opportunity to see if this works, so use at your own risk:
https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/forum/#!topic/chromium-dev/U_K1NHuMLic
For monitor reviews can we
For monitor reviews can we get a picture taken from the bottom of the monitor for extreme angles. I have found TN panels fair far worse when veiwed from the bottom. This presents itself as a very obvious problem when you use portrait mode as either your left or right will go completely black. This has prevented me from setting up a portrait eyefinity display in the past. Thanks for the review.
Even if you set it up in
Even if you set it up in portait mode, you would still aim to look at the center, correct?
We did include one image from the top – but I'll look at the bottom to see if anything is different there.
In my line of work I have my
In my line of work I have my monitors on arms to show projects to clients sitting next to me, each view the monitor off center. When I did dual portrait the TN panels were completely unusable due to the aforementioned black effect. I prefer portrait mode becasue I work on webpages were height beats out width. And portrait is beautiful for long pages of code.
Although graphics performance
Although graphics performance scaling is mostly linear (for single card machines), I just drew a parallel between this and automobile top speed. The amount of hp needed to just push the air in front of your car increases dramatically with speed. 😀
My eyes are not that good
My eyes are not that good anymore…I’ll pass.
I thought it was 4320…Quad
I thought it was 4320…Quad HD ?
Qhd stands for 1280×720 *
Qhd stands for 1280×720 * 4.
4k commonly refers to 1920×1080 * 4.
720p is also HD. 1080p is FHD. QFHD doesn’t have the same ring as 4k.
4K is also known as UHD
4K is also known as UHD
4k and UHD are different.
DCI
4k and UHD are different.
DCI 4k = 4096 × 2160
UHD = 3840 × 2160
What are the chances of
What are the chances of future G-Sync support? Do you think ASUS will offer a 4k G-Sync monitor within the next year? I know they have the SWIFT at 1440p, but I’m looking for 4k. I see that ACER has a 4k G-Sync monitor coming soon, hope ASUS offers this as well. Do you think 4k is worth it without G-Sync, because most games will run sub 60fps, and G-Sync would be very helpful.
Hmm, I had the exact opposite
Hmm, I had the exact opposite thought, G-Sync is beneficial when your videocard is feeding the monitor 100+ fps and your monitor is locked at 60Hz, thus being unable to display it either beacause the v-sync on or showing tearing if v-sync is disabled. Then you will see the horizontal tearing across your screen. In this case any current available card in single mode will have a really hard time to perform over 60 fps
Hey Ryan
What do you think of
Hey Ryan
What do you think of the new LG 34UM95 34″ UltraWide Monitor
21:9 3440×1440
especially for gaming?
Will you be getting one in for review?
cheers
I am primarily a Photoshop
I am primarily a Photoshop user as opposed to being a gamer.
FPS will not be an issue in my case as I am looking for raw real estate. I need to know if my AMD A8-5600 on-board GPU will be able to push the necessary resolution?
Thanks.
Ryan.. need to fix this line
Ryan.. need to fix this line contained in the third from last paragraph of the article..
“I am guessing that demand, at least early in the release, will outstrip demand.”
Demand outstrip demand? Supply needs to replace one of those demands!!
Personally I find the good
Personally I find the good old 30″ 2560/1600 still works a treat, no need for any scaling and not that taxing that I need $3k worth of graphics card(s).
Still, why can’t Nvidia let us have 4x 750ti’s?
2x dual 750ti cards will do the trick.
If the 750ti can drive 1080p gaming with a 60w tdp then four of these at 240w tdp, much lower than the 1000+ watts of the high end cards, should be able to drive UHD resolutions.
I am wondering if you ran
I am wondering if you ran into any of the issues many of us early adopters have? 1st I had to test out 3 DP cables before I could get one that handled the 4k @ 60hz. 2nd the monitor doesn’t wake up from sleep and often clicks off and requires the power to be removed because it will detect the video signal again.
yeah my pb287q does this as
yeah my pb287q does this as well, it is really annoying to reach back and unplug it…
I found this Germany Review
I found this Germany Review of the 4K Monitor: Asus PB287Q Test
It seems to be quite good – but the translation sucks. 🙂
Just got this monitor and the
Just got this monitor and the 28″ size isn’t too small for 4K IMHO.
My experience with 30″ monitors is that, unless you want to sit halfway across the room (not a typical desk scenario), then you end up moving your *head* to pan across the screen, instead of just your eyes. That stinks, and the end result is you have additional real-estate that’s no more useful then just iconifying your apps or windows.
Does anyone have this working
Does anyone have this working in Picture-by-Picture mode? If yes, what is the max resolution you can get?
I do photography, editing,
I do photography, editing, and other graphic arts…some video games but not a lot. I’m looking for the best resolution and color (although I do have a Colormunki for top notch calibrating). I’m really interested in the ASUS 287Q 4K but have concerns about it not being an IPS panel. Another thing…I run Windows 7…not 8. Please give me some advice on whether or not I should get this monitor. If not, what is the best alternative?
Thanks! ML
Hi
I just got this monitor
Hi
I just got this monitor and have been playing around with it for a while but I can’t get it above 30 hz without lowering the resolution. I have tried installing different drivers and all that but I can’t seem to work out what is stopping me from turning it up.
Could you please help?
Because these are bad
Because these are bad monitors for gaming purposes
benq tn panel monitors the best for gaming ,
144hz, 1ms response time must for games for future savings too almost 3yr , benq now has good viewing angle
IPS no response time and refresh rate like that
i am also looking for a benq as all purpose works
couldn’t find any ips in 27″ with ips 144hz,1ms,under 400-500
just want to ask one thing if fhd good for 27″ or wqhd for browsing, gaming and movies?
I love this monitor, and it
I love this monitor, and it works great, but I have a huge problem – the OSD menu buttons placement. They couldn’t be in a worse position, being on the back so you can’t see them. Not to mention they’re incredibly tiny & close together that you can’t tell them apart, even with the display guides. It actually gets a little painful having to reach way underneath.
Is there a program that could provide access to the settings directly from the desktop, so that I wouldn’t need carpal tunnel surgery each time I change something?