27" 1440p vs 4k High Refresh Rate: 4K Worth Your Kidney? 

When he mentioned “being able to see the pixels” my dual 32” 1080p monitors told me to shut up

I am fortunate in that my eyesight is so crap these days that even CRT looks like 4k.

No, Dawid. "looking through a window into a game" sounds fucking awesome!

Dawid, I genuinely worry for your kidneys with some of these purchases - please stay healthy! xD

The Scalpocalypse, lets get that viral, its as catchy as the All Your base Zerowing upscaled

I was a huge 1440p guy. But decided to take the plunge for a 4k screen getting ps5 and it not natively supporting 1440. went from 27 1440p 144hz va panel to a 27inch 4k 144hz ips LG 27GN950-B. I kid you not I was converted at startup. RAZOR SHARP. In fps games I am able to see enemies at greater distances more clearly. it is such a game changer to the overal video quality if you have the hardware to run it. my 6800xt is coasting along 60-100fps + maxed out on most titles (no rtx, obviously)

I love seeing my dirty pixels, so 4K is really not worth it.

I appreciate the review. I recently got my hands on a used/refurbished Acer XV3 4k monitor for around $400.

I’m waiting for the parts to arrive for my ‘once in a lifetime build’. i9-13900k, RTX 4090 and a 4k 144hz monitor. I’m so freaking excited. I had a 1440p 165hz display on its way at first but decided to go 4k since I should be able to push the frames. I think I’ll end up returning the 1440p after having this reinforce my decision. Heck, I could even see a difference between the two displays in your video (desktop wallpaper) on my phone watching in 720p lol. Thank you for the excellent video! I also appreciated that you made a friendly call out to the other RU-vidr and his reviews (saw his first but came here still) 😊

27 inch 1440p 144hz is the absolute sweet spot. I have a 4K monitor I use for work and a 1440p gaming monitor sitting next to it, and the resolution is not that much different at that size. What is definitely different is the amount of power your GPU needs to create to do the 4K graphics.

I liked your Jeremy Clarkson outro with the "bombshell" ending. Nice!

you always sound appreciative(?) for those sponsorships, most other channels come across as "let's get this out of the way"

When I upgraded to an RTX3080 my 1080p display became a bottle neck.

“Acer XB27 many numbers behind it” 😂😂 well that’s one way to say a complicated name

It's Oct 2022 and graphics cards have come back to a couple of hundred over MSRP, and for the most part they are in stock most of the time. Thanks for the vid. I've been looking for justification to keep my excellent 1080P 24 inch monitor which was FREE! You saved me $500. Subbed.

I bought a Samsung G9 (1440p widescreen) to replace my nearly10 year old 32" 1080p vizio tv I was using. Depending on what is on the screen I can somewhat make out pixels but the improvement from 1080p is noticeable and that is if you discount all the extra real-estate to the sides as alot of games don't support widescreen and are better in window mode 16:9 aspect ratio. A 4k monitor may have been the better option as 1080p upscales to 4k beautifully whereas upscaling to 1440p with 1080p content, not so much, too much blocky text and other upscaling artifacts so you are really forced to run native or windowed mode to make it look right. As with most things it is a series of compromises so which can you afford and more importantly live with.

Rocking a 144 Hz 1080p monitor for 2 years now. Freesync/Gsync compatible. Still no urge to upgrade.

3080 and 1440p is the sweet spot for me for a long time. I'll go to 4k IF gpus become cheap / monitors, but my eyesight is so bad the UI of 4k is too small.

This video helped me a lot cheers mate.

Good luck Dawid's Kidney on you adventure! Where can I find the wallpaper, its dope.

I think the sweet spot is still 27" 1440P at 144HZ. I used a 4K panel and went back to my Acer Predator 1440P 165HZ IPS display. For the games that I play, higher refresh rates and being able to turn up the graphics settings matters more to me than the highest possible resolution. Of course if you have the money for a 3090, 5950X and 4K 120HZ display, this really doesn't matter.

Recently picked up a 27gn950-b and demoted my ex-main 1440p/144hz nitro vg1 to "media" status to phase an old 1080/60 screen out of my setup and I've gotta say, 4k 144hz is beautiful. I know the focus here was gaming, but keep in mind that it's still a really sharp looking buttery smooth panel for everything else you do as well. Still on the hunt for another 3080/3090 but my 2080ti seems to be doing alright even if it's not ideal anymore.

Great!! This video suits my needs, as I own both a Dell 27" 4K, 60 hz monitor, and an MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD (also 27", but has a refresh rate of a whopping 165 hz). Thank you, Dawid.

The system I'm getting will have a 3070 in it and I plan to go with a 27" 1440p monitor that can go at least 120Hz though most seem to be 144Hz these days. I feel like at the distance I'll be using it at, that's a good bet. One question, if I wanted to add 1 or two additional monitors as additional displays (not necessarily for gaming) does it matter if the refresh rate or resolution is the same?

I bought my Mrs a 4k for the front room 👍 am happy with my 2 144hz monitors , havnt seen her in about a week 👌win win

I have a 4k60hz monitor that I really like and have been really happy with. I don't play completive games. I mostly play single player games, and it more than suits my needs in that regard.

Thank You! That helped me a lot.

In my opinion, there is a huge difference between 1440p and 4K. This is to my eyes though, how good your eyes are play a part as well. Basically, 1080p at 25" looks extremely blurry, 1440p at 27" looks blurry, and 4K at 27" looks crystal clear. This is just my opinion and it's from a rather almost 1 meter viewing distance. I can't see the actual individual pixels, but looking at the image as a whole I can definitely see it being blurry on 1440p and thinking there's something wrong with my eyes. At 4K it's like I can see the image as it's intended to be seen.

And here I am happy with my 24" 1920x1200 Dell monitor that I got from Goodwill

I use a 32" 1440p monitor. I have sub-par vision, in fact, its pretty bad. I have a friend with a 4k 32" monitor and I do not see a visual difference other than my monitor has better color, which my friend agrees with. But what I do notice, is the drop in FPS in some games, and that is with a 3080 card. I will stick with my 1440 for now.

havng a 12900k and a 3080ti what would u get? a 2k 240hz monitor or 4k 144hz?

Love this channel!

i bought the 27gn950 and own a lg 34gpa83. honestly the 4k looks soo nice on the eye but its hard to hit that 120+ fps. my pc is running 5950x with 3080 FE and 32g ram . 1000w psu. ended up selling the 4k monitor its really not much difference with the 1440p . ultrawide is just hands down better experience for me especially in mmo or fps games

Dawid: in 1440 you can see little pixels me: *watching in 480 on my phone* Yeah.... its obvious

Great video as always, Dawid. Where can I find these wallpapers you put on your PC? They are really nice.

My wife just received her MBP 16 M1Max laptop yesterday and is loving it. She records almost all her video in 1080p and posts about 50 video per year to her You Tube Channel. Her desk space is compact with a viewing distance of about 20 ish inches. I’ve been reading about PPI/scaling etc. and wondering if she should get a 24 inch 4K or a 27 inch 2k. She uses progressive lenses so eyes aren’t that good.

Yeah, I’m not doing 4K anytime soon. Would like to jump up to 1440 though. Upgrades slowly coming, new GPU on 2077 maybe?

I have a 29” 4k 60HZ monitor paired with my i7-4790k and a GTX1080 for the past 4 years now. And it’s been an amazing experience. I mainly play RTS games so it’s perfect for me. If you play a lot of shooters 60Hz is kinda not enough the screen gets blurry when moving around and turning really fast.

Thank you, this just informed the purchase I just made. I'm still stuck on a RTX 2060 Super until this darn chip shortage is over and I can go to the 3k Series. So I just went with a 1440p high refresh rate monitor for the time being.. as it may be a year or more until a new gfx card can become readily available. Cheers!

Love your videos just found you and subbed. Can you go over some good build options for the difference between the two

This video provides no information.

4k 144hz sounds so nice, but other factors big time come into play even past price: pixel response, G2G, nits, etc. Many like HDR too but other than the black levels and maybe 10 bit it only does so much for me personally.

Got a 27 inch 1440p monitor. Perfect for my use case. Just waiting for a 3080.

The clarity of the images displayed on your TV is not only affected by resolution by also display frequency especially for fast moving actions in a movie. Therefore it is more important for sim racing games than first person shooting games to have a higher display frequency because all the background is just moving too fast in a sim racing game. Display frequency is even more important in 3D VR if you don't want motion sickness. It is not really subjective; it only depends on what you want your TV or monitor to display.

I actually got the notification

did you make a website dedicated to show how bad the acer prebuilt is

Hey Dawid, I know this videos a little old, but I was wondering 240hz 2k or 60 hz 4K? I have a 4070 Ti

Thank you for that last note, *Cries in 1080p*. My system is pretty much suited for 1440p (2070 Super) but I wanted some longevity at 1080p rather than enter an arms race at 1440p. I don't play many AAA games. I was thinking of upgrading to 1440 though since my current monitor has some pixel issues, but since we're in hell I'll wait till next year.

32" 1440p Is plenty good enough for me

I have a 300hz 1080 monitor, looks freakin beautiful. I know there are better monitors, but I'm not sure that I can see well enough for it to make a difference 😆

1440P & 4K & eventually 8K will be the Bomb in the years to come and 85 inch screens or higher 10K & 12K. Love your Video David I would still buy one down the road but Latency speeds and clear colorful picture with at least 240Hz at 4K That is when I will uy or at least 120Hz.

G'day Dawid, my gaming PC is a R5 1400, 16GB@3200 & RX580 8GB with a 27" 1080p Monitor, I don't play FPS games so I don't need Superfast refresh, also considering it is over $800AUD for a RTX3060, I feel very happy & fortunate with what I have

as a 4k 32inch 60hz user i really love my monitor, i used to drive 144hz 1080p TN panel for years but i realised that i prefer graphical fidelity over smooth motion in games. Also imo 32inch is the sweet spot for 4k monitor, 27inch is more suited for 1440p and 21-24inch for 1080p.

I just got a 32 inch 1440p monitor a few months and I love it. Of course it replaced a 1080p monitor I had been using. I am not going to be considering 4k until prices come down of gpus. I got a 1660 super last year for $230 and I am totally fine with it for now. I also have a gtx 970, gtx 960 4gb and a gtx 780. I kiss them and tell them how much I appreciate them all the time.

I went 1440p 144Hz 32" VA, paired with an RX 5700. I need a big display, because my eyes are as old as me, which is pretty old.... I only play MMORPGs and this setup works great for me.

I think you're underselling the added "reality" of higher fps. Temporal resolution adds at least as much to the "window effect" as standard resolution. 162 fps vs 105 fps is HUGE imo.

David be like: :0 got money for sponsor lets burn it on the 4k monitor

Having had both 4K and 1440p I'd say I'd rather have the frame increase over resolution. The biggest advantage for me for 4K is you can play a game at 1080p without it looking weird. 1440p can have issues at 1080p. Also, congrats on the mention on Austin Evans' newest video!

Only from a gamers' perspective of course. Some days I do kick myself for forking over the amount I did for my 4K 32" LG but at the same time... it is a great monitor. I think 27" is just not cutting it as the scaling can cause some weird side effects.

Once you have used 4k, you can't go back. I have 4k60hz and will replace it with a 4k144hz when prices lower a little. Looked at many 2k monitors in stores and I see pixels everywhere...I see you!!. LOL. cannot go back to lower resolution /2k. Text is so clear on 4k.

I like how he made us all feel better by saying 1080p is still the best option in the end. Value is everything for poor people like me.

I've used 1440p 144hz gsync since gsync was launched in 2015, with a 980ti and then 1080ti, and then RTX 3090. Recently upgraded to a 4k 144hz Gsync and I can answer this question for everyone: Yes. This is the upgrade that happened with phones going to "retina". The difference isn't so much about the number of pixels but the fact that individual pixels are invisible at 4k. If you can get your hands on the GPU for it, do it.

Made the jump from a 24-inch 1080p 144hz TN panel to a 32-inch 4K 60hz VA with HDR when I left my old gaming setup at home and got a new gaming setup in my dorm. RTX 2060 is not enough to play most games at 4K, but I found that 4K does wonders for web browsing, video consumption, and for more than a few games (games from 7-8 years ago can hit 4K 60 fps with no compromise). High refresh rate was really nice, but I'll stick with having more pixels. Native 4K or even 1800p is much sharper than DSR.

I use 1080p 144hz as i like frames. Some games i might use super resolution to boost image quality to 1440p or 4k if it is a older game. For far cry 6 im happy to sit it on 1080p ultra everything. so really comes down to preference and do you want it.

How is Dawid still alive??? All those organs sold on the black web. I feel bad for him 😔

For me, my 4K monitor @ 60hz works perfectly fine with no stutter or any tarring with my RTX 3060 Ti

Beard be lookin awesome Dawid

I got a cheap 24 inch electriq 4k monitor (60hz) and I don’t know whether I should return it for a 1440p 75hz Philips e line monitor. This is a second monitor btw as my first one is a 144hz 1080p one. Should I return it as the HDR quality and browsing looks poor but the game quality is quite nice at 4k? I have a Gtx 1080

The hardware markup from even just a year ago is absolutely insane! I got a new 27in 1440p 144hz monitor back in March 2020, right before everyone started working from home. In hindsight, I was extremely lucky. It cost about $315. Amazon does this stupid thing and recommends you buy items you've already bought AGAIN, so a few weeks ago it recommends the monitor. I click because I was curious and it had skyrocketed to over $500 in price! WTF. I knew gpus were bad but sheesh. It's a good monitor, but it's a dell. Nothing special.

I own a 27" 60 Hz 4K IPS panel and a 34" 144 Hz ultrawide 2K panel. In my humble opinion, 27" is way too small for 4K. Perhaps it's me getting blind over time but I generally enjoy using 34" panel more.

this was exactly what I wanted to know. maybe I should see if the 500-800$ ultrawides at 144hz are any good. ultrawide could be cooler aaaa just give me a 5k ultrawide with hdr at 100hz+ for 1000$ already. I wonder how long it'll be before we get that stuff thanks tho this is very helpful for me. I'll go with ultrawide. but I'll first see if I can go in a store and see for myself! but then again... 4k clarity is temptinggg. I have had my old monitor for 7 years and the one before for 5 years and our tv is 10 years old. so i think paying 1000$~ for a monitor is super worth it as a programmer/gamer/etc that spends 99% of her time in front of a monitor. all my hobbies and everything needs a monitor lol. getting a 1440p/144hz was one of my best purchases ever coming from a nearly black and white trash 60$ 1080p 60hz monitor. and I'm soon leaving to hopefully live in canada and I probably will sell this and buy another there. carrying a 27" heavy monitor that's like 5kg-8kg to nearly the other side of earth isn't really worth it xD It's even more expensive where I live anyways. My glasses make everything smaller too so I'm also debating checking 32" 4k 144hz monitors instead of ultrawides hmmm oh and I disagere with the rtx 3080 min for 4k. tbh even 1080 is usable for 4k imo. the games that need high refresh rates are usually competitive games with low graphics anyways (overwatch as an example) and games like mhw-control are absolutely fine at 60-45 and even 30fps sometimes. (I played mhw at 27-30fps and was fine with it. yet I can't handle overwatch at less than 100hz). plus you can drop the graphics. high and medium often aren't really that different. also consider DLSS. at 4k it's less visible than 1440p/1080p

great video! what about if i game competitive in 1440p 144hz and then just play campagns and games that can run in 4k 144hz in the same monitor?

4K OLED TV gang almost upon us.

I actually went backwards in resolution from 4k60 to 1080p240. I don't really miss the high resolution that much. Of course 4k with high refresh would be amazing but it is so hard to drive games at that setting. I rather turn on RTX and have 100+ frames at 1080p than play at 4k and barely get playable framerates. I have an RTX 3070.

7:14 That SSD box is lowkey Atlas holding the weight of that GPU

i’d love to see a redux build review!

me watching the video on my 27" 1080p monitor "hmm makes sense"

I will stay at 27" 1440p 165hz this (console) gen with my 3070. When the PS6 rolls round I'll see about going to 4K, should be a lot cheaper then.

very clear . thank you

What city building game is that that he's playing? Anyone know? Awesome video as usual, Dawid!

I decided to split the difference. I’ve got a 1440p 165 hz monitor for the more actiony titles and a 4k 60 for slower, “scenic” games. Working out well so far with only having to offer half my kidney. 👍🏻

The prices end up putting me off always... and end up sticking to my 32" 1080p 75hz panel.

1440p and remove your glasses? Seriously though, great vid, glad I discovered your channel!

This might be the best title of 2021

I'd love to see a comparison of 3440x1440 vs 4K

There goes the other kidney... I guess I will have to do with a pump?

I'm deciding between the Samsung Odyssey G5 27'' and the G7 27''. I've got a 2070 Super that pushes 1440p pretty well in most games and I'm planning on getting a 3080 some time in the future.

I only play 1st person shooters so i want more frames per second so is it better to have 1080p at 120 hz than 4k at 120hz?

I got best of both worlds, 27" 1440p 240hz (Lenovo) & 27" 4k 144hz (Acer Predator) depending on what I want to play. (RTX 3090). I will say though that IMO 1440p looks trash compared to 4k.

The most important point is the one you made about seeing or not seeing individual pixels. For me, I just can't get use to anything less than 4k. However I also have been gaming on larger displays. I have a 32" 4k and just recently purchased an LG CX 48". 1440p in my opinion looks absolutely horrible on a 48" screen. I also think 1440p looks pretty bad at 32". If you compare both on a 27" screen then yes, there isn't much of a visual difference. If though, you compare them both on a 32" or higher monitor. 1440p really starts looking more pixelated and blurry and not the better option. My point is that you can't just make a blanket statement as to which gives you better returns or bang for your visual buck. The size of the monitor is a HUGE factor.

FPS is still king imho. Bought a renewed Acer Nitro XV272U X, CoD and BF at 200fps with a monitor to go with is sublime. Find it less fatiguing than even 144Hz.

hair cut looking good!

Damn, I can't imagine the pixel desnity on that "small" 4k monitor

What I do is 1080p for max fps. Or that's what I would do since I'm dirt broke and have no gaming setup 😂

I just upgraded to a 144hz 4k monitor, I love it everything is so clear!

I'm glad your kndneys are safe for now..

in all fairness one of the benefits that have been overlook is 4k monitor is by far better for your eyes compare to inferior monitor

You should redo this test comparing 4K/60Hz with 1440p/144Hz on the same size monitor (as in here both 27"). I'd say at 27" the 1440 hi refresh wins hands down. Static image quality between the two is barely noticeable at 27".

I got a 4k 144hz monitor in preparation for an rtx 3080, little did I know.. still a nice monitor upgrade with great color accuracy and imo nice hdr. Plus I'm assuming this monitor will be with me 5+ yrs. Quite expensive tho and not a lot of options out there. If you are looking for a monitor like this tho I'd recommend the one I got, lg 27gn950 800 bucks right now.

What would you recommend for a xbox series x or ps 5 bro 1444 120hz or 4k 120hz ?