4k Monitor for Standard desktop use

Indie

Indie

Indie

Soldato
Joined
11 Jul 2006
Posts
4,530
Location
Cradley, West Midlands
Hi Guys,

There is a partner at the firm I work for requesting a 4k monitor for his work PC....

I've personally never used one before, and the closest I've come to 4k is looking at the pretty TV's in shop windows.

I also don't see the point in how this can be beneficial to him when he's using a work PC. Daily tasks would include Windows 7 OS, Ms Office usage, Internet browsing and some bespoke Record management software from the early 2000's.

Either way, he's a partner, he's going to throw money at it so what is the best way to make it happen? I'm assuming I'd need to get hold of a GPU capable of 4k to start with.

The standard spec of PC we have here:
i5 4570 @ 3.2GHz
4GB RAM
no GPU

Any recommendations?
 
snips86x said:
Seems a little over the top, wouldn't a 27" or 34" be a better choice?
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I absolutely 100% agree. I've used up any form of argument I could possibly think of with this guy but he's adamant he wants a 4k display :(
 
I would have one for work in a heartbeat if they'd do it. In terms of productivity it's great, being able to view four times as much content as I can on a 1080p panel.

However, that only works if you leave DPI at standard, and that makes 28" a bit small for general use. Is he talking about 32" or 40"?
 
Indie said:
I also don't see the point in how this can be beneficial to him when he's using a work PC.
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Properly scaled text on a 4K display is nicer to read. Like 150 dpi vs 300 dpi on a laser printer.

But you need to find out why he wants a 4K screen. Does he want nicer text? Or to see more at once?
 
Jim99 said:
I would have one for work in a heartbeat if they'd do it. In terms of productivity it's great, being able to view four times as much content as I can on a 1080p panel.

However, that only works if you leave DPI at standard, and that makes 28" a bit small for general use. Is he talking about 32" or 40"?
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He's looking at 27" +

so if 32 is best then.. that!
 
Quartz said:
Properly scaled text on a 4K display is nicer to read. Like 150 dpi vs 300 dpi on a laser printer.

But you need to find out why he wants a 4K screen. Does he want nicer text? Or to see more at once?
Click to expand...

Generally, more real-estate over it looking pretty. at least, that's what he keeps mentioning in every conversation I hear.
 
OK, so taking the real-estate route: if he wants to use it like a normal 22" 1080 display, then you'll need the 40" Phillips to achieve similar DPI.

Around ~32" should be OK, but don't be surprised if he suddenly decides that the text is too small and he doesn't like it. Then you've got to up the DPI, and probably make any software you use a mess, or scrap the idea and get something else.
 
Indie said:
Generally, more real-estate over it looking pretty. at least, that's what he keeps mentioning in every conversation I hear.
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And he doesn't want a second monitor? Has he tried a monitor in portrait mode? I'm assuming he's a lawyer and thus is reading text all day in which case it's height rather than width that are required.

If he's okay with spending money, then get a 28" 4K, a 34" 3440x1440, and a 40" 4K, set up a PC, and ask him to choose between them. Then distribute the other monitors among the other staff. You'll need to check that the Displayport port on his PC is capable of driving 4k @ 60Hz, but add-in cards are cheap.
 
He doesn't want a second monitor. Although most of the other staff are happy with 23" x 2. Nothing fancy just the HP EliteDisplay E231's.

Tried portrait too and he's not a fan either.

In other news, He's already gone and purchased a 4k monitor. Asus PB287Q 28" good/bad? either way, its arriving tomorrrow.

I'd doubt these PC's are capable of driving 4k, but who knows. HP ProDesk 600. Oh, and its SFF. Any specific cards you'd recommend?

thanks for the advice so far guys.

EDIT: he even purchased from a competitor as well. boo!
 
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That's a gaming monitor. It uses TN rather than IPS. He may be disappointed with the quality of the picture.

The specifications page for the Prodesk 600 says it has two Displayport ports, but not whether they support 4k at 60 Hz.
 
Who will be the one to sign off the purchase order? Have they been contacted and has the request been approved? I would imagine there's a process for this to review the "needs" for this user based on the spend, quantity of work and a solid justification!
 
Yeah Been looking at that and couldn't really find anything. I'll wait for it to arrive tomorrow and see what happens I guess!

I'm not entirely sure why he's just gone and brought one without me even getting back to him. People like this seriously rile me up!

Looking at nvidia compatibility list. the GTX 750 low profile seems to fit the bill should the on board displayports not be suitable.

snips86x said:
Who will be the one to sign off the purchase order? Have they been contacted and has the request been approved? I would imagine there's a process for this to review the "needs" for this user based on the spend, quantity of work and a solid justification!
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Oh yeah there is a process. It just appears he's flipped it the bird. Unless he's purchased it out of his own money...
 
Indie said:
Yeah Been looking at that and couldn't really find anything. I'll wait for it to arrive tomorrow and see what happens I guess!

I'm not entirely sure why he's just gone and brought one without me even getting back to him. People like this seriously rile me up!

Looking at nvidia compatibility list. the GTX 750 low profile seems to fit the bill should the on board displayports not be suitable.

Oh yeah there is a process. It just appears he's flipped it the bird. Unless he's purchased it out of his own money...
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lol - I tried that one and it would need to go through H&S :rolleyes:
 
If he does manage to get this authorized to roll out to other members of staff, any recommendations on monitors. It would need to be around the £300 mark to make it cost effective I reckon.

2x 23" monitors comes up at around £320, with no extra GPU needed.

DELL P281Q 28
iiyama ProLite B2888UHSU-B1

On the plus side if he does pull it off, I'd need one myself to actually test.. ahem!
 
You are going to be riddled with complaints if you try to roll out 28" 4K across the business. I don't know anyone other than myself who is happy to use them at standard DPI, and increasing DPI will cause major issues with third party software in most cases.

That said, I'd always go for the Dell.
 
You might need to have a test system with Windows 10 as I understand the font scaling is much improved.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, but a 28" 4K monitor is mainly a qualitative improvement thanks to the high dpi. Properly scaled text is simply nicer to see. It's easier on the eyes.
 
I have a 40" tv as a 4K monitor, it's too big to be comfortable and i have it as far away from me as i can without it falling off the back of the cabinet. 28-32" would be much nicer but i couldnt find a 32" 4k tv.
 
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