Using a large 4k TV for work

petertr2000 · 16 Feb 2021 at 10:59

Hoping to get some advice before I move into my new home-office.

I currently have a 2560*1080 29" ultrawide, and I sit on a very small desk ~60cm from the screen and I find it fine.
BUT my work is one of those jobs where I need to work with 3-4+ files at once, and while I can snap 2 files to either side of the current monitor, I'm still having to juggle a lot.

I think adding a 2nd monitor would help, but wouldn't a 2160p TV work better? I'd be able to snap 4 tiles at 1080p resolution to work with at once.

My new desk will be 80cm deep, so I'll be sat about 80cm from it (as it'll be on its own stand - window behind the desk, so I cannot wall mount it)
So going from 60 to 80cm would mean I can move up in overall size + I could live with a little more side-to-side anyway. I'd need to go big enough so that the content doesn't become tiny at 3840 x 2160 (1.5x wider, 2xtaller), my eyesight isn't great tbh.

60hz is fine by me, I do a little gaming, but nothing serious and my gpu won't be able to handle any more anyway (1050) - my only refresh rate concern is around ghosting as I move windows/mouse around the screen - is that even a thing anymore with TV's as monitors?

Can anyone advise on the screen size that seems to fit what I need - I'm thinking around 40"? And anything I need to look for?

mid_gen · 16 Feb 2021 at 11:25

I think the problem you'll have with trying to use 4x 1080p areas on a single large 16:9 display, is the same problem you have with 2x 16:9 displays, which is that the ergonomic sweet spot isn't very usable. You could setup FancyZones to have a central position for your primary window, but then you're stuck with awkward spaces round the edges.

Plus, your neck is quite happy to look side to side for long periods, but up and down? Not so much.

With 32:9, your primary window is sat right in front, at the right height. You have the main thing you're working on in the middle, with ancillary information a quick glance to the sides.

I've used a variety of different monitor setups over the years, but my current 5120x1440 is by far the best. The only upgrade for me would be 2160 vertical pixels and even higher PPI....but the GPU demands for gaming get a bit silly then!

petertr2000 · 16 Feb 2021 at 11:35

mid_gen said:
I think the problem you'll have with trying to use 4x 1080p areas on a single large 16:9 display, is the same problem you have with 2x 16:9 displays, which is that the ergonomic sweet spot isn't very usable. You could setup FancyZones to have a central position for your primary window, but then you're stuck with awkward spaces round the edges.

Plus, your neck is quite happy to look side to side for long periods, but up and down? Not so much.

With 32:9, your primary window is sat right in front, at the right height. You have the main thing you're working on in the middle, with ancillary information a quick glance to the sides.

I've used a variety of different monitor setups over the years, but my current 5120x1440 is by far the best. The only upgrade for me would be 2160 vertical pixels and even higher PPI....but the GPU demands for gaming get a bit silly then!

My original thought was to buy a 2nd hand identical UW and place them top/bottom - I suspect that would be much worse than a single screen. But I take your point - I do have concerns about such a large screen.
I don't think there is a good solution - if not for single-large screens (TVs) or UWs, I'd be looking at 4 x normal monitors here I think.

So the question is, what's the least-worst option?
Going smaller on screen is the variable that will help, or would a 37" 16:9 just be too small to actually read everything. 40" was twice the screen area for 1.5 times the pixels - but I'll be sitting 33% further away. MATHS!

Suppose I could consider going superUW as you said to fit 3 screens in a row, and go to 1440p.
3 "screens" are better than 2.

mid_gen · 16 Feb 2021 at 11:40

I had a pair of 32" 4k monitors, and one thing I did really like that the dot pitch, I ran them at 125% scaling and you do get loads of real-estate, and pin sharp text....that was nice.

It was horrible for gaming and ergonomics though.

petertr2000 · 16 Feb 2021 at 11:45

mid_gen said:
I had a pair of 32" 4k monitors, and one thing I did really like that the dot pitch, I ran them at 125% scaling and you do get loads of real-estate, and pin sharp text....that was nice.

It was horrible for gaming and ergonomics though.

32" x 2 sounds like a leap too far, I can see why it wasn't easy to use.
Single 37" or 40" should be ok?

I tend to game in a 1080p window anyway and its rare I do anything that fps matters for - usually Civ or Footy Manager (although occasionally old school CS or F1 games)

petertr2000 · 7 Apr 2021 at 12:10

.
Well, I've just bought an LG 43UN7300 - seems to get good reviews as a PC Monitor, so I'll give it a go. Will report back!

I was hoping to get a 2nd hand curved ~40-43" 4k TV, but they're really rare - the only ones you see for sale have broken screens. So I gave up and just bought this one instead as its so cheap

petertr2000 · 22 Apr 2021 at 10:54

Update: I've had a couple of weeks with the UN7300 now.

First issue I had was that my MSI laptop HDMI port can't carry 4k 60Hz, so I had to buy a mini dp to hdmi cable. First one I bought still didn't do it, and I wasted a few hours reading/troubleshooting before giving up and buying a 2nd cable - which worked instantly.

Putting the sources into PC mode was "fun". You HAVE to connect the TV to your wifi before you can edit the sources to set this. WHY??? But anyway, its done now. Game & PC mode set on HDMI 1 (personal laptop) and 2 (work laptop)

Picture is great, text is very clear at 150% scaling, much bigger & more readable than on my previous monitor.

I'm using PowerToys > Fancyzones to create 4 equal "screens" for my work laptop - its very very good. Exactly what I needed.

There is a bit of a viewing-angle issue at the far edges, but its not too bad. I guess that would have been where having a curved screen would have helped? But they're rare as rocking horse poo and I gave up waiting for one to come up on ebay when I decided to buy this.

Issues
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Occasional screen flashes / blackouts of backgrounds. Not sure what this is, but I can't imagine I'll be able to troubleshoot it as it goes away after a couple of seconds

And then the big issue I've been trying to fix. When my laptop goes to sleep, the screen goes to standby mode. When I turn it back on and unlock windows, all my applications are moved to the top left of the screen - windows is going into a different resolution when its "disconnected" from the laptop. Also, it causes issues with explorer.exe, as things like the windows start button (and the windows key on the keyboard) stop working.
Loads of other people have this issue though, its nothing to do with the screen itself.

Overall, very happy with the purchase.