The state of 4K gaming: What you need to know, from pricing to performance needs
4K gaming, limited to extremely well-off gamers in its infancy, is starting to seem more attainable for mainstream players. (Note that for the purposes of this article we’re defining 3840x2160 resolution as 4K.) We’ve seen recent drops in 4K display pricing to semi-affordable levels, and graphics technology has advanced as well.
The true state of 4K gaming is more complex than a few price drops, though. Let’s dig into the realities and compromises involved with pixel-packed play on today’s hardware.
Display prices keep dropping
The good news is, 4K models are available today for well below $500. Acer’s 23.9-inch K242HQ is currently available for about $350, for example, and companies like Dell, AOC, ASUS, and others also offer relatively affordable 4K displays. Heck, there’s already off-brand 4K monitors for sale on sites like Monoprice—if that doesn’t prove 4K has gone mainstream, we don’t know what does.
In addition to affordable desktop displays, a number of notebooks have begun shipping with panels sporting 4K resolutions as well. MSI and Lenovo, among others, offer notebooks with 4K displays, Samsung has hinted at 4K mobile displays in future smartphones, and next-gen 8K televisions are poised to arrive before the year is out as well.
Pushing the pixels
It’s important to pay attention to the display technology before you buy. As is the case with lower-resolution displays, 4K panels are available using a number of different technologies, like IPS, VA, or TN.
IPS, or In-Plane Switching, panels (and its variants) are typically the most desirable. IPS panels offer better color reproduction and viewing angles than TN panels, but may have slower response times or refresh rates. VA (Vertical Alignment) panels usually have the same advantages over TN panels, along with much better contrast ratios, but they’re typically slower than both IPS and TN panels.
TN (Twisted Nematic) panels are the most affordable and usually offer the best response times and refresh rates, but color reproduction and viewing angles aren’t the best. Choosing the right panel type for your setup will depend on your use case. Graphics pros will likely be best served by an IPS panel, while gamers may prefer the speed of a TN panel. The lines are blurring, however, as TN panels improve in quality and IPS panels get faster and more affordable.
For much greater detail on Ultra HD monitor technology, check out PCWorld’s primer on 4K displays.
Graphics cards run the show
All 4K monitors pack a ton of pixels, four times the number of pixels of a “Full HD” 1080p display. To push those pixels, some significant graphics horsepower may be necessary, depending on your use case.
Most current-generation, mainstream graphics cards and integrated graphics processors are able to power 4K displays just fine, provided they’ve got the right connectivity. Many 4K monitors have DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort inputs, but you’ll need HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort to achieve smooth 60Hz refresh rates. With HDMI 1.1 or DVI, you’ll typically end up running either at a lower 24–30Hz refresh rate, or at a lower-than-native resolution. You may not think the difference is noticeable on the desktop—but it very much is. Mouse movements and on-screen animations are herky-jerky at 24Hz, and gaming is horrible.
Although lowly integrated graphics can power a 4K display, rendering a game at playable framerates at such a high resolution is a different story altogether. A powerful GPU is a must-have if you want to rock the latest and greatest PC titles at 4K.
To give some examples, AMD’s Radeon Fury X and Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 980 Ti, the companies’ current $650 flagship graphics cards, can both render a game like Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor at about 38 frames per second (fps) with ultra-quality graphics settings. That’s a decent-enough framerate that falls into playable territory, but it’s a far cry from the 60 fps threshold that’s ideal for a smooth, solid gaming experience.
Turn to a more taxing game like Dragon Age Inquisition, and the Fury X and GTX 980 Ti can only muster about 25.7 and 27.3 fps, respectively, with ultra-quality settings at 3840x2160. That’s a virtual slideshow by PC gamer standards—through dropping down to high-quality graphics settings provides a frame-rate boost.
Now let’s talk dual-GPU. At this point in time, a single flagship graphics card will be adequate for smooth framerates at 4K resolutions only with some in-game image quality settings turned down in the latest titles. Older titles that aren’t as graphically intense may be fine, though. Pairing up graphics cards like the Fury X and GTX 980 Ti—or even less pricey models like the Radeon 390 or GTX 970—in CrossFire or SLI configurations would produce playable framerates in most titles, if you’ve got the funds, while buying a FreeSync- or G-Sync-compatible 4K monitor can help sub-60-fps gameplay feel more smooth.
Check out PCWorld’s review of CrossFire’d AMD Fury cards for some numbers on what dual-GPU setups are capable of at 4K resolution. Nvidia’s GTX 980 and 980 Ti are also tested in SLI in that review.
Image quality considerations
Texture and shadow quality settings, anti-aliasing and aniso filtering, and resolutions can all be decreased if you’re trying to achieve playable framerates at 4K. But you don’t want to dial things too far back and make a game look relatively terrible to smooth things out. The whole point of a 4K display is to enjoy the benefits of sharper, higher-quality on-screen images. Reducing in-game image quality somewhat defeats the purpose.
You can, however, dial things back slightly without detracting too badly from your gaming experience. Dialing texture and shadow quality back in some games isn’t always noticeable when things are in motion. And the need for anti-aliasing is greatly diminished at ultra-high resolutions, but it still shouldn’t be eliminated altogether. In addition to smoothing out edges, anti-aliasing also helps minimize the “stair-stepping” that happens on angled surfaces when in motion.
How far you can dial things back varies from game to game. Experiment with settings to see just how low you can go before the on-screen imagery is no longer to your satisfaction.
Whether it’s worth upgrading to 4K, especially if you already have a 1440p panel, is another question altogether. Many enthusiasts are currently contemplating fast 144Hz 2560x1440 panels or 60-75Hz 4K panels. This choice is going to come down to personal preference for most users. 1440p is still a fairly high resolution, and the benefits of a high refresh rate are immediately noticeable—everything from mouse movements to on-screen animation are smoother. At 4K though, individual pixels are almost indiscernible at a normal sitting distance, which makes for ultra-sharp text and edges.
4K gaming by the numbers
Taking all the display, graphics, and other considerations into account, your total cost for 4K gaming may vary—but assume it’ll be upward.
Pricing on 4K monitors depends on the panel technology used, size, and features. Entry-level 4K monitors in the 27-inch to 29-inch range with TN panels can currently be had for about $350 to $500, with minimal connectivity or adjustability, whereas high-end, professional, pre-calibrated 30-plus-inch 4K displays with IPS panels and an array of inputs can cost upwards of $3300. Some of the highest-rated mainstream 4K displays with IPS panels fall within the $600-$1000 range, however—including many with FreeSync or G-Sync compatibility—so some fairly high quality 4K monitors are within reach.
The upgrades don’t end there, however. If you want to game with smooth framerates, and don’t have a high-end GPU, a GPU upgrade may also be in order. If you already have a modern, $300-plus graphics card like the GTX 970 or Radeon 290/390 on up, simply buying another one and running them in SLI/CrossFire is your cheapest route to glorious 4K, albeit with the extra hassles that sometimes come with multiple GPU setups. Otherwise, buying a new, 4K-capable flagship graphics card or a pair of cheaper graphics cards will cost you at least $650.
Note that more powerful single- or multi-card graphics setups may require you to upgrade your power supply as well. You won’t be running dual Radeon 390X cards on a 500-watt PSU. If you need a new power supply to handle all that graphical juice, a reputable 1000W PSU will set you back another $80 or so.
Add it all up and you’re realistically looking at a starting entry price of roughly $1300 or so to get into 4K gaming, with an upper ceiling reaching into the thousands—and that’s only if you don’t have to upgrade anything beyond your graphics card, monitor, and power supply. A whole new PC would, of course, cost far more.
In other words, while 4K displays are finally slipping down into the pricey, but still doable range for mainstream computer users, the sheer graphical firepower needed to run a halfway decent gaming-ready 4K monitor still puts Ultra HD gaming out of the financial reach of most PC gamers, at least for the next year or two.
