Monday 20 October 2014

4K monitor and multiple sessions

I have recently purchased a 4K monitor (the Samsung U28D590).  The monitor itself is very nice, but has contributed directly (and not in a good way) to my recent lack of posts.


Firstly the good:
  • A crystal clear picture, very high resolution monitor.  It is better than my eyesight.
  • Ability to have 6 Eve sessions on the same screen all at the same time.  I am successfully running 4 sessions at the same time on the same monitor without any overlap.

These are very good things.

I normally don't do high resolution graphics on the web, but this is what I look at, on a 28" monitor.




Edit(again): Raw image at https://www.dropbox.com/s/ite5qzmwavw6chs/4ksettings.png?dl=0

The not so good:
  • I needed a motherboard bios upgrade to even boot while the monitor was plugged in.  My motherboard is from October 2012 http://foo-eve.blogspot.com/2012/10/beer-induced-afk.html
  • I needed a new graphics card to display anything when the monitor was plugged in. (swapped out a GTX 9800 for a GTX750)
  • The GTX750 is 4k rated and displays the screen at 3180x2160 @ 30Hz, or I can split the screens into 2 and have each half running at 1960x2160 @ 60Hz, I have a colour difference at the boundary of the two virtual monitors.  If I had purchased a display port graphics card I could have the entire monitor as a single screen @ 60Hz.
  • Most programs are optimized for less pixels on screen, and don't allow you to upsize selectively.   I find myself faceplanting my monitor to read some things. Reading things like the graphics display settings window that is shown top right is an example. (Tweaking the UI scaling does help for Eve).
  • Getting advice on these monitors was hard.  There was only one 4k monitor stocked at our local shops, and while I looked as well as I could online, I missed that it would not run my preferred frame-rate. I live in a minor Capital City in Australia.
I would recommend 4k monitors for those buying new gaming or work PC's, where you have someone to help resolve any technical issues.

Things to consider when moving to a 4K monitor:
  • These monitors are bleeding edge.  How will you cope when you metaphorically cut yourself?
  • None of  the local shops knew much about 4k monitors.  Do your own research online.
  • Not all 4K graphics cards are created equal, even when you purchase one specifically. Ensure your card runs the resolution at the required frame rate.
  • When you finally get it running, enjoy your multi-boxing.


4 comments:

  1. From the (updated) dropbox link you should be able to download the full image. Neither blogger nor dropbox played nicely with my first attempt

    ReplyDelete
  2. ok - so now I'm jealous...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I gotta admit I am a wee jealous... except for 2 things... 1) your resolutions issues... and B) I have NO IDEA where I would put the thing... I play on my couch, with my laptop actually on my lap and a 22" screen on the side table on my left... Guess I'd have to move to a desk and, well, that aint gonna happen! LOL

    Still, yea... jealous. =]

    ReplyDelete
  4. I debated getting a 4k monitor but went for this baby instead:
    http://www.asus.com/uk/Monitors/ROG_SWIFT_PG278Q/
    I find it delivers amazing performance and didn't push my dual gpu setup as much as a 4k would. Main problem for 4k would be vram for me (2x670)

    I end up playing eve in full screen and enjoy the added real estate.

    If you're on win8 you should be able to scale your ui automatically so that it works better, I know I had the problem with my qHD laptop...

    ReplyDelete

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